Horror Bird

Deep in a maze of hallways, Mudito rummages through piles of old newspapers. The mute caretaker of the crumbling former abbey, he is hounded by a coven of ancient witches who are bent on transforming him into the terrifying imbunche: a twisted monster with all of its orifices sewn up, buried alive in its own body. Once, Mudito walked upright and spoke clearly; once he was the personal assistant to one of Chile's most powerful politicians, Jerónimo de Azcoitía.

Moving to an intentional community is supposed to be a fresh start for Milo. No Internet or television. Complete isolation from the outside world. He doesn't love the idea of moving, but his brother has been in charge since their parents' accident, and Milo knows better than to question him. Besides, it's not like there's anything to stay for, not after the recent incident that got him expelled from school and made him a social pariah.

Though published second after Altmann's Tongue, The Din of Celestial Birds (1997) consists of the best of Evenson's early stories. They take place in a country (perhaps several countries) that seems at once everywhere and nowhere, haunted by birds, ghosts, poverty, tyranny, and the permeability of the line between the living and the dead. These stories offer a heady mix of absurdity and bleakness on the one hand and exuberant magic realism on the other.

In 1673 the first European explorers to travel down the Mississippi River spot on the high, sheer bluffs the painting of a huge, winged monster. Where does it come from? Why did somebody take the trouble and risk to paint it on the bluff face? The Indians told them the terrifying story of a man-eating, dragon-like creature, and the brave chief who killed it.

Bethany Votaw gives you 16 short stories featuring the darkness and the monsters surrounding us. Experience the uncomfortable realities lurking beneath the surface. Meet a devil at a coffee shop, discover what the Night Man is really after, and stumble upon strange creatures and events lurking just beneath the surface.