Other books that might interest you

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  The Middle Toe of the Right Foot...

  Ambrose Bierce

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  Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was born on 24th June 1842 at Horse Cave Creek in Meigs County, Ohio. His parents were poor but they introduced him to literature at an early age, instilling in him a deep appreciation of books, the written word and the elegance of language.  
   
  Growing up in Koscuisko County, Indiana poverty and religion were defining features of his childhood, and he would later describe his parents as “unwashed savages” and fanatically religious, showing him little affection but always quick to punish. He came to resent religion, and his introduction to literature appears to be their only positive effect. 
   
  At age 15 Bierce left home to become a printer’s devil, mixing ink and fetching type at The Northern Indian, a small Ohio paper. Falsely accused of theft he returned to his farm and spent time sending out work in the hopes of being published. 
   
  His Uncle Lucius advised he be sent to the Kentucky Military Institute. A year later he was commissioned as an Officer.  As the Civil War started Bierce enlisted in the 9th Indiana Infantry Regiment.  
   
  In April 1862 Bierce fought at the Battle of Shiloh, an experience which, though terrifying, became the source of several short stories. Two years later he sustained a serious head wound and was off duty for several months. He was discharged in early 1865.  
   
  A later expedition to inspect military outposts across the Great Plains took him all the way to San Francisco. He remained there to become involved with publishing and editing and to marry, Mary Ellen on Christmas Day 1871.  They had a child, Day, the following year.  
   
  In 1872 the family moved to England for 3 years where he wrote for Fun magazine. His son, Leigh, was born, and first book, ‘The Fiend’s Delight’, was published. 
  They returned to San Francisco and to work for a number of papers where he gained admiration for his crime reporting. In 1887 he began a column at the William Randolph Hearst’s San Francisco Examiner.  
   
  Bierce’s marriage fell apart when he discovered compromising letters to his wife from a secret admirer. The following year, 1889 his son Day committed suicide, depressed by romantic rejection. 
   
  In 1891 Bierce wrote and published the collection of 26 short stories which included ‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’.  Success and further works including poetry followed.  
   
  Bierce with Hearst’s resources helped uncover a financial plot by a railroad to turn 130 million dollars of loans into a handout. Confronted by the railroad and asked to name his price Bierce answered “my price is $130 million dollars. If, when you are ready to pay, I happen to be out of town, you may hand it over to my friend, the Treasurer of the United States”.  
   
  He now began his first foray as a fabulist, publishing ‘Fantastic Fables’ in 1899.  But tragedy again struck two years later when his second son Leigh died of pneumonia relating to his alcoholism. 
   
  He continued to write short stories and poetry and also published ‘The Devil’s Dictionary’.  
   
  At the age of 71, in 1913 Bierce departed from Washington, D.C., for a tour of the battlefields where he had fought during the civil war. At the city of Chihuahua he wrote his last known communication, a letter to a friend. It’s closing words were “as to me, I leave here tomorrow for an unknown destination,” Ambrose Bierce then vanished without trace.

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  Devil in the Dollhouse - A...

  Richard Kadrey

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  James Stark, a.k.a. Sandman Slim, has a new job, but being the new Lucifer in town gives fresh meaning to the word "Hell." Especially when he hears of hideous massacres near a haunted fortress out on Hell's frontier. 
  As far as Stark's concerned, the more dead Hellions, the better, but he still has to prove that no one screws with Sandman Slim. And facing creatures so terrible even Hell does not want them is no cakewalk, even for Lucifer.

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  Creepy Christmas 2022 - 12...

  Artemis Greenleaf, Holly Dey,...

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  Black Mare Books presents twelve twisted tales from Artemis Greenleaf, Holly Dey, and A.B. Richards. 
  In this Santa’s sack of Christmas yarns, you’ll find an array of monsters of all stripes. You may want to keep a lookout for a possibly rabid coyote when you stop to play with a dolly. Perhaps enjoy a little shopping before you head into the woods to fell a Christmas tree? Or maybe you’ve wanted to go on a holiday cruise? And whatever you do, don’t look a gift bear in the mouth. 
  And be warned: it’s best to let sleeping babies lie. 

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  The Ghost Hunters

  Allen Upward

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  Step into the Enigmatic World of "The Ghost Hunters" Audiobook! 
   
  Get ready for a captivating journey through "The Ghost Hunters" by Allen Upward in our digital audiobook. This haunting story follows Mr. Hargreaves, a seasoned real estate agent, and his trusty secretary, Miss Alwyne Sargent, as they venture into a realm of mystery, where haunted properties conceal chilling secrets. 
   
  Within these pages, you'll discover the enigma of properties plagued by apparitions. Why do these buildings remain haunted? Who are these ethereal figures that refuse to move on? Can Mr. Hargreaves and Miss Sargent navigate these supernatural enigmas, solve the mysteries, and successfully close deals without stirring the restless spirits?

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  The Last Disciple

  James Holmes

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  The time is near.  
  The last thing Special Forces operator John Sunday expected to find, taped to the body of a dead terrorist, was a woman's portrait. 
  The last thing Kat Devier expected to find beneath the paint was a lost gospel, claiming the body of Jesus Christ to be in a cave in Jordan.  
  The clues lead to a cold, clay jar, sealed in mud, and kept hidden in darkness for thousands of years. But what’s inside?  
  And why does a man who cannot die walk the earth in search of it?  
  The Last Disciple is a terrifying hunt across the sands of time, for the hidden plans of gods and devils. Once revealed, John Sunday’s demons, and yours, will become real. And the great day of wrath shall come. For us all.  
  Sometimes darkness is better than light. 

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  Violet Eyes

  James Renner

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  On the edge of the University of Akron campus is a beautiful Victorian mansion, former home to the Humboldt family, once the city’s wealthiest patrons. Years ago, Stella Humboldt gifted the house to the university under two conditions – that two young women would live there for free during the school year and that they never, ever bring men inside after dark. 
  Humboldt House is also the sight of an old local mystery – eighty years ago, young Blaire Humboldt disappeared along with the son of the family’s servant. The police believed they were murdered, possibly by Blaire’s eccentric uncle, but he claimed they left so that they could live together in sin. No bodies were ever found. 
  Enter our protagonist, a young woman who has just moved to Akron. She is nameless, like the narrator of Rebecca. And mysterious in other ways – she has violet eyes and one of them is glass. When she accepts a position to live at Humboldt House, she thinks she has lucked into a wonderful arrangement - free room and board inside a giant mansion. But then the piano begins to play at night and round marks appear along the walls of the kitchen, leading to the locked basement door and she begins to suspect she should have stayed in the dorms. 
  There are ghosts here, and not all are human.

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