Dark Stars, edited by John F.D. Taff, is a tribute to horror's longstanding short fiction legacy, featuring 12 terrifying original stories from today's most noteworthy authors.Within these pages you'll find tales of dead men walking, an insidious secret summer fling, an island harboring unspeakable power, and a dark hallway that beckons. You'll encounter terrible monsters—both human and supernatural—and be forever changed. The stories in Dark Stars run the gamut from traditional to modern, from dark fantasy to neo-noir, from explorations of beloved horror tropes to the unknown—possibly unknowable—threats.It's all in here because it's all out there, now, in horror.Dark Stars features all-new stories from the following award-winning authors and up-and-coming voices: Chesya Burke, Ramsey Campbell, Gemma Files, Stephen Graham Jones, Alma Katsu, Caroline Kepnes, John Langan, Livia Llewellyn, Josh Malerman, Usman T....

SAVAGE BEASTS is a volume of all-new contemporary dark fiction inspired by some of the greatest artists in musical history. SAVAGE BEASTS is a thrilling and thought-provoking nightmare of devastating supernatural experiences exploring darkly introspective science fiction and fantastical alternative realities, each accompanied by the sound of the music that defines your life.Written by some of the most talented authors in genre fiction, the short stories in SAVAGE BEASTS shine a light on eleven dark worlds with fictional work inspired by rock icons Nine Inch Nails, Pink Floyd, The Cranberries, Genesis, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Danish death metal band Pestilence, new wave and dancehall diva Grace Jones, Portuguese electronic house duo Underground Sound of Lisbon, indie rockers School of Seven Bells, classical composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Sebastian Bach and many more.Soothe your desire for exceptional music-inspired fiction in SAVAGE BEASTS with dark tales by Edward Morris, Karen Runge, John F.D. Taff, Shawn Macomber, Konstantine Paradias, J.C. Michael, Daniel Braum, Maxwell Price, E. Michael Lewis, Paul Michael Anderson and T. Fox Dunham. Edited by Bram Stoker Award-nominated editors Anthony Rivera and Sharon Lawson.

The Bell Witch by John F.D. Taff is an historical horror novel/ghost story based on what is perhaps the most well-documented poltergeist case to occur in the United States. It tells the story of the Bells, an early 19th-century Tennessee farm family who begin to notice strange occurrences—odd noises, bangings, gurglings. Eventually, an entity reveals itself to the family, calling itself, simply, the Witch, and makes it clear from the outset that it was sent to kill the patriarch of the family, John Bell, for a reason it never makes quite clear.The Witch's antics, while not exactly endearing it to the Bells, make the spirit somewhat of a novelty. Word of its existence spreads, first through the Bell's slaves, then through the rest of the community. It tells jokes, makes predictions, offers unwanted advice and even sings. It shows an intimate knowledge of The Bible and of history and politics.It harasses those who annoy it most, saving its ire for John Bell and his...

THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS is a collection of horror that’s a literary tour de force through the emotional pain and personal anguish of the human condition. Praised as one of the best collections of heartfelt and gut-wrenching horror written in recent history, it’s a disturbing trip through the ages exploring the painful tragedies of life, love and loss. Each of the five masterfully written novellas included in THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS examine complex themes running the gamut from the loss of childhood innocence, to the dreadful reality of survival after everything we hold dear is gone, to some of the most profound aspects of human tragedy. As one of the best storytellers of the modern age, John F.D. Taff takes readers on a skillfully balanced emotional journey into nostalgia, through personal pain and beyond the everyday terrors that are uncomfortably real over the course of the human lifetime. His straight-forward, nuanced writing style is at times darkly comedic, often deeply poetic and always accurate in the most terrifying of ways. Evoking the literary styles of horror legends Mary Shelley, Edgar Allen Poe and Bram Stoker, in THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS also pays homage to modern genre masters Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, Ray Bradbury, Rod Serling and Clive Barker, solidifying author John F.D. Taff as modern horror’s new King of Pain. PRAISE FOR THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS: “THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS is accomplished stuff, complex and heartfelt. It’s one of the best novella collections I’ve read in years!” – JACK KETCHUM, Bram Stoker Award®-winning author of The Box, Closing Time and Peaceable Kingdom “Taff brings the pain in five damaged and disturbing tales of love gone horribly wrong. This collection is like a knife in the heart. Highly recommended!” – JONATHAN MABERRY, New York Times bestselling author of Code Zero and Fall of Night “Taff is a standout talent. Look no further than this collection for evidence that not only is horror not dead, there are new proponents of the craft capable to carry it into the future.” – KEALAN PATRICK BURKE, Bram Stoker Award®-winning author of The Turtle Boy, Kin, and Jack & Jill FEATURING THE NOVELLAS: “What Becomes God” begins as a nostalgic trip into childhood, exploring love, friendship and the loss of innocence as two young boys whose days spent playing in the sun are interrupted by the looming specter of disease and death must face the sacrifice that belief demands of them. “Object Permanence” unleashes a psychological nightmare when a man held in a mental institution and experiencing horrific hallucinations escapes to return to his hometown to confront the source of evil that has plagued him for years. “Love in the Time of Zombies” examines the lives of two men fighting to survive in a rural Midwestern town at the end of the world where they soon realize that death doesn’t always bring relief from the love…and the terrible price it demands. “The Long, Long Breakdown” tells the story of personal anguish and isolation of a father struggling to protect his teenage daughter from the terrifying forces threatening their lives and attempting to end their familial bond in post-apocalyptic Miami. “Visitation” offers a journey of profound self-discovery as a man anguished over the death of his wife takes a trip to a distant planet on the promise of experiencing a long-awaited reunion with the love of his life only to find that the true nature of the human condition is far more devastating. PRAISE FOR GREY MATTER PRESS: "In less than two years, Grey Matter Press has managed to establish itself as one of the premiere purveyors of horror fiction currently in existence via both a series of killer anthologies--SPLATTERLANDS (2013), OMINOUS REALITIES (2013), EQUILIBRIUM OVERTURNED (2014)--and John F.D. Taff's harrowing novella collection THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS (2014)." - FANGORIA **Review "Imagine a series of round robin stories penned collaboratively by Clive Barker, Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allan Poe, Harlan Ellison and Rod Serling, and you'll be in the general neighborhood [of THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS]: lush, poetic, ceaselessly imaginative, seriously affecting, multifaceted modern horror fiction. - FANGORIA "Just under half a century ago, I discovered a personal "tell" that let me know when a performance had touched me deeply. The last time it happened I just finished John F.D. Taff's collection of horror novellas, THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS. Taff provides carefully nuanced, skillfully balanced components--storytelling, nostalgia, horror, human emotion--to work from beginnings to ultimate ends...sometimes death, sometimes things far worse, and sometimes something magnificent." - MICHAEL R. COLLINGS, *HELLNOTES* "Taff's deceptively simplistic prose offers deep emotional and dramatic insights into how human beings live with the burdens of the past and the inevitability of death. "What Becomes God" is a slice of Stephen King/Ramsey Campbell. "Object Permanence" is a slowly revealing Twilight Zone-like story. The setting of "The Long, Long Breakdown" is reminiscent of J.G. Ballard. "Visitation" follows in the footsteps of the works of Philip K. Dick. THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS offers genre readers much to appreciate." - HORROR NEWS NETWORK "Will definitely be in the running for one of my favorite reads of the year. This collection will not only appeal to horror fans, but could interest readers of just about any genre. Whether you are looking for introduction to the world of horror or are already a seasoned horror fanatic, you will definitely want to give THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS a read!" - THE HORROR BOOKSHELF From the Author PRAISE FOR GREY MATTER PRESS: "In less than two years, Grey Matter Press has managed to establish itself as one of the premiere purveyors of horror fiction currently in existence via both a series of killer anthologies--SPLATTERLANDS (2013), OMINOUS REALITIES (2013), EQUILIBRIUM OVERTURNED (2014)--and John F.D. Taff's harrowing novella collection THE END IN ALL BEGINNINGS (2014)." - FANGORIA "The dark, all-encompassing theme seems to be the trademark of Grey Matter Press. When asked for a referral for a good short story collection I often state without hesitation to the very press that has enchanted my reading attention." - Dave Gammon, HORROR NEWS