Dark Fantasy Short Stories

From the author of Aevalorn Tales comes a story about remembering and commitment. When Benzie Fernbottom - an eager, helpful halfling innkeeper - learns that Elina Hogsbreath, the inn’s proprietor, will shut down her business for a day, Benzie becomes very concerned. Unable to accept her explanation, Benzie makes more than one very foolish decision and ends up witnessing more than he gambled for. With his and Elina’s lives on the line, can Benzie help save the inn and maybe learn something about unhealthy attachment along the way? Fans of Brandon Sanderson, Travis Baldree, and S. L. ...

From the author of Aevalorn Tales comes a story about the wrongheadedness of prejudice. As the Mulzunite Knight, Ser Rastacil Selabras, traverses the flooded riverbed of the Free City of Enceröss, he comes across a halfling Child of Yondalla, Maedrey Puck, camped nearby. An unlikely and unwelcome encounter, Ser Selebras is eager to be rid of the halfling's company. But when Maedrey offers him a magic potion gifted by the goddess Yondalla–promising to shorten his journey from a week to a single day–Ser Selebras makes a hasty promise in exchange. However, Maedrey remains skeptical of the...

This collection of 22 short stories by the author of Daughter of Hounds and Alabaster firmly established Caitlín R. Kiernan as one of the preeminent voices in dark fantasy today. Through a cycle of interconnected narratives, Kiernan unflinchingly explores a surreal world where the fantastic and the mundane are never separated by more than the insubstantial thickness of a shadow.

Sin’s Doorway and Other Ominous Entrances is the 4th volume of Night Shade Books’ five volume Selected Stories of Manly Wade Wellman....

A woman meets her next-door neighbor and loans her a spatula, then starts suffering horrific gaps in her memory. A man, feeling jilted by an unrequited love, becomes obsessed with sorting through his neighbors' garbage in the belief that it will teach him how to better relate to people. A landlord decides to raise the rent, and his tenants hatch a plan to kill him at a team-building retreat. In 10 captivating, unnerving stories, Flowers of Mold presents a range of ordinary individuals who have found themselves left behind by an increasingly urbanized and fragmented world.

Even monsters have to deal with Mondays!Mythical creatures like vampires, werewolves, and gremlins aren't lurking in shadows, they're trying to survive just like everyone else. From a vampire craving the feel of sunlight to a gremlin who desperately wants to fix things but never can, from duelling with the devil to being a most unusual type of were-creature, these misfits are just trying to live their best normal lives. But fitting in isn't easy when your fangs show, your full moon calendar is packed, and your inner demons are quite literal. Full of humour, heart, and supernatural ...

A mere child yet a precocious writer, young Freddie records a series of terrifying encounters with an inhuman being that haunts his life and seems to predict his death. When an award-winning horror writer on the downward slope of a long career receives an invitation to address the Essex County Science Fiction Group, he figures that he's got nothing to lose. Though she's adopted by the cool kids, the new girl at Renfield High School is most drawn to Nancy Wilhoit, who claims to be haunted.

To Charles Fort, with Love is award-winning fantasist Caitlín R. Kiernan’s third collection of short fiction, a haunting parade of the terrible things which may lie beyond the boundaries of science, the minds which may exist beyond psychology, and the forbidden places which will never be located in any orthodox globe. A deceptively even dozen, this collection includes Kiernan’s celebrated stories “Onion” and “Andromeda Among the Stones”, as well as a number of more obscure pieces.

Unravel the Mysteries: Strange Stories from Marseille Embark on an extraordinary journey with "Strange Stories from Marseille," a collection of horror short stories that defy clichés. Immerse yourself in the authentic legends of Marseille, where reality blends with dark mysteries, challenging the boundaries between fiction and reality. The networks are buzzing: "Horror, fantasy, sci-fi, and Marseille! Say no more, it's nearly perfect." – Etherlutisse. Embark on a journey through the hidden corners of Marseille with "Strange Stories from Marseille," a collection of fantastic and ...

ROMANTIC LIES (BOOK 2) Five years after coming to New York for her cousin Emma's funeral, Abby has it all: the man of her dreams, a well-paying job, and a luxury apartment that she shares with her billionaire boyfriend. Little does she know that Liam has been keeping a secret from her...one that could ruin things forever. When he suddenly ends their relationship without any explanation, Abby's beautiful world comes crashing down. Her best friend, Isabella, gives her a clue that might explain everything, and Abby sets out on a journey to solve the mystery of why Liam left. What she discovers...

Five full length books by Sharon Hamilton: Heavenly Lover, Underworld Lover, Underworld Queen, Honeymoon Bite, and Mortal Bite. These books are the entire works of Sharon's Paranormal series, her Golden Vampires of Tuscany and her Guardians. There is dark angel/vampire love waiting for you.

Welcome to another kind of terror as Peter Straub leads us into the outer reaches of the psyche. Here the master of the macabre is at his absolute best in seven exquisite tales of living, dying, and the terror that lies in between.

The epic follow-up to the acclaimed short story "The Dark Forest Protocol" In the wake of Earth's desperate survival in the silence of the galaxy, humanity’s fragile peace is shattered once more. The Dark Forest Protocol: Crimson Covenant catapults readers into a thrilling, high-stakes space opera, where the consequences of breaking the universe’s unspoken rule — silence — are far more dire than anyone could have imagined. After the Dark Forest Protocol events, Earth’s connection to the mysterious and ancient Forestworld has led to cautious coexistence. But peace is short-lived ...

Can Valerie, a superficial and arrogant 20-year-old, outsmart a powerful futanari mermaid? Find out what happens in Oceana the Futa Mermaid, the first installment of the Alpha Futas of the Sea series.Valerie lied there speechless, shivering out of fear and coldness... She also felt the heat of the young woman’s body, the way she shook involuntarily and the pounding of her frightened heart. An unexpected feeling of pity suddenly filled the mermaid and she loosened her grip. Sensing an opportunity, Valerie wiggled free, and as she was about to make a run for the higher part of the island, ...

After looking for a quiet town where he can finally hang up his gun belt, a weary gunslinger has to face one final enemy before he can retire in peace. "Tumbleweeds" is part of the Tumbleweeds & Terror™ series of standalone tales of the weird west.

Five tales of dragons are included within this special Young Adult fantasy collection. The overall theme is dragons and features a sample of J.E. Feldman’s work. There are no triggers. Inferno A time traveling grandma and her granddaughter discover the true cause behind the burning of the Library of Alexandria. The Loch Legend An orphaned teenager harboring a secret of her own discovers the Loch Ness legend is real, but can she trust her new family with the truth? Instinct Vaccines made from dragon shifter blood turns the world into apocalyptic chaos and there’s no promise of surviving ...

This short story collection will keep you on the edge of your seat to the last sentence. Misha Burnett has been published in a wide variety of modern fiction magazines, and here we've collected some of his best fantasy work.

Discover six stories sharing one impactful message in this fantasy collection.

In this debut collection of body-horror fairy tales and mid-apocalyptic Catholic cyberpunk, memory and myth, loss and age, these are the tools of storyteller Jarboe, a talent in the field of queer fabulism. Bodily autonomy and transformation, the importance of negative emotions, unhealthy relationships, and bad situations amidst the staggering and urgent question of how build and nurture meaning, love, and safety in a larger world/society that might not be "fixable."

This bundle includes The Dark Corner, Pan's Realm, and The Wishing Stone.