Dark Fantasy Short Stories

Ten-year-old Jason Meechum is a quiet boy who hides in fantasy and science-fiction books. Other kids pick on and make fun of him, but he suffers through it. That's because Jason has a secret. A secret of pain and fear. A secret he wants to tell but can't. All of that is about to change because Jason will be the recipient of something special. Something beautiful, mysterious, wondrous, and odd. Tonight, Jason will be the bearer of two secrets that will meet for the first time. Only one will survive. The outcome will determine if 10-year-old Jason will live to see age 11.

Orson Scott Card, Kevin J. Anderson, and Larry Niven have seen the future. Now you can, too. A constellation of the brightest lights in the science fiction and fantasy firmament have judged these authors to be the best, the brightest, the truest emerging stars in the field.

The battle has been fought and won, and all have been transformed by the struggle. Imago of Lockwood has become Lord Mayor of the City Imperishable, though at a price beyond his wildest imagination. Bijaz the Dwarf has been imbued with a godlike power and a responsibility he scarcely understands. And Jason the Factor, resurrected from death at the hands of his sister, the Tokhari sandwalker Kalliope, has become the sula ma-jieni na-dia, the fabled Dead Man of Winter.

O.J. Simpson in an alternate reality and blind ninjas ushering in the apocalypse are just two of the beautifully written tales in this seminal work of art, from the mind of a human being the likes of which God and the devil wholeheartedly agree upon. While drenched in comedy, Laughter's Cold Shadow takes on the darkest of subject matter: murder, rape, racism, the nuclear family, ninjas, Nazis, zombies, police brutality, drug cartels, hedonism, psychopathy, and more.

After Claudia and Ben stumble upon Dorian's secret, they are taken prisoner. Food and supplies are running low, and Dorian's ultimate goal is survival of the race - and the fittest.

Dark Ride is a collection of short fiction by one of the brightest writers in the genres of horror and dark fantasy. These stories range from the horrific to the surreal, and prove Michael Laimo to be a compelling stylist and relentless storyteller. None have been collected previously, and some are original to this volume.

Here are 23 terrifying tales, dark reflections of the silver screen from both sides of the camera. James Dean gets a second chance at life and death. The Wicked Witch is out of Oz, and she's made some very unlucky friends. When God decides reality needs an editor, what and who gets cut?

Heartbroken and recently divorced, Jennifer had lost her will to live. Ready to take her own life, she was visited by a strange leprechaun-looking man who offered to take her sorrow away. All she needs to do is swallow two black pills.

Eighteen suspenseful short stories with a twist for lovers of Twilight Zone and Black Mirror. Journey into strange worlds and meet their unusual and sometimes terrifying residents in these stories spanning suspense, horror, paranormal, science fiction, and supernatural from the dark mind of short story award-winning author Susan May.

Destinies can’t be ignored. No one knows that better than Annita. For as long as she can remember, it's been foretold she would find a dragon. A real-life dragon. She’s beginning to think it was all some kind of mistake until she’s swimming in one of the many caves around the island and discovers none other than a dragon. There is no fear as she approaches, utterly transfixed at the sight of the creature. Then he shifts into the shape of a thoroughly gorgeous man who spears her with bright blue eyes.

In April 2020, the world faced imminent lock-down, so a group of filmmakers started a virtual support group. Once a week, these diverse voices would assemble to do what they do best: tell each other stories. Campfire horror tales, emotional cosmic mysteries, and anything else that either made them take their minds off what was happening to the world, or help them understand it. HAUNTED REELS is the best of those stories.

When God descends to earth as a Dinka woman from Sudan and subsequently dies in the Darfur desert, the result is a world bizarrely new yet eerily familiar. In Ron Currie's provocative, wise, and emotionally resonant novel we meet God himself; the Dinka woman whose mortality He must suffer when He inhabits her body; people all over the world coping with the devastating news of God's demise.

Sometimes, a thread pulled through the flesh is all that holds you together. Sometimes, the blade of a knife or the point of a nail is the only way you know you're real. When pain becomes art and a quarter is buried deep within you, all you want is to be seen, to have value, to be loved. But love can be fragile, folded into an origami elephant while you disappear, carried on the musical notes that build a bridge, or woven into an illusion so real, so perfect that you can fool yourself for a little while.

Contained in this deceptively short volume are many, many little stories, largely in assorted scifi/fantasy/speculative fiction settings (and don't get us started on the Fairy Tales). They're often satirical, frequently sharp-edged, sometimes poison-tipped, and what's worse is, none of them show proper respect and reverence to Heroes, much less Goodness, Truth, and Light. This is clearly Very Bad, and you should stay far away from this book.

Stories for a Storm Filled Night, is the first book of short stories sent within the dark fantasy trilogy the Storm Series. It’s a standalone book, hence will be perfect for new listeners to the saga. It will transport them to the land of Talocants, where they will meet, werewolves, heroes, and villains.

A collection of three stories by John Kaniecki: "Heretic", "Johnny Can't Run", and "The Psychology of Lady Jane Perkins". Religion and truth battle for control in a future society underground on Earth. In the not-so-far-off future a group of Nazis have been exiled to a distant planet. An engineering student is swept away in love by one Lady Jane Perkins, but what does the young man see in this homeless psychiatric patient?

Fifteen dark tales by USA Today best-selling author J.R. Rain. "Vampire Nights": Samantha Moon meets someone unexpected on a late-night trip to Denny's, someone who seems to know all her secrets and has all the answers. "Book Burning": Two brothers find themselves on a late-night mission to burn a legendary book of supposed dark powers. "The Silo": The land is dying and crops are failing. The city of Wheatopia is in the middle of the worst drought in recent memory - that is, until a city slicker and his too-thin wife arrive in town.... Plus 12 more!

15 Dark Tales by USA Today best-selling author, J.R. Rain:

"Teeth" - What happens when a child is born with a rare throwback gene, a gene that produces two exceptionally long teeth?

This is a humorous, episodic novel of dark fantasy and science fiction, composed of the four novellas Amy and the Ankylosaurus, Helen and the Evil Elves of the Elder Gods, Sithe in the City, and Dragon vs Dinosaur. It begins when Magnus creates a device to open portals to other quantum universes so he can show his ex-girlfriend, Amy, real dinosaurs. This goes awry when Amy goes through the portal and he has to rescue her, accompanied by his fellow scientist Helen, Amy's best friend.

Submitted for your approval - Ten Tales of a Dark Tomorrow, a collection of speculative fiction inspired by the original Twilight Zone series. In the spirit of that iconic, timeless show, these mysterious and gripping narratives explore parallel worlds, faraway planets, dystopian societies, and unsettling reality.