FREE/BARGAIN - Horror/Supernatural

[ZodWallop]

That Which Stands Outside by Mark Morris is $1 at Amazon and B&N (but not Kobo)

A new chiller from multi award winning author of over 50 novels, winner of the New York Festival Radio Award for Best Drama Special and Festival Radio Awards.

That Which Stands Outside is a horror novel inspired by Nordic folklore. After Todd Kingston rescues Yrsa Helgerson from muggers one rainy London night, their resulting friendship quickly develops into a romance. When Yrsa’s mother dies, Todd accompanies her back to her childhood home, an isolated Nordic island. The reception they receive there is one of suspicion and hostility. The islanders believe Yrsa to be a child of a mythic race called the Jötnar, a claim which Yrsa dismisses as superstitious nonsense. But as the island is rocked by a series of devastating events, Todd finds himself caught up in a terrifying battle, one which possibly threatens the future of the world itself.

[ZodWallop]

The Undesired by Yrsa Sigurdardóttir is $2 at Amazon, B&N and Kobo

Aldis hates her job working in a juvenile detention center in rural Iceland. The boys are difficult, the owners are unpleasant, and there are mysterious noises at night. And then two of the boys go astray . . .

Decades later, single father Odinn is looking into alleged abuse at the center. The more he finds out, though, the more it seems the odd events of the 1970s are linked to the accident that killed his ex-wife. Was her death something more sinister?

[ZodWallop]

Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay is $2 at Amazon, B&N and Kobo.

A chilling twist on the “cursed film” genre from the bestselling author of The Pallbearers Club and The Cabin at the End of the World.

In June 1993, a group of young guerilla filmmakers spent four weeks making Horror Movie, a notorious, disturbing, art-house horror flick.

The weird part? Only three of the film’s scenes were ever released to the public, but Horror Movie has nevertheless grown a rabid fanbase. Three decades later, Hollywood is pushing for a big budget reboot.

The man who played “The Thin Kid” is the only surviving cast member. He remembers all too well the secrets buried within the original screenplay, the bizarre events of the filming, and the dangerous crossed lines on set that resulted in tragedy. As memories flood back in, the boundaries between reality and film, past and present start to blur. But he’s going to help remake the film, even if it means navigating a world of cynical producers, egomaniacal directors, and surreal fan conventions—demons of the past be damned.

But at what cost?

Horror Movie is an obsessive, psychologically chilling, and suspenseful feat of storytelling genius that builds inexorably to an unforgettable, mind-bending conclusion

[salty-horse]

A Sunny Place for Shady People: Stories by Mariana Enriquez is $3 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)
Translated by Megan McDowell.

A diabolical collection of stories featuring achingly human characters whose lives intertwine with ghosts, goblins, and the macabre.

On the shores of this river, all the birds that fly, drink, perch on branches, and disturb siestas with the demonic squawking of the possessed—all those birds were once women.

Welcome to Argentina and the fascinating, frightening, fantastical imagination of Mariana Enriquez. In twelve spellbinding new stories, Enriquez writes about ordinary people, especially women, whose lives turn inside out when they encounter terror, the surreal, and the supernatural. A neighborhood nuisanced by ghosts, a family whose faces melt away, a faded hotel haunted by a girl who dissolved in the water tank on the roof, a riverbank populated by birds that used to be women—these and other tales illuminate the shadows of contemporary life, where the line between good and evil no longer exists.

Lyrical and hypnotic, heart-stopping and deeply moving, Enriquez’s stories never fail to enthrall, entertain, and leave us shaken. Translated by the award-winning Megan McDowell, A Sunny Place for Shady People showcases Enriquez’s unique blend of the literary and the horrific, and underscores why Kazuo Ishiguro, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, calls her “the most exciting discovery I’ve made in fiction for some time.”

[ZodWallop]

William by Mason Coile is $2 at Amazon, B&N and Kobo.

Psychological horror meets cyber noir in this delicious one-sitting read—a haunted house story in which the haunting is by AI.

Henry is a brilliant engineer who, after untold hours spent in his home lab, has achieved the breakthrough of his career—he’s created an artificially intelligent consciousness. He calls the half-formed robot William.

No one knows about William. Henry’s agoraphobia keeps him inside the house, and his fixation on his project keeps him up in the attic, away from everyone, including his pregnant wife, Lily.

When Lily’s coworkers show up, wanting to finally meet Henry and see the new house—the smartest of smart homes—Henry decides to introduce them to William, and things go from strange to much worse. Soon Henry and Lily discover the security upgrades intended to keep danger out of the house are even better at locking it in.

[salty-horse]

Cross-posted to SF&F.
Crypt of the Moon Spider by Nathan Ballingrud is $2 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)
Novella. First in a series.

A dark and dreamy tale of horror, corruption, and identity spun into the stickiest of webs.

Years ago, in a cave beneath the dense forests and streams on the surface of the moon, a gargantuan spider once lived. Its silk granted its first worshippers immense faculties of power and awe.

It’s now 1923 and Veronica Brinkley is touching down on the moon for her intake at the Barrowfield Home for Treatment of the Melancholy. A renowned facility, Dr. Barrington Cull’s invasive and highly successful treatments have been lauded by many. And they’re so simple! All it takes is a little spider silk in the amygdala, maybe a strand or two in the prefrontal cortex, and perhaps an inch in the hippocampus for near evisceration of those troublesome thoughts and ideas.

But patients aren’t the only ones with trouble on their minds, and although the spider’s been dead for years, its denizens are not. Someone or something is up to no good, and Veronica just might be the cause.

[ZodWallop]

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman is $2 at Amazon, B&N and Kobo

To eight-year-old Bela, her family is her world. There’s Mommy, Daddo, and Grandma Ruth. But there is also Other Mommy, a malevolent entity who asks her every day: “Can I go inside your heart?”

When horrifying incidents around the house signal that Other Mommy is growing tired of asking Bela the question over and over, Bela understands that unless she says yes, her family will soon pay.

Other Mommy is getting restless, stronger, bolder. Only the bonds of family can keep Bela safe, but other incidents show cracks in her parents’ marriage. The safety Bela relies on is about to unravel.

But Other Mommy needs an answer.

[ZodWallop]

All My Colors by David Quantick is $2 at Amazon, B&N and Kobo

When an aspiring writer—and well-known jerk—plagiarizes a book only he seems to remember, he’s dogged by consequences straight out of a horror novel.

It is March 1979 in DeKalb Illinois. Todd Milstead is a wannabe writer, a serial adulterer, and a jerk—only tolerated by his friends because he throws the best parties with the best booze. During one such party, Todd shows off his perfect recall, quoting poetry and literature word for word plucked from his eidetic memory. When he begins quoting from a book no one else seems to know, a novel called All My Colors, Todd is incredulous. He can quote it from cover to cover—and yet it doesn't seem to exist.

With a looming divorce and mounting financial worries, Todd finally tries to write a novel, with the vague idea of making money from his talent. The only problem is he can't write. But the book—All My Colors—is there in his head. Todd makes a decision: he will “write” this book that nobody but him can remember. After all, if nobody’s heard of it, how can he get into trouble?

As the dire consequences of his actions come home to both Todd and his long-suffering friends, it becomes clear that there is a high—and painful—price to pay for his crime.

[ZodWallop]

We Will All Go Down Together by Gemma Files is $2 at Amazon, B&N and Kobo

One of Canada’s most acclaimed horror writers, Gemma Files presents a mosaic of interconnected stories about interconnected families. After fleeing Scotland, five clans settled in the fictional town of Dourvale in northern Ontario. Known as the Five-Family Coven, they are the descendants of witches and witch-children, none of whom were spared persecution in their native country. Now shamans, spellcasters, singers, and thieves, the members of the Devize, Druir, Glouwer, Roke, and Rusk families survive by trading their occult powers and talents—though few can really afford their price . . .

“What makes We Will All Go Down Together so riveting isn’t its ideas or imagery, as richly atmospheric and detailed as they are. It’s the author’s voice. Colorful, powerful, and charismatic, her characters are rendered in bold strokes and poignant nuances. . . . Her book is a short-story collection, true, but it also works as a dark, fractured mosaic of a novel. Across continents and centuries, the ghost-magic of Dourvale still cuts and pastes the fabric of reality. With her ghostly, magical storytelling, Files does the same.” —NPR.org

If, like me, you now have the chorus of Billy Joel's Goodnight Saigon stuck in your head, you are a cool person.

[ZodWallop]

Floating Dragon by Peter Straub is $3 at Amazon, B&N and Kobo.

Experience the true nature of terror in this "deliciously imaginative" (San Francisco Chronicle) horror thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Peter Straub.

The quiet suburban town of Hampstead is threatened by two horrors. One is natural. The hideous unstoppable creation of man’s power gone mad. The other is not natural at all. And it makes the first look like child’s play...

[ZodWallop]

Evil in Me by Brom is $3 at Amazon, B&N and Kobo. As per usual with Brom, it has an incredible cover.

Evil in Me is bestselling author Brom's newest novel of possession, damnation, and rock 'n' roll, where one woman must get the world singing in order to save her soul.

This devilish tale includes nearly two dozen of Brom’s immersive paintings and brilliant endpapers

Aspiring musician Ruby Tucker has had enough of her small rural town and dysfunctional family. But a falling out with her best friend and bandmate has killed her dreams of escaping and making it big in the Atlanta punk scene.

While helping her eccentric neighbor organize his religious artifacts, an ancient ring clamps down on her finger—possessing her with the spirit of a blood-thirsty demon. There’s no exorcizing it unless hundreds of people chant a spell to set Ruby free. And what’s worse, the ring is a beacon for evil, drawing an unimaginably wicked mob straight to Ruby, hungry for her flesh.

If Ruby can get her band back together, she has a shot at salvation. It's time for her to face the music and put her whole soul into a song—one powerful enough to raise some Hell.

[nprentiss]

From Valancourt, BLOOD RUBIES by Michael McDowell is $2.99 at Amazon:

It would bring bad luck, they said. But she split her pair of ruby earrings and gave one to each of her beautiful twin babies. Within hours she was burned to death in a fire. The twins lived.

...

In the dark of sleep, Katherine and Andrea had terrible dreams of being the other. Until the hand of evil that guided their waking lives brought them face to face with each other ... and the crossed fate of horror awaiting them both.

[nprentiss]

Another Valancourt deal this month, THE DEAD HOURS OF NIGHT by Lisa Tuttle is $2.99 at Amazon. I've read many of these stories, and they are incredible--a great author.

In a career spanning almost 50 years, Lisa Tuttle has proven herself a master of the weird tale, and now this new collection of twelve unsettling stories - some never previously collected - offers readers a chance to discover some of her finest work.

In 'Replacements', a woman adopts a monstrous pet, with unforeseen consequences. In 'Born Dead', a stillborn child mysteriously continues to grow just like a living one. 'My Pathology' (whose ending Thomas Tessier has cited as one of the best in the history of horror) explores the sinister results of a couple's alchemical experiments. And a book lover in 'The Book That Finds You' has her life changed in strange ways by the discovery of a rare horror book at a second-hand bookshop. In these weird and chilling tales, Tuttle is at her diabolical best.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Evil in Me by Brom is $3 at Amazon, B&N and Kobo. As per usual with Brom, it has an incredible cover.

Hmmm....And I was reading that as 'Evil in my Broom'. (I'll wait for Mr. Prentiss [nprentiss] to write that one.)

[nprentiss]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Hmmm....And I was reading that as 'Evil in my Broom'. (I'll wait for Mr. Prentiss [nprentiss] to write that one.)

Do I hear a challenge....?