Occult Fiction

Go into Hell, the hot demons said. It’ll be no big deal, they said. I was only supposed to walk through a Hellish Ring or two so we could find out my demonic origin. Easy peasy, Right? Wrong. Now I’m alone, locked up in some freak’s dungeon, and mourning the loss of my demons. Could they have done the impossible and survived the attack? Can they find me here? I don’t even know where here is. And...why the hell do I have wings? I don’t have time for this shit. I need to figure out what I am, where I am, and how to get out of here.

A chilling anthology in tribute to the genius of Shirley Jackson. Shirley Jackson is a seminal writer of horror and mystery fiction, whose legacy resonates globally today. Chilling, human, poignant, and strange, her stories have inspired a generation of writers and listeners. This anthology, edited by legendary horror editor Ellen Datlow, brings together today’s leading horror writers to offer their own personal tribute to the work of Shirley Jackson.

Emily Croy Barker’s riveting debut novel is a must-read for fans of Lev Grossman and Deborah Harkness. The Thinking Woman’s Guide to Real Magic follows grad student Nora Fischer as she stumbles through a portal into a magical world. Having been transformed from drab to beautiful, Nora finds herself surrounded by glamorous friends. Life seems perfect. But then things take a terrible turn, and Nora must learn magic from a reclusive ally if she is to have any hope of survival...

Chris and Tanya have been assigned as Coven Rovers, travelling the country and troubleshooting the supernatural community. It's a job that's part cop and part auditor, one that should be long periods of boredom mixed with small parts of action. But this is Chris and Tanya, so a sudden assignment to check on a rogue vampire leads to a run-in with a hostile master vampire, a hit squad, monsters straight out of Native American folklore, black ops teams, and, worst of all, vampire politics.

A Dweller on Two Planets or The Dividing of the Way, a book by Frederick Spencer Oliver, was published in 1905. In the introduction, Oliver claims that the work had been channeled through him by means of automatic writing, visions, and mental dictations by a spirit called Phylos the Thibetan. The book provides a first person account of Atlantean society which had reached a high level of technological and scientific advancement.

The police are convinced that Julia Ransom was guilty of the brutal murder of her husband, renowned psychic August Ransom. But after six months of investigation and media frenzy, she is free of their scrutiny, because of the lack of evidence. One afternoon she walks from her Pacific Heights home to Fisherman's Wharf, alone, unwatched - and, she realizes, happy. But not for long.

Born and raised in rural Alabama, Billy Creekmore was destined to be a psychic. His mother, a Choctaw Indian schooled in her tribe's ancient mysticism, understands the permeable barrier between life and death - and can cross it. She taught the power to Billy, and now he helps the dead rest in peace.

When Cassie's twin sister, Lissa, commits suicide, Cassie discovers she can travel to Hell to retrieve her sister's soul. Cassie thought she knew all about the Hell of legend, but finds Hell has evolved over the millennia into a bustling city full of the damned with looming skyscrapers, crowded streets, systemized evil, and atrocity as the status quo.

When occult enthusiast Sir Giles Tumulty comes into possession of a stone known as the Crown of Solomon, he is amazed at its startling powers. It can replicate itself infinitely, and can transport its holder to any place or time. Sir Giles and his nephew Reginald, an opportunistic businessman, conspire to exploit their new treasure. Seeking to enlist honest Lord Arglay in their plans, Arglay quickly realizes what is at stake. Unlimited power should not fall into the wrong hands...and it already had....

As the daughter of Dracula, you would think I’d be born the perfect monster. You couldn’t be more wrong. As far as monsters go, I’m a screw up—if I’m not tripping over my own feet, I’m accidentally murdering someone (it’s a real issue, guys). Left with no choice, Dad decides to send me to Prodigium—otherwise known as Monster Academy—to train me on how to be a better monster. When bodies turn up on campus, I’m the prime suspect (not that I can blame them).

With power comes a price, and the Devil has come to collect on an ancestral deal. David's days are numbered, and death looms at his door. Reluctantly, he reaches out to the only person he's ever trusted, his ex-boyfriend and secret society rival Rhys, for help. However, the only way to get to Rhys is through his wife, Moira. Thrust into each other's care, emotions once buried deep resurface, and the trio race to figure out their feelings for one another before the Devil steals David away for good . . .

Four girls lost in the big, bad woods. Four girls hunted by primeval monsters. Four girls trapped in a deadly, ancient ritual of sacrifice. To stay alive until dawn will mean using every scrap of instinct and skill they possess. Civilization no longer exists for them. They must become just as bloodthirsty and predatory as the creatures that stalk them.

Dorian Lake spent years cornering the Baltimore hex-crafting market, using his skills at the hermetic arts to exact karmic justice for those whom the system has failed. He keeps his magic clean and free of soul-corrupting Netherwork, thus avoiding both the karmic blow-back of his practice and the notice of the Presidium, a powerful cabal of practitioners that polices the esoteric arts in America.

Victor Bayne, the psychic half a PsyCop team, is a gay medium who's more concerned with flying under the radar than in making waves. He hooks up with handsome Jacob Marks, a non-psychic (or "Stiff") from an adjacent precinct at his ex-partner's retirement party, and it seems like his dubious luck has taken a turn for the better. But then a serial killer surfaces who can change his appearance to match any witness' idea of the world's hottest guy.

The legend of the werewolf is as old as man himself. From Ed and Lorraine Warren, the world's most famous demonologists, comes perhaps their most incredible and horrifying case: the true story of William Ramsey, whose bizarre seizures terrified the English town of Southend-on-Sea. Believing Ramsey to be a victim of demonic possession, the Warrens arranged for the rite of exorcism to be performed.

When a chance invitation to a magical ball revives Lina’s spirit, but none of her memories, she’s left with more questions than answers. Lucky for her, she was also left with someone determined to help her uncover them. With her Guardian, Nord, at her side Lina begins her search, but neither of them expected that the dangers of her past would resurface and threaten her future. A future she finds herself hoping will include the Viking-like man who makes her heart race.

If it wasn't for Diggory Finch, the towns of Twin Falls would've been eaten alive by a incursion of monsters from the unthinkable beyond. Not that he's a hero, per se. It's more than he strung enough mistakes together in a row that something good happened, and wiped them off the face of the planet using the torrent of evil power that channels through him.

Ceit Robertson, age 10, is the next Matrarc to the Society, a cultish matriarchal group living in an inconspicuous cul-de-sac in Venice Beach. When Ceit’s mother is attacked by spirits from the old world, a failed exorcism results in Ceit’s exile into the foster-care system in Los Angeles. She eventually lands in the infamous MacLaren Hall, a very real and historically auspicious center for disturbed and abandoned children in El Monte. As Ceit grows into a force of nature, she discovers that the devil might not be what we should truly fear.

Over a hundred years have passed since a group of violent killers went on the rampage, murdering innocent victims for fun. But even back then, sorcerer Nate Garrett, aka Hellequin, knew there was more to it than simple savage pleasure—souls were being stolen. Nate's discovery of the souls' use, and of those supporting the group's plan, made him question everything he believed.

After sending their only daughter off to boarding school, Cookson Selway and his wife, Ellen, travel to London to escape their empty house. But their quiet hotel has guests other than those on the register, and the vacation turns into a journey not only to another city but to another time. As Selway is drawn into a series of mysterious encounters with a young girl who died in a fall from his hotel window sixty years earlier, the characters of her life become more real to him than those of his own.