Urban Fantasy Horror

That there is darkness at the heart of the Yuletide season should not surprise. Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is filled with scenes that are unsettling. The hideous children - Want and Ignorance - beneath the robe of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. In the finest versions of this story, the best parts are the terrifying parts. Best-selling author and editor Christopher Golden shares his love for Christmas horror stories with this anthology of all-new short fiction from some of the most talented and original writers of horror today.

A collection of thrilling tales from H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos by one of horror's biggest legends, this volume contains the very best of Brian Lumley's Mythos short stories.

Layla Cassidy has always wanted a normal life, and the chance to put her father's brutal legacy behind her. And in her final year of university she's finally found it. Or so she thinks. But when Layla accidentally activates an ancient scroll, she is bestowed with an incredible, inhuman power. She plunges into a dangerous new world, full of mythical creatures and menace - all while a group of fanatics will stop at nothing to turn her abilities to their cause.

Students are spooked at the San Francisco School of Fine Arts, and Lily is called in to search for possible paranormal activity. In return she's been promised a trunkful of Victorian-era clothes recently discovered in a school storage closet. But Lily finds something else: the body of a wealthy patron of the school. In between running the store and seeing her new boyfriend, Max - a "mythbuster" who is uncomfortable with her witchcraft - she uses her sleuthing skills to try to solve the murder. Soon Lily senses something from the school's vintage clothes, but it's not the smell of mothballs - it's the unmistakable aura of evil intent.

Three great vampires - two Lords and a Lady - arrive on an unsuspecting Earth that teems with defenseless humans, easy prey for the marauding vampires. But humanity has defenders. Though the Necroscope is gone, the psychically gifted men and women of E-Branch move swiftly against the vampire infestation.

Declan O'Carroll is ready to start his summer internship at the hottest new company on the planet, Demidova Incorporated. What will he be doing? What tasks could he possibly handle for the most famous couple on Earth? After all, what could a second-semester college freshman hope to add to a multinational conglomerate? As the strongest male witch in existence, it might just be much, much more than anyone could ever predict.

The Horde has been raising hell and leveling cities from New York to Los Angeles, keeping Dave and his fellow monster killer, Russian spy Karin Varatschevsky, very busy. But when the legions of hell invade the small seaside town his boys call home, Dave has to make a call. Save the world? Or save his family? Not as easy a choice as you'd think, since Dave's ex-wife expects to be saved, too.

In 1816, Elizabeth's life had been carefully planned for her. A home, a family, a life that she was trained to fill... and had never questioned if she wanted, until the future she expected was stolen from her. In the present day, Heck's hopes and dreams have been destroyed, the life she was fighting for gone in an instant. Amid the devastation of her plans, she's determined to fight for her dreams.

The Night Boat, Robert McCammon's third published novel, first appeared as a paperback original in 1980. Following on the heels of Baal and Bethany's Sin, it offered further proof that a writer of great narrative power and limitless potential - a writer who would achieve a significant position in modern popular fiction--had arrived.

For 17 years Declan O'Carroll has lived quietly in the upstate Vermont town of Castlebury, waiting impatiently for a chance to get out and meet the great wide world. When an odd new girl appears in town, Declan finds out that the world might be coming to meet him. But the big question remains...who is in more danger? Declan or the world?

In the aftermath of the mysterious death of their lead singer, the young members of a now-legendary British acid folk band hole up at Wylding Hall, an ancient English country house with its own dark secrets. There they record Wylding Hall, the album that makes their reputation but at a terrifying cost when Julian Blake, their new lead singer, disappears within the mansion and is never seen again.

Once a legendary police inspector, Nicolas Lenoir is now a disillusioned and broken man who spends his days going through the motions and his evenings drinking away the nightmares of his past. Ten years ago, Lenoir barely escaped the grasp of the Darkwalker, a vengeful spirit who demands a terrible toll on those who have offended the dead. But the Darkwalker does not give up on his prey so easily, and Lenoir has always known his debt would come due one day. When Lenoir is assigned to a disturbing new case, he treats the job with his usual apathy- until his best informant, a street savvy orphan, is kidnapped.

Ella Harrow is trying to carve out a normal life for herself. Well, as normal as an art geek with psychic abilities can hope for. As museum docent and gift shop manager, Ella is able to keep her distance from people - and her powers in check - while surrounding herself with the artifacts she loves. But how on earth is she supposed to act normal when a thousand-year-old statue on the museum's terrace suddenly comes to life?

Vampires: murderous creatures in the shape of humans, they stalk the night feeding on the blood of innocents. Seemingly immortal, they can be destroyed only by the use of a stake through the heart, severing of their heads, or exposure to sunlight. By the year AD 12,090, vampires have ruled the Earth for almost 300 years, and it is only these weaknesses that have kept these foul monsters from totally overrunning the world. But what happens when those rules no longer apply?

When a deadly infection spreads across Europe, supermarket manager Howie's ordinary life is thrown into chaos. As the world crumbles around him, he teams up with his autistic best mate, Dave and a ragtag group of misfits to face an enemy unlike any other—the undead. But this isn't just any infection. It evolves. It learns. And it's getting smarter every day. Howie soon learns that nothing is quite what it seems - and neither is he.

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.

For millennia men have strutted their pride over the fragile surface of the Earth, arrogantly proclaiming themselves masters of creation. But now their feeble investigations have disturbed the planet's original rulers far beneath the globe's crust.

When Ishmael Jones and his partner Penny are asked to escort a VIP on the late-night train to Bath, it would appear to be a routine case. The Organisation has acquired intelligence that an attempt is to be made on Sir Dennis Gregson’s life as he travels to Bath to take up his new position as Head of the British Psychic Weapons Division. Ishmael’s mission is to ensure that Sir Dennis arrives safely. How could anyone orchestrate a murder in a crowded railway carriage without being noticed and with no obvious means of escape?

Waking up chained in a dark cellar, Ariane must struggle to survive and escape the strange fortress she finds herself in. All those around her play by rules she does not understand, and there is also this strange thirst that water cannot sate.

Joe Pitt's life sucks. He hasn't had a case or a job in God knows how long, and his stashes are running on empty. What stashes? The only ones that count to a guy like Joe: blood and money. The money he uses to buy blood; the blood he drinks. Hey, it's that or your neck, buddy.