Dark Fantasy Short Stories

Before Jak became a hero, a horrible secret surrounded her birth. Witness the beginning of that secret as we follow her father while he searches for his wife, and finds more than he could possibly imagine.

The light is gone. Darkness Reigns.Merida has fallen into darkness. With the Keeper of Light dead, no one stood a chance against the Dragon King. Now a vapid wasteland, the darkness reaches across the kingdom, withering everything in its path. With no choice but to fight, the heir to the Light Stone must fight to reclaim what was lost. If Adreus takes his place as the Keeper of Light, and wields the Light Stone, then maybe he can overcome the darkness once and for all. But he's not the only one seeking its power.

This is a short story set in the Narcoscape of the Book of Dreams series. It is named "Dreaming of a White Christmas" and was originally printed in the collection A Cozy Christmas. In this brief installment, Nicodemus Smith has her hands full tracking down a lost philanthropist who fancies himself to be Santa Claus. Enjoy the yuletide oddness with Nic and the gang no matter what the season. I'll see you on the dreamside, ---Melanie

Four dark tales of the holiday spirit. In "Christmas Eve Gift", Old Bill sets out on her annual Christmas Eve journey to her niece's house and encounters an unexpected darkness along the way. In "A Dark Christmas", Alice, a dark daughter of the vampire, Elizabet, turns the table on a family of hunters. In "On the 7th Day of Christmas", Sunny finally gets to throw a party, only a monster shows up and twists a small kink into her New Year's Eve festivities. In "Twelfth Night", A 13-year-old encounters the Woman with No Face for the first time.

Written in the dark days of World War I, join Lord Dunsany as he spreads the dreams that we cannot leave to die. Dunsany was the most influential writer in the genre that came to be known as fantasy, which his stories set trends for that continue to this day.

Witches burned. A village in fear. A lie waiting in the ash. When seasoned Witch Hunter Elijah Lynton arrives in the remote town of Mullingen, he's expecting a simple case of missing heirlooms. Instead, he finds a smouldering pyre—and a stranger who wears the seal of his Order. But something doesn't add up. Beneath the ashes lie secrets the flame was meant to erase. Justice demands answers. And not everyone claiming the light speaks the truth. Dark, gripping, and morally charged, The Witch Hunter's Lie will keep you questioning right and wrong until the very last page.

Has the hunter gotten too close to the prey? My name is Ember Rose. That’s not my real name, though. The truth is, I don’t have one. And I’m not from here. I was raised along with other genetically engineered supernaturals in a secret compound where we endured excruciating training to hone and control our powers. We have one mission – to kill. As a massage therapist, I am quiet and unassuming, which works in my favor. I lure my targets to my table and there, once they relax completely, I shift into my feline form. All it takes is one tiny scratch for me to administer the lethal ...

From the Outback to Ireland's Skies: One Pilot's Journey Beyond Borders. In the dusty desert of the Australian Outback, Max's life revolves around taking jaded tourists up in his plane, finding joy only in the moments spent in the sky. His routine is disrupted when a Japanese man named Hiroki appears, trying to persuade him to join a band of misfits in Ireland. Initially, Max rebuffs Hiroki, haunted by past traumas that surface in his dreams. As Max struggles with his inner demons, Hiroki persistently offers him a chance to chase a new dream. It isn't until Max's precious plane is damaged ...

When a strange scale is discovered in a nearby lake she regularly swims in, Esther Montgomery panics. How could she be so foolish? After her shoal died from the red tide, she’s been on her own struggling to fit in on land. Shortly after the TV announcement, she receives a strange note from someone claiming to know what she is. Against her better judgment, she goes to the meeting place. That’s when events take a turn for the worse. TW: Dark fantasy with torture and death.

If a person is frozen before they take their last breath, are they dead? Embark on an unforgettable journey through life, death, and the unknown in "Where the Others Go," the captivating seventeenth installment of The Night Portals Fantasy Series. Meet Teddy Haims, a man on the brink of accepting his fate—until a chance encounter with a representative from the premier cryogenics company, CryoCorp changes everything. At ninety-five years old, Teddy has savored the highs and lows of existence, yet time slips through his grasp like sand. Facing mortality, he grapples with the elusive concept...

Sixteen years old, Caina is a student of the Ghosts, the spies and agents of the Emperor of Nighmar, and from them she learns the arts of stealth and infiltration, of disguise and intrigue. But when a man dies of a mysterious poison, Caina faces a deadly test. Because if she doesn't solve the murder, she might die next....

Food. We use it to celebrate, to provide both comfort and energy, and to show our love. There’s something about mixing a pinch of this and a dash of that to create something new. And when you pair it with the perfect drink...'chef’s kiss'. Stories can do the same thing. They can be a celebration, bring us comfort and energy, and help us express our love. And when the perfect character is paired with the perfect plot...well, then you have something worth devouring. So take a place at the table, and let’s see what’s on the menu.

A woman finds a head in her mother's garden. Things get weirder when the head talks to her....

At 10-feet, four inches tall, Gowanus was the runt of the litter. Working the mines of No’ad took strength and height, unless you had the smarts to be able to help the dwarves invent and build new mining tools. He didn’t have smarts and didn’t have height, and yet his curiosity got the better of him: Where had Sakima gone? In an attempt to find the rogue giant Sakima, Gowanus learns the secret to how the giants have spread so far, so fast and comes face-to-face with the worst betrayal of giant-kind.

Valentean Burai, White Dragon of the Rosinanti, suffered a stunning defeat within the shadow of a desolate ancient city. Beaten and burned to the point of near-death, he recovers among his closest friends and allies, while harboring a dark secret. A world away, Princess Seraphina Kackritta, The Ice Queen, continues to fight against the forces of chaos that have claimed her homeland. Far from the man she loves, Seraphina must focus her magical abilities and lead an armed resistance to reclaim her kingdom from the shadowy evil that has enveloped her people.

From Jay Bonansinga, author of The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury and The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor, comes a collection of short stories and novellas that span a number of genres.

I woke to a mass of men writhing and broken, moving as one in their attempt to reach that great circle of light. They looked like ants, but ants without exoskeletons: their soft bits shredding, their hard bits breaking, to make a sort of chicken-leg jello out of humanity. The cries of pain and cries of triumph mixed. But one man keeps saying, "2π28.57mm. 2π28.57mm. 2π28.57mm.” Pointing at the circle of light. Claiming he cut it. Cut what? And why?

So you think you know all about superheroes? Those guys in the capes and the lightly starched spandex speedoes. Leaping tall buildings and always getting the girl. You don't know nothing. Join Steve Vernon, Nova Scotia's hardest working horror writer, as he takes you into the world of Captain Nothing. It's a world without hope, a world that is as cold and dark as a landlord's heart, three days after the rent is due. It's a world that could give the Batman a case of the squirming night fears. NOTHING DOWN is a collection of stories that will show you the darker side of courage. It will show ...

In this set of four short stories, the perennial struggle to catch the bad guys gets the supernatural treatment. Like holding a murder trial in a twilight zone, anything can happen—but in the end, justice will be served. In “Judge and Jury,” a violent gang tries to make its own rules. But out West, a kangaroo court is the only law, and this time, there’s a ghost in attendance. He knows the truth about their terrible crimes, and he won’t stop until someone pays for it. Capital punishment gets a vengeful twist in “The Wheel,” as the victim’s family gets involved in choosing ...

If curiosity could kill…, Alexander Grimlock would be the most prolific murderer the city of Elandor has ever seen. A witch doctor cast out from society for his veneration of the paranormal seeks to understand the numerous supernatural races that inhabit his world. No cost is too great. Not even his own life! What treacheries lay ahead on his road to clarity? Is there a deal too steep or is it merely a matter of finding the right price? Grimlock Tales is a macabre assortment of horror stories gathered for your convenience. Readers will find nightmares lurking in every corner, a lethal ...