Scary Fantasy

Divining the difference between reality and the fantastic may not be as simple as it seems. Because the world you think you know may not actually exist… STORIES is a collection of six short stories loosely based on legends and folklore. Each is set in a modern context, giving the reader an unusual take that yields interesting insight on these traditional tales. The Snow Woman: a spirit in Japanese folklore who traps people in snowstorms, then uses her icy breath to leave them frost-coated corpses. The Slit-Mouthed Woman: a figure from Japanese urban legends who, mutilated by her husband, ...

On an isolated mountain, a stone labyrinth provides rough shelter for a band of mercenaries. At its core lies a centuries-old mystery. But in chapter two of The Boy in the Iron Box, no secret is safe. A concealed pit; an iron box, wrapped in chains; a statue of a boy. What unknowns await the anxious, disoriented team in this strange ruin? Night will tell.

For Cassie and her Circle of witches, it's hard to imagine life in New Salem getting any worse. A band of powerful witch hunters is targeting the group, determined to destroy them one by one. And Cassie's half-sister, Scarlett, won't rest until she has a spot in the Circle - even if she has to kill Cassie to get it. The Circle's only hope against their enemies is Cassie's father's Book of Shadows - an ancient guide to the world of dark magic. But Cassie soon discovers that opening the book has grave consequences.

The mercenaries set an explosive scheme in motion to blow this bad dream to smithereens. But in chapter five of The Boy in the Iron Box, they soon find that even the best-laid plans can backfire. With the morale of the team fraying, Liev makes a vow. He’s not going to leave anyone behind until the last stand is seen through to its cold and bitter end. On this night, it’s Liev who lies in wait to face everything he’s feared. It’s nothing like he expected.

Riley has crossed the bridge into the afterlife - a place called Here, where time is always Now. She has picked up life where she left off when she was alive, living with her parents and dog in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. When she’s summoned before The Council, she learns that the afterlife isn’t just an eternity of leisure. She’s been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a possibly cute, seemingly nerdy boy who’s definitely hiding something.

Zoey loves spending the summer with her Aunt Alice, and her aunt's new house is the perfect place to cozy up with a good book. But she's unnerved by the overgrown forest next door, which is creepy even in the daytime and full of eerie sounds at night. Worse, there are rumors in town of a dark force in those woods. And Zoey can't deny that the wild black cats who live there seem to be watching her. When she encounters a mean old woman who claims to be their owner, Zoey realizes there's more to the cats than meets the eye.

When something's amiss in Spookie House, there's usually only one person to blame: Araminta. But this time she had nothing to do with the disappearance of Barry Wizzard's frogs, and she is determined to find them. Of course, it's not going to be that easy, especially when dealing with a crazy character named Old Morris, a dangerous shark, and a demanding aquarium show audience. Can Araminta find the frogs and steal the show?

This may be the scariest summer of their lives. Worse than going to summer school or working a job that doesn't pay. Even worse than attending their parents' old sleep away camp. The foursome must face their phobias as students at the exclusive and elusive School of Fear. Run by former beauty queen, Mrs. Wellington, the school is unusual, to say the least. But terrifying would be a more accurate description.

In a world filled with Bugs - monsters that ceaselessly ravage the Earth - Milo Silk has a hard time keeping his dreams separate from reality. So he keeps them locked up in his dream journal and hopes they'll never come to pass. But too often they do - like when his father disappeared three years ago. Lately the Witch of the World has been haunting his dreams, saying he is destined to be the hero who saves everyone.

From R.L. Stine, the master of horror for young listeners, comes ten brand new stories that are sure to have you keeping the light on at bedtime tonight. A boy thinks that a dream factory will help him make his slumber more fun...but what's the line between dream and nightmare? Two kids find an abandoned shack on the side of the road and are determined to make it their new treehouse... but is it as abandoned as it seems? A boy wants to impress a birthday party with this amateur magician skills...but how far will he go to wow the crowd?

For most of Tony Gilbert's life, he has thought of his uncle as "Weird Uncle Charlie". That is, until Uncle Charlie moves in with Tony and his family. Uncle Charlie is still odd, of course - talking about spirits and other supernatural stuff - but he and Tony become fast friends, and Tony ends up having a lot of fun with Uncle Charlie. When Uncle Charlie dies suddenly, Tony is devastated. Then he starts seeing Uncle Charlie everywhere!

National Book Award winner Jude Watson joins the race for survival! The harrowing tale of survival and suspicion takes its most dramatic turn yet when Molly, Yoshi, and the rest discover that there are more than just monsters in the rift. There are other kids, too....

Marshall Seaver and Cooper Foley have been friends through life - and death. Now the ethereal pathway between realms, known as the Morpheus Road, is in danger of being destroyed by the vengeful spirit who has become their nemesis: the ancient warrior called Damon. The worlds of the living and the dead are about to collide, forcing Marshall to make a brave and shocking decision as the two friends navigate a perilous trail that leads to a frightening realization: Damon isn’t their only enemy.

Dawn breaks, but the nightmare only intensifies in the shocking finale of The Boy in the Iron Box. In a final confrontation, the true nature of the Boy is coming to light. In a stone chamber, the familiar young figure lingers with an unsettling calm. He has a question for Liev: Do you want to stop me? Now, for two merchants of death, each with his own purpose, one last contest lies ahead.

Sukie's been lonely since the death of her big sister, Kitty - but Kitty's ghost is still with her. At first that was comforting, but now Kitty's terrifying anyone who gets too close. Things get even weirder when Sukie moves into her family's ancestral home and an older, less familiar ghost challenges her to find a treasure. Her classmate Cole is also experiencing apparitions. Fortunately an antique broom's at hand to fly Sukie and Cole to the New York Circulating Material Repository's spooky Poe Annex.

One night, when Ethan reaches under his bed for a toy truck, he finds this note instead: “Monsters! Meet here for final test.” Ethan is sure his parents are trying to trick him into staying in bed...until he sees five colorful sets of eyes blinking at him from under the bed. Soon, a colorful parade of quirky, squeaky little monsters emerge from beneath the bed and compete to become Ethan's monster. But only the little green monster, Gabe, has the perfect blend of stomach-rumbling and snorting needed to get Ethan into bed and keep him there.

Achim is 11 years old when he moves from the orphanage to the house by the sea. Here everything is strange and new. But one day he discovers an unusual door that leads to a circular room with walls made of rough stone. The light coming through the window is hazy, as if the room is under water. It is a magic room - which he calls “The Adopted Room” - belonging to another world. And on a bed in the room sits a boy who is waiting to take Achim with him into the realm of the powerful Nameless One.

Richard Hsieh's life is about to become a total nightmare. His dad studies dreams and they hook his new Slappy doll up to the dream machine as a joke. All of a sudden, Richard's dreams are becoming scarier and scarier. Each time, seeing Slappy, his birthday present, come to life and wreak havoc. But they're only dreams, right?

On the first day of school, Artie falls out of his bed and hits his head. Hard. He tells his mom he's dizzy, and she says: "You’re just worried about your first day in a new school." On the second day of school, Artie falls out of bed and hits his head. Hard. He tells his mom he's dizzy, and she says: "You’re just worried about your first day in a new school." Huh?

This collection of spine-chilling stories is sure to scare you silly. A movie about alien invasion transforms into real life. A hunt in a snowy forest suddenly turns dangerous when a monster appears. A great-aunt comes back from the dead, just in time for a little girl's birthday party.