Small Horrors

In 1944, Oakwood's town council is desperate to save their young men from being lost to the devastation of the far-reaching effects of WWII, and as such make the unconscionable decision to make an evil deal with an agent of the devil in order to protect their own children, town's citizens and peaceful way of life. Little does journalism student Jim Norton know that his decision to write an article on the town, that seems to have been able to have escaped the pitfalls of progress for his school paper in 1984, will lead him down the treacherous rabbit hole that might end with his demise.

From the Bram Stoker Award-winning publisher Crystal Lake Publishing comes the fiction series, Still Water Bay. In the first episode, “The Guild”, we meet Asadi and his pregnant wife, Taqiya, a couple who have just moved to the small Georgia town of Still Water, on the edge of Still Water Bay. Asadi has joined a group for those suffering from grief to discuss the violent nightmares associated with his past. What he doesn’t know is that Still Water Bay is a haven for monsters, and they’re about to make his worst nightmare come true.

This lovely and nevertheless rather spooky tale by Nikolai Gogol is rooted in Ukrainian lore. It starts quite ordinary - a young man is in love with a beautiful young girl, but other people and unforeseen circumstances stand in the way of their happiness. Quite unexpectedly, our young hero receives an offer of help from a very unlikely source.

In this short story, Zeke had enough of big city life, but something has followed him to the backwoods. Every predator, natural or unnatural, gets only one chance to learn how dangerous it is to push a country boy in the corner.

Why would flesh-eating monsters leave a body untouched? The answer lies at Storm Lake, and it might cost Protector Rachel Needham her life... Twelve years ago thirteen-year-old Rachel Needham lost her mother to the claws and fangs of the grendels, Storm Lake’s monsters. Now, Rachel leads teams of protectors into the forests to eradicate the scourge that has spread around the world. Then an old friend, now a reporter, comes to her with a request: help him uncover the creatures’ origins. Rachel agrees to take the mission and brings her team along. They enter the forests around Storm Lake,...

Back in the summer of 1988, a young Richard Chizmar was catapulted into the centre of a living nightmare as the serial killer Joshua Gallagher - dubbed by the media as 'The Boogeyman' - stalked his tranquil Maryland town. These days, Chizmar enjoys a certain level of notoriety himself as he is the only person to whom Josh Gallagher will talk, on or off the record. Chizmar likes to visit Gallagher in prison but when a masked figure leaves a horrifying calling card in the front of his home, Chizmar finds there is a price for dancing with the devil.

In the forgotten town of Black Hollow, nestled in the shadows of the Appalachian hills, the past lingers like a bitter chill. Children have vanished for decades, sucked up by the earth and its dark secrets. The townsfolk whisper of a malevolent force, an entity buried deep beneath the crumbling landscape, waiting for the right moment to resurface. The summer of 1978 was hotter than anyone could remember. When three prisoners make a desperate escape from the local penitentiary cemetery, chaos erupts in the already beleaguered town. As Sheriff Thomas leads the frantic search, one of the ...

Welcome to Pearl, a town obsessed with Halloween: the spooky decorations, the costumes, the candy. No one seems to notice that every October 31st, a kid goes missing. Mason Miller does, though. Somehow he’s the only one who has any memory the person existed at all. When Mason’s sister, Meg, vanishes while they’re trick-or-treating, Mason and his friends are pulled into an underworld where monsters roam the streets. They need to fight the evil taking over Pearl, but none of them know the true danger they're facing.

Five years ago, the demon Azazel tricked Ben Spencer into giving him possession of his body. After countless frustrating and heartbreaking dead ends, Ben’s family and his girlfriend Katy Ruskin have finally located him. Will their daring rescue attempt work, and will they be able to free Ben from the demon? And with Ben free, is everything truly over…or is it only just beginning? A Pattern of Shadows brings the Small Things trilogy to a stunning conclusion that pits Ben and Katy and their families against the very forces of heaven and hell itself.

Due to an error made by Li, the Guild is split while on a monster hunt. Jonathan and Sam wind up at the Guild's cemetery, while Asadi and John make their way back to the library. Here they learn the true identity of the monsters and what they need to trap them. Unfortunately for John, the materials can only be found at the bait shop owned by his estranged wife, Gladys.

When Maeve Calloway and her friends enter the Gravenfield Maze Challenge seeking the $50,000 prize after losing everything in an apartment fire, they think their luck is finally changing. They couldn’t be more wrong. Deep in rural Nebraska, the town of Gravenfield harbors a dark secret—its legendary corn maze isn’t just difficult, it’s deadly. The rules seem simple: find golden kernels, rack up points, and survive three days to claim the prize. Easy peasy, right? As her friends succumb one by one to the maze’s horrors, Maeve struggles to keep the survivors together—including her...

Ghost hunters, an exorcism, and a ghostly grey tabby Mad River welcomes a pair of ghost hunters and their television show to town only for a murder to occur as the cameras were rolling. Now Shelby's ghost friends are being accused of the dirty deed and the good reverend is calling for an exorcism. Can Shelby find the killer before the pastor exorcises her spirit friends away from the only homes and town they've ever known? Find out in the Mad River Mystery Series.

Haunted by the loss of his wife and his best hunting dog, hunter Jari tries to stem the flow of alcohol and grief that threatens to destroy his life. As the darkness and isolation of winter settles around his small hunting community in remote Finland, it brings with it another threat. The encroachment and growing boldness of a pack of wolves endangers the villagers’ way of life. The presence of the wolves opens old feuds and cracks within the community’s makeup. As Jari tries to lead the villagers through their toughest season, it soon becomes clear that not everyone will survive the winter.

NOT ANOTHER SICK DAY. Caitlyn thought it would be just another day at the office, until casual Friday turns into a quarantine that leaves her trapped in the office with her professional nemesis and two colleagues. Intense questioning from the health department turns up more questions than answers, and they are discouraged to speculate. With nothing to do but work, Caitlyn digs in her paperwork, and finds herself caught in the mystery of tangled paperwork that points to mishandling of funds and sneaky activity at their highest ranks. The suspense runs through the office as they dig up hints ...

A Haunted Village, Rattling Chains and Ominous Moans Eden Patterson and her ghost team are called to investigate disturbances in a small town filled with craft shops, antiques, and a rich history. Rattling chains, yelling and moaning are causing the town's shopkeepers nightmares as tourists and customers turn tail and run. But are these disturbances evil, angry or sad? Find out as Eden faces a spirit unlike any she has before.

It isn’t just a wrong number. It’s her own. And it’s calling at exactly 3:28 AM. Every night. When Terri Reeves moves to the picturesque town of Pinecrest, she expects quaint shops and quiet streets—not her dead ex-boyfriend knocking on her door or calls from her own phone number in the dead of night. Unbeknownst to Terri, Pinecrest’s charming facade hides an ancient occultic pattern—one traced directly to Terri’s apartment and the middle of the night calls. “Don’t answer,” warns the local parapsychologist. “Don’t engage.” But the calls keep coming… and the texts...

On a 10-year mission to avenge the brutal sacrifice of her man by Stargut, the local sheriff, himself on a mission to create the perfect man-beast, Lovey, abandoned by her spellbound friend Patty, is joined by a stranger. Tom is a preacher of sorts who has followed the scent of evil for a hundred years. He mysteriously appears in the village of Wrong, a rural Midwestern town, its mutant inhabitants mere creations of the devil lawman. Together, the three converge under the moon into the wood down by the river at the doorsteps of hell.

Fredrik Welin is a 70-year-old retired doctor. Years ago he retreated to the Swedish archipelago where he lives alone on an island. He swims in the sea every day, cutting a hole in the ice if necessary. He lives a quiet life. Until he wakes up one night to find his house on fire. Fredrik escapes just in time, wearing two left-footed wellies, as neighbouring islanders arrive to help douse the flames. All that remains in the morning is a stinking ruin and evidence of arson.

On Christmas Day in 1893, every man, woman, and child in a remote mining town disappeared, belongings forsaken, meals left to freeze in vacant cabins, and not a single bone found. Now, journalist Abigail Foster and her historian father have set out to explore the long-abandoned town and learn what happened. With them are two backcountry guides - along with a psychic and a paranormal photographer who are there to investigate rumors that the town is haunted.

One night, Annie went missing. Disappeared from her own bed. There were searches, appeals. Everyone thought the worst. And then, miraculously, after 48 hours, she came back. Though she couldn't, or wouldn't, say what had happened to her. But something happened to my sister. I can't explain what. I just know that when she came back, she wasn't the same. She wasn't my Annie. I didn't want to admit, even to myself, that sometimes I was scared to death of my own little sister.