horror – occult

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Summary: In the third installment, Damien's past resurfaces, unwilling to remain buried. As Brian approaches his eighteenth birthday and prepares to return home, the unsettling events of the night at the warehouse continue to haunt them. When rumors of a pair of ghosts sighted near the Ohio River prompt Damien, Pat, Brian, and a friend from Pat's past to investigate the paranormal activity, it becomes clear that all paths lead back to the warehouse and the red-haired vampire and their mysterious hooded friend. Will the gang succeed in aiding the restless spirits to find solace, and unravel the secrets that lie ahead?

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Summary: All who live shall die, but few can plan for that transition. Life's greatest mystery and most practical companion. The meeting with death is inevitable, the transition unknowable. What lay beyond could be tormenting, enlightening, blissful, or nothing of note. The death mages of Miurag spend their lives observing death's transition in others, most preparing to one day meet their own. Privy to unique perceptions most would deem mad, their motives and choices beyond the veil are anyone's guess. The stories included: The Deathless Rises – An extraordinary desert sorcerer manages to outlive his Elven family and takes the hubris of life into the Nexus. Devour the Oracle – A young Ma'ab woman learns all she can in the slum and slavery of her birth, knowing her death will germinate a new age of enlightenment. At the Crossroads – A former monk pledges to an old death mage in an isolated tower. He's where he needs to be but cannot yet see when. The Herald Returns – Miurag's newest Deathwalker returns to the Nexus. This time, he takes his body with him. Harrowed's Breath – A young Guildsman returns to his homeland as one of the spirits he once worshipped, now seeking an elusive peace post-mortem. Tales of Miurag: Death is a same-world anthology expanding the Sister Seekers series by A.S. Etaski. This is not a standalone work. These stories follow established characters from previous books and are best read between Sister Seekers Book 8 and Book 12. This book contains spoilers and references to events in Tales of Miurag: The Desert as well as teasers for future novels in Sister Seekers.

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Summary: “A must-read for fans of strange, surreal horror.” —The New York Times In a frozen tundra, one man fights for redemption as monstrous creatures ravage a community already struggling to survive. Sebastian Pana is a “sin-eater,” a shaman-like figure who can absolve the dead of their transgressions before they move on to the afterlife. But when Sebastian’s small arctic town is invaded by hideous, otherworldly beasts, he must wage battle with them the only way he knows how: by unleashing the power of sin itself. From an author who has been compared to Lovecraft, Bradbury, and Gaiman, Incarnate is a masterpiece of contemporary arctic horror—both an epic confrontation between the forces of good and evil and a profoundly redemptive tale about our eternal quest for forgiveness.

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Summary: 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 wasn’t any old beauty pageant queen; she was 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 mind-shattering eldritch horror.

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Summary: Introducing DR, the original Draconian Warrior. Surviving the destruction of ancient Atlantis, DR has lived in secrecy for over 12,500 years. He was the second Draconian cloned on Atlantis and the first one to live. With his fellow Draconian Warriors enslaved on Atlantis, DR has remained free by staying hidden. His well-known allegiance to Atlantis’ greatest threat, Villonious, and the fact that he is on the outside, would put him at the top of their most wanted list...if the Atlanteans knew he was alive. DR is an enlightened being. His powers are human, honed over time. He knows many secrets, but one in particular, kept from Justin for his own safety, may be his undoing. With ancient technology that surpasses our own, he has joined Hexon’s elite circle and disguised as Draegon, is in a key position to help his friend uncover the covert organization’s plans. Featuring 35th Generation Shaolin Grandmaster Dr. Kam Yuen, as himself - real-life Grandsifu Shaolin KF, Taiqi, Qigong, Rocket Scientist. yuenmethod.com The story continues... Rejected by Justin, Kaila learns everyone she loves has been out to control her power. Deeply hurt, she cuts all ties with them. Meanwhile, unscrupulous mercenaries from around the world are being covertly recruited by a little known corporation called Hexon. The secretive organization is suspected of having ties to terrorist activity but nothing has been proven. Well-financed with technology that rivals the Atlanteans, Hexon is not only dangerous, but difficult to infiltrate. Several government agents on the case have disappeared. After linking them to a string of murders and EMF (electromagnetic frequency) bombings, and after being betrayed by everyone, including her own family, Kaila accepts unorthodox backup from two unusual allies, reptilians Krill and Tog, and sets out to take Hexon down...alone.

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Summary: BLACK TIDE: Awakening of the Key  by Debbie Bishop (Author), Mike S. Miller (Illustrator) @debbiebishop_ 5.0 out of 5 stars   (3) COMPLEX PLOT WITH MANY CHARACTERS - Part Sci-fi, part fantasy, with elements of covert intrigue and superhero action, Black Tide is one of the more multifaceted stories I've read in quite a long time. The art by Mike S. Miller is first-rate and very smooth. If you like in-depth, elaborate storylines, then this is unquestionably a book you'll want to read. It's rare that you get a comic series this complex today. Reviewed by Tim Janson Atlantis is now a myth, and the Atlanteans would like to keep it that way. Living secretly among us, their elite Black Ops team tries to protect us from supervillains from ancient times. As leader of the most covert black ops team in the world, Justin has devoted his life to saving others. Captured on a mission, he discovers that he was once the most powerful villain of Atlantis. After its demise 12,000 years ago, survivors recreated Atlantis and regenerated their higher beings who had been killed in the war. Villonious survived, but since they feared him, he was put in stasis and hidden from those who would free him. His love, Kaila, never gave up trying to find him. When she finally nearly succeeds, the heirarchy blocks his memories so he will not remember how to use his powers then forces him to be reborn. Now, on a mission to solve the mystery of a series of international murders, he is reunited with his enemies. In a weird twist of fate, he triggers the same series of events that led to the destruction of his ancient land. He is a changed man who remembers nothing of his past. But how he deals with the present will either save us or destroy us all.

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Summary: A Paranormal Excursion in Four Acts. It should have been a simple field experiment. Go in, prove I can do what I claim, and walk out with the cash. If they could see what I see. Feel the helplessness I do when something else takes over. I’ll bet they’re not kept awake at night by the voices in this place. They don’t see the darkness with eyes that follows us all around this estate as we gather proof. This money was going to help my little sister with her surgery. Good intentions and the road to Hell.

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Summary: All Armand wants is to share his life with his girlfriend Vonnie. But money is tight, their relationship is fizzling, and not even a monster-hunting side gig is paying off. When a mysterious drifter named Mr. Penny-Farthing blows into town on his antique high-wheeler, Armand thinks his troubles are over. Penny-Farthing offers Armand and Vonnie enough money to cover their expenses with one condition: they must find and return the soul of a serial killer who escaped Hell. Completing Penny-Farthing’s contract won’t be easy when demons appear all over the city and bodies start piling up. Overwhelmed and pushed to the brink, Armand realizes his greatest fear isn’t demons or shadowy murderers: it’s losing Vonnie forever. Can Armand stop a killer and keep the woman he loves, or will Hell take everything from him? Nail-biting and visceral, Mr. Penny-Farthing is a high-octane horror story about escaping your comfort zone while fighting for love.

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Summary: RISE (noun / verb) Eight definitions to inspire writers around the world, and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) An upward slope or movement 2) A beginning or origin 3) An increase in amount or number 4) An angry reaction 5) To take up arms 6) To return from death 7) To become heartened or elated 8) To exert oneself to meet a challenge Rise features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.

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Summary: Enter The Game is where it all begins for Justin. As the teenage son of an International Special Forces agent, Justin has seen the dangers in the world first hand. He's been to more high schools than he can count and can't talk to a girl to save his life. But now, when his dad is left for dead by the powers who employ him Justin must somehow find the courage to locate and rescue him by himself. To do it, he will have to infiltrate the Deceivers - the most covert and deadly Black Ops organization in the world. Based on the popular comic book Black Tide. The fascinating story combines science, history, technology, myth, metaphysics and tales of Atlantis with some of the same issues we face in our world today. Unlike the comic book, this novel is set in Justin’s formative teen years. Justin is an old soul and he is haunted by nightmares from what he thinks might be his previous life. If it was, can he forgive himself? How does a soldier go on after violence?

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Summary: "Dear Tyler, I was hoping I wouldn't have to write this letter for a long time..." Tyler is a young gay man with his whole life ahead of him. Then his Uncle Jodie died and left him the deed to Memory Lane Antiques, a small shop in an even smaller town. When he and his best friend, Madison, arrive to assess the inventory, they're led by unseen forces to an old journal. Only then do they realize the full meaning of ownership and possession. Memory Lane is filled with curious items. Some mundane, others deadly. As they dive deeper into Jodie's writing, Tyler cannot help but notice the similarities between their lives, nor is he prepared for just how deep his own ties run to a dark-glassed mirror that hangs in the showroom and the ghost of a boy named Frankie who will do anything to escape its murky depths.

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Summary: Armand Tarkanian is trapped in the ultimate dead-end job: embalming decedents under his abusive uncle’s watchful eye. Every day he goes through the motions, making death look beautiful while his life is anything but. A car accident leaves him indebted to Berj, a mysterious man with rune-carved gold teeth and a penchant for worshipping old gods. Blackmailed and desperate, Armand feels more trapped than he was under his uncle’s thumb. But the embalmer harbors his own dark secret, a bloodline curse that allows him to communicate with the dead. When the spirits show him how they were murdered, Armand must choose between fealty to the sadistic and manipulative Berj, or joining the Legion of the Lamb, a monster-hunting biker gang with their own agenda. What began as a dangerous game between secret societies has led Armand on a frightening quest to save the only family he’s ever known and a chance to get closer to the rebellious misfits who saved him.

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Summary: Clarity (noun) Four definitions to inspire writers around the world and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) Coherent and intelligible 2) Transparent or pure 3) Attaining certainty about something 4) Easy to see or hear Clarity features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.

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Summary: Humans are, so far as we know, the only creatures on this planet who mark the passage of time. As such, we are keenly aware from an early age that time is tick, tick, ticking away. In the end, for all of us, is Death. We fear it. We are intoxicated by it. We run from it and somehow find ourselves wrapped in its dark-robed arms. A small village suffering through a terrifying plague seek a solution from a prophet. A “pig” crawls on his hands and knees through the dark labyrinth of a BDSM dungeon in search of the only thing that can satiate his hunger. Two young men find themselves chased through the woods by a real-life urban legend. A lonely young man finds a boon companion in Death. These stories and more fill Darkest Death, a collection of short horror fiction by W. Dale Jordan, author of The Stop.

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Summary: Bobby Gene is a man who stands out even among his people. Guided by the knowledge of his heritage as a backwoods shaman and more perceptive than many, he's grown to be a valuable asset to those he knows. While he isn't surprised to be the first to know when the woods around him begin to show clues that something isn't right, he doesn't expect just how much these omens and signs will prove to foretell something far more sinister to come. Soon strange dreams and inexplicable encounters have him questioning everything he knows- and then the people who live in his woodland Appalachian community begin to disappear. It's his job to protect and guide the others, what will he do when he's the only thing between them and the end of life as they know it?

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Summary: INK (NOUN) Five definitions to inspire writers around the world and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) A colored fluid used for writing 2) The action of signing a deal 3) A black liquid ejected by squid 4) Publicity in the written media 5) A slang word for tattoos Ink features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.

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Summary: "You can't keep running from your past, especially when it has four legs and fangs." In the exciting second installment of Tales of a Gay Witch, we return to Jason and his friends six months later as they are coming to terms with the events of last year. Jason thought he could move on with his life after Damien left in search of information about his mother, after finding out she might be alive after all, but is struggling to adjust to life without him. He is persuaded to go out and meet up with his friends at his favorite night club 1470 West, where he meets a handsome young man named Mickey. That same night, Jason is informed by Detective Miller, now a good friend of his, to be on the lookout for Jo’s ex-husband Rex, who might be coming their way. There have been a number of sexual assaults and murders targeting young lesbian women up in northern Ohio, and Rex is suspected of being involved. Jo’s ex-husband was always a nasty, abusive piece of work, but to make things worse Rex is a werewolf and an alpha to boot. It’s up to Jason to rally his friends again, as he is tasked with protecting the people he cares about, before it’s too late…

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Summary: No one wants to be fooled, but that’s what Frankenstein did to you all. Victor's words were the mere ravings of a coward and madman. The truth is a fickle mistress. I was the one that raided the graveyards and robbed the dead of their terrestrial remains. It was I who pursued your creation across continents when you hadn't the spine to see to it yourself. It was I who held my begotten son in my hands that day. Frankenstein took the glory, took the fame, and horded the money from our misfortunes. The time for my retribution has come.

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Summary: Ousting this demon has nothing to do with holy water—it’s all about a steady hand on the dagger. Mary Evans’ blood pooling in the cobbled streets beneath her corpse symbolizes everything DuHarren hates about his contract with the demon Tamuel. After two and a half centuries of a lucrative, but usually boring and occasionally horrifying partnership, he wants to get out of the deal, and he doesn’t mind dying to do it. He fears only the prospect of Hell’s fiery brimstone. When Father Michael—a beautiful but angry green-eyed priest—performs the latest in a long line of failed exorcisms, the demon is intrigued, but so is DuHarren. Would the priest make a lover? Or better, dare he hope he might at last sever his ties to the demon and escape to a cool, quiet death? Note: By Lou Sylvre writing as Loretta Sylvestre. Lou Sylvre is known for romance and happy endings. Same writer, but beware: this isn't that.