Paranormal Thriller Romance

For more than 30 years, 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 fans crave. Now, with the 11th volume of the series, Daltow's back again to bring you the stories that will keep you up at night. With each passing year, science, technology, and the march of time shine light into the craggy corners of the universe, making the fears of an earlier generation seem quaint. This light creates its own shadows. The Best Horror of the Year chronicles these shifting shadows.

When I was three years old, I was found homeless in the woods, alone and feral. When asked how I survived all of those years by myself, I had one answer: the Shadow Man. I have no memory of that time. No memory of anything, really, before the accident. I rely on stories from my fathers about this supposed imaginary friend. Got into a fight at school? The Shadow Man made me. Stole from a store? He forced me to. Snuck out of the house? He came with me.

A scrappy, hot-blooded woman can only take so much! Violet Parker is on fire...or rather under fire yet again. New evidence has fanned the embers of a cold murder case, and her alibi is smoldering at the corners. While battling a dogged detective determined to pin the murder on her, Violet scrambles to find the real killer. Will she escape "the heat" with singed tail feathers? Or will Violet go down in flames?

Determined to find her mother when she disappears, Ash follows her to Quivara, Kansas, the spiritual commune she escaped long ago. But something sinister and ancient waits among the rustling cornstalks of this village lost to time. Her mother is nowhere to be found, but Ash is plagued by memories of her ancestor, Katia, which harken back to the town's history of unrequited love, murder, alchemy, and immortality. Charming traditions give way to a string of deaths. And Ash feels herself drawn to Dane, a mysterious, forbidden boy with secrets of his own.

When a female Shifter comes to town seeking refuge, Feline Shifter Sean Morrissey claims the new arrival and finds a beautiful woman who looks him straight in the eye without fear, stirring the mating frenzy within him. To relocate to a new Shiftertown, half-Fae, half-Shifter Andrea Gray must accept a new mate. But Andrea's intense attraction to Sean is something shen ever expected - a perilous complication for a woman with a troubled past.

Christmas lights on palm trees and Santa hats on plastic pink flamingoes are far from the snowy landscape Maureen and her beloved golden retriever, Finn, are used to. But Maureen is determined to make this a holiday to remember—which means finding a way to promote Haven House on a shoestring. Fortunately, Haven's vintage movie theater, the Paramount, has come up with a great "Twelve Days of Christmas" idea. They'll feature an impressive list of the best classic Christmas movies ever made—shown by one-time movie actor-turned-projectionist Decklin Monroe.

Guardians Noah, Tyler, Jacob, and Cole have spent centuries protecting the Fae, so when there is a breach of the veil between the realms, they are ordered to investigate the disturbance. But what they find is shocking. A beautiful woman with the gift of the Fae...and a compelling desire to serve her every need.

Devin Lyle has recently returned to the Salem area, but her timing couldn't be worse. Soon after she moved into the eighteenth-century cabin she inherited from her great-aunt Mina - her "crazy" great-aunt, who spoke to the dead - a woman was murdered nearby. Craig Rockwell - known as Rocky - is a new member of the Krewe of Hunters, the FBI's team of paranormal investigators. He never got over finding a friend dead in the woods. Now another body's been found in those same woods, not far from the home of a woman named Devin Lyle.

Since leaving her family's pack, Victoria has acquired many enemies. One of them has cursed her with the inability to turn at the full moon. Each un-shift is painfully worse than the last, breaking bones as well as her optimism. Before finding the cure, Victoria must figure out who is behind it, and that proves harder than it would seem. Even with the high witch, a valkyrie, and a former troll king on her side, the mystery only continues to deepen. A cursed body is unearthed, and friends disappear.

So apparently my mom was a witch. And not just a witch, but a witch who turned bad. My poor, sweet, normal dad wanted me to have a good college experience. Instead I get a magical offer I literally can't refuse, from the world's most elite school for warlocks. Warlocks. As in guy witches. Even though I definitely have lady parts, somehow I ended up at a warlock school to learn the gentlemanly arts (which are a lot more badass than, ahem, lady magic).

In an ancient cemetery, travel writer Jade MacGregor’s tour of a Scottish tomb is marred by a terrifying attack that leaves her surrounded by corpses drained of blood. A year later, back home on a shadowy French Quarter street, she glimpses the oddly compelling stranger she met that day. Coincidence - or is it something far more disturbing?

There's never been a female on the Dallas SWAT team, and Senior Corporal Xander Riggs prefers it that way. The elite pack of alpha male wolfshifters is no place for a woman. But Khaki Blake is no ordinary woman. When Khaki walks through the door attractive as hell and smelling like heaven, Xander doesn't know what the heck to do. Worse, she's put under his command, and Xander's protective instincts go on high alert.

I’m in trouble. Big trouble. A split-second reflex that saved Kol’s life, and all hell busted out. Rather, my secret busted out for all to see. Now the only thing keeping a lid on my wild, unpredictable magic is Cassius’s magical handcuffs. Kinky? Yeah, no. I need to show Gideon, Marcus, Jacob, and Kol that my nephilim blood is the only thing I lied about, even if it means letting my memories be mined for the truth. Except when that soul-scraping spell comes up hard against an unbreakable magical wall, it reveals a secret that’s news even to me.

I thought I'd never see Julian Walker again. Never came much sooner than I expected. After killing the Hedge witches that wreaked havoc among covens for decades, I thought people were finally going to learn how to see past the physical. I thought they'd begin to trust me. I was wrong. I didn't expect things to go from bad to worse so fast, until I found Julian Walker on the floor of my office, barely even breathing. He tells me he needs me. He tells me that I'm the only one who can stop the fairy who had destroyed the fairy realm and its Courts.

When the local Banned Book Club loses their meeting room, Mina volunteers to host the group at Nevermore Bookshop (against Heathcliff's muttered protests, of course). Little does she know this old biddies book club is about to turn murderous. First, someone poisons Mrs. Scarlett, then members of the book club start dropping like flies. Who in the village will turn to murder just to stop people reading a few dusty old books? Mina's got to figure it out quick, or her beloved teacher Mrs. Ellis is next to die. Luckily, she's got Moriarty, Heathcliff, and Quoth to help.

Unabridged, 9 hours Read by Suzanna Duff As the carrier of a rare gene, Jax has the ability to jump ships through grimspace-a talent that cuts into her life expectancy but makes her a highly prized navigator for the Corp. But then the ship she's navigating crash-lands, and she's accused of...

The warlock council has taken over the school, and these guys don't mess around. They can purify Sinistral blood, and guess who is on their tainted list? Yours truly, and worse - my beloved incubus Alec. Did I mention the new dean's also Harris' cousin? Harris will have to betray his family if he wants to help us, but the price he asks of me is...um...blush murmur. As if I don't have enough problems already, Firian's still stuck as a fox, Montague's getting a little more cozy with his vampire heritage, and Daisy's betrothed to the new dean who is more than willing to abuse her powers.

Mage private investigator Alice Worth's life has changed dramatically. On the plus side, she has a new home to share with alpha werewolf Sean Maclin and her ghost sidekick Malcolm. She's also gained an office with her name on the door, a fearsome ally, and dark magic inherited from a defeated enemy. On the downside, a dire prophecy hangs over her head, she's uncovered a terrible betrayal, and the new magic is killing her. When the ancient head of the Vampire Court calls in a favor, Alice is forced to put aside her own problems to hunt a stolen treasure.

A slasher movie turns real when two young actors are brutally murdered on a remote island film set. Their severed heads and arms are posed in macabre homage to a 19th-century pirate massacre.

People think I'm normal. They're wrong. I'm demon touched - filled with dark, deadly magic. Hiding my power is the only way to survive. Problem is, I'm about to start my first term at the best Academy of Magic in the world. So hiding is going to be a problem. When demons attack, the Academy calls on the lethally sexy gladiator Maximus. As the best tracker, I'm forced to work with Maximus to defend our kind. But his mage powers are strong, and he senses there's something wrong with my magic. He's powerful as hell, and he wants me.