Occult Horror Fiction

Between 1923 and 1954, Weird Tales magazine shaped the landscape of modern horror, fantasy, and science fiction. It was the crucible of cosmic terror, sword-and-sorcery, and supernatural fiction, a publication that launched the careers of some of the twentieth century’s most enduring genre writers. Weird Tales presents a carefully curated selection of standout stories from the magazine’s golden age. This anthology brings together a wide spectrum of speculative fiction, ranging from mythic fantasy and Gothic mystery to tales of metaphysical horror and existential dread.

When Sir Peter Pendragon, a retired pilot of the Great War, meets the free-spirited Louise, a devotee of the mysterious occultist Basil King Lamus, the two immediately get married and set off across Europe, on a drug-fueled honeymoon of heroin and cocaine. Eventually, in an attempt to break free of their recently acquired habit, the newlyweds find their way to the Abbey of Thelema in Italy, where the adults perform invocations to the sun and the children freely recite passages from the Book of the Law.

X is trapped living in the slums of the last remaining city on Earth. He can only venture out beyond the towering walls to scavenge relics of the old world when the sun is up. At night, like everybody else, he hides inside from the monsters of the shadows...until an unexpected death occurs a little too close to home. With the blame on his shoulders, and trigger-happy guards on his trail, X has no choice but to run. But the city was never a safe place to begin with, not really, and his only slim chance of survival lies outside the walls, in a landscape empty of humanity.

The tale of a man who unwittingly angers a sorcerer, who is assumed by some Monty scholars to be based on the self-styled 'Great Beast,' occultist Aleister Crowley. Montague Rhodes James was a noted British mediaeval scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918) and of Eton College (1918–1936). He is best remembered for his ghost stories which are widely regarded as among the finest in English literature.

The elite witches are seeking to cut Tetrarch Doc Holliday's reign short as they make a play to seize power. As Doc races the clock to save the victims of Blackwater, the witches' personal prison, it becomes increasingly clear that war is inevitable. But if it's a war the elites want, then a war is exactly what Doc will give them....

The War of the Damned is upon us, so be careful who you follow. It might be the last decision you ever make. Three months ago there was a demon invasion. Due to that, the world has been dealing with changes in just who the enemy really is. While old rules are thrown aside. The mercenary named Katie (or KatieDora by some) is trying to take a much-needed vacation.

The Oblivion Guard is trying to kill Cain. That should be impossible. After all, Cain has a bargain with the summer and winter queens that keeps him safe from them directly or indirectly harming him. Cain discovers that many of these would-be assassins come from Alpha and Beta dimensions, and they seem to have found a loophole that allows them to kill him without harming the queens. Anyone associated with Cain is fair game, and Aura and Layla are forced to hide out at Sanctuary with Cain. But not even his secret hideout is safe anymore.

Eli Gac has been ten moves ahead of Doc since beginning his deadly game of cat and mouse, with Tucker’s life as the prize. Doc is willing to go as far as is needed to save his friend, including sacrificing his own life. But as the battle of wits leaves Doc with no other options, will he be ready to do the unthinkable?

In the summer of 1994, psychologist Daniel Hill buys a rustic farmhouse nestled in the rolling hills of West Virginia. Along with his wife and teenage daughter, the family uproots their lives in Ohio and moves south. They are initially seduced by the natural beauty of the country setting. That soon changes when they discover a hidden room in the basement with a well, boarded shut and adorned with crucifixes. Local legends about the previous owner being an exorcist come to light, but by then, all Hell has broken loose.

Tetrarch Mitcham has decided to make Doc into his own personal assassin, and if Doc doesn't play his cards right, the Hidden will pay the price. With only days to unravel Mitcham's master plan, Doc fights to protect both the Hidden and the norm world from civil war. To make matters worse, one of the most powerful beings in existence has just demanded that Doc repay a favor by awakening the most deadly entity the world has ever known: the Black Shaman...

When Karina agrees to help the ghost of a murdered Oracle uncover a plot that could unravel the fabric of reality, she finds herself caught in the crossfire between bounty hunters and her ex-bodyguards. Now she needs to reclaim the birthright and power she abandoned before she loses everything and everyone she loves.

Sand. A hostile world of burning sun. Outlines of several once-busy cities shimmer on the horizon. Now empty of inhabitants, their buildings lie in ruins. In the distance a group of people—a family—walks toward us. Ahead lies shelter: a “shuck” the family calls home and which they know they must reach before the light fails, as to be out after dark is to invite danger and almost certain death. To survive in this alien world of shifting sand, they must find an object hidden in or near water. But other families want it too.

Anthropologist Calliope Santiago awakens to find herself in a strange and sinister wasteland, a shadow of the New Mexico she knew. Empty vehicles litter the road. Everyone has disappeared - or almost everyone. Calliope, heavy-bellied with the twins she carries inside her, must make her way across this dangerous landscape with a group of fellow survivors in search of answers. Long-dead volcanoes erupt, the ground rattles and splits, and monsters come to ominous life. Calliope will be forced to reconcile the geological record with the heritage she once denied.

MacKayla Lane's life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she's your perfectly ordinary 21st-century woman. Or so she thinks...until something extraordinary happens.

Caught behind the lines of Hitler's Final Solution, Saul Laski is one of the multitudes destined to die in the notorious Chelmno extermination camp. Until he rises to meet his fate and finds himself face to face with an evil far older, and far greater, than the Nazis themselves. Compelled by the encounter to survive at all costs, so begins a journey that for Saul will span decades and cross continents, plunging into the darkest corners of 20th century history to reveal a secret society of beings who may often exist behind the world's most horrible and violent events.

When Kester fulfills his mother's dying wish and meets his father, he is thrown headlong into the family business: catching supernatural spirits.

Deadwood, late 1876. A rowdy and reckless undertaker’s delight. What better place for a killer to blend in? Enter undertaker Clementine Johanssen, tall and deadly with a hot temper and short fuse, hired to clean up Deadwood’s dead...and the “other” problem. She’s hell-bent on poking, sticking, or stabbing anyone who steps out of line. But when a couple Santa Fe sidewinders ride into town searching for their missing uncle, they land neck deep in lethal gunplay, nasty cutthroats, and endless stinkin’ snow.

Over 100 years ago, a group of witches made their way from New England to Whitewater, Wisconsin, known as Second Salem. Others also made their way to the city and, through their ignorance, unleashed an evil entity. Three sisters, the Willoughby Witches, created an incantation strong enough to ensnare the demon. Lord Henry McDermott, college professor, anthropologist, and archaeologist, has yearned to learn more about the legend of the Willoughby Witches. Taking the summer off to research the folklore, Henry discovers that there is more waiting for him in Whitewater than just a story.

I've always had a weak spot for strange ladies. One very beautiful girl had even warned me that she was, get this, a vampire. But did I listen? No.

Muriel McAuley has lived in the Scottish fishing village of Witchaven all her life. She was born there, and she intends to die there. But when an overseas property developer threatens to evict the residents from their homes and raze Witchaven to the ground in the name of progress, all seems lost . . . until the day a mysterious fog bank creeps inland.