Best New Horror

From the New York Times bestselling author of NOS4A2 and Horns comes this e-short story—from Joe Hill’s award-winning collection 20th Century Ghosts. Imogene is young and beautiful. She kisses like a movie star and knows everything about every film ever made. She's also dead and waiting in the Rosebud Theater for Alec Sheldon one afternoon in 1945. . . . Arthur Roth is a lonely kid with big ideas and a gift for attracting abuse. It isn't easy to make friends when you're the only inflatable boy in town. . . . Francis is unhappy. Francis was human once, but that was then. Now he's an eight-foot-tall locust and everyone in Calliphora will tremble when they hear him sing. . . . John Finney is locked in a basement that's stained with the blood of half a dozen other murdered children. In the cellar with him is an antique telephone, long since disconnected, but which rings at night with calls from the dead. . . .

A collection of the best horror stories of 1996 includes contributions by Poppy Z. Brite, Storm Constantine, Iain Sinclair, and Karl Edward Wagner

This new anthology represents the most outstanding new short stories and novellas by both contemporary masters of horror and exciting newcomers. The award-winning series offers a chilling overview of this year in horror.

‘Illusory, frightening, and deeply moving, The Fisherman is a modern horror epic. And it’s simply a must read’ Paul Tremblay In upstate New York, within the woods, Dutchman’s Creek flows out of the Ashokan Reservoir. Steep-banked and fast-moving, it offers the promise of fine fishing, and of something more, a possibility too fantastic to be true. When Abe and Dan, two widowers who have found solace in each other’s company and a shared passion for fishing, hear rumours of the Creek and what might be found there, the remedy to both their losses, they dismiss them. Soon, though, the men find themselves drawn into a tale as deep and old as the Reservoir. It's a tale of dark pacts, of long-buried secrets, and of a mysterious figure known as the Fisherman. It will bring Abe and Dan face to face with all that they have lost, and with the price they must pay to regain it. ‘An epic, yet intimate, horror novel. Langan channels M. R. James, Robert E. Howard and Norman Maclean. What you get is A River Runs Through It... straight to hell’ Laird Barron More praise for The Fisherman ‘Reading this, your mouth fills with worms. Just let them wriggle and crawl as they will, though—don’t swallow. John Langan is fishing for your sleep, for your soul. I fear he’s already got mine’ Stephen Graham Jones ‘What starts as a slow, melancholy tale gains momentum and drops you head first into a churning nightmare from which you might escape, but you’ll never forget, and the memory of what you saw will change you forever’ Richard Kadrey ‘The Fisherman is a treasure, the kind of book you just want to snuggle up and shiver through. I can’t say enough good things about the confidence, the patience, the satisfying cumulative power of this book. It was a pleasure to read from the first page to the last’ Victor LaValle ‘Stories within stories, folk tales becoming modern legends, all spinning into a fisherman’s tale about the one he wishes had gotten away. Langan’s latest is at turns epic and personal, dense yet compulsively readable, frightening but endearing’ Adam Cesare

Horror: Another 100 Best Books features one hundred of the top names in the horror field discussing one hundred of the most spine-chilling novels ever written. Each entry includes a synopsis of the work as well as publication history, biographical information about the author of each title, and recommended reading and biographical notes on the contributor. Author Ramsey Campbell also offers a new foreword to the book describing the evolution of horror over the past two decades — from the way it's written by a crop of new and exciting writers to the way it's received by a new market of readers. Horror: Another 100 Best Books will be the definitive guide to the tremendous library of horror fiction available today —a reference that no fan can live without.

For twenty years The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror has been recognized as the world's foremost annual showcase of horror and dark fantasy fiction. Now, with one story from each year in which it has been published, from 1989 to 2008, representing the work of dozens of authors, many of them acknowledged as the foremost practitioners of the genre, multi-award-winning editor Stephen Jones looks back on two decades of superb writing to bring readers the ultimate horror fiction anthology. With names such as Ramsey Campbell, Christopher Fowler, Neil Gaiman, Michael Marshall Smith, Paul J. McAuley and Lisa Tuttle, this collection represents a true landmark in horror fiction publishing. Praise for Stephen Jones: 'Horror's last maverick.' - Christopher Fowler 'Stephen Jones . . . has a better sense of the genre than almost anyone in this country.'- Lisa Tuttle, The Times Books 'The best horror anthologist in the business is, of course, Stephen Jones.' - Roz Kavaney, Time Out 'Edited by Stephen Jones, a member of that tiny band of anthologists whose work is so reliably good that you automatically reach out and grab hold of any new volume spotted if you are wise.'- Gahan Wilson, Realms of Fantasy 'One of the genre's most enthusiastic cheerleaders.' - Publishers Weekly 'Horror readers owe Stephen Jones a lot.' - Rue Morgue 'Edited by the prolific and reliable Stephen Jones.' - SFX Magazine 'Jones performs his usual exemplary job.' - Starlog (UK) 'A new horror anthology from Stephen Jones is always an event' - Dennis Etchison

Best New Horror has established itself as the world's premier horror annual, showcasing the talents of the very best writers working in the horror and dark fantasy field today. In this latest volume, the multi-award winning editors have chosen razor-sharp stories of suspense and disturbing tales of terror by authors on the cutting edge of the genre. Along with a comprehensive review of the year and a fascinating necrology, this is the book no horror fan can afford to miss.

Discover what lurks in the shadowed corners of The Graveyard Apartment, and brace yourself for a literary experience that you won't forget. This psychological horror unravels the unsettling experiences of a young family, innocently enticed by the seemingly idyllic vistas of their new apartment. Situated beside a graveyard, the building quietly harbors an insidious evil, nudging them down a path of inexplicable, panic-inducing occurrences. With each passing day, the walls of this pristine apartment close in bit by bit, trapping them against the bygone souls that echo from beyond the grave. With the complex interplay of nail-biting suspense and thrilling horror, this masterpiece will challenge the bravest of readers. Its haunting narrative, intricately woven around the domestic and psychological aspects of horror, intensifies with each page turn, culminating with a conclusion that will make you think twice before ever going into a basement again.

From razor sharp terror to supernatural chills... This sensational for the best short horror novels and stories collects spine-melting material from all areas of the field - blood-soaked reveries; splatterplunk nightmares; and thought-provoking fantasies that linger long into the night. Rare treats include the 'The Pin' by Robert R. McMannon, one of the most sustained, stomach churning chillers of recent years; Thomas Tessier's elegant 'Blanca'; 'The Horn' by Stephen Gallagher and Thomas Ligotti's dark vision 'The Strange Design of Master Rignolo'. Included are other writers at the pinnacle of their careers: Karl Edward Wagner, Richard Laymon, Steve Rasnic Tem and Ramsey Campbell, as well as rising stars like Kim Newman, Ian Watson, Brian Lumley, Chet Williamson and many more.