FREE/BARGAIN - Horror/Supernatural

[ZodWallop]

Silent Children by Ramsey Campbell is $0.75(!) at Amazon, only. It's $13 at Kobo.

Once upon a time there was a man who loved children. He loved them so much he tried to save them from their imperfect parents. Unfortunately, Hector Woollie didn't work for Child Protective Services . . . and the children he rescued, he murdered.

Once upon a time, Leslie had a happy marriage, a happy son, and a happy life. Now divorced, she is trapped in ongoing battles with her ex-husband, Roger, especially over their newly-adolescent son, Ian.

When Ian and his young stepsister disappear, Roger insists the boy kidnapped the girl, while Leslie thinks Ian might have run away. She prays that her son is near and will come home soon.

Ian is near-right next door, just on the other side of a shared wall. Ian can hear his parents fighting and his mother's desperate weeping, but he can't call for help. Hector Woollie has him and his stepsister, and if either child makes a peep, the madman will slit both their throats.

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Thank you for those! Aside from their horror, I'm also interested in their gay classics. But I'm not a Twitter guy and don't know where else to find out about the sales.

Yes I was excited to see the one because I remember you saying that before.

I had owned the bird one already and it's good, grabbed the second. Love both covers

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I had the same experience.

That's so odd! I posted when checking and was able to purchase at the sale price as I made the post here. Weird - sorry on that, maybe a time zone thing.

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Silent Children by Ramsey Campbell is $0.75(!) at Amazon, only. It's $13 at Kobo.

Nice, grabbed! 75 cents is beyond cheap.

[salty-horse]

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo is $3 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)
Novella.

Equal parts historical horror, trans romance, and blood-soaked revenge, all set in 1920s Appalachia

Leslie Bruin is assigned to the backwoods township of Spar Creek by the Frontier Nursing Service, under its usual mandate: vaccinate the flock, birth babies, and weather the judgements of churchy locals who look at him and see a failed woman. Forged in the fires of the Western Front and reborn in the cafes of Paris, Leslie believes he can handle whatever is thrown at him—but Spar Creek holds a darkness beyond his nightmares.

Something ugly festers within the local congregation, and its malice has focused on a young person they insist is an unruly tomboy who must be brought to heel. Violence is bubbling when Leslie arrives, ready to spill over, and he'll have to act fast if he intends to be of use. But the hills enfolding Spar Creek have a mind of their own, and the woods are haunted in ways Leslie does not understand.

The Woods All Black is a story of passion, prejudice, and power — an Appalachian period piece that explores reproductive justice and bodily autonomy, the terrors of small-town religiosity, and the necessity of fighting tooth and claw to live as who you truly are.

[salty-horse]

Diavola by Jennifer Thorne is £2 in the UK (Kobo, Amazon)

White Lotus meets Hereditary in this uproarious and unsettling dissection of a dysfunctional family and their ghosts, both literal and metaphorical.

Anna only has one rule for the annual Pace family vacations: tread lightly, and survive.

It isn't easy when she's the only who doesn't seem to fit in. Her twin brother Benny goes with the flow so much he's practically dissolved, and her high-strung older sister Nicole is so used to everyone -- including her blandly docile husband and two young daughters -- falling in line that Anna often ends up chastised for simply asking a question. Her Mom is baffled by Anna's life choices (why waste her artistic talent at an ad agency?), and her Dad -- well, he just wants a little peace and quiet.

The gorgeous villa outside a remote Tuscan town seems like the perfect place to endure so much family time -- not to mention Benny's demanding new boyfriend, Christopher. If her family becomes too much to handle, then at least Anna can wander off to a wine tasting or lose herself in an art gallery. That is, until strange things start to happen -- strange noises at night, food rotting within hours, dreams that feel more like memories. Then, the unsettling warnings from the locals: don't open the tower door.

But Anna does open it. And what she releases threatens to devour her family -- that is, if her family doesn't tear itself apart first.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Silent Children by Ramsey Campbell is $0.75(!) at Amazon, only. It's $13 at Kobo.

Got it.

Thank you!

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo is $3 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)
Novella.

I read Summer Sons by the same author and thought it was well written, but was overall iffy on the book. But The Woods All Black does sound pretty good.

[salty-horse]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I read Summer Sons by the same author and thought it was well written, but was overall iffy on the book. But The Woods All Black does sound pretty good.

Bar Cart Bookshelf reviewed all three novellas, if you're looking for some comparisons between them. (Disclaimer: a friend of the author)

[BetterRead]

The latest $2.99 deals from Valancourt Books, thru August 30:



The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories, vol. 1
https://www.amazon.com/Valancourt-Bo...dp/B0892QK4QC/

What if there were a whole world of great horror fiction out there you didn't know anything about, written by authors in distant lands and in foreign languages, outstanding horror stories you had no access to, written in languages you couldn't read? For this groundbreaking volume, the first of its kind, the editors of Valancourt Books have scoured the world, reading horror stories from dozens of countries in nearly twenty languages, to find some of the best contemporary international horror stories. The stories in this volume come from 19 countries on 5 continents and were originally written in 13 different languages. All 20 foreign language stories in this volume are appearing in English for the first time ever.

The Hunger and Other Stories by Charles Beaumont
https://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Other-...dp/B00DR2M90C/

Although he is best known today for his scripts for television and film, including several classic episodes of The Twilight Zone, Charles Beaumont is being rediscovered as a master of weird tales, and this, his first published collection, contains some of his best. Ranging in tone from the chilling Gothic horror of "Miss Gentilbelle," where an insane mother dresses her son up as a girl and slaughters his pets, to deliciously dark humor in tales like "Open House" and "The Infernal Bouillabaisse," where murderers' plans go disastrously awry, these seventeen stories demonstrate Beaumont's remarkable talent and versatility.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by BetterRead

The latest $2.99 deals from Valancourt Books, thru August 30:



The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories, vol. 1
https://www.amazon.com/Valancourt-Bo...dp/B0892QK4QC/






The Hunger and Other Stories by Charles Beaumont
https://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Other-...dp/B00DR2M90C/

Charles Beaumont was a genius of the short story form!

Highly recommended.

I own this ebook and also this edition [link below] of his selected stories - M/M condition. One of my most beloved books.

https://www.amazon.com/Charles-Beaum.../dp/0913165239

You can't go wrong with Charles Beaumont, unless you're emotionally dead. That might be your only legitimate excuse.

[Critteranne]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Charles Beaumont was a genius of the short story form!

Have you seen the documentary "Charles Beaumont: The Short Life of Twilight Zone's Magic Man" by Jason V. Brock?

It's not perfect, but I really enjoyed it. Here's a review by John Varley.
https://varley.net/movie_review/char...nes-magic-man/

I think you can rent it via Apple TV, so it might be available elsewhere. There was also a DVD release.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Critteranne

Have you seen the documentary "Charles Beaumont: The Short Life of Twilight Zone's Magic Man" by Jason V. Brock?

It's not perfect, but I really enjoyed it. Here's a review by John Varley.
https://varley.net/movie_review/char...nes-magic-man/

I think you can rent it via Apple TV, so it might be available elsewhere. There was also a DVD release.

I HAVE NOT!!!

Thank you for letting me know about this!

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

Bar Cart Bookshelf reviewed all three novellas, if you're looking for some comparisons between them. (Disclaimer: a friend of the author)

I got a $5 Amazon gift card, so I picked up the book.

One thing I didn't like about Sins was the author's seeming disdain for description.

A big part of the appraisal of The Woods All Black is the depression era, backwoods setting. I really hope that this time he makes an effort on the atmosphere.

[salty-horse]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

A big part of the appraisal of The Woods All Black is the depression era, backwoods setting. I really hope that this time he makes an effort on the atmosphere.

IIRC you got Revelator when I posted about it before. It also has a similar setting.