Editors Randy Chandler and Cheryl Mullenax put the call out to horror writers and editors of extreme stories, the hardcore stuff that breaks boundaries and trashes taboos, the transgressive tales you can't "unread" (as Chuck Palahniuk says). Some of the stories you'll find here are loaded with very graphic descriptions of violence, sex, and depravities, while others may contain only one shocking moment of brutality. In others, the hardcore aspect may be less graphic and subtler than you might expect.

The old aged pensioners of Boxford are very set in their ways, loyal to each other and their daily routines. With families and loved ones either moved on to pastures new or maybe even the next life, these folk can get dependent on one another. But what happens when the natural ailments of old age begin to take their toll? What if they were given the opportunity to heal and overcome the things that make every day life less tolerable? What if they were given this ability without their consent?

Vacationing artist Larry Neuhaus has just witnessed a gruesome shark attack, a young couple torn apart right before his eyes...at least, he thinks it was a shark. And when one of these victims turns out to be the only son of Roger Hays, the most powerful man in the country, things go from bad to worse. Now, to stop the carnage, Larry and his newfound friends must work together to unravel a mystery as old as time, and face an enemy as dark as the ocean depths.

They each had their own demons to face, and none of them had much to live for. Malcolm was alone in the world, Darren might as well have been, and Eddie...well, Eddie wished he was. Crime wasn't a way out for them; it was just a way to survive. But the clinic was a job too far, a risk that didn't justify the reward.

Lifelong friends turned enemies, Graham Deaver and Mick Laurie, wage a secret war that can leave only one man standing. What could a man who has everything possibly want? Driven by mutual hatred they unwittingly trigger a series of dark events that leave three towns devastated. Who are the mysterious men wearing shades? And why do they need to keep a short leash on their shadows?

As a child, did you hide under your blankets when you were scared of the dark? After listening to some of the scariest stories from new and up-and-coming authors, we won’t blame you if you start hiding again. Take a journey with us into the twisted mind of horror. “The Fallout” travels through the unknown, while “Feast” will make you never want to love again. Listen to these and many more stories to know what it truly means to be afraid of the dark.

These are the stories of our heroes, back when they were just another black or Jew or queer. Back when they were nobody. But the real key to these stories is that the protagonists’ identities are withheld. This means that your job is to find them - leading to that Eureka moment when you realise who's mind you've been living inside for the last 20 minutes.

Fans of cosmic horror will have much to sup on in these eight tales. The supernatural intrudes upon a wedding; a pier becomes the site of tragedy; a collapsed building is only the start of the nightmare for those trapped in the ruins; a scientist makes the discovery of a lifetime, only to find out that what he’s unearthed has dire consequences not only for himself, but for all of mankind.

There is no light at the end of some tunnels.... The New York subway system has:656 miles of track... 468 stations... 31 thousand turnstiles... and 1.64 BILLION fares yearly.

For six of those fares, the trip is going to be one they will never forget.

Six strangers will board a subway. But this subway is unlike the others.

This subway doesn't take you where you want or where you need. It takes you where you fear.

This subway...is Darkbound.

Baxter Zevcenko's life is pretty sweet. He's making a name for himself as the kingpin of his smut-peddling high school syndicate, the other gangs are staying out of his business, and he's dating the girl of his dreams, Esme. But when Esme gets kidnapped, things start to get seriously weird, and the only man drunk enough to help is a bearded, booze-soaked, supernatural bounty hunter who goes by the name of Jackson "Jackie" Ronin.

God’s will be done. After 11 years as a priest living by these words, Father Antonio Molinari never imagined who would teach his strongest lesson of faith - vampire. A case of possession brings him to the French countryside, where two local clergy offer him the chance of a lifetime...When their monster turns out to be a little girl.. he cannot bring himself to destroy her. Hunted by the Church he once served as well as the fiends he once destroyed, Father Molinari clings to his faith there is still room for him in God’s plan. But God is quiet, and the darkness tempting.

When family man, Joe Crawford, confronts a young mother abusing her toddler in a gas station parking lot, he has no idea of the chain reaction he's setting in motion. How could he suspect the young mother is part of an ancient fire cult, a sinister group of killers that will destroy anyone who threatens one of its members? When the little boy is placed in a foster home, the young mother burns herself alive in grief and rage...and the cult's fanatics begin their mission of terror as Joe and his family are plagued by otherwise inexplicable events.

The employees of the Freshway grocery store aren’t too happy about having to do an overnight shift, but they’re about to be even unhappier. Their rival store, Devil’s Food, is about to lay siege upon them with extreme prejudice. This is no ordinary grocery chain. Devil’s Food is run by a cult of murderous Satanists committed to killing the competition - literally.

Who can you trust when everyone has the face of an Angel? Angels, Demons, Guardians, brooding guys with green eyes - 18-year-old Grace is sick of the lot of them. All she wants is a normal life, but when tragedy strikes, Grace and her foster family are hurled head-first into a world of magic, intrigue, and deceit. As the threads of her life begin to unravel, Grace finds herself at the epicenter of a battle to save those she loves.

Eli is an ancient vampire with an ego the size of a planet and a sex drive to match, but his tumultuous past left him broken, so he hides from humanity and cowers from love, left to endure the crushing guilt that haunts his every waking moment. When the Angel Daniyyel pays an unwelcome visit, Eli must face his secrets, secrets that he has tried so long to hide. To make matters worse, a chance encounter with the most beautiful man he has ever seen shatters his beloved isolation, pushing him into the world of the living once more.