Horror - Ghosts & Haunted Houses Genre

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Summary: A muddy trench in France during the Great War wasn’t the most auspicious place for Tom and Michael to reach an understanding of their own natures. A small, individual tragedy unfolds … But then Tom discovers a place beyond, where he and other men like him are blessed with all that life denied them.

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Withrow Surrett, cantankerous vampire lord of North Carolina, is passing the long winter nights of the off-season in the sleepy resort town of Sunset Beach. When the nights are long and humanity slumbers, where else would a vampire go but the beach? This is no mere vacation for Withrow and his cousin Roderick, though. They’re hunting down a nest of nasty elder vampires who want to take over the world!

Of course it’s not that simple, because for Withrow nothing ever is. Withrow and Roderick - and their team of frienemies, rivals, and allies - soon learn there are stranger things afoot than vampiric machinations among the dunes of Sunset Beach: mysterious mortals, twisted sorceries, and fleeting apparitions. Through sabotage, espionage, and bare-knuckled brutality Withrow must find and stop the elder vampires before they play the ace up their sleeve!

Kick back in the sand with the fourth installment of this vampire and urban fantasy series, perfect for fans of Rick Gualtieri, Jeff Strand, or Christopher Moore.

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Summary: Humans are, so far as we know, the only creatures on this planet who mark the passage of time. As such, we are keenly aware from an early age that time is tick, tick, ticking away. In the end, for all of us, is Death. We fear it. We are intoxicated by it. We run from it and somehow find ourselves wrapped in its dark-robed arms. A small village suffering through a terrifying plague seek a solution from a prophet. A “pig” crawls on his hands and knees through the dark labyrinth of a BDSM dungeon in search of the only thing that can satiate his hunger. Two young men find themselves chased through the woods by a real-life urban legend. A lonely young man finds a boon companion in Death. These stories and more fill Darkest Death, a collection of short horror fiction by W. Dale Jordan, author of The Stop.

Word Count: Click here to reveal60000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: A teen without a home. A dangerous residence. Can she survive one terrifying night to secure her future? Charlene Griffin never thought she’d be without a home. But when she’s kicked out on her eighteenth birthday, she has no choice but to sleep inside an ominous Victorian mansion. And with the owner offering the estate to anyone who can spend a full night in the haunted property, Charlene decides to risk life and limb to get off the streets. Refusing to heed the warnings of those sent running in fear for their lives, Charlene is confident she can last from sunset to sunrise. But she’ll need all her wits about her to withstand the hours of terror, because these ghosts are determined to get rid of her. Will Charlene outsmart her supernatural foes and make it to dawn? Defying the Ghosts is an eerie YA haunted house story. If you like heart-racing action, fearless heroes, and survival adventures, then you’ll love Joan Marie Verba’s thrilling tale. Buy Defying the Ghosts to explore forbidden shadowy corners today!

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Summary: Suffering from a history of mental illness, Jonah Frost tries to begin a new life in a small town in the Coal Region of Northeast Pennsylvania. Little does he know of the violent history of labor strife in this grimly haunted region. Nor is he aware that a spirit already inhabits his new home and is bent on exacting revenge for a perceived long-ago injustice. Jonah must battle his own demons, as well as those intent on continuing the reign of terror through the ages.

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Summary: Here you’ll find tales of the supernatural, betrayal and murder; the mistakes that lead to the fall of empires and the constant tug of war that haunts mankind. There’s a blend of science fiction, fantasy and horror - from a modern day detective facing a serial killer to a future utopia filled with disloyalty. Lovers of romance will find a little something for them too, but within these bright sparks of hope shades of darkness lurk.

Word Count: Click here to reveal90,840 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Kell Shaw returns with a harrowing tale of strained friendship and murder in the Vestiges of Magic universe. Lukie and Tamlyn are searching for their client’s lost relatives, but their efforts only turn up a single name: a proprietor of the remote Brindlebranch Hotel. Lukie hopes their fragile partnership can survive the journey, as she suspects Tamlyn is hiding elements of his past while she still grapples with the events of her own murder. Neither of them expected the hotel to be home to a vengeful spirit, bound up with the dark magic of a fallen occult cabal. When Tamlyn is hurled into the past, forced to confront the horrifying origins of the curse, Lukie is propelled into a race against time to save the hotel’s innocent guests. With a malevolent spirit on a deadly rampage, Lukie and Tamlyn must confront their painful history and bridge the chasm that has grown between them. Their survival, and the lives of countless others, hinge on their ability to mend their broken bond and overcome the weight of two decades of anger and secrets. Can they conquer their demons and unite against a relentless evil? Discover the answer in this gripping new chapter of the Kell Shaw’s Revenant Records saga.

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Summary: Coasters, carousels, an old cemetery, and a sprawling hotel on a stormy lakeside. Visit this haunted tour of scrapbook memories where legendary summers intersect with history and rumor. Told in vignettes that weave stories, newspaper clippings, postcards, and images, Ghastly Tales follows four families through the decades at a lakeside resort and amusement park where everyone eventually returns.

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Summary: This horror collection graphic novel contains the following stories: “And They Lived Long Enough to Bury Their Dead” is a dark fantasy comic zine about a group of Gen X goth/punk folks growing older and processing the deaths of loved ones. A paranormal urban fantasy, it centers around Billie, a nonbinary African-American alternative rocker from Oakland who develops the psychic ability to see and communicate with ghosts. Their nesting partner, Davis, a formerly homeless African-American transgender man, their twin brother Sean, a ghostcat, and the ghost of their mother are other central characters. In the story Billie, Davis, and their Gen X circle of friends are coming to terms with aging, the declining health (and loss) of their parents, and adjusting to a new post-pandemic world. It is an urban fantasy taking place in Oakland and the San Francisco Bay Area “Agrippa” is a dystopic near-future tale that takes place in an unnamed industrialized nation very much like the United States. When foreign creditors demand that the nation repay its considerable international debt or face war it enacts the Dulcetta Reforms, ultra-restrictive laws establishing debtor’s prison, and causing a large number of people – many of them seniors – to go to jail or even face execution if not continuously working to pay off their personal debts to the government. Dr. Tine, an expert in geriatric medicine, is desperately searching for employment at the beginning of our tale, having lost her useful functioning in society as the elders she once treated were rounded up and hauled off to the prison camps. Things were so bad she didn't think they could possibly get any worse. How very wrong she was. Dreamworlds: Beyond Somnalia - the author is plagued by a series of increasing demands from their fictional characters who come to take over the writer's life.

Word Count: Click here to reveal102,000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Can you hear it? Whispering in the dark. Secrets only the dark knows. Joseph Moore, choir director for the First Baptist Church of Lenora, Nebraska, has secrets of his own. Terrible, lonely secrets. One that involves natural human desire. One that calls forth powers he cannot begin to understand. Both with the potential to destroy him and those he loves. Now the world is changing. The darkness, the shadows, the ghosts, are closing in—and Joseph and his lover, Kevin, are being stalked by a merciless demon, hell-bent on possession. Can you hear it now? There in the dark. It's whispering your name.

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Summary: Who doesn't crave a little escape? Dreaming of small town life and rural charm, Alex and Rainey find a deal on an old rustic home they can't resist. But soon after Rainey moves, her preoccupation with weird local history and the complications of living alone in the woods take a toll. Alex worries that the long nights and growing isolation are driving her stir crazy. When the Sugar House is damaged and Rainey goes missing, Alex doesn't know where to turn. Was it a storm, vandals, or something worse? What happened at the Sugar House? The only thing worse than wondering is finding out.

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Summary: Dark rhymes and deep thoughts send you on a dive through the void as you read this intensely personal poetry collection. Melancholia will send you into worlds both beyond and within, opening your eyes to truths often left untold in this world and challenging you with the harsh realities and injustices of life, without abandoning the darkly comforting magic that can be found in the shadows.

Word Count: Click here to reveal89,000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: All Armand wants is to share his life with his girlfriend Vonnie. But money is tight, their relationship is fizzling, and not even a monster-hunting side gig is paying off. When a mysterious drifter named Mr. Penny-Farthing blows into town on his antique high-wheeler, Armand thinks his troubles are over. Penny-Farthing offers Armand and Vonnie enough money to cover their expenses with one condition: they must find and return the soul of a serial killer who escaped Hell. Completing Penny-Farthing’s contract won’t be easy when demons appear all over the city and bodies start piling up. Overwhelmed and pushed to the brink, Armand realizes his greatest fear isn’t demons or shadowy murderers: it’s losing Vonnie forever. Can Armand stop a killer and keep the woman he loves, or will Hell take everything from him? Nail-biting and visceral, Mr. Penny-Farthing is a high-octane horror story about escaping your comfort zone while fighting for love.

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Summary: When college student Muriel Aubrey inherits an old house in a small town, she imagines that moving into the rural community will be deathly dull. But the old house once belonged to her eccentric granduncle, a professor said to be researching something mysterious before his untimely death. Then Muriel finds the research notes that had been hidden away in the old Victorian; and she discovers what the professor was researching: vampires. It isn’t long before Muriel meets residents of the small town who knew the professor almost a century ago, and learns that everything he wrote in the notes he kept is true...And then she finds herself stalked by a vampire hunter.

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Summary: “Reality took a greasy slide off-kilter. He had to be mistaken. Please, please God let him be mistaken…” Miles Baumgartner lost his boyfriend. His house. His job. Worst of all, he lost his nephew when Ian—his almost-son—died, crushed to death in a car accident nine months ago. So how is there a recent photo of Ian on Facebook? A series of lies and half-truths leads Miles far north to a long-abandoned orphanage. Secrets slink within St. Hamelin’s shadowed halls, and when Miles starts piecing the truth together, the horrors that walk within its rooms tighten their grip. They say that time heals all wounds, but time is running out for Miles. How can he start his life over now, knowing what really happened to Ian and the children of that unholy place? To have any chance, he must escape before dark forces curse him to walk eternally with the evils inhabiting St. Hamelin’s.  

Word Count: Click here to reveal77920 (Click here to hide)

Summary: Some ghosts aren't meant to stay buried. Fourteen years after her best friend's murder, Joss Evans is tormented by unanswered questions, until a mysterious encounter brings her face-to-face with Elena Lewis, a woman who knows far more about that fateful night than she should. But Elena's secrets come with their own dangers. As unexplained supernatural events begin to unfold around them, the two women find themselves drawn together by forces beyond their control. The tension between them grows with each new discovery. Realizing they can’t combat these forces on their own, Joss and Elena enlist help from the Hypatia Coven. They work together to confront the danger lurking at every turn. With the past and present colliding, Joss and Elena must decide what's more dangerous: the ghosts they're chasing or the desire threatening to consume them both. Some truths are worth any risk—even if they frighten both the living and the dead.

Word Count: Click here to reveal38000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: RISE (noun / verb) Eight definitions to inspire writers around the world, and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) An upward slope or movement 2) A beginning or origin 3) An increase in amount or number 4) An angry reaction 5) To take up arms 6) To return from death 7) To become heartened or elated 8) To exert oneself to meet a challenge Rise features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.

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Summary: Joss Evans thought joining the Hypatia Coven would give her answers about her mysterious abilities. Instead, it's only raised more questions. Plagued by blackouts and terrifying visions, Joss struggles to control powers that even the most experienced witches can't comprehend. Her past—particularly the blood on her hands—has made her an outsider among those who should be her sisters. Only witches River and Indigo stand firmly by her side. When evidence suggests a demon is hunting Joss for her unique psychic gifts, the fractured coven reluctantly seeks help from Claire, a demon hunter with her own complicated history with the Hypatia Coven. As tensions rise and loyalties blur, Joss finds unexpected solace in her growing connection with Abigail, a powerful witch who sees beyond her broken edges. With dark forces closing in, Joss must decide: Will she surrender this new imperfect life, or fight for her place in a world that both fears and needs her power? Some sacrifices leave scars. Others leave nothing at all.

Word Count: Click here to reveal78,000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: The mind of a befuddled muse... is full of odd nooks and crannies. This quirky, thoughtful, engrossing collection of short fiction contains twelve short stories and a novella across sci-fi and related genres including Time Travel, Alternate History, Hauntings, Circus Noir, Historical Fiction, Interspecies Communication, emails with the dead, and more... The Stories include: Curved Space: The crew of a sleeper ship awakes to find themselves lightyears from earth and in danger of starvation. They are shocked when a pizza deliveryman knocks at their airlock. The Daemon Muse A man tries to ignore his muse and finds out she is not a jealous lover, but she demands his creativity to express her inspirations. Times of Life and Death A field historian specializing in Tudor England becomes entranced by Lady Jane, England's nine-days queen. He convinces her to forgo her execution and come with him back to 2085 where, he says, she will be safe. Heart's Desire The newly elected president of the United States finds out that even when the devil loses his bet, he wins. A Sticky End A freak accident leaves an astronaut dying and stuck in the airlock with his robot. As he prepares for his end, he desperately tries to find humanity in his one remaining friend. The Singer of Starfish A young dolphin is convinced that she is the long-prophesied "Singer of Starfish" who can finally communicate with the strange animals keeping her and her pod captive. The Offering A sculptor weeps as he carves a memorial for his painter friend who had completely failed to understand the brutality of the French Occupation of Algeria. Both is French family and his secret Algerian family would pay the price of his naiveté. The Big Gumshoes A Clown PI must solve the murder of his friend and mentor in both his careers. Along the way, he breaks up a corrupt side-show, finds love, and returns a kidnapped dog to its owner. A Day in the Life of the Great Space Explorer A nursing home finds a unique way to entertain its staff and residents by celebrating the writing of their resident Sci-Fi author who can only remember the day he is living at the moment. Something That Will Not Let Go A woman returns to her childhood home to hide from the law. Once there, she finds out her imaginary friend, who helped her live through the abuse from her father, is not so imaginary after all. Together, they avenge the pain they suffered as children. Pea Soup A mild-mannered, puzzle-loving court reporter is duped by the beautiful, but corrupt prosecutor. The Severed World The Field Historian and Lady Jane from Times of Life and Death find out her decision to travel back to his time has dramatically changed history and that his promise that she would be safe in 2085 could not have been more wrong. A Thread Across The Veil An internet scammer discovers that he can converse by email with his recently deceased lover and that she wants to reform him from his evil ways.

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Summary: "Dear Tyler, I was hoping I wouldn't have to write this letter for a long time..." Tyler is a young gay man with his whole life ahead of him. Then his Uncle Jodie died and left him the deed to Memory Lane Antiques, a small shop in an even smaller town. When he and his best friend, Madison, arrive to assess the inventory, they're led by unseen forces to an old journal. Only then do they realize the full meaning of ownership and possession. Memory Lane is filled with curious items. Some mundane, others deadly. As they dive deeper into Jodie's writing, Tyler cannot help but notice the similarities between their lives, nor is he prepared for just how deep his own ties run to a dark-glassed mirror that hangs in the showroom and the ghost of a boy named Frankie who will do anything to escape its murky depths.