Monster Horror

The Year of the Monster begins with a case-study look at the Hollywood dream—proxy for the American Dream—and then weaves the woes of celebrity fetish and media culture into real and speculative conversations about the human, climate, and spiritual crises of today. Mixing traditional storytelling with purposeful experimentation, Stillions Whitehead balances prose, script, and hybrids on the fulcrum of classic truth: Monsters and monstrosity are not strictly teratological horrors.

Having selflessly abandoned their identities, their pasts and their futures, the Monster Aces are all that stand between humanity and the fell creatures that lurk in the shadows. Four men and one woman use their amazing abilities as a team to scour the globe for monsters and bring an end to their unholy existence - whatever the danger, whatever the cost. Through five thrilling tales crafted by some of heroic fiction's most engaging authors you will ride alongside the Aces on the trail of monsters both classic and new.

Nathan used to be terrified of Krazyland when he was a young kid. Now that he's 12, the spooky-themed arcade games aren't that bad. He even enjoys stomping on plastic spiders and battling a creepy doll with big plastic eyes.

The real monsters are men. London 1888, and Jack the Ripper is terrorizing the people of the city. Evelyn, a young woman disfigured by her dangerous work in a matchstick factory, with nowhere to go, does not know what to make of her new position as a maid to the Elephant Man in London Hospital. Evelyn wanted to be locked away from the world like he is, shut away from the filth and dangers of the streets. But in Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man, she finds a gentle kindred who does not recoil from her and who understands her pain.

For as long as she can remember, Sara Hansen dreamed of living in paradise. Sinking her family’s savings into the Pirate Cove resort, Sara and her husband relocate to the beautiful island of Sainte Isabel. But shadows cloud the island’s pristine shores. And Sara quickly finds herself plunged into a legacy of evil and bloodshed. A legend of a sinister death ship with a brutal captain - and an unholy fleet of ghostly pirate vessels - plague the tropical island.

Marjorie Bowen (1885-1952) was a prolific author of some 150 books and counted Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Twain, and Graham Greene among her many admirers. Her most enduring work is her tales of the ghostly and supernatural, her favorites of which she collected in 1949 under the title The Bishop of Hell and Other Stories.

In Kara Barbieri's Goblin King, the stunning sequel in the Permafrost series which began with White Stag, Janneke must find how far she's willing to go to save her world from destruction--even if it means sacrificing everything she's fought for. The Hunt is over but the War has just begun...

Six months have passed since the chaos in Woodhaven, and though Jack Jupiter escaped, he couldn't stop the virus from ravaging the globe, nor could he stop the billions from turning into undead creatures that feast upon the living. Now, society is on its knees. And Jack's group continues on, traveling from city to city, looking for a place to call home. That place might be Eden, a mysterious and guarded safe haven somewhere in Florida. But to get there, they'll have to remember not all monsters are zombies...sometimes they're human.

Years ago, when Micah Jordan-Wells was born, a rift was created between two worlds. Today, Micah is a detective in New Jersey, a local hero for bringing the merciless killer Silky to justice. But Micah's world is about to be turned inside out by a monster from another dimension, one with whom Micah shares a terrifying link.

Dieter Harmon stared in shock at the sight of the hiker's corpse, the head hanging only by a tangled ribbon of flesh. But what horrified him were claw marks on the victim's chest. Something has gone terribly wrong with the government's plan to return wolves to Yellowstone.

Mind-bending science fiction. Nightmare-inducing horror. Shocking psychotic crime-noir. Inside are 16 tales by Joe Prosit, short story author extraordinaire, each crafted to tantalize and terrorize, and selected from dozens of magazines and podcasts into this definitive collection. Listen and go on a journey into the furthest reaches of the human experience, from the pinnacle of progress to the blackest pit of insanity.

Can a village be inherently evil? Welcome to Brunswick, New York, population 4,941. On the surface, this sleepy hamlet comes alive in the autumn with picturesque apple orchards, haunted corn mazes, laden pumpkin patches, and holiday hay rides. During a snowy Halloween, a young William Willowsby must battle evil forces that have been shielded by the locals for generations. On the outskirts of the town is the abandoned Forest Park Cemetery. All things wicked seem to revolve around the old graveyard. A rarely seen homunculus serves an evil task master. Together, they weave a wicked web.

Unwilling to stand around and wait while Eva's been taken over by one of the Despairity, Frost works tirelessly with Beau and Leo to figure out how to free her sister. Leo shows Frost memories of The Before, and Beau admits to a chilling connection with the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. And when Alora reveals her sinister plan - to build an unconquerable army of Blurred Ones by placing them inside the perfect hosts - the girls and their friends must fight to protect not just Bloodcreek, but all of the world.

Eva and Frost are pretty stoked about their blooming hunting skills. But when they finally meet Raylan’s sister, Tess, after a witch-doctor hunt in New Orleans, the group dynamic gets rather awkward. Tess wants to kill Knox straight up dead. As in, drag him up from the bottom of the old mine shaft and use Tess’ favorite snake from the Louisiana bayou to finish the job. Eva loves the idea of bonding with Tess and being extra sure that Knox will never come back to harm them. But Maggie ain’t thrilled at the idea, and Frost is a little distracted by her new cowboy boy-toy.

As the largest threat ever to rise against mankind prepares its own twisted Apocalypse, the only thing standing in its way is the Monster Squads. Man and monster will fight side by side in an epic battle to the death to try to defeat an evil so great, it could only have been created by God himself.

No one will tell Eva and Frost the truth about the Blurred Ones. Not their hunter friend, and definitely not the parentals. Maybe it’s because Frost spent time in a psychiatric ward and Eva never ceases to think with her hormones. So, when the girls see an opportunity to meet Albert Knox, the most infamous Blurred One of all, they lie about their true plans and head out on their field trip to San Antonio. Eva thinks she can use her feminine wiles to woo Knox, but he has a couple more minions than they thought - and she ends up getting tossed through the window.

The eccentric Professor Marcus Mortlake seems like an unlikely candidate to battle the supernatural. Despite his scruffy exterior, this paranormal investigator has faced deathly horrors and risked his life countless times to defend humanity.

From the dark, haunted cave comes a man's plea. He’s a stuck climber in a hidden chamber inside the mountain. But as we travel to his rescue, things continue to deteriorate. Sick, hurt, and now deep underground, my worst nightmare is finally here. I’m trapped, with the dead lurking everywhere. Who can save me from ghosts? Who can heal my broken body? Who can make me never be defenseless again? Something in the dark can. Something inhuman. Something that wants to live in me, corrupting who I am. And if I want to survive, I have to let this monster live in my body.

During a deep-sea exploration, the vessel mysteriously lost control and was wrecked upon impact. As the crew attempted to escape, they were startled by the sight of a gigantic eye.

A ruthless killer shows a real hunger for fame. Struggling through the wilderness, an infected man tries to lead zombies away from his family. Hell hath no fury like a woman murdered. Civil War soldiers discover the secrets of a Southern swamp. Can Christmas magic survive the zombie apocalypse? A ship of the dead hunts the living on the high seas. Dinner in a diner takes on divine import. A 200-year-old vampire has a little surprise waiting for his next victim.