Monster Fiction

Beast. Creature. Monster. Dangerous. All of these things have been said about Gren. Willa doesn't believe it, though. She knows that monsters can sometimes come in appealing packages. She knows that for all of his snarls and fearsome appearance, he'd never hurt her. And she knows she has to get Gren away from the Icehome camp, because no one will ever see him as a person, not when he attacks all who come close. Not when he's tied and treated like an animal.

This issue of Weird Tales presents a variety of stories, essays, and poems about cryptids and urban legends. Not to dispel, but to reveal.

By the time the agoraphobic, unhinged, and musically gifted Grayson James came crashing into my life, I was deeply infatuated with his elder sibling. But that didn't stop him from ruining everything. He stole something that wasn't his to have. Something I hadn't known I was giving him. After realizing he was unsatisfied with that little taste, he wanted more—wanted me. Now, he's asked me to keep him company while he hides out in his family's rustic mountainside estate. Blackmailed me, really. Unfortunately, I need the money, the escape. It's not like I have much of a choice.

A follow-up to the explosive showdown of Godzilla vs. Kong. This time the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla face a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence—and our own. The latest epic will delve further into the histories of these Titans, their origins and the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond, while uncovering the mythic battle that helped forge these extraordinary beings and tied them to humankind forever.

My labyrinth is dying. For my kingdom to survive, I must convince my fated mate to invoke the most ancient of magics—the carnal kind. Too bad my mate's a human who didn't know monsters existed until she saw me.

Now that monsters have overrun the Earth, humans are no more than slaves, but for some, they are more than that. They are breeding stock. Will they be purchased as mere a means to an end? Or will they be claimed as mates for the lonely creatures who claim them? In this collection, you’ll find a dragon-like man who will claim his human in every way, binding her to him, making her his mate and the mother of his baby. A horned monster will take a human female and make her his.

Beauty is sailing the ocean when pirates attack and her dad is thrown overboard. Just as he sinks beneath the waves, something horrible rises - a kraken! Without hesitation, Beauty makes a deal to become the giant squid's prisoner if it rescues her dad. But as Beauty explores the island she's now marooned on, the girl discovers secret treasure that may hold the key to saving herself...and the sea beast.

Now reimagined in audio, the world of KINGDOM COME, originally published to critical acclaim by DC Comics in 1996 as a four-issue comic book series, comes alive in a dynamic production featuring a full cast, sound effects, and music. In the near-future world of KINGDOM COME, superheroes are...

Josh yearns for a smidge of peace and quiet, but Mythelore has other ideas. Cassandra must learn to control her magic before she accidentally casts a world ending spell, and there is only one person who can help her. They must travel to the Elven land of Alianthia to seek out the old harmonic Simmalion—a handy coincidence as that is where the healer, Vella, comes from.

Nath Dragon—the fiery son of the Dragon King—is a legend in the making. With a heart full of justice and a temper that scorches mountains, he roams the realm slaying dragon poachers, crushing slavers, and searching for redemption. But when his wrath gets the better of him, he’s cursed by the gods and cast into a world teetering on the edge of ruin.

Do you know that the ancient Egyptians believed that people were made out of clay by their river god? For eons, the wisdom cultivated by the Egyptian people has been extolled time and time again. These timeless myths are fountains of insight and, many would argue, beacons of light that can shatter the darkness of ignorance. For those of you that are ready and willing to receive these ancient messages, your time has come. All you need to do is start listening. Then the wisdom of Thoth will begin to stir inside you.

For the past century, I have served, defending my crops in solitude, baring my scythe as an omen. But when the crops aren't seeded, I find myself standing over a field of dirt and weeds. It is her fault. The female who has inherited the farm. She might be the new queen of these lands, but in her wake, she brings only ruin. So, I will scare her away. I will claim these fields, and she will learn to fear me! Until one evening, she is attacked by the crows. She cowers behind me for protection, begging them to spare her life.

Betrayed by goblins, attacked by ogres, vampires and the undead, they survived everything the Hangsane mountains could throw at them. But can Josh and his Misfits go all the way? Can they defeat the dread Grillons that followed him through spacetime? Will they fall at the last hurdle? And what is Vella’s true purpose?

"I found her in the dark, and that’s where I’ll claim her so she can’t run." My heat is coming, and nothing will stop it. They killed my father, and now there’s no one to protect me, so I run. A cave in the mountains is the safest place I can find, but I am not alone. Is a real monster any worse than the ones that murdered my father to take me for themselves? ***This is a short romance featuring a human omega and a monstrous alpha. It was previously released as part of the Monsters After Dark anthology. ***

In the Clandoms, everyone is born with wings, though not all the clans are treated equally. Ellie Meadows longed to become a Goldwing—the knights who protect the people -- but because she came from the humble Sparrow Clan, her dream faced almost insurmountable resistance. Nox Hatcher has it even worse. Nox is a Crow, a shattered clan. They can't own businesses or run organizations, all due to a mistake made hundreds of years ago. Nox has had to steal and scrape just to survive, but a single goal has kept him going, even when it felt like all the Clandoms were against him.

It seemed like a smart move, parking my food truck in front of a bunch of hungry firefighters. I had no idea these beastly hunks were from the Monster Unit. Or that Lucian, the fire chief, was a hellhound who would set my soul ablaze with one sultry look. Good thing he has a big fire hose… Still, falling for a demon from the underworld is the last thing I need right now.

After hearing about a dragon ranch and monster haven out in Wyoming, I set off on a road trip with my roommates and two goals: pet a dragon and live out my cowboy riding fantasy. There's just one problem: Hopper Meadows, the monstrous owner of the Jackalope Ranch. He's got a chip on his shoulder the size of Texas and seems to have it out for me in particular. Sparks fly the moment we meet, and not the good kind.

My life is a country song. I lost my abuela, my wife, my house, and my religion. After helping my two best friends find love, I'm broke, out of shape, and lonelier than ever. Until I find an injured winged monster in the church basement I'm remodeling. He's the most beautiful creature I've ever seen. Hurt and alone, he needs my help to find his missing halo. He also seems to think I'm destined to be his mate.

When Whitley Whitt becomes the chef at Castle Tepesh, she wants nothing more than to get the funds to buy back her grandmother's bakery and return to living her best life, reading romance and baking cupcakes. But the castle gets creepier day by day, and she thinks Connor O'Doyle is the biggest bosshole to ever live.

Lawless, British Columbia is on edge after a powerful earthquake jolts the region, quickly followed by a string of savage animal attacks. Newly stationed to the area after her predecessor mysteriously disappears, Conservation Officer Christine Moon needs to calm the jangled nerves of the small mountain town. Awakened from ancient slumber, something stalks the swirling, grey mists that surround Lawless. A beast with a gnawing hunger that grows stronger by the minute - its only thought, to satisfy its ravenous appetite.