Dark Comedy Short Stories

Peculiar Monstrosities is packed with 14 exquisitely crafted stories from new and established authors of Bizarro fiction.

During the 2020 pandemic, a man began driving for Uber in a small college town. Little did he know the deep truths he would discover about himself, the profound insights into the human condition…. Actually, that’s bullshit. What he really discovered was a cash cow: drunk kids with too much money and a darth of local drivers. But all is not easy money and smooth tones vibin’ in the background. These kids are crazy, and crazy kids mean crazy stories.

Tales from the Beach House is a satiric work of fiction that sharply captures the "man-bites-dog" world of contemporary South Florida. The Beach House, a crumbling old motel, is home to a collection of eccentric residents. Amongst their ranks: a tennis pro at the end of his game, a mortuary scientist whose love life has flat-lined, a paparazzo photographer searching for scoops, and more. Each member of this cohort is in search of something - fast money, an easy hustle, fleeting romance, enduring love, fame, power, dignity, happiness...a place they can call home.

In search of the ferocious truth, some would call trying to channel the spirit of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson a fool’s errand. But these are desperate times. So settle in for this trilogy of uppers, downers, screamers, laughers from John Bruni (Tales of Questionable Taste), Kent Hill (Hercules with a Shotgun) and Kevin Candela (Weedeaters: The Complete Acropalypse) as they bring you just what the doctor ordered.

Q: What do a set of LEGO toys, a mountain of cocaine, a glitter-dusted stripper, and a monkey who's grown tired of his dead-end day job have in common? A: Absolutely nothing. Except that they're all key elements in some of the stories featured in this dark and funny collection.

In Romance: Quickies (Malia's Encounter - 3), Cuban daredevil Malia seduces her former parolee in a perilous park…but will the danger of their encounter be more than she can handle? Seven friends living in New York City. One unusual competition. Who can have the most intimate encounters in a month? Ten thousand dollars is on the line... Quickies are bite-sized steamy stories that follow a group of women living in New York City who compete to see who can have the most casual hookups in a month. Which woman will sleep with the most men to win the bet? Will any of them fall in love with ...

Ebola Saves the Planet! and Other Wholesome Tales is a collection of 11 wild tales from the mind of Matthew A. Clarke.

When nothing’s going right, someone’s gotta give. Three unusual stories of perseverance, tenacity and cleverness, with surprising endings. Dignity Formerly published in Writer's Guild. A journalist has a chance encounter with a young woman in a government office. The woman's disturbing past makes the journalist question everything she believes in and stands for. Paper Cut Formerly published in The Junction. In a rich neighbourhood of Mumbai, two scrap dealers are facing destitute times. Supply is limited, costs are rising, and they’re competing against each other on the same turf. But...

Tales from the Eerie Canal weaves the sinister mystery of Edgar Allan Poe with the dark humor of Edward Gorey. No canal. No Lake Erie. Just a stream of the disturbing splashed with bits of the absurd.

It’s the hottest heat wave of the summer and Gus’s air conditioner has decided to give up the ghost. It’s not the heat keeping Gus awake at night, though, but a nighttime visit from Father Xavier. He couldn’t sleep either due to the heat and decided it would be best that they didn’t sleep together. While the father was bothering Gus by telling him all about his recent visit to Italy, a welcome phone call came. Someone is going to be murdered at Deimos Technology. It doesn’t matter that the someone that is about to die is only an AI computer infected with a fatal computer virus. ...

My short stories are all exactly 50 words long (not including the title). Some of the one-word prompts used to create my stories include wildfires, holiday lights, a horseshoe, time traveler, street food, and Donald Trump. My magnetic poetry is oddly philosophical and meant to confound and amuse. May you thoroughly enjoy my book! Have a nice day!

The characters in this extraordinary book are often - on the surface - depraved, vicious, cowardly and manipulative, but their essential humanity is never undermined. Two professors of philosophy turn pugilists; Leith removal men become the objects of desire for Hollywood goddesses; God turns Boab Coyle into a house-fly; and in the novella, 'A Smart Cunt', the drug-addled young hero spins off on a collision course with his past.

Her voice is her brand. It’s also kind of a public safety concern. Marinella’s streaming channel serves up immersive sound, chill vibes, and just enough siren magic to keep her audience blissed out—without triggering another spontaneous group swim. But with sponsorships vanishing and rent climbing, she’s running out of ways to keep things ethical, engaging, and technically legal. Enter WaveSound: a glossy audio-tech giant with prototype headphones, aggressive KPIs, and one marketing director who’s a little too enthusiastic about her “authentic resonance.” They want her ...

It’s Easter in the land of Oz, and while Jack Pumpkinhead should be enjoying the lovely spring weather, Easter eggs, and candy with his new friend, little Jenny, he can’t. Something is wrong. A terrible memory is beginning to resurface, and Jack is terrified. Whatever it is, he knows it has chased after him for a long time and that he is not strong enough to face it. But very soon, Jack will discover that you can’t hide from the truth forever....

From Award Winning and Best Selling Author Duncan Whitehead, comes a short story with a twist........ When two old friends, bound together by their love of growing fruits and vegetables enter the same competition, how far will they go to ensure victory? A charming story with more twists and turns than a tomato vine. From the Author A short story with a twist. How far would you go to win? How important is something that seems so trivial to others, but paramount to you? We all have a breaking point....but some are more fragile than others. This book is short and sweet. Set in a small English ...

Gus suspected Father Xavier asked him out for Thanksgiving dinner for more than just the friendly company. When you’re the sheriff of a small county you learn quickly that people only put on airs of wanting to be with you out of friendship. Typically instead these people think they’ve spotted a crime that they want you to deal with. The father suspects something rotten is in the air concerning a holiday family reunion involving the daughter of a once rich rancher, her famous author older brother, and her less than famous younger brother, the loan writer from Santa Fe. Gus isn’t one to...

Gus has the unfortunate task of judging the local art show at the Tannehill Ranch. The only thing Gus knows about art is you shouldn’t eat the macaroni after your child has glued to their artwork. Given the art show is displaying art from the daughters of most of the wealthier members of society in his state, Gus could hardly have said no to the request to be a judge. Things heat up at the art show when one of the teenage contestants ends up missing. It is the sort of news that isn’t exactly easy to tell parents with large bank accounts. Worse, it turns out she’s likely run away with ...

O.J. Simpson in an alternate reality and blind ninjas ushering in the apocalypse are just two of the beautifully written tales in this seminal work of art, from the mind of a human being the likes of which God and the devil wholeheartedly agree upon. While drenched in comedy, Laughter's Cold Shadow takes on the darkest of subject matter: murder, rape, racism, the nuclear family, ninjas, Nazis, zombies, police brutality, drug cartels, hedonism, psychopathy, and more.

All Gus wanted to do was take a day trip up to the big city to get away from his constituents. However, some constituents are harder to avoid than others. He inadvertently bumps into Father Xavier while at an antique show. Neither this chance meeting or Gus’s appraisal are the worst thing to happen to the sheriff while out of town, because the other thing that’s hard for him to avoid is getting involved in a murder case. When one of the big winners at the antique show turns up dead it’s up to Gus to figure out who the murderer is. With the Father’s help, can Gus sort out the clues ...

Taut, brooding and densely atmospheric, these stories show us the ways in which murder can arise out of boredom, perversity can result from adolescent curiosity and sheer evil might be the solution to unbearable loneliness.