Halloween is fast approaching and in this final post celebrating Halloween 2021, I offer a few more of my terror-inducing favorites. These are stories by contemporary writers, my peers, so to speak. And these guys set the bar quite high.
Bleak Mathematics
I love the cosmic horror of Brian Fatah Steele. It is some of the most imaginative stuff I’ve read — by any writer.
Steele’s short story collection, Your Arms Around Entropy: And Other Stories, is one of the best collections of the macabre you will ever come across. And the story “Bleak Mathematics” is not only my favorite from the collection, but one of the most memorable stories I’ve read.
Steele is quite easily the inheritor of Lovecraft’s mantle. Pick up a copy of Your Arms Around Entropy and you will never be the same.
A Crow’s Game
There’s weird, and then there’s Andy Graham’s weird. And Andy’s weird is truly terrifying.
A Crow’s Game is part of The Risen World Series and I could have easily picked any of the 4 books, or the entire series for that matter, to spotlight.
A Crow’s Game is somewhat unusual because it has a weird, nonsensically nightmarish quality about it. Dreampunk terror perhaps.
Andy Graham’s stories are crazy scary. They reveal a world that we really don’t want to know exists. A world that for all of our modern finesse we know does exist, lingering in the deepest recesses of our id.
Get A Crow’s Game on Amazon, and be forewarned: it will scare the bejeezus out of you.
Congeal
John F Leonard is a fairly new to me writer, and I’m very glad to have met him. The stories I’ve read thus far put him amongst the top writers of the tale of terror.
Congeal is a story of post-apocalyptic cosmic horror which, should you read at night, you’ll want to make sure all the lights are on.
I look forward to reading more of Leonard’s work, and I hope you join me on the road into terror.
Pick up a copy of Congeal from Amazon.
Tony Price: Confidential
Richard Schwindt’s work is no stranger to this blog. And his occult detective, Tony Price, is perfect for Halloween. Tony is a colorful character with whom you will quickly fall in love.
The three adventures in Tony Price: Confidential are spooky scary creature-features, filled with dark humor, and, well, scary monsters.
I can’t say enough good things about Richard’s writing, so pick up a copy of Tony Price: Confidential on Amazon and give yourself a scare.
01134 and Exit
Crispian Thurlborn is also no stranger to this blog. I admire the craftsmanship of his work, and when he uncorks the terror it’s the kind that sneaks up on you and grabs you after you’ve read the last page.
01134 and Exit are two super spooky tales of terror. Subtle, understated, they will clobber you in the middle of the night, long after you’ve finished reading. Perfect for Halloween, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Both stories are available on Amazon: 01134 and Exit.
There you have them. Wonderful tales of terror to spook out your Halloween. Enjoy!
Comments are always welcome. And until next time, happy reading!
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