Urban Short Stories

In number-one New York Times best-selling author Charlaine Harris’s "Dahlia Underground,” venerable vampire Dahlia Lynley-Chivers survives an attack by an anti-vampire terrorist group, only to show them they tried to blow up the wrong bloodsucker. Bailey Ruth Raeburn, a ghost assigned to assist humans in trouble, steps into the middle of a marital dispute with surprising twists in Carolyn Hart’s “Riding High”....

This collection of stories spans two decades of work by Bram Stoker Award winning author David Niall Wilson. From the streets of Jerusalem to the historical life of Vlad Tepes, follow this prolific author through 11 tales of vampirism, lycanthropy, and darkness. There's a bit of dark humor, a touch of the erotic, and a little something for everyone who loves creatures of the night. These vampires are guaranteed not to sparkle...

Here there be monsters. Dive into New London’s gritty underbelly in this dark fairy tale spanning worlds. Follow Kal and his bloodthirsty sylph familiar, Bell, as they navigate a complex web of challenges that serve to weave together their fates.

A century and a quarter ago, Bram Stoker unleashed the unbridled horror of Count Dracula upon the world. We can only wonder if he ever imagined the impact his creation would have on not only the horror world, but across the globe. Vampires have become a foremost staple of horror stories and have been represented in both print and film countless times over the decades–and their mythos has grown unchecked, evolved, and taken root in the collective consciousness of old and young, horror fans and non-horror fans alike.

Vier Schreibende - eine Mission: Euch das Staunen zu lehren. Auf dem Berliner Stammtisch des "Phantastik Autoren Netzwerks" des Dezember 2019 kam die Frage auf, ob es nicht Möglichkeiten gäbe, Montage phantastisch zu finden. Daraus entstand die Idee, jeden Montag eine phantastische Kurzgeschichte zu veröffentlichen. Vier Schreibende plus vier Montage und ein Thema pro Monat, schon war die Sache perfekt. Daher gibt es seit Januar 2020 jeden Montag eine neue phantastische Geschichte auf der Facebook- bzw. Instagram-Seite "Phantastischermontag" und auf unseren AutorInnen-Seiten.

La prima antologia italiana di Chen Qiufan, uno dei migliori autori emergenti nel panorama della fantascienza cinese. Che cosa succederebbe a un consulente di marketing se riuscisse a trovare la strategia perfetta per lanciare l'applicazione di maggior successo di sempre, la fantomatica "Buddhagram"? E cosa si cela dietro i movimenti sinuosi dei pesci di Lijiang, un paesino dove tanti professionisti finiscono per disintossicarsi da ritmi lavorativi disumani?

Bienvenue dans le Paris des Merveilles, un Paris qui n'est ni tout à fait le nôtre, ni tout à fait un autre... et qui, désormais, n'appartient plus seulement à votre serviteur. Dans ce recueil, vous découvrirez six nouvelles situées dans le monde du Paris des Merveilles.

Actor Matthew McConaughey descends into a surreal desert of the soul, an admirer of Miley Cyrus performs a 3,000-word sentence in defense of his passion, an aging porn star dons a dinosaur costume to film the sex scene of a lifetime, and Leonard Cohen shills for Subway: these mercurial and wildly varied stories explode the conventions of short fiction.

Everything they knew had been a lie. They didn’t belong here, and someone wanted them gone. Freya preferred to be alone serving lattes and trying not to fail calculus. It had been just her and the nerdy boy next door best friend Jamie. All of that changed when the dark and gorgeous stranger walked into the coffee shop. Dathen thought he had been okay with helping run his family’s local business, but the dreams were haunting him and drawing him to the girl surrounded in pink light. Seeking out his dream girl could get them all killed, but that kiss...

Chloe has never run away from a battle in her life, and she's not about to start. As an apocalyptic nightmare unfolds before her, the enigmatic Bram Tice joins her quest as they try to undo the damage the unseen powers unleashed on their world. Chloe races to unlock her murdered professor's secrets, the key to it all. But she discovers her reluctant companion has even darker, more dangerous secrets of his own. Feeling every ounce of her mortal being, Chloe enters a new world of high- and low-caste fae, vampiric scabs, and still, somehow, finds a strength within herself to fight back.

Let Tom Cardamone lead you into his wicked universe of changelings and mysterious creatures, where a boy transforms into lightning and illuminates his emerging sexuality. Where a man accidentally receives a package meant for his neighbor, a situation complicated by the fact that he lives next door to a Sphinx. A nurse finds herself working in a retirement home for vampires, while in the future a man questions his decision to live life as a manatee.

Whether it's kitsune running rampant in the museum, were-gorillas rampaging at the zoo, or a cupid wreaking havoc on her daughter's birthday party, Jess Friedman can handle any monster the supernatural community of Cleveland can throw at her. Except maybe the disapproving stares from the women at her daughter's day care. Or the awkward conversations with her rabbi about her working for the Catholic Church as a New Templar, hunting down the things that go bump in the night.

"Take these paths to the place where lost things go, karma vs. a promise, a ghost stepping out of a poster, a deal with the Devil over a football game and more: Nine adventures of contemporary magic and spirits, including triple award finalist/Twilight Zone episode “Wong’s Lost and Found Emporium.” (PG excerpt). “What’s wrong with you?” she demanded. “I want to know! Why are you so callous”? She snatched up the metal container from the floor in front of me and held it wrapped in her shawl. “Tell me now!” she screamed, right in front of me.

Quinlan used to have dreams about Queen Fand. She watched, unable to help as the goddess of the fairies was defeated, imprisoned, and finally enslaved to the Veilman. Now, those dreams don't just come to her at night. She's starting to believe that what she sees is real. She needs to learn the truth, and Shane Murphy might be the only one who can help her figure it out. Her boyfriend, Eli, refuses to believe, even though he sees the same things Quinlan sees. But there's so much more to it. Eli knows it's true, but he's not ready to admit it—yet.

Un'oscura genia di umanoidi che minaccia la sopravvivenza di tutti gli uomini. Una folle fuga nel microcosmo psichedelico della metropolitana di Londra. Un cagnolino in grado di diventare lo strumento più forte del male assoluto. Il lato in ombra della mente può oltrepassare i limiti della ragione, confondendosi con la realtà e sostituirsi a essa? I racconti di "È solo nella tua mente ed è reale" si muovono in queste atmosfere stranianti e bizzarre, inquietanti e surreali, cercando di rispondere al segreto della psiche con uno sguardo attento e brillante.

Take a trip into theheart of passion as seductive samba rhythms pulse in the warm evening breezes. Escape and savor these three scintillating stories set against the beautifulbackdrop of Brazil.... Two weeks in Rio - surely that's enough time for marketing VP Sydni Lawson to forge a lucrative merger. But instead of sweet-talking real estate mogul Gabriel St. James, she's being swept away by their sizzling and unexpected attraction.

It’s that time of year again. In the shadows, otherworldly creatures lurk, under the gravestones, the dead begin to rise, and in that old house down the lane, ghosts rattle their chains. For once more, Trick or Treat Thrillers brings you our pick of the best Indie-paranormal short stories for 2020! Before you begin listening to our selection of 13 stories, however, we recommend you first check under your bed, in your closet, and outside of your window. You never know what may be coming your way.

Utah can be a weird place, but do you really know just how weird it can be? Find out with this collection of strange tales set in the Beehive State. We're not going to say they're true...but they're true.

A race of tiny magical beings lives on Earth today. But humans are totally unaware of their hidden civilization. They are kirins. While a group of daring explorers battles to save the kirin race, a disgruntled magician interrupts a worldwide spell, making kirins everywhere suddenly visible. Taking advantage of this breach, Jeremy Bailey, an Alaskan fishing boat captain, captures a kirin named Till and, under threat of torture and violence, exploits his gifts for Bailey's own benefit.

Magic and madness don't always run hand in hand, but there's a reason they call it the Touch. Delaney Green is one of them that don't burn, not that no one ain't never tried. After her mama tried and failed to murder her for pulling on the future like it was a piece of string, Del has spent her whole life in a mental institution for her own safety. And everyone else's. No one wants to see what might happen if she goes cracked. When a dozen young women turn up burned to a crisp, local folks are quick to point the FBI straight at Del.