Gothic Thriller Psychological

Zombies, reapers, and more monsters. In a world where so many dark things go bump in the night, terror awaits around every corner as these authors take horror stories to the next level. Discover ghosts, demons, and your worst nightmares. Read at your own risk. Featuring 19 stories by the following 17 authors: Michael Raff, Antoinette McCormick, Matthew Ross, Charles Kyffhausen, Andrew McAuley, B.F. Vega, Douglas Allen Gohl, Toni Mobley, Barend Nieuwstraten III, E.B. Hunter, Constantine E. Kiousis, Alexis Cunningham, Katie Jordan, Maya Moes, Jodie Francis, Lori Gaudet, and J.E. Feldman.

You've never been to a writing retreat like this. Flora Rossi is under deadline and her agent has made it clear: meet it or the publishing house will drop her. Still recovering emotionally from a tragic accident and with her creative muse missing, the acceptance letter to Idyll Weiss Writing Retreat comes at a perfect time. A full week away to write in a rustic home deep in the Vermont woods with a handful of other writers will be just what Flora needs to rekindle her creative spark. The fact that the exclusive writing getaway is led by bestselling author-turned recluse, Venetia Valentine? ...

In 1995, six university students moved into the house at 215 Caldwell Street. Months later, one of them was found dead on the sofa the morning after their end-of-year party. His death was ruled an accident by the police. The remaining five all knew it wasn’t, and though they went on with their lives, the truth of what happened to their sixth housemate couldn’t stay buried forever. Twenty years later, all five of them arrive - lured separately under various pretenses - at Wolfheather House, a crumbling, secluded mansion on the Scottish isle of Doon.

After a tragic accident she can’t quite remember, forty-something-year-old beloved Hollywood actress Annette Taylor finds herself bound to a wheelchair with several injuries. Living in Crawford Manor, the Gothic Hollywood mansion from the film that made her famous, has become too much for her to handle alone, so she must rely on her estranged child star sister, Sophia, to help take care of her. Shortly after a serial killer targeting actresses emerges, the sisters agree to be filmed in the house together for renowned producer and director Frank Baxter’s new documentary about their life.

In an unassuming house on the edge of town, secrets linger like shadows in the corners, and the past is never truly past. Every creak in the floorboards, every sigh of the wind through the eaves, seems to carry a whisper of forgotten sins and untold stories. For those who dare to step inside, the house becomes more than just a home—it becomes a mirror to their fears, their desires, and their darkest regrets. But as the threads of its haunted history begin to unravel, one truth emerges: the house remembers. And it’s not done telling its story.

When the unthinkable happens, Seffy faces the worst apocalypse she could ever imagine. Will her friends force her into an off-brand solution that brings only the illusion of peace from heartbreak? Or will she follow in the footsteps of her namesake and get her second chance after all?

When Nora, a withdrawn American teenager, is sent to live with relatives in Turin, she meets Nicola, the enigmatic son of the most powerful aristocratic family in Italy. Years later, the two reconnect in New York and begin a heated affair. Propelled by disorienting desire, Nora quickly becomes entangled in Nicola’s insular, menacing world of old-world luxury and family secrets.

After a fire rips through her loft, destroying the seven billboard-size paintings meant for her first major exhibition, a young painter is left with an impossible task: recreate the lost artworks in just three months without getting caught - or ruin her fledgling career. Homeless and desperate, she begs her way into Pine City, an exclusive retreat in upstate New York notorious for three things: outrageous revelries, glamorous artists, and the sparkling black lake where brilliant prodigy Carey Logan drowned herself.

When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she's not only North Carolina's richest woman, she's also its most notorious. In the aftermath of her death, that estate - along with a ten-figure fortune and the demands of being a McTavish - pass to her adopted son, Camden. But to everyone's surprise, Cam wants little to do with the house or the money - and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes. Ten years later, a summons in the wake of his uncle's death brings him back into the family fold at Ashby House.

What would you do if your reflection wasn’t yours? Maya Sullivan thought she was leaving her past behind when she moved into the enigmatic Blackwood House. But the old Victorian mansion is no ordinary home. Its mirrors seem alive—holding secrets, whispers, and glimpses of lives she’s never lived. As Maya unravels the sinister history of Blackwood House, she discovers a connection to the Recursion Society, a shadowy group manipulating reality itself. At the heart of it all is the Curator, a powerful entity who thrives on fractured choices and broken reflections. Caught in a terrifying ...

Nine-year-old Samuel lives alone in a once-great estate in Surrey with the family’s housekeeper, Ruth. His father is dead, and his mother has been abroad for months, purportedly tending to her late husband’s faltering business. She left one night while Samuel was sleeping. Beyond her sporadic postcards, Samuel hears nothing from his mother. Samuel’s life is otherwise regulated by Ruth, who runs the house with an iron fist. As rumors in town begin to swirl, Samuel wonders whether something more sinister is afoot. Perhaps his mother did not leave but was murdered - by Ruth.

In this intriguing and action-packed paranormal mystery, a young woman is forced into marriage to save her dysfunctional family and their opulent estate. When Suzanna Dirkston learns that her father, a wealthy shipping tycoon, is dead, she knows it was no accident. Forced to return to the family estate, Suzanna is quick to sense the air of mystery and intrigue that hangs over the house and its inhabitants. Her shock grows when she learns that her father, true to form, is still trying to manipulate her even from the grave. His will stipulates that she must marry a man he has chosen. If she ...

Traveling to be with her fiance's terminally ill mother in her last days, Saoirse Read expected her introduction to the family's ancestral home would be bittersweet. But the stark thrust of Langdon Hall against the cliff and the hundred darkened windows in its battered walls are almost as forbidding as the woman who lies wasting inside. Her fiance's parents make no secret of their distaste for Saoirse, and their feelings have long since spread to their son. Or perhaps it is only the shadows of her mind suggesting she's unwelcome, seizing on her fears while her beloved grieves?

Chaos brings Vengeance down on the town in order to free them from a curse.

Lisa needs to disappear. And her friend's rambling old home in the wilds of Yorkshire seems like the perfect place. It's miles away from the closest town, and no one there knows her or her little boy, Joe. But when Lisa meets some of the locals and hears some disturbing rumours about the house, she realises it might not be the sanctuary she thought. What secret has Rowan Isle House - and her friend - kept hidden all these years? And what will Lisa have to do to survive when her own past finally catches up with her?

Bridal Veil of Deception by H. Wilhelm Starkweatheris a gripping mystery set in 19th century Edinburgh. This historical fiction thriller weaves a tale of suspense, intrigue, and dark secrets in the heart of Victorian Scotland. Follow the enigmatic protagonist, Edgar Ravenswood, as he navigates the treacherous social and political landscape of Edinburgh. Witness the clash between old and new, tradition and progress, as Edgar unravels a web of deceit that threatens his family and legacy. Experience the gothic atmosphere of Ravenswood Castle and the shadowy alleys of Edinburgh, painted in ...

One hot summer's day, John Cole decides to shut his bookshop early, and possibly forever, and drives out of London to see his brother. When his car breaks down on an isolated road, he goes looking for help and finds a dilapidated house. As he approaches, a laughing woman he's never seen before walks out, addresses him by name and explains she's been waiting for him. Entering the home, John discovers an enigmatic clan of residents all of whom seem to know who he is, and also claim they have been awaiting him arrival.

Sixty seconds after she wakes from a coma, Maggie's world is torn apart. The police tell her that her daughter, Elspeth, is dead. That she drowned when the car Maggie had been driving plunged into the river. Maggie remembers nothing. When Maggie begs to see her husband, Sean, the police tell her that he has disappeared. He was last seen on the day of their daughter's funeral. What really happened that day at the river? Where is Maggie's husband? And why can't she shake the suspicion that somewhere, somehow, her daughter is still alive?

For several years, time and circumstance have managed to separate Hallie Knight and her old friend Susan Trench. But when Susan disappears from her grandfather's seaside home on historic Topsail Island, it is Hallie whom Nicholas Trench calls for help. Wealthy, ill, and irascible, he refuses to believe that his beloved granddaughter and the heir to his fortune has been lost to him.

Four students travel to Ravencliffe, an eerie abandoned hotel perched on steep cliffs on the Welsh coast. After a series of unexplained accidents, only three of them leave. The fourth, Leo, disappears, and is never seen again. A decade on, the friends have lost contact. Oscar is fame-hungry, making public appearances and selling his story. Richard sank into alcoholism and is only just recovering. Bex just wants to forget – until one last opportunity to go back offers the chance to find out what really happened to Leo.