The credits have rolled, but the lights are still off. Something is lurking on the other side of the screen. There are dark secrets, starving monsters, and haunted survivors who refuse to be left on the cutting room floor. But that's okay, right? After all, everybody loves the movies....Here are twenty-three terrifying tales, dark reflections of the silver screen from both sides of the camera. James Dean gets a second chance at life—and death. The Wicked Witch is out of Oz and she's made some unlucky friends. When God decides reality needs an editor, what—and who—gets cut? These award-winning, bestselling authors will take you to the darkest depths of the theater and beyond.

As stated in her introduction to Inferno, Ellen Datlow asked her favorite authors for stories that would "provide the reader with a frisson of shock, or a moment of dread so powerful it might cause the reader outright physical discomfort; or a sensation of fear so palpable that the reader feels compelled to turn on the bright lights and play music or seek the company of others to dispel the fear." Mission accomplished. Datlow has produced a collection filled with some of the most powerful voices in the field: Pat Cadigan, Terry Dowling, Jeffrey Ford, Christopher Fowler, Glen Hirshberg, K. W. Jeter, Joyce Carol Oates, and Lucius Shepard, to name a few. Each author approaches fear in a different way, but all of the stories' characters toil within their own hell. An aptly titled anthology, Inferno will scare the pants off readers and further secure Ellen Datlow's standing as a preeminent editor of modern horror.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Harlan Ellison, Richard Christian Matheson, Connie Willis, and many more contribute to a compelling psychological exploration of the many shades of loveAn incubus disguised as a high school girl puts a disturbing spin on the teacher/student fantasy. An engineer creates a robot with unexpected consequences during the end of the world. A man becomes the pet of alien invaders. From stories of aliens in other worlds to those living among us, these tales will move you out of your comfort zone and open you up to experiencing something—or someone—completely different.This ebook features an illustrated biography of Ellen Datlow, including rare photos from the editor's personal collection.

“A diverse and thoughtful array of 16 stories written around the theme of endangered species—be they human or animal, mythical or alien.” —Publishers Weekly In this poignant yet uplifting anthology about extinction, science fiction stories draw you into compelling, adventurous, and even humorous tales that will make you think about the future of animals, humanity, and the world around us. You’ll find bugs and buffalo, humans and aliens, creatures that have never existed in our universe and genetically-engineered ones that shouldn’t.   In “Seventy-Two Letters” by national bestselling author Ted Chiang—praised by Strange Horizons as “one of the finest representations of the SF subgenre of steampunk”—a discovery reveals that humanity has only a fixed number of generations to survive. A project is embarked upon that could save the species—or open it up to a most...

A Bram Stoker Award–winning anthology featuring twenty stories based on local legends and ghost stories from around the world. Wherever you’re from, there are local stories of ghosts, unexplained phenomena, or some thing that people are afraid to talk about. You can dismiss them as old wives’ tales, and yet they stay with us, haunting our everyday lives. In Haunted Legends, these tales are brought disturbingly to life by some of the best horror and dark fantasy writers in the world. Among the contributors are award-winners Ramsey Campbell, Caitlín R. Kiernan, and many others. Here are stories from America’s big cities and small towns, as well as far-flung corners of the globe. Discover the fox spirits of Vietnam, the specter of communism still haunting Russia in the form of Comrade Beria’s ghost, the famed vampires of Rhode Island, a haunted amusement park in the Pacific Northwest, the Indian ghost city of...

SUMMARY: A collection of charming childhood stories featuring such fairy tale characters as Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, and Puss in Boots takes on a darker, more sinister edge at the hands of such writers as Gahan Wilson, Tanith Lee, and Jane Yolen.

A bone-chilling new anthology from legendary horror editor, Ellen Datlow, Screams from the Dark contains twenty-nine all-original tales about monsters.From werewolves and vampires, to demons and aliens, the monster is one of the most recognizable figures in horror. But what makes something, or someone, monstrous?Award-winning and up-and-coming authors like Richard Kadrey, Cassandra Khaw, Indrapramit Das, Priya Sharma, and more attempt to answer this question. These all-new stories range from traditional to modern, from mainstream to literary, from familiar monsters to the unknown ... and unimaginable.This chilling collection has something to please—and terrify—everyone, so lock your doors, hide under your covers, and try not to scream.Contributors include: Ian Rogers, Fran Wilde, Gemma Files, Daryl Gregory, Priya Sharma, Brian Hodge, Joyce Carol Oates, Indrapramit Das, Siobhan Carroll, Richard Kadrey, Norman Partridge, Garry Kilworth,...

When we think of vampires, instantly the image arises: fangs sunk deep into the throat of the victim. But bloodsucking is merely one form of vampirism. For this brilliantly original anthology, Ellen Datlow has commissioned stories from many of the most powerfully dark voices in contemporary horror, who conjure tales of vampirism that will chill readers to the marrow.In addition to the traditional fanged vampires, Datlow presents stories about the leeching of emotion, the draining of the soul, and other dark deeds of predation and exploitation, infestation, and evisceration...tales of life essence, literal or metaphorical, stolen.Seventeen stories, by such award-winning authors as Elizabeth Bear, Richard Bowes, Kathe Koja, Margo Lanagan, Carol Emshwiller, and Lisa Tuttle will petrify readers. With dark tales by Laird Barron, Barry Malzberg and Bill Pronzini, Kaaron Warren, and other powerful voices, this anthology will redefine the terror of vampires...

"Gaslamp Fantasy," or historical fantasy set in a magical version of the nineteenth century, has long been popular with readers and writers alike. A number of wonderful fantasy novels, including Stardust by Neil Gaiman, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, and The Prestige by Christopher Priest, owe their inspiration to works by nineteenth-century writers ranging from Jane Austen, the Brontës, and George Meredith to Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, and William Morris. And, of course, the entire steampunk genre and subculture owes more than a little to literature inspired by this period.Queen Victoria's Book of Spells is an anthology for everyone who loves these works of neo-Victorian fiction, and wishes to explore the wide variety of ways that modern fantasists are using nineteenth-century settings, characters, and themes. These approaches stretch from steampunk fiction to the Austen-and-Trollope inspired works that...

Stories of dark desire and wicked payback from Jonathan Lethem, Joyce Carol Oates, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Richard Christian Matheson, and more. From Shakespeare to Poe, revenge has always been one of the great themes in literature. This anthology contains eighteen stories of ruthless vengeance. A philanderer spends a night with one nameless woman too many. A second-rate music video talent turns down a chance at superstardom and escapes a deadly contract. A comedy duo realizes that retribution is no laughing matter. And a single woman must face the shocking reasons for her solitary lifestyle.   Multiple-award-winning editor Ellen Datlow commissioned these and fourteen other tales from some of the most talented authors of our time to make up Lethal Kisses. Available for the first time in the United States, this is a collection of eighteen horrifying tales on evening the score.  This ebook features an illustrated...

"Superstar editor Datlow makes no missteps...."—Publishers WeeklyTake a terrifying journey with literary masters of suspense, including Peter Straub, Kim Newman, and Caitlín R. Kiernan, visiting a place where the other is somehow one of us. These electrifying tales redefine monsters from mere things that go bump in the night to inexplicable, deadly reflections of our day-to-day lives. Whether it's a seemingly devoted teacher, an obsessive devotee of swans, or a diner full of evil creatures simply seeking oblivion, the monstrous is always there—and much closer than it appears.

Edited By is one of those rare books that offers intense pleasure and intellectual excitement on every page. There are no bad stories here, and there is no lazy or indifferent writing. Some of the finest imaginative fiction of modern times awaits within the covers of this magisterial book. This one really does belong on the permanent shelf. Don’t let it pass you by.