Here’s a small selection of the horror and genre news that caught our eye during the last week …
October Nights, featuring four interconnected Halloween-themed stories by Kevin Lucia, coming 22 October from Crystal Lake Publishing
Halloween is a night when anything seems possible. This is true everywhere, but nowhere more so than in the small town of Clifton Heights. October nights here are long and strange, filled with both dread and transformation, and in these four shared-world tales of small-town Halloween horror, you’ll encounter things both wondrous and terrifying, in equal measure: A priest hears a ghostly confession on Halloween night which will mark him forever. A young man is offered a supernatural chance to remake his fortune, at the risk of losing everything. A pastor fleeing the death of his daughter comes to Clifton Heights to face his fears, but finds himself living a nightmare instead. Two people with supernatural talents face-off with an engine of darkness and pain on Halloween night. Four connected Halloween tales, evoking echoes of Ray Bradbury and Charles L. Grant, taking place in a town where every day is All Hallow’s Eve. Spend the Halloween season in Clifton Heights…if you dare. Available to pre-order in eBook, with a paperback following soon, you can guarantee your copy here.
Out now from author Jennifer Soucy and Silver Shamrock Publishing, Dead in the Water
Breaking a promise can have deadly consequences. Grandma Maureen escapes the nursing home and walks into the water. The McNamara curse strikes again as another member is taken by the sea. Shaelyn, Cordelia, and Riley—triplet terrors who once dreamed of stardom and true love—return home to mourn the woman who raised them. Shaelyn lost the man of her dreams and had to raise their children alone while running the family business. Cordelia married her childhood sweetheart and became his princess, but he began punishing her after she failed to meet his expectations. Riley’s a famous musician, but a life of excess and regret has taken its toll. Someone else lurks in Provincetown, eager for the sisters’ reunion—a mysterious man who’s watched them from afar for years. One of the sisters has a secret, a bargain struck which must be fulfilled or else disaster will follow. The McNamara Girls have no choice but to set aside their differences and unite against a predator whose vengeful obsession refuses to be denied. Available in paperback and eBook, you can pick up your copy now, here.
Out now from Wildside Press, Zombies! this year’s Weirdbook annual, edited by Doug Draa
Every year, Weirdbook Magazine publishes a collection of short stories to thrill and delight readers worldwide. This year, we challenged authors to come up with memorable takes on the zombie theme, and the result is this fantastic collection of 34 original stories. This year’s entries include tales by Lucy A. Snyder, John Linwood Grant, Stephanie Ellis, Scott Edelman and others, alongside poetry by K. A. Opperman, Gregg Chamberlain and many more. Available now in paperback, eBook and hardcover editions you can pick up your copy, here.
Released today through Crystal Lake Publishing, Little Sister by Elana Gomel
A schoolgirl steps between a soldier and a ravening monster… 1943. The Soviet Union is under attack as WW2 is raging. Fighting in the doomed battle of Kursk, Andrei finds himself in a strange city where Svetlana, a girl he has never seen but who looks eerily familiar, saves him from a fist-faced creature. When Svetlana’s family is lost, the two embark on a harrowing odyssey across the snow-covered plain, battling deformed former humans and taken prisoners by the army of black stars. Against impossible odds, they reach their destination where they discover a secret that will change history. Little Sister is a dystopian historical fantasy set in the Soviet Era. Presenting a richly imagined alternative history world, this is a tale of friendship, survival, and heartbreak. Fans of The Book Thief and The Wolfhound Century will enjoy this striking fantasy rooted in Russian fiction. Available now in eBook and paperback, you can pick up your copy here.
Out now from writer Christopher Golden and Haverhill House Publishing, The Ghosts of Who You Were
In this chilling new collection from Bram Stoker Award-winner Christopher Golden, the author takes you on a tour of his darkest nightmares. From a little door inside an elevator to a hellish prison for stolen children, from a terrifying future where nightfall means death to a fairy tale past in which lies and illusion enrage the ghosts all around us. The Ghosts of Who You Were collects some of Golden’s finest stories, tales of bad fathers and ancient monsters, the promises of strangers, parties that never end, and a collection of Hollywood curses. Featuring the Bram Stoker Award-nominated story “The Bad Hour,” The Ghosts of Who You Were is Golden’s finest collection yet. Available in eBook and hardcover editions, you can buy your copy here.
New from writer Katherine Silva and Strange Wilds Press, The Wild Dark
Ghosts. Soul-eating wolves. World-consuming woods. A friendship that defies death. Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Raleigh has lost everything: her job as a police detective, her partner, her fiancé, and her peace of mind. After a month of solitude at a cabin in the woods, she finally feels as though she’s ready to move on. But in one terrifying night, everything changes. Liz’s partner, Brody, appears in the form of a ghost. He’s one of millions that have returned to haunt their loved ones. Brody can’t remember how he died and Liz is determined to keep the secret of it buried, for it means dredging up crushing memories. Along with him comes an unearthly forest purgatory that swallows up every sign of human civilization across the world. The woods are fraught with disturbing architecture and monstrous wolves hungry for human souls. Brody says he escaped from them and that the wolves are trying to drag him and others ghosts back. As winter closes in and chaos erupts across New England, Liz fights desolation, resurfacing guilt, and absolute terror as she tries to survive one of the most brutal winters she’s ever seen. Available now in eBook, with a paperback to follow, you can pick up your copy here.
KEV HARRISON
