Dark Minds : Horror & Dark Fantasy Writers

When acclaimed author Russell Tolliver finds himself paralyzed by writer’s block, he and his family trade the noise of Boston for the quiet charm of a secluded New Hampshire town fittingly called Isolation. Their new home is everything they dreamed of—a serene escape nestled in the shadow of endless woods.But serenity can’t last forever.Not long after their arrival, whispers of a shadowy creature stalking the forest begin to spread through the town. The whispers turn to screams when mutilated bodies start appearing. As the death toll rises, fear grips Isolation, threatening to unravel the close-knit community.Determined to protect their families and uncover the truth, Russell teams up with his neighbors, Tom and Mitchell, and a reclusive town historian, Bryce. Together, they begin unraveling Isolation’s dark and bloody past—a past that holds terrifying secrets about the creature lurking in the woods.As they dig deeper, the line between history and horror blurs, forcing each man to confront their own inner demons. With the monster’s rampage escalating and time running out, the four friends must face a chilling truth: history remembers.Isolation is a gripping tale of terror, resilience, and the lengths we go to protect the ones we love—no matter what waits for us in the shadows. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alan R Warren & Michael Hawley Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scarlet Jameson is a taekwondo champion with a badly injured leg, a short fuse, and absolutely no intention of becoming an amateur detective.Then her friend Michelle is attacked by three masked strangers.Before her failing sight ended Michelle's career as a pediatrician, Emily had been her first patient. Years later, she became her last. When a desperately needed transplant fell through, Emily died—leaving behind a tragedy Michelle thought she'd buried.Apparently, someone else is determined to keep the past buried too.Scarlet, Michelle, and their loyal but unpredictable friend Bean start asking questions. They should have left the past alone. Because the deeper they dig, the more dangerous the answers become—and someone is willing to make sure they never reach the truth.Fast, dark, and full of wry, quick-witted banter, Scarlet Shadows is a modern Las Vegas crime mystery about buried secrets, the people who'll kill to keep them, and three friends who don't know when to walk away. Perfect for fans of Veronica Mars and Finlay Donovan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dark Reservoir is an exploration of what remains after unimaginable loss. Through award-winning horror fiction, haunting poetry, and deeply personal nonfiction, Bram Stoker Award-winning authors Nzondi and Cindy O’Quinn guide readers through three emotional descents—Ghosts of Heartbreak, Blind Fury, and Mind Rot—where trauma, grief, survival, and the supernatural converge.These are stories of ordinary people forced to endure extraordinary pain. Some are haunted by ghosts. Others by memory. All are confronted by the lingering question of what survives after tragedy.Inspired by both imagination and lived experience, Dark Reservoir is not simply a horror collection. It is a meditation on resilience, the cost of survival, and the ghosts—literal and metaphorical—that refuse to let us go.Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Where Stories Come Alive! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

World War II wasn't only fought with tanks and rifles. In the shadows behind every front line, another war was raging—one for knowledge no human mind was meant to hold. OSS operative Robert Danforth has already seen things that broke other men beyond the Mountains of Madness. Now the Nazis are hunting the same forbidden truths, from the tombs of Egypt to the fortresses of the Carpathians, and Danforth is the only one standing between them and powers that predate civilization itself. Each investigation pulls him deeper into a war the Allies don't know they're fighting—against Nazi occultists who believe they can bend ancient evil to their cause, and against something far older and hungrier than any army, waiting for the moment it can finally cross through. Some wars are fought for territory. This one is fought for the future of humanity itself, and every answer Danforth finds comes at a price he's not sure he can keep paying. A gripping blend of WWII historical fiction, cosmic horror, and occult thriller, The Danforth series is perfect for readers who love Nazi occult horror, Lovecraftian dread steeped in real history, and stories where evil doesn't need a uniform to find a war. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The solo debut from the New York Times bestselling coauthor of Widow's Point: The Complete Haunting, a post-apocalyptic/survival horror novel written in the bestselling traditions of Stephen King’s The Mist and Josh Malerman’s Bird Box.A top-secret government project hits upon a revolutionary idea for transporting matter across the vast reaches of the universe, and it succeeds in bringing something back. Something alive. Soon, mankind’s reign comes to an abrupt halt when a truck hauling a very special shipping container overturns and rolls off the highway, unleashing an otherworldly horror upon an unsuspecting New England countryside, where it cannot be contained…Several years later, an unidentified man emerges from the rubble of humanity, seeking other survivors and a shred of hope amid an eerie and lonely landscape. He travels by night up the rural East Coast, discovering Americana ruins and encountering monsters the likes of which no one has survived. Scarred and molded by the cruel horrors of this new natural order, he must face his own dwindling humanity and pray that any others out there have not become monsters themselves… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The terrifying horror trilogy finale to the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling series that includes Chasing the Boogeyman and Becoming the Boogeyman from “one of horror’s indispensable writers” (Paste).Notorious serial killer Joshua Gallagher—dubbed “the Boogeyman” by the media—has vanished from prison. One moment, he was locked inside a maximum-security cell; the next, he was gone, leaving behind on the wall a crude hangman puzzle and two chilling words: IT’S TIME.Now, days later, the world is coming apart again. Bodies are turning up near writer and Gallagher confidante Richard Chizmar’s home, echoing the Boogeyman’s signature horrors. The news frenzy reignites while the police chase shadows...even as Gallagher’s twisted true crime fanbase celebrates online, acknowledging that he’s something more than human now.To everyone else, it’s a desperate hunt for answers. To Chizmar, it’s more like destiny closing in. The evidence, the sightings, the voices in the dark all point to one unthinkable conclusion: the Boogeyman never left. And very soon, Chizmar must come face-to-face with the thing wearing Gallagher’s skin, and learns all too quickly that some nightmares don’t return—they evolve. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every family has its secrets. But in this electric, provocative, and dizzyingly fast-paced horror debut, some families have The Need.“An instant contender for horror novel of the year.”—Joe Hill“This one gets stuck between your teeth, in the best way.”—Stephen Graham Jones“You need to read The Need.”—S.A. Cosby“A thrilling and surprisingly tender exploration of our most essential, primal fears.”—Riley KeoughThe Need is a rare genetic disorder. Those who have it must consume human flesh or die. For some, The Need is power. For others, it is a curse.Talia has been on the run with her two teenagers since the kids were babies, changing names and identities every time someone gets close to discovering her familyʼs tragic secret. Sam is her son, tormented by The Need, unable to stop giving in to his darkest desires, much to his mother’s chagrin. Rosie, his twin sister, whoʼs escaped her mom’s and brotherʼs genetic curse, is desperate for a life of normalcy—like a TikTok account, Homecoming, or a kiss with her mysterious new friend Naomi. But her brother keeps eating people and, frankly, itʼs ruining her life.Vera, a former supermodel and member of New York City’s elite Armstrong family, lives a life of luxury, haute couture, and eating people. Yes, unlike Talia, the Armstrongs secretly pride themselves on their genetic abnormality. But beneath Veraʼs opulent lifestyle is a woman whoʼs ruthlessly haunted by a mistake from her past. It has corrupted her standing with the Armstrongs, ruined her relationship with her kids, and is slowly unraveling her sanity. Vera will do whatever it takes to correct it.On the surface, these two families have nothing in common. But Talia is harboring a secret from the twins—one that will bring them crashing into the Armstrongs. And when the truth comes out, no one will ever be the same. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Bram Stoker Award winning author Hank Schwaeble, Normal for the Spider is a spine-tingling thriller that will keep readers hooked to the very last page.Sienna Shaw is an apex predator. She kills without remorse when it suits her purposes, steals from those she judges undeserving of what they have, lives by her own set of rules. Just don't call her a serial killer. She knows what she is and what she always will be--a survivor whose governing creed is simple: Trust No One.Or so Sienna believes, until the day she encounters a shadowy group that calls itself the Book Club. A small, well-funded, highly secret society united by their shared taste for the macabre and a desire to instill fear among entrepreneurs, industrialists, politicians--any who imagine themselves in charge of civilization--to remind them who is really at the top of the food chain. Sienna soon finds herself as a reluctant guest on a remote and supposedly haunted island where the Book Club plans to unleash hell upon its next target and usher in a new chapter of its terroristic mission.But not even Sienna is prepared for the tangled web of betrayal and horror that awaits, or the very real monsters that will be let loose--including ones that may have been present all along. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the monster in your child’s closet is real?Tim Beaulieu’s daughter, Cleo, says that the monster is also her invisible friend, whom she blames for innocuous trouble. The whole thing makes Tim uneasy as he tries to remember a part of his childhood that is missing. Surely nothing can be wrong. Can it?When the boy in the apartment upstairs goes missing after hurting Cleo, horrific memories begin to resurface as Tim finds himself under suspicion for the unthinkable. His daughter and those around him are in danger.Tim must face his past to save Cleo but can they survive the monster in the closet?****************“Stephen King fans will be enthralled.” — Publishers Weekly“At first, Bill Gauthier’s The Monster in the Closet feels like a traditional love letter to iconic horror authors like Stephen King, Michael McDowell, Peter Straub, etc. However, this marvelously unique, terrifyingly unpredictable tale suddenly goes off the rails in an unexpected direction that quite surprised me, shocked me even. Imaginative, tense, and deeply heartfelt, this novel moved me and chilled me in equal measure with unforgettable twists and flawed, richly textured characters. Highly recommended!” —Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke“I have watched Bill Gauthier’s career from the very beginning, and he never fails to impress. Steadily and consistently he has become one of the finest up-and-coming writers at work in the horror genre today. And he’s done it the right way, through years of hard work, determination, perseverance, and a focus on constantly honing and improving his craft. There are a lot of pretenders out there. Bill Gauthier isn’t one of them. He’s the real deal. Do NOT miss his work.” —Greg F. Gifune, author of Pack Animals and The Standing Dead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.