Edited by Ellen Datlow.
Darkness, both literal
and psychological, holds its own unique fascination. Despite our fears,
or perhaps because of them, readers have always been drawn to tales of
death, terror, madness, and the supernatural, and no more so than today
when a wildly imaginative new generation of dark dreamers is carrying on in the tradition of Poe and Lovecraft and King, crafting exquisitely
disturbing literary nightmares that gaze without flinching into the
abyss — and linger in the mind long after.
Multiple award-winning
editor Ellen Datlow knows the darkest corners of fiction and poetry
better than most. Once again, she has braved the haunted landscape of
modern horror to seek out the most chilling new works by both legendary
masters of the genre and fresh young talents. Here are twisted hungers
and obsessions, human and otherwise, along with an unsettling variety of spine-tingling fears and fantasies. The cutting edge of horror has
never cut deeper than in this comprehensive showcase of the very best
the field has to offer. Enter at your own risk.
Contents:
- “Nikishi” by Lucy Taylor (Postscripts #28/29: Exotic Gothics 4)
- “Little America” by Dan Chaon (Shadow
Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury)
- “A Natural History of Autumn” by Jeffrey Ford (Fantasy
& Science Fiction – July/August 2012)
- “Mantis
Wives” by Kij Johnson (Clarkesworld Magazine – August 2012)
- “Tender
as Teeth” by Stephanie Crawford and Duane Swierczynski (21st Century Dead)
- “The
Callers” by Ramsey Campbell (Four For Fear)
- “Two
poems for Hill House” by Kevin McCann
- “Mariner’s
Round” by Terry Dowling (Postscripts #28/29: Exotic Gothics 4)
- “Nanny
Grey” by Gemma Files (Magic -An Anthology of the Esoteric
and Arcane)
- “The
Magician’s Apprentice” by Tamsyn Muir (Weird Fiction Review – July 2012)
- “Kill All
Monsters” by Gary McMahon (Shadows & Tall Trees – Issue 3)
- “The
House on Ashley Avenue” by Ian Rogers (Every
House is Haunted)
- “Dead
Song” by Jay Wilburn
- “Sleeping,
I Was Beauty” by Sandi Leibowitz (Goblin Fruit – Winter 2012)
- “Bajazzle”
by Margo Lanagan (Cracklespace)
- “The Pike”
by Conrad Williams (Born
with Teeth)
- “The
Crying Child” by Bruce McAllister
- “This
Circus the World” by Amber Sparks (Corium Magazine – Summer 2012)
- “Some
Pictures in An Album” by Gary McMahon (Chiral Mad)
- “Wild
Acre” by Nathan Ballingrud (Visions Fading Fast)
- “Final
Exam” by Megan Arkenberg (Asimov’s – June 2012)
- “None So
Blind” by Stephen Bacon (Shadows & Tall Tress – Issue 3)
- “The
Ballad of Boomtown” by Priya Sharma (Black
Static – Issue 28, April/May 2012)
- “Pig
Thing” by Adam Nevill (Postscripts #28/29: Exotic Gothics 4)
- “The
Word-Made Flesh” by Richard Gavin (At Fear’s Altar)
- “Into the
Penny Arcade” by Claire Massey (Into the Penny Arcade)
- “Magdala
Amygdala” by Lucy Snyder (Dark Faith: Invocations)
- “Frontier Death Song” by Laird Barron (Nightmare Magazine – Issue 1, October 2012)
