horror stories

"When three soldiers leave the battle to hide in a field, a dragon rescues them . . . but it comes with consequences. Dragon offers them safety only if they serve him for seven years. To be set free they must answer a riddle. Will the soldiers gain their freedom, or will they be servants of the Dragon forever? This is a grim retelling of 'The Devil and His Grandmother,' an 1800's English tale adapted by the Brothers Grimm"--Back cover.

"In this updated retelling of Brother Grimm's 'Jorinda and Joringel' a shape-changing witch protects her privacy at all costs. When the engaged couple Jorinda and Jacob stumble into the witch's part of the forest, she takes them captive. The hateful witch changes Jorinda into a singing bird. Will her fiance save her or will the witch keep her singing bird caged forever?"--Provided by publisher.

"Often thought to be a fairy tale from India about the practice of arranged marriage, this creepy retelling of 'The Snake Prince' highlights the dangers of jealousy and greed"--Provided by publisher.

A collection of ten scary stories with brief introductions by the author.

Five years ago, a parasite poisoned the water of Ian?s West Virginia hometown, turning dozens of locals into dark-eyed, oil-dripping shells of their former selves. With chronic migraines and seizures limiting his physical abilities, Ian relies on his best friend and secret love Eric to mercy-kill any infected people they come across. Until a new health report about the contamination triggers a mandatory government evacuation, and Ian cracks his head in the rush. Used to hospitals and health scares, Ian always thought he'd die young... but he wasn?t planning on coming back. Much less face the slow, painful realization that Eric left him behind to die. Desperate to find Eric and the truth before the parasite takes over him, Ian along with two others left behind?his old childhood rival Monica and the jaded prepper Angel?journey to track down Eric. What they don't know is that Eric is also looking for Ian, and he's determined to mercy-kill him.

Wyatt Westlock has one plan for the farmhouse she's just inherited--to burn it to the ground. But during her final walkthrough of her childhood home, she makes a shocking discovery in the basement--Peter, the boy she once considered her best friend, strung up in chains and left for dead. Unbeknownst to Wyatt, Peter has suffered hundreds of ritualistic deaths on her family's property. Semi-immortal, Peter never remains dead for long, but he can't really live, either. Not while he's bound to the farm, locked in a cycle of grisly deaths and painful rebirths. There's only one way for him to break free. He needs to end the Westlock line. He needs to kill Wyatt. With Wyatt's parents gone, the spells protecting the property have begun to unravel, and dark, ancient forces gather in the nearby forest. The only way for Wyatt to repair the wards is to work with Peter--the one person who knows how to harness her volatile magic. But how can she trust a boy who's sworn an oath to destroy her?.

"Growing up in the small town of Winston, Pennsylvania, feels like drowning. Leah goes to church every Sunday, works when she isn't at school, and takes care of her baby brother, Owen. Like every girl in Winston, she tries to be right and good and holy. If she isn't, the Lord of the Wood will take her, and she'll disappear like so many other girls before her. But living up to the rigorous standards of the town takes its toll. One night, when Owen won't stop screaming, Leah wishes him away, and the Lord listens. The screaming stops, and all that's left in the crib is a small bundle of sticks tied with a ribbon. Filled with shame and the weight of the town's judgment, Leah crosses the river into the Lord of the Wood's domain to bring Owen back. But the devilish figure who has haunted Winston for generations isn't what she expects. He tells her she can have her brother back--for a price. It's a bargain that will uncover secrets her hometown has tried to keep buried for decades. And what she unearths will have her questioning everything she's been taught to fear"--Provided by publisher.

When amateur teen detective Vivian Vance takes on a case in the Pillars, a downtrodden community beneath the highway, she stumbles on a dark secret about her town's history and finds herself face-to-face with the flesh-takers, monsters who snatch unruly kids off the street.

"There are only two things seventeen-year-old Jericka knows about her estranged grandmother: her name, and that she abandoned Jericka's mom and uncle when they were kids. But now that her grandmother is dying, Jericka is dragged to middle-of-nowhere Coldwater, Maryland, to say goodbye. While Jericka attempts to form a connection with a woman she's never known and adjust to life in a town where everything closes before dinner, she meets 'ghost girl' Kat, who is eager to leave Coldwater and intriguing despite some troubling town gossip. As summer unwinds, Jericka uses her senior photography portfolio to capture the town as it is--and as it was--only to discover that Coldwater has a few unsettling secrets of its own. The more you try to leave, the stronger the town's hold. As she feels the chilling pull of her family's past, Jericka begins to question everything she thought she knew about her mother, her childhood, and the lines between the living and the dead"--Provided by publisher.

"Does a creepy librarian prefer blood over books? Is a girl's cuddly cat a fur-ocious feline? Can a young boy escape a popular amusement park run by real-life vampires? Discover the answers to these terrifying questions and more in this collection of eight vampire stories that'll have you scared stiff"--Provided by publisher.