Dark Fantasy Short Stories

Longing for the days of savage brutes, buxom wenches, and evil wizards? Look no more! Literary Rebel is proud to bring you a fresh new crop of monthly fantasy fiction by talented new authors. In the second issue: A dangerous shield maiden does battle with creatures from the deep, a barbarian is tasked with stealing a precious gemstone, and a hunter stalks epic prey.

The thing the machines consume is us. Ready to lease out your mind? Or pay for your next meal with involuntary ads? The Closet Full of Time collection contains five short stories that speak to that sinking feeling that we're serving the machines instead of the other way around. That our inventions are taking things we can’t afford to lose.

Deadwood meets Cthulhu in this wild and profane Western romp featuring zombies, werewolves, evil spirits, and one pissed-off gunslinging preacher. The Wild West has never seen the likes of the Reverend Jebidiah Mercer, a hard man wielding a burning Bible in the battle between God and the devil, in an endless struggle he's not sure he cares who wins. With its five stories laced with fast-paced action, nonstop humor, and spine-tingling horror, Deadman's Road is your ride to hell....

First you discover you might have some supernatural helpers on your lonely third shift job. And then you discover that even supernatural helpers sometimes need human assistance....

Spooky Stories to Tell in the Dark is the latest installment of tantalizing tales from S. Cary and Story Ninjas Publishing. In this book, you'll find 22 of the scariest stories to tell your friends. From Area 51 to fishing trips, this anthology has all kinds of spooky stories to make your spine tingle. What happens when a bunch of teenagers have a New Year's Eve bash on a private island? Or what about a paranormal party at Christmas?

Viking magic is real, not all knights are honorable, and ancient magic comes with a price in these incredible epic fantasy tales. Bonus: Included are 17 bonus stories not available anywhere else, bringing this collection to many hours of incredible storytelling. These tales don’t have a happy ending. Dark, gritty fantasy at its finest.

The Reaper did not speak. He did not even move, for what need did he have to chase anyone? Everyone comes to him eventually. Men, women, and gods all are consumed in his ever waiting black. Clive, sighing deeply, turned to look Death in the face. In the form he took for Clive, Death stood around seven feet tall, the hood of his monk’s cowl falling to just above the bridge of the nose, had there been a nose to speak of. Instead, there was simply a hole, a cavernous nothing, like death itself.

A fallen angel with a mean streak and a Mohawk, Hades has spent thousands of years serving as Jailor of the Underworld. The souls he guards are as evil as they come, but few dare to cross him. All of that changes when a sexy fallen angel infiltrates his prison and unintentionally starts a riot. It's easy enough to quell an uprising, but for the first time, Hades is torn between delivering justice - or bestowing mercy - on the beautiful female who could be his salvation...or his undoing.

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.

Set in a remote Norwegian fishing village during a brutal winter, this tale follows ten-year-old Klaus Eriksson as he cares for his younger brother Nils while their father is away on a dangerous voyage. When a mysterious visitor arrives on Christmas Eve during the worst storm anyone can remember, Klaus must confront both ancient folklore and the true meaning of love and sacrifice. A haunting exploration of Christmas that delves beyond traditional holiday cheer to examine the deeper themes of family, responsibility, and what it truly means to be good.

An incubus disguised as a high school girl puts a disturbing spin on the teacher/student fantasy. An engineer creates a robot with unexpected consequences during the end of the world. A man becomes the pet of alien invaders. From stories of aliens in other worlds to those living among us, these tales will move you out of your comfort zone and open you up to experiencing something - or someone - completely different.

In number-one New York Times best-selling author Charlaine Harris’s "Dahlia Underground,” venerable vampire Dahlia Lynley-Chivers survives an attack by an anti-vampire terrorist group, only to show them they tried to blow up the wrong bloodsucker. Bailey Ruth Raeburn, a ghost assigned to assist humans in trouble, steps into the middle of a marital dispute with surprising twists in Carolyn Hart’s “Riding High”....

Beyond the veil of the known universe, in the silent corridors of abandoned ships and forgotten cities, something stirs. Echoes of the Forgotten gathers six haunting tales of cosmic dread, temporal paradoxes, and human frailty—a collection where the familiar becomes terrifying, and the past refuses to stay buried. A hollow captain lures an unsuspecting crew into a trap set by something unseen. On the Moon’s barren surface, scientists hear their own voices foretelling doom.

From Jay Bonansinga, author of The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury and The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor, comes a collection of short stories and novellas that span a number of genres.

I've tracked down ten authors who have, at some point, participated in the act of cannibalism. I've collected one short story from each writer and combined them here for your amusement and observation. Isaac Cone presents “Margaritaville”, Jimmy Buffet’s hit song reinterpreted as a southern gothic. Sandeyu Yamamoto writes “Antiquing” about a family with a rare type of OCD where they haunt the object they most obsessed over.

A collection of eight horror stories created by New York Times best-selling novelist Scott Sigler, author of horror/thrillers Infected, Contagious, Ancestor, Nocturnal and the young-adult Galactic Football League series.

New to Castle Blackbourne, a pretty young housemaid is drawn to the dark and handsome master of the house, but a dalliance with the Earl of Blackbourne would be unwise…for a reason most deadly.

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.

In a world of criminals, thugs, con artists, cheats, and swindlers, there must be a man to stand against the powers of darkness and corruption. A man not afraid to walk the mean streets—whether they be those of 1930s Los Angeles, an ancient fantasy realm, or some far-flung planet of a future star empire. He is a man who knows that a “good man” is not always a “nice guy”. But when the chips are down, he understands that a hero does the right thing, even if it means losing everything.

"Dancers in the Dark" is set in the Sookieverse and features Sean and Layla. Dancer Layla Rue Le May's childhood prepared her to handle just about anything, including her aloof partner, Sean McClendon, a 300-year-old, redheaded vampire. Even so, when she somehow acquires a stalker, Layla Rue is surprised to find that Sean is the only one she can trust.