stories in and

Chasing Moonflowers

Chasing Moonflowers by Pauline Chow

A gothic historical fantasy perfect for fans of These Violent Delights, House of Hollow, and Enola Holmes, Chasing Moonflowers is a coming-of-power tale that asks: What truly makes a monster? In 1925 colonial Hong Kong, young herbalist Ling Shaw witnesses a murder committed by a bloodthirsty creature. When her uncle is wrongfully arrested for the crime, Ling is the only one who can clear the family name and find the real killer. Teaming up with her private academy best friend and a Red Society thug from the Kowloon Walled City, she uncovers dark family secrets, occult rituals, a vampiric curse, and a sinister plot to bring down the Canton Labor Strikes. Ling must overcome ancient and eldritch forces to save her family—and all of Kowloon. Email paulinechowstories@gmail.com for a reviewer's copy or ARC.


What Did Not Die

What Did Not Die by Ruth Anna Evans

Jordan Sharp has been writing for the local newspaper for two years. But when a sinister ghost-child emerges from a suspicious house fire and brings to life her darkest memories, she finds herself in the middle of the story. After a life of isolating herself from others, Jordan needs to reach out for help. And there’s a handsome, sympathetic firefighter just waiting for her to ask. But as people around her start falling victim to the deadly haunting, is it worth putting him at risk? And can Jordan resolve her troubled past before it's too late?

This debut novella from Ruth Anna Evans is a creepy-as-hell ghost story with relatable characters and an ending you won’t see coming and won’t soon forget.


Cataclysm: Triskellion Saga Book Three

Cataclysm: Triskellion Saga Book Three by Rodney W. McWilliams

Angela, Daxxe, Sierra, Tara, and Eli prepare to face off with the ultimate evil under Velis’ guidance, battling Erim and his ranks. He isn’t getting his hands dirty, drafting a new avatar with unfair advantages. To win, all he has to do is eliminate Angela, and his avatar has the ability to do it. The sisters are honing their skills, figuring out how best to fight, when Erim takes an underhanded blow at their family, trying to tear the heroes apart from the inside by using their own emotions against them. Angela is trying to step up as she weakens, troubled to her core. The trail is leading them back to where it all started, but now a shadow agency has picked up on the fallout. They are pursuing Angela, unsure of her intentions or threat potential, becoming aware of the secret war for humanity threatening their very existence. CATACLYSM is the sequel to DEMONS and the conclusion of the Triskellion Saga trilogy. It’s a freefall without a chute, making you hope the next page reveals something to catch you in the end. Are you ready to face the challenge?


Demons: Triskellion Saga Book Two

Demons: Triskellion Saga Book Two by Rodney W. McWilliams

The killing of the homeless has stopped, but not the killer. Joe Anderson, Angela’s old partner, is following a trail of death across the United States, unsure of what he will find along the way, but not convinced Angela is dead. Angela, on her path to becoming an avatar, pursues Trokar with Daxxe, trying to catch him before he can set his new plan into motion. She battles with her own self-doubt with the help of some new allies, and the resistance of new adversaries. Destiny leads them to the birthplace of evil within the realm and the final showdown―but not all of them will survive. The fate of the world hangs in the balance as they fight the forces of evil. DEMONS is the sequel to SCOURGE and the second book of the trilogy. The ride isn’t over yet!


A Crack in the World: the Reckoning

A Crack in the World: the Reckoning by James Mordechai

USSR, 1941. In the frozen desolation of Siberia, a shaman unleashes an ancient entity from its slumber deep within an abandoned salt mine. England, 1996. The echoes of that distant ritual reach across time as Meren-Ptah, a foe the RPI Gran Maestro occultist Gino Marcotti once vanquished, returns. With the line between the living and the dead blurred, Gino and Carter Williams must unravel the mystery connecting the past to the present. What dark force has been awakened, and how can the mistakes of history be undone? When the past and the paranormal collide, only the dead hold the key to saving the living.


Where Do The Dead End Up?

Where Do The Dead End Up? by Priyanka Nawathe

Six stories to chill your spine and three poems to keep you enthralled to the words written for the dead. Tales from beyond the veil of darkness will draw you into their world as journeys never end with death, but simply begin a new chapter. WICKED HEARTS Dive into a magical journey with Sandi Terise who has made killing the Wicked Witch of the Waste her sole purpose in life. KILLJOY Spend a day in the life of Mercy Dramond, a psychiatrist who savors every moment of her work life. HEAL BOY, HEAL! A premed intern faces the biggest challenge towards becoming a Healer. I SCREAM FOR ALIVESTREAM Ghosts of children return to celebrate their anniversary with the chef who baked them pies. MONSTROUS METAMORPHOSIS Mystiq comes face to face with a monster who wants to use her powers to break the barrier between humanity and monstrosity in order to bring someone back from the brink of death. COMING TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET Reaper visits the mausoleum awaiting a special gift to satisfy the twins who rule all Hell. These stories are a preview into six different book series.


Kinetics

Kinetics by MultiMind

Ava and Tyrone always shared everything. As twins, they were always two parts of a whole. But one day, Ava discovers that she is part of a much bigger whole. And Tyrone wants nothing more than for Ava to take part … or take her apart instead. Now Ava faces a decision: either be by Tyrone’s side or become another one of his victims. Doesn't matter to Tyrone, as long as he has her abilities - one way or another.


Odin's Tillit

Odin's Tillit by Edge O. Erin

Fox was twelve when he faked his own death to escape his father Dagr and his precious tugboat, Odin's Tillit. Cloaked in an identity produced from the inside of a tobacco can, he has become a glorified drug mule for Texas lawman Sheriff J. J. Raskin. Sixteen-year-old Ren is at the helm of Odin's Tillit, pushing rafts of logs and helping the sheriff make his problems disappear. Obligation, destiny, and Odin's Tillit are bloodying the waters of British Columbia's Arrow Lakes. Fox and Ren know better, want better, but they cannot escape the clutches of the incorrigible or incorporeal forces around them. As the principals come together, the past threatens to destroy Fox and Ren, even as the sheriff seeks to eliminate them. What does fate have in store for them? Only Odin's Tillit knows.


The Echoes of The Elk's Estate

The Echoes of The Elk's Estate by William Mierzejewski

One year has passed since the events in Iron River, Michigan and it’s time for another summer vacation! Liam, Boo and the rest of the family have recovered from previous traumatic events in their own way. To distance themselves from former occurrences, Will and Annie (Liam and Boo’s parents) decide to take a road trip to the sleeping community of Doylestown, Pennsylvania. This is the hometown of Claire, Will’s sister. A beautiful and quiet colonial borough located not far from the City of Philadelphia. What could possibly go wrong? Will plans to give his family a tour of his hometown. Enjoy the sights and aid his sister with a project that was very dear to his childhood, the restoration of the Elk’s Family Estate. Is there an inherent evil trying to lure everyone into a trap? Luckily, this is where Liam, Boo and their family and friends shine best. Working together, solving a mystery and battling monsters who harbor the forces of darkness. Will Liam and Boo be able to solve this mystery? Follow the signs and our crew of young people as they try to survive the ghastly pursuits! Happy reading.


The Local Legend of Iron River

The Local Legend of Iron River by William Mierzejewski

Liam, a 10-year-old boy, and Boo, an 8-year-old girl, are two kids from Chicago, Illinois sleeping comfortably in their family’s vacation home in Iron River, Michigan. Their vacation home, far from the big city lights and crowded, bustling streets, borders the Ottawa National Forest and rests peacefully a few yards away from the vibrant waters of Sunset Valley Lake. Tonight, the cool air from the lake mixes with the heat of the day and creates a dense fog while the Sturgeon Moon rises in the twilight. Suddenly, Liam is startled by a chilling howl outside his bedroom window. That’s when Liam sees the beast for the first time. Its terrifying yellow eyes pierce back at him through the darkness. Liam tries to warn his family of what’s out there, but no one believes him. His father assures him that it’s his imagination and the forest is home to black bears and grey wolves. But is the forest and this small summer town harboring a primal evil? How long has this evil plagued this area? Who else is aware of what lurks in the surrounding woods? And how can this beast be stopped before anyone else goes missing? Only Liam, Boo, and their crew of friends can solve this mystery. Follow Liam and Boo in the first installment of the Liam and Boo series, which features our main characters in a thrilling and mysterious adventure.


The Birth of Ida

The Birth of Ida by Rachel Grosvenor

'You believe in ghost stories? You afraid of ghosts when there's snakes and men tryin' to kill you?' Ousted from her homestead, Ida Vale quickly learns that the only way to survive as a lone traveller is to disguise herself as a man. Unsuspecting farmer Colt is the perfect target, who just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, looking roughly the right size. On the run as 'Colton John' the bounty hunter, Ida ventures into the unforgiving wilderness of The Nameless Stretch. Drawn towards a witch's house by the whisperings of the Derelict Woods, she discovers that the land is here, the murdered return to haunt their assailants. And to her shock, Ida is being haunted by someone she loves. She's not a murderer, like her brother. So who is it watching her every move? Meanwhile, Colt sets into motion a series of events that he hopes will end in one of two Ida Vale at his door, dead or alive. But in The Nameless Stretch, you can't escape your demons — and Ida soon learns she has far more to fear from the living than the dead.


Bring Out Your Dead

Bring Out Your Dead by Heather Murphy

Secrets from the past cannot be ignored forever. After her mother’s untimely death, Lucy Fray discovers the existence of family she never knew she had. But Adeline and Edmund Fray have been living with a tragedy of their own - three murders that have gone unsolved for 40 years. When Lucy and her six-year-old son are invited to visit Fray House, they discover that secrets often long to be revealed… and ghosts can haunt us whether or not we believe in them.


The Hidden

The Hidden by D. Ann Hall

How will she survive… Kidnapped, tortured, amnesiac and on the brink of death. This will not be pretty!


The Mystery of the Pale King

The Mystery of the Pale King by Sam Flynn

"Tonight, my friends, the performance is real. To you, my most faithful, I dedicate this, the final production of 'The Mystery of the Pale King.'" As an orphan growing up in a distant border province, Faron took pride in the epic tales of the Hero of Hathur, a great and powerful warrior who ruled in the name of the sun-worshipping Church of the Sol Creator. That pride is shattered by accusations from the Hero's family that he squandered their entire inheritance on the production of a profane play with him at the center: "The Mystery of the Pale King." The Church proclaims him under interdict and dispatches Bishop Antonius, his devoted page Faron, and a cadre of soldiers downriver to repossess Hathur on its behalf. The cruelty they witness on their perilous mission forces them to confront the horrors at the heart of Hathur's past and question not just their devotion to the Church but their very beliefs in gods and heroes. Amid a storm of betrayal, murder, and sacrilege, Faron must survive fanatical cultists, their obscene rituals, and the evil hiding in the light in order to save Bishop Antonius from the Hero's final performance. Inspired by the historical legend of Gilles de Rais, The Mystery of the Pale King probes the roots of modern American dysfunction in a grim flintlock fantasy setting that reflects the best and worst of humanity. “While the dark, riveting The Mystery of the Pale King is set in a distant time and place, its sharp examinations of religious cults and hero worship are all too relevant to today’s world. Flynn’s clear prose leads the reader through a short yet complex tale of dark fantasy and horrors both earthbound and cosmic. It’s a gripping, highly recommended read." - Nicole Willson, Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of Tidepool


The Darkest Light

The Darkest Light by Vicki-Ann Bush

War is coming. As the star quarterback for his high school football team and local celebrity in the quaint town of Boulder City, Luke Jacob enjoys a charmed life. Everything's going according to plan, that is until the night he spots a mysterious and alluring girl in the crowd. Despite his father's cryptic warning to keep away from her, he's instantly drawn to Mary. The team plans a gathering to celebrate their homecoming win, and Luke decides to invite her. The evening turns dark when the demon Abezethibou appears and threatens them. When Mary steps in to save her peers, Luke sees her for what she truly is, forever changing their future and creating a bond between them. The revelation shatters what Luke believes about himself and forces him to face his destiny. Will Mary stand by Luke in the face of the coming storm, or will she be swayed by the allure of darkness?


Chronicles of the Median

Chronicles of the Median by Nicholas House

A Median isn't something anyone chooses to be, it's just something you are. A living bridge between the worlds of the living and the dead. Now, long forgotten forces threaten the fine balance kept by the Medians and Richard is forced to face perils that would change his life forever. Setting into motion events that leave the world in the hands of the wrathful dead, Richard must work to set things right and find the truth of what it means to be a Median.


Offset: Book 2- Children of the Gulf

Offset: Book 2- Children of the Gulf by Delvin Howell

Magic is violent. No one understood this more than Kyle Harding, a young stick-licker from the Caribbean island of Bimshire, where miracles are sold every day. The problem is, each one comes with a burdensome debt. As an obeah witch, Kyle's mother has built a massive debt which was passed on to her sons upon her death. And now Gulfsyde, a duo of brutal assassins notorious for leaving carnage in their wake, has come to collect. With a past drenched in blood, fire and bodies, Gulfsyde aims to retire with one final kill. But Kyle has a little brother—Damien—to protect, and he will not lose any more family to the obeah trade. Though bus stops ignite, and devastating magical weapons form against him, Kyle defends his home with only the lowly sugarcane his mother left behind.


Offset: Book 1- The Mask of Bimshire

Offset: Book 1- The Mask of Bimshire by Delvin Howell

Magic is Expensive. An underground obeah trade lies within the Caribbean island of Bimshire, where miracles are sold every day. The problem is, each one comes with a burdensome debt. As a child, Kyle Harding thought Bimshire a frightening place. Bus stops glow. Flute music haunts the air. And the shadows themselves stalk him. With his mother dead, and a baby brother—Damien—to raise, Kyle had much to endure growing up. But when a serial killer attacks his home, Kyle is forced down a bloody path where he discovers the history surrounding his family and the massive debts his mother left behind.


The Half Killed

The Half Killed by Quenby Olson

A dark apparition stalks the streets of Victorian London... Dorothea Hawes has no wish to renew contact with what lies beyond the veil. After an attempt to take her own life, she has retired into seclusion, but as the wounds on her body heal, she is drawn back into a world she wants nothing more than to avoid. She is sought out by Julian Chissick, a former man of God who wants her help in discovering who is behind the gruesome murder of a young woman. But the manner of death is all too familiar to Dorothea, and she begins to fear that something even more terrible is about to unleash itself on London. And so Dorothea risks her life and her sanity in order to save people who are oblivious to the threat that hovers over them. It is a task that forces her into a confrontation with her own lurid past, and tests her ability to shape events frighteningly beyond her control.


Midnight Waters

Midnight Waters by Rosie Wylor-Owen

“In my family, when someone is born, another will die.” A symbiotic curse has plagued the Arrowood and Everhart households for generations. When a new baby is born, a member of the ancient clans die. Only a truce between the warring families can break the deadly hex once and for all. Upon hearing her cousin is in labour, Maeve Arrowood hurries home to find out which one of them will be next. But the loss of her uncle is the least of her worries when a young man is found dead in the sea under suspicious circumstances. Called in by the police, Maeve has no option but to reprise her role as a scuba diving police consultant to retrieve the body. Unwittingly drawn into the investigation, Maeve is forced to work with the odiously handsome Ben Everhart. Obliged to put aside their differences, Maeve and Ben soon discover that a far deadlier danger has descended on the island of Dusk. One that could destroy both families forever.


The Ocean Hugs Hard

The Ocean Hugs Hard by Eric Avedissian

Surfside City, New Jersey. 1966. Cub reporter Harman Bass is cutting his teeth in the fast world of local journalism and getting out-scooped by the competition. Facetious, cocky, and always quoting Nietzsche, Harman isn't making any friends both in and out of the newsroom. All that changes when the daughter of a prominent family is found dead on the beach, handing Harman the juiciest news story of the year. But she isn't any old beauty pageant queen; she's his high school girlfriend. Harman's dogged reporting into the young woman's death reveals pushback from the authorities and pulls the newshound into the resort's darkest corners. After one of his sources is murdered, the routine story becomes dangerous and personal. Something watches Harman from the shadows, something ancient and hungry, worshipped by powerful men who kill to keep their secrets. Harman's job and life are soon threatened, and the once brash reporter must battle his boss, rival journalists, and his own sanity before filing what could be his last story. THE OCEAN HUGS HARD is a mystery with the salty whiff of the ocean, a tinge of nostalgia, and a dollop of eldritch horror.


Paint It Black

Paint It Black by Kaos Emslie

EXTREME HORROR, CHECK TRIGGER WARNINGS. Paint It Black is the first full length novel by Kaos Emslie, the first book in The Perfect Nightmare Trilogy, set in a universe filled with darkness and evil. Follow Jack Miller and Charlie Duvall as they descend into madness and feed The Creature that lives within their House. Inspired by Johnny the Homicidal Maniac and the novel House of Leaves, Paint It Black is a visceral look into the first steps a person takes down the path of darkness. Written as a means to manage and control the author's mental health, Paint It Black explores the darkness of rage and depression and psychosis. Something dark lives in the walls... When nineteen-year-old poet Jack Miller brings Charlotte "Charlie" Duvall--a twenty-one-year-old exotic dancer he meets in a bar--to his Victorian home because of dreams she's been having, all the fated pieces fall together. An Eldritch being has been unearthed... Shadows are alive and corruption grows... Darkness whispers... The Void is hungry and demands blood...


Keepers of the Crossing: The Dark Friars

Keepers of the Crossing: The Dark Friars by Ryan J Hamshaw

For Seventeen-year-old Liam O’Connor, nightmares become reality when he dreams of a fellow student's murder. Eager to uncover the truth, Liam and his friends investigate, revealing hidden secrets about his identity. Targeted by the menacing Dark Friars, Liam is saved by the enigmatic Tariq, who introduces him to a supernatural world where good and evil battle in the shadows. Can Liam juggle college, family, friendships, and desires while bearing the heavy responsibilities of his newfound destiny? Against the picturesque cathedral city of Sarumbourne, the looming threat of the Dark Friars intensifies, and Liam's normal life shatters amid the chaos.


Three Curses and Other Dark Tales

Three Curses and Other Dark Tales by Leanbh Pearson

Come closer, let me tell you a tale or three. Sit nearer the firelight and if you notice the folk in the shadows, best not garner their attention. Beware the gifts, treasures and promises you make along this journey. There are temptations and curses too, plenty of those. From the tricks of jinn, vengeful Ancient Mesopotamian goddesses, the Hidden People and shadowy deals with demons & devils—many. In our journey through fairy tales reimagined, legends and folklore, and alternate histories, beware the uncanny folk who prey on unwary travellers. Mind your step now, keep your senses sharp, take nothing offered and you might evade those beings hidden just beyond the reach of the firelight.


Cursed Shards: Tales of Dark Folklore

Cursed Shards: Tales of Dark Folklore by Leanbh Pearson

Be careful what you wish for… We’ve all heard childhood fairy tales and hearthside stories passed from generation to generation warning us of unseen dangers lurking in the dark forest, the glimpse of a future in watery reflections and to be wary of objects and people offering impossible gifts. The Fae are ageless beings dwelling between light and shadow, stalking the moonlit nights and wielding powerful gifts and curses. Welcome to Cursed Shards, a collection of dark fantasy stories inspired by folklore, legends, fairy tales and mythology. Ten authors spin ten different tales ranging from deserts, icy mountains and dark forests to legendary warriors to the mythical Fae. A realm where the landscape is as volatile as the rulers and an ancient cursed mirror, a once-powerful magical artefact created with blood magic was shattered before it could be used against the realm. A cursed mirror broken but never destroyed. Ten shards remain: now disguised and repurposed into ordinary items that are traded, stolen, and sold between rulers, common folk and the Fae. Whenever a shard re-appears its curse influences the decisions of all who come within reach. Table of Contents: FOREWORD – Kirstyn McDermott (Australia) THE CURSED HUNT – Leanbh Pearson (Australia) TATTERMOG – Louise Pieper (Australia) THE WITHERED – Mendel Mire (Australia) THE PHANTOM QUEEN – K. B. Elijah (Australia) LADY MARIAN’S GAMBIT – Clare Rhoden (Australia) THE STRENGTH OF BONES – McKenzie Richardson (USA) ONCE UPON AN AUTOMATON – Nikky Lee (New Zealand) THE WRAITH OF MURKDRES – Stephen Herczeg (Australia) CHILDREN OF THE WOODS – Amber M. Simpson (USA) THE LADY OF STRANGENESSE – Leife Shallcross (Australia)


Lester

Lester by Kimberly Wheelock

Talia Michaels has lost everything that matters to her and is facing another dead end. Lester is a ghost town with a violent history and a dark secret. And the two are inextricably linked. When a paranormal research team on the verge of success asks for Talia’s help to reach Lester, she reluctantly signs on. Together, they travel through the wilds of the Cascade Mountains to learn Lester’s secrets and uncover a hidden horror beyond their understanding. From the author of Wonderland comes Wheelock’s ambitious sophomore novel about fate’s crushing inevitability and the darkness of the human heart.


A Crow Named Torment

A Crow Named Torment by Silas A. Bischoff

After a perfectly normal bird is captured by a perfectly deranged alchemist, and her soul is remade in torment, she rots in a cage, dreading her doom, awaiting the perfect moment … Escape lies in the dark secrets of her new mind, as does a disturbing new thirst for blood. Together with Vladimir, her feline companion in captivity, Torment sets out on a flight through realms of dreams and spirits in search of a way to break the curse that binds them to their master. But in the vast and strange worlds yonder dwell the discontented spirits of the dead, and Torment and Vladimir are as likely to uncover the truth they seek as they are to be lost forever, or consumed by the ancient darkness stirring in the depths of their alchemically altered souls. A novel filled with horrors lurking in the shadows, with whimsical creatures from strange worlds – a fable about journeys inward and onward into the unknown – featuring mad scholars, vampires from the dawn of time, animal familiars and giant slugs (among many other oddities). Perfect for fans of Terry Pratchett and Edgar Allan Poe, lovers of Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Otfried Preußler’s Krabat, for those who would like to see Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland meet Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in a modern dark fantasy.


The Scent of Blood

The Scent of Blood by Kit Walker

Caleb’s life has spiraled out of control ever since the day a stranger sank her teeth into his hand. Drifting from port to port in a haze of blood and guilt, he eventually lands in the city of Saintstown and is promptly arrested for murder. But the night before his execution, Caleb is offered both freedom and a job by the enigmatic Mr. Faulkner. Faulkner says he can teach Caleb to control the animal raging inside him — but what must Caleb sacrifice for the guidance that Faulkner offers?


The Familiar

The Familiar by Kit Walker

Grace Foster's hunt for her husband's murderer has brought her to the city of Saintstown. But her quarry has killed again, and she'll need to rely on new, unexpected allies to bring her hunt to an end.


To Haunt and To Hold

To Haunt and To Hold by Taliesin Neith

When they first got together, Sam had resolved to never tell him. He was so afraid of loss, and so drawn to the bright, aching thing in Malcolm that called to him. He had reasoned that he never would need to tell Malcolm. In the end, casual practicality had become something stranger. Sam’s secret held Malcolm’s secret, like a crocodile holding its young in her mouth, so gently in spite of all the teeth. Malcolm and Sam have been together for a long time. Sam knows what Malcolm does when he leaves their shared flat, late at night, returning alone and washing his clothes immediately. It's something worse than an affair. To Haunt and To Hold is a 5,400 word short story about a trans man who can see ghosts and his lover of three decades: a serial killer who is reaching the limits of what he can get away with. If you like your horny stories to be creepy and splattered with gore, if you like your horny stories to feature older men and/or trans and queer characters, you will enjoy this.


Too Many Gods in the Kitchen

Too Many Gods in the Kitchen by Ben Schenkman

It’s good to be the boss, but be careful what you wish for. Nick got what he wanted and now has to establish an agency to audit Heaven and Hell’s operations. Rob is his right-hand man, but Amy has responsibilities of her own and owes a favor to the local coven. Nick’s plans go out the window when a mystery client shows up and throws everything into chaos, representing a new godly power no one expects. Things get even more complicated when Rob uncovers a massive loophole that threatens the natural spiritual order. Tensions run high between the agency and a psychic con man. If that wasn’t enough, Amy’s bill comes due and the spirits come calling when she discovers a magical dilemma of epic proportions. Caught between loyalties, she must decide where they lie. Our trio faces their largest challenge yet, and the threads they chase threaten to tie everything in knots. Will Nick be able to deal with the elephant in the room, or will everything come crashing down?


The Price of Admission

The Price of Admission by Alethea Lyons

After a year of searching, Stella stands before the entrance gates of the worlds-renowned Carnivale Incendio. At the centre of the Carnival terrors, her heart's desire waits. She has sacrificed everything to get here and be reunited with her lover, Mona, who was stolen from her on the eve of their wedding. Though the carnival tries to take her as its own, Stella battles through to Mona's side and to face the final challenger, the Ringmaster himself. Standalone short story. Highly descriptive of scenery with some minor gore.


Reawakening

Reawakening by Alethea Lyons

After centuries of suppression, the magic of England is Reawakening Return to the world of The Seer of York with this collection of new tales set in the aftermath of The Hiding. Harper, Grace, Saqib, Heresy, and AJ bond as a team and as a family to save innocents, supernatural and human, despite hunters pursuing them. Introducing Zero, a starlight cat with a bleak and painful past. Demonic-possession Faery circles Pūcas And more…


Widdershins

Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawk

A reclusive scholar. A private detective. And a book of spells that could destroy the world. Love is dangerous. Ever since the tragic death of the friend he adored, Percival Endicott Whyborne has ruthlessly suppressed any desire for another man. Instead, he spends his days studying dead languages at the museum where he works. So when handsome ex-Pinkerton Griffin Flaherty approaches him to translate a mysterious book, Whyborne wants to finish the job and get rid of the detective as quickly as possible. Griffin left the Pinkertons after the death of his partner. Now in business for himself, he must investigate the murder of a wealthy young man. His only clue: an encrypted book that once belonged to the victim. As the investigation draws them closer, Griffin's rakish charm threatens to shatter Whyborne's iron control. But when they uncover evidence of a powerful cult determined to rule the world, Whyborne must choose: to remain safely alone, or to risk everything for the man he loves. Widdershins is the first novel in the Whyborne & Griffin series, where magic, mystery, and m/m romance collide with Victorian era America. Buy it today and join the adventure.


Dawn's Cozy Horror Corner

Dawn's Cozy Horror Corner by Dawn Chen

"Dawn‘s Cozy Horror Corner: a queer Chinese diaspora horror short stories anthology“ is a horror anthology which contains five stories featuring supernatural elements and young Chinese diaspora protagonists whose identities clash with the environment around them. In ”Bottle of Shame“, a girl who can pull out people's shame must grapple with the gruesome consequences of the truth she reveals. In ”The Girl with No Face“, a girl slowly loses her facial features one at a time until she become a faceless horror who take vengeance upon her tormentor. In “My Future Self Once Said“, a girl is paid a visit from her future-self as a warning. In "Judge of the Underworld Household", the protagonist disagrees with the method her ancestor god who rules over the Chinese Underworld and the way he views crimes and punishment. In "Meet Your Demons“, a girl is offered to be possessed by a demon and gladly accepts.


Whispers of Apple Blossoms

Whispers of Apple Blossoms by Brett Mitchell Kent

A love story spanning decades. A Lonely widow mourning her husband and daughter. A tail of missing people all leading to one unpredictable source. Edna Mann, a lonely widow longing for the family she's lost, finds companionship in an unlikely source when her late husband begins communicating with her through her houseplant. As those around her begin to disappear, Edna must confront the reality that something mich worse may be at play...and has been for longer than she could have ever expected. An atmospheric and hainting tale of love, heartache, fear and obsession. The warped reality of an elderly woman filled with regret interlaces with the story of the past she desperately longs to relive. Whispers of Apple Blossoms is as romantic as it is heartbreakingly sinister and, as each petal falls, pulls you further into the darkness and toward the unforgettable finale.


What Manner of Man

What Manner of Man by St John Starling

What would tempt you to sin? A sweet and naïve priest at war with his desires, tormented by nightly dreams of a wicked demon. A vampire lord forced to do the unthinkable, battling needs he can scarcely control. Father Ardelian has been summoned to a distant, secluded island to perform an exorcism. What will happen when he begins to suspect his host — the mysterious, nocturnal lord of the manor — of wanting him for another reason entirely? Will the piously celibate priest be able to resist his monstrous host’s diabolically seductive charms? What Manner of Man is a blasphemous queer horror romance about a priest and a vampire, inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula. A tale of forbidden love with themes of devil worship, demonic possession, and human sacrifice — this is the long-awaited completed version of the widely beloved story which rose to fame and fortune in the form of a newsletter!


UNHOLY FAVORS

UNHOLY FAVORS by mars adler

Two tales of sinister influence, two trans protagonists struggling to come to terms with the consequences of relying on the supernatural to fix their problems. Trick or Treat. THE SOUL LOTTERY primal play || knife & blood play || CNC Tate played the soul lottery and won a single wish ten years ago, but now his years of fortune are up, and the demon who owns his soul has come to collect. On the run from Hellhounds, and with only one person to turn to, he's out of options. But what awaits him isn't what he expects. SILVERTONGUED DREAMS somno || dubcon || praise & degradation Kiran is an insomniac and college student who dreams of more than what he has. After finding a rare spell book, he brings an egregore into being, and feeds it his ideas and dreams in hopes that it can be his equal and help him become great. But what happens when his dreams outpace him and take on their own life? UNHOLY FAVORS is a dark, mature 21k word book and is not intended for anyone under the age of 18. Please read CWs before purchasing.


Dance with the Devil

Dance with the Devil by Madison Chase

She lost everything she built, he was built to lose everything, and the Heavens themselves are duty-bound to keep them apart. Charlotte Brant, former detective and present-day pariah, has been rebuilding her life following the attack that cost her a job, a marriage, and possibly her sanity. When the King of Hell inserts himself into her life--all dark, handsome, and aggravating--it does her no favors in her efforts to regain some normalcy. Especially when an Archangel is sent on a holy mission to keep them apart by any means necessary--even offering her what she thought she lost forever.


Angels & Exorcists: The Rosary Rejects Book 1

Angels & Exorcists: The Rosary Rejects Book 1 by Finnely Ray

The deep dark below had tried to take her once...Maryam would be damned if she let it take her again. Maryam Bishop is demon-kissed. Her mother was possessed while pregnant and now a dark shadow haunts her life. To keep the darkness at bay, she keeps her distance from the occult. Her godfather is a rebellious angel fighting for his redemption and her roommate is an illegitimate faerie prince, but hey - everyone has their faults. Everything else is perfectly, normally normal... Until her charming new neighbor attracts a powerful Duke of Hell. And her neighbor isn't the only one in danger. The duke wants vengeance on Heaven and dominion over Earth. Maryam just might be the key to both. Can Maryam and her found family of rejects save her neighbor and stop the duke? Or will Heaven and Earth fall in a blaze of hellfire?


Chrysalis and Requiem

Chrysalis and Requiem by Quinton Li

At Adraredon Academy, fervent passion, contemporary companionship, and forbidden desires intertwine with tall gothic spires, ancient halls, and centuries of history. Veaer Rosell can't imagine a better place to satiate her craving for beauty, knowledge, and art. Yet senior year shatters her illusion of tranquillity and civil intellect when she witnesses the headmaster's daughter murder another student and is confronted by an unthinkable choice: avenging her fallen peer or taking this secret to the grave, one way or another. But fate laughs at Veaer's expense when the headmaster's daughter requests her aid. Driven by an all-consuming thirst for answers, Veaer becomes an untimely partner in solving a murder they both know the answer to, unaware of the intricacies that come with learning the bigger picture and playing with death. Chrysalis & Requiem is a haunting thriller of tragic obsession and relentless grief, weaving two young, queer women in a spiral of clandestine violence and illicit love.


The Church of the Mountain of Flesh

The Church of the Mountain of Flesh by Kyle Wakefield

THE CHURCH OF THE MOUNTAIN OF FLESH is a cosmic horror novel about mad artists, bodies spiralling out of control, and a trans man's merciless desperation. Sole De Gasinis drowns his grief in wine and buries his hatred of his body in twisted sculptures. When, one drunken night on the beach, God orders him to rebuild his village's church, he knows he wasn't chosen for his piety. Instead, he and God make a deal. If Sole rebuilds the church, God will give him the body of a man. As Sole works in a frenzy for salvation, lifelong friendships decay, a village united to tear down its church fractures into pariahs and zealots, and power and grief reshape the prophet into a tyrant. Grief for a boy he fell in love with ten years ago, who claimed to be a virgin birth, who died in agony in the church crypt when the God inside him wanted out--and whose monstrous remnant Sole must commune with for every piece of his prize.


Dreadland

Dreadland by Uilleam Whitedale

Following the last Harvest Moon, the world has begun to dim, as a strange mist continues to rise at dusk. DeShawn Lucas witnessed a murder in the street, committed by something he cannot identify. It soon becomes apparent that, as the world grows darker, people are changing, changing into what appear to be monsters. DeShawn and his secret flame, his neighbor, Keneisha Dillon, find themselves trapped and on their own, wondering if they can survive the end of the world or if they will succumb to the mist.


The Haunting of Sheila Lee

The Haunting of Sheila Lee by Uilleam Whitedale

Sometimes the human psyche seeks to protect itself in ways that shield one from trauma in the short term through denial, sublimation, projection. Regardless, the emotions shunned must be addressed in due time in some manner. Yet, once in an age, trauma is so severe and the bearer so unwilling to face it that it is wholly displaced, made homeless, and, epitomizing pain in excess, intends to punish its source. Sheila Ann Lee, a narcissistic and neurotic seeker of affluence, creates her own manifestation of trauma and leaves it forlorn. As it tortures her mind, and, eventually, interferes with the true love she finds, it remains unclear to her and all those seeking to protect her whether she is being haunted or she is the source of her own misery, and theirs.


Against Fearful Lies

Against Fearful Lies by Vivian Moira Valentine

In this second book in the series, Amelia Temple's world has changed. As a test subject to a shady government entity, it is 1954 and she has finally been given limited freedom to move around after being kept captive and studied since birth. That freedom came with a price, however. She now has friends, people she cares about. People who care about her. She has a girlfriend, but she manages to hide that fact, knowing how society would respond. And she has enemies, those who want to study her, dissect her, see what she is. Amelia is not sure what they will find. Something strange is going on at the hospital where her friend Ralph is being kept. And not a normal kind of strange, either. The kind of strange that means Ralph is no longer himself, the nurses at the hospital are keeping secrets, and somehow memories are stolen. In trying to save her friends, and herself, Amelia must not only deal with the creature now living inside her, but she must learn more about who she is and what, exactly, she is capable of. Because one thing has become clear: it's not just her and her friends' lives at stake... there are worlds within worlds and a universe of extranormal activity that just might depend on her.


Pray For Him

Pray For Him by Tyler Battaglia

A psychic priest is thrown headfirst into a battle of faith and love against the forces of Hell when his dearest friend becomes possessed. Father Isaias Flores may not have much, but he has his faith—and his dear friend Hector to keep him anchored when he is mired in self-doubt. But when Hector’s daughter, Violet, comes to Isaias with concerns that her father is acting strangely, Isaias’s doubts only increase, now with no one to keep him steadfast. For Hector seems to be possessed by something darker than even the traumas of the past, and Violet has nowhere else to turn to save her only family. This is a problem that may require divine intervention—the rites of exorcism. Unsure of his place in the church, doubting his gifts from God, and struggling to make sense of his feelings for the man he had thought was only a friend, Isaias isn’t sure if he is strong enough to save anyone’s soul from damnation. For what can one man do against the torments of Hell?


OSSUARY

OSSUARY by T.D. Cloud

Recipient of the 2023 Best Novella Award from the Queer Indie Awards. Work as a Curse Breaker is anything but glamorous. It’s difficult, gruesome at times, and it takes Curse Breaker Thierry Pryor to places better left untouched. The Paris Catacombs were once a symbol of French identity, the true sign of death making all equal in the end, but after centuries of layered spell work, ancient hexes, and more than one hastily patched protective charm, the resulting magical amalgam has begun to break down, tainting the surrounding land. It’s up to Thierry and his team to figure out the source of the miasma and quell it before it begins having an effect on those living above the city of the dead. But unlike the jobs before, there’s something at work in the catacombs much more sinister than some moldering family curse. Sometimes the dead sleep more soundly than the living, but then again, maybe some of the dead don’t sleep willingly at all...


Infaust

Infaust by T.D. Cloud

A witch with a dead familiar is an outlier and an ill-omen to every village they pass through. Rehan Nadir is one such witch. The only jobs available to him are terrible ones, and vagrancy is his only recourse… At least, it was until he heard tell of the town of Hamelin’s plight. Stories of a malicious entity, a chaos god, have tormented the village for hundreds of years, and like clockwork tragedy has struck once more: while the adults gathered elsewhere, the children were spirited away. No trace of them has been seen since. The town is desperate to bring them back. Very desperate. Finding and returning the lost children would be just the thing to give Rehan a new chance at the life he lost after the death of his familiar, and if all it takes is killing a god of chaos, then he’s more than ready to take the plunge and open that door. Unfortunately, he just didn’t anticipate opening a few more in the midst of dealing the finishing blow.


Incorrect Eyes

Incorrect Eyes by Andromeda Ruins

Be Not Afraid Those three words have haunted me my entire life, and now I'm close. I know I am. I'm close to finding out the truth behind the words, the truth behind the Seraphim. The closer I get to uncovering the truth, to proving that the Seraphim are real, the further my mind slips. I can't sleep - can't dream - without seeing them. Life has become difficult all of a sudden and I know it's tied to them. I just have to keep going, keep learning, keep discovering. Everything will be better once I complete my research... Incorrect Eyes is a psychological religious horror involving paranoia, angels with too many eyes, and the least mentally stable protagonist I’ve ever written. Please read with caution.


Rituals & Grimoires: Gothic Tales of Dark Magic and Wizardry

Rituals & Grimoires: Gothic Tales of Dark Magic and Wizardry by Eric Avedissian, Stefanie Contreras, Evan A Davis, Colin Harker, Nicola Apron, A.R.C. Mitra, Teagan Olivia King, R. Thursday, Melanie Whitlock

A seer’s dance descends through mist and time… Within this grimoire rests a collection of magical tales, most Gothic. Full of witches, ghosts, and spellcasters both ancient and new, these stories will thrill and haunt you like the very creatures they summon. Whether you love magic, mayhem, or something in between, these tales will cast their spell on you and hold your mind captive, well after the book has closed.


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