Horror Thriller

They are not human. They are not natural. They are not friendly. At a research station in Antarctica, five of the world's top scientists have been brought together to solve one of the greatest mysteries in human history. Their subject, however, is anything but human. Deep beneath the ice, the submerged ruins of a lost civilization hold the key to the strange mutations that each scientist has encountered across the globe. When a series of sound waves trigger the ancient organisms, a new kind of evolution begins. A long-extinct life form is reborn.

For over three decades, Ellen Datlow has been at the center of horror. Bringing you the most frightening and terrifying stories, Datlow always has her finger on the pulse of what horror listeners crave. Now, with the eighth volume of the series, Datlow is back again to bring you the stories that will keep you up at night. Encompassed in the audio of The Best Horror of the Year have been such illustrious writers as: Neil Gaiman; Kelley Armstrong; Stephen King; Linda Nagata; Laird Barron; Margo Lanagan; and many others.

When Jack’s car breaks down in the middle of a cross-country road trip, the mysterious house at the top of the hill is a beacon of hope. If he can borrow a phone to call for help, he’ll be on his way in no time. But someone - or something - has other plans. Soon, Jack finds himself trapped in a nightmare that defies logic, where a depraved killer on the loose is the least of his problems. Will Jack escape before it’s too late?

Childhood sweethearts Nicole and Tom are a normal, loving couple—until a massive lottery win changes their lives overnight. Soon they’ve moved into a custom-built state-of-the-art Glass Barn on the stunning grounds of Lancaut Manor in Gloucestershire. They have fancy cars, expensive hobbies, and an exclusive lifestyle they never could have imagined. But this dream world quickly turns into a nightmare when Tom is found dead in the swimming pool. Was Tom’s death a tragic accident, or was it something worse?

Eight years ago, Brynn Donovan watched her father kill her mother. He’s supposed to be in prison—but he’s escaped. And he’s coming for her. What should be an ordinary evening after work turns deadly when Brynn’s estranged father, Alan, ambushes her and forces her into his car. It’s the start of the road trip from hell: a cross-country trek to the Rocky Mountains and the remote shelter Alan built years ago to protect his family from the monsters living in his head—the ones he swears will erupt from the earth at any moment.

On winter solstice, the birds disappeared, and the mist arrived. The inhabitants of Nebulah quickly learn not to venture out after dark. But it is hard to stay indoors: Cabin fever sets in, and the mist can be beguiling too. Eventually only six remain. Like the rest of the townspeople, Pete has nowhere else to go. After he rescues a stranded psychic from a terrible fate, he’s given a warning: He will be dead by solstice unless he leaves town - soon.

Ryan and Sophie are a golden couple in Melbourne, the charming, salt-of-the-earth country boy and the charismatic, gorgeous social butterfly. When Ryan’s father dies, leaving them the family farm, it seems like a chance for Ryan to get back to his roots and for Sophie to embrace the bucolic country life she always dreamed of. But reality proves very different, and years spent struggling against an implacable drought have pushed their marriage – and finances – to the absolute limit.

Five haunting tales from Benedict Ashforth, the best-selling author of Abbot's Keep.

Du jour au lendemain, la fortune de monsieur Bennet s’écroule. Le train de vie outrageusement luxueux mené par sa femme et ses cinq filles oisives ne tient plus. C’est la banqueroute alors que la compagnie des Bennet est rachetée par la multinationale Pemberley, gérée d’une main de fer par la terrible Catherine de Bourgh. Les jeunes femmes Bennet doivent dorénavant lutter pour leur survie. Mais une question perdure : quelle est la véritable cause de leur déchéance ? Dans cette descente aux enfers, Elizabeth Bennet se trouve entraînée vers Pemberley et son envoûtant héritier, monsieur Darcy.

Suse, Tim und Tochter Maja beziehen ein kleines Fachwerkhaus im Schwarzwald und leben den Traum vom Eigenheim. Doch wenn der Regen fällt und alles schläft, ergreift ein Geist aus vergangener Zeit die Macht über ein Mitglied der Familie und verlangt nach Rache.

In the near future, when America has become a police state, 100 boys are selected to enter an annual contest where the winner will be awarded whatever he wants for the rest of his life. Among them is 16-year-old Ray Garraty, and he knows the rules - keep a steady walking pace of four miles per hour without stopping. Three warnings and you're out - permanently.

Black Hollow is a town with a dark secret. For centuries, residents have foretold the return of the Dreamwalker - an ominous figure from local folklore said to lure young women into the woods and possess them. Yet the boundary between fact and fable is blurred by a troubling statistic: Occasionally, women do go missing. And after they return, they almost always end up dead.

Meet the the Immortal Doc Holliday. Over a hundred years ago, notorious gambler Doc Holliday chose immortality over death, not knowing the price, but damned if it hasn’t been fun. Partying, playing, killing; yes, eternal life has been good. But now, Doc must repay his debt by saving Sofia, the last descendant of the beautiful shaman who granted him immortality.

The ghosts haunting Alison Kerby's Jersey Shore guesthouse are sad. Maxie wants to know who murdered her ex-husband, and Paul pines for his still-living almost-fiancee. The only one who isn't missing her ex is Alison-because The Swine just arrived on her doorstep...

Doc may have made a terrible mistake toying with one of the most powerful witches in existence, and it’s not Abigail Jury! Edgar Achaean and his remaining Acolytes are far from finished, and if Doc can’t derail their plans ASAP, all his efforts thus far won’t mean a damn thing. In the face of annihilation, playing by the rules is not an option. Fortunately, Doc has never been one for playing by the rules. Unfortunately, some rules were never meant to be broken...

Across the world, the United States recalls troops to combat civil unrest after the biggest economic meltdown in history. Marine Sergeant Ronaldo Salvatore’s platoon comes home to a powder keg that could ignite a civil war. While some see the coming collapse as the end, others see opportunity. Fleeing Naples after rival crime lords decimated his family, Don Antonio Moretti settles in Los Angeles to rebuild his criminal empire. But he is far from alone in his ambitions.

People said that he was possessed, that the Vexley spirits had taken him over, or that he had become something quite different. But he kept going, thinking he was close to getting the truth. The book informed him about veils and worlds and the Umbral Fold, a place that only a few people can see. There, it stated, was the reality about life, where nightmares come from, and the people who make everyone feel hopeless. Lionel thought he could enter this realm and come back with knowledge that would last forever via a ritual called the Midnight Gate.

Young widow Penelope Thornton-McClure and her old Aunt Sadie are making ends meet by managing a mystery book shop - a quaint Rhode Island landmark rumored to be haunted. Pen may not believe in ghosts, but she does believe in good publicity - like nabbing Timothy Brennan for a book signing. But soon after the bestselling thriller writer reveals a secret about the store's link to a 1940s murder, he keels over dead - and right in the middle of the store's new community events space. Who gives Mrs. McClure the first clue that it was murder?

Fleeing from a traumatic break-in, Londoners Paul and Tricia Feenan sell up to escape to the isolated Holiwell village where Tricia has inherited a property. Scattered throughout the settlement are centuries-old stones used during the Great Plague as boundary markers. No plague-sufferer was permitted to pass them and enter the village. The plague diminished, and the village survived unscathed, but since then each year the village trustees have insisted on an ancient ceremony to renew the village boundaries.

Now reduced to a schoolyard chant, the Hope family murders shocked the Maine coast one bloody night in 1929. While most people assume seventeen-year-old Lenora was responsible, the police were never able to prove it. Other than her denial after the killings, she has never spoken publicly about that night, nor has she set foot outside Hope’s End, the cliffside mansion where the massacre occurred.