Doug Murano

What happens when we make monsters? What happens when we make monsters of ourselves? Grotesque beings lurch from our darkest dreams. Vicious beasts stalk our twisted pasts. Lost souls haunt our deepest regrets. They are the blood on our hands. They are the obsessions in our heads. They are the vengeance in our hearts. They are the chilling shadows in the night. They are Miscreations: Gods, Monstrosities & Other Horrors. Edited by Bram Stoker Award-winning editors Doug Murano and Michael Bailey. Featuring a foreword by Alma Katsu, and illustrations throughout by HagCult. Contents: * Foreword (Miscreations: Gods, Monstrosities & Other Horrors) • essay by Alma Katsu * A Heart Arrythmia Creeping Into a Dark Room / short fiction by Michael Wehunt * Matryoshka / short fiction by Joanna Parypinski * Butcher's Blend / short fiction by Brian Hodge * Operations Other Than War / short fiction by Nadia Bulkin * One Day of Inside/Out / short fiction by Linda D. Addison * One Last Transformation / short fiction by Josh Malerman * Brains / short fiction by Ramsey Campbell * You Are My Neighbor / short fiction by Max Booth, III * The Vodyanoy / short fiction by Christina Sng * Imperfect Clay / short fiction by Lisa Morton * Spectral Evidence (2017) / short story by Victor LaValle * Ode to Joad the Toad [Antiquity] / short fiction by Laird Barron * Only Bruises Are Permanent / short fiction by Scott Edelman * My Knowing Glance / short fiction by Lucy A. Snyder * Paper Doll Hyperplane / short fiction by R. B. Payne * Not Eradicated in You / short fiction by Bracken MacLeod * Resurrection Points (2014) / novelette by Usman T. Malik * The Old Gods of Light / short fiction by Christina Sng * Sounds Caught in Cobwebs / short fiction by M. E. Bronstein * Umbra Sum / short fiction by Kristi DeMeester * A Benediction of Corpses / short fiction by Stephanie M. Wytovich * The Making of Asylum Ophelia / short fiction by Mercedes M. Yardley * Frankenstein's Daughter / short fiction by Theodora Goss .

Winner of the Shirley Jackson Award The horror is closer than you think. From Bram Stoker Award-winning editor Doug Murano and today's biggest names in dark fiction comes a new vision of terror. It's lurking under the surface. It's waiting around every corner. It's hiding under your bed. it's buried in the backyard. It's whispered, implied, unspoken. This is The Hideous Book of Hidden Horrors. “A mesmerizing cornucopia of beguiling chills and thrills, editor Doug Murano’s The Hideous Book of Hidden Horrors showcases the finest talents in horror fiction writing at the top of their game—a truly unforgettable anthology.” ~ Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke "This first volume in award-winning Horror editor Murano’s new independent imprint may claim to be hiding its terrors, but in reality, the horrors are on full, nightmarish display, and satisfied readers will eagerly seek out more titles by the authors included here." ~ Library Journal starred review Foreword: Josh Ruben The Pelt: Annie Neugebauer Wish Wash: Sarah Read When I Catch You: Hailey Piper What’s Missing?: Zoje Stage Still Life with Bones: Andy Davidson The Things We Did, We Did, Were All for Real: John F.D. Taff Mooncake: Lee Murray Dungeon Punchinello: Josh Malerman Below the Wildflower Hill: Sara Tantlinger Don’t Open the Cellar Door: Jo Kaplan Roses in the Attic: Cynthia Pelayo Peripheral Vision: Richard Thomas Haunted Inside: Gabino Iglesias Counting Tunnels to Berry: Alan Baxter Annie’s Heart is a Haunted House: Todd Keisling They Are Still Out There, You Just Can’t See Them Anymore: Jonathan Lees

Want to see something weird? Embrace the odd. Satisfy your curiosity. Surrender to wonder.From Crystal Lake Publishing and the Bram Stoker Award-nominated co-editor of the smash hit Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories comes Behold! Oddities, Curiosities and Undefinable Wonders.Sixteen stories and two poems take you into the spaces between the ordinary—and the imaginations of some of today's masters of dark and thrilling fiction.A travel writer learns the terrible secrets at a hotel that's not at all as it seems.A disfigured woman and her daughter explore methods of weaponizing beauty.An amateur beekeeper acquires an object that shows her the true danger of the hive-mind.Drifters ride the rails seeking something wondrous that could change their fates forever.A strange creature that holds our very existence in its hands shapes the lives of two lovers to touching and devastating effect.A young man helps his grandfather—and something much more monstrous—atone for bargains made during wartime.And much, much more…Featuring Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, Ramsey Campbell, Lisa Morton, Brian Kirk, Hal Bodner, Stephanie M. Wytovich, John Langan, Erinn L. Kemper, John F.D. Taff, Patrick Freivald, Lucy A. Snyder, Brian Hodge, Kristi DeMeester, Christopher Coake, Sarah Read and Richard Thomas. Foreword by Josh Malerman. Illustrations by Luke Spooner. Cover art by John Coulthart. Brought to you by Bram Stoker Award-nominated editor Doug Murano and Crystal Lake Publishing. Tales from the Darkest Depths.Interview with the editor:What kinds of short stories will readers find in this anthology?Doug Murano: I wanted this book to encompass a lot of the things I love about weird fiction, fantasy and horror—as well as give a tip of my cap to some of the things I loved growing up. So, it’s not exclusively a horror anthology, though you’ll find there’s plenty of darkness and dread throughout the book.It was important to me that the stories throughout the anthology embraced and celebrated the odd—so you're not going to find stories of big-top exploitation or carnival freak shows here. The closest, perhaps, you'll find to this angle is in Lisa Morton's story—but that piece turns the freak-show trope on its head and aspires to something much more daring, interesting, and, ultimately, haunting.Some tonal touch-points for much of the book are actually Jim Henson's work — like Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal — particularly in the Undefinable Wonders section. I also drew tonal influences from Guillermo del Toro’s filmography, especially his Spanish-language films like Pan’s Labyrinth and The Devil’s Backbone.

17 horror Stories. One legendary music venue. We all know the old cliché: Sex, drugs and rock and roll. Now, add demons, other dimensions, monsters, revenge, human sacrifice, and a dash of the truly inexplicable. This is the story of the (fictional) San Francisco music venue, The Shantyman.In Welcome to the Show, seventeen of today's hottest writers of horror and dark fiction come together in devilish harmony to trace The Shantyman's history from its disturbing birth through its apocalyptic encore.Featuring stories by Brian Keene, John Skipp, Mary SanGiovanni, Robert Ford, Max Booth III, Glenn Rolfe, Matt Hayward, Bryan Smith, Matt Serafini, Kelli Owen, Jonathan Janz, Patrick Lacey, Adam Cesare, Alan M Clark, Somer Canon, Rachel Autumn Deering and Jeff Strand.Compiled by Matt Hayward. Edited by Doug Murano.Bring your curiosity, but leave your inhibitions at the door. The show is about to begin…TOC:Alan M Clark – What Sort of RubeJonathan Janz – Night and Day and in BetweenJohn Skipp – In the Winter of No LovePatrick Lacey – Wolf with Diamond EyesBryan Smith – PilgrimageRachel Autumn Deering – A Tongue like FireGlenn Rolfe – Master of BeyondMatt Hayward – Dark StageKelli Owen – Open Mic NightMatt Serafini – Beat on the PastMax Booth III – True StarmenSomer Canon – Just to be SeenJeff Strand – ParodyRobert Ford – AscendingAdam Cesare – The Southern ThingBrian Keene – Running FreeMary SanGiovanni – We Sang in DarknessProudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.