The Weird World of Mark McLaughlin MEGAPACK®


Book Description

Who is this Mark McLaughlin person, and why should you read him? Mark—whom I’ve had the pleasure of publishing for nearly 20 years now—is one of those unique voices in the horror field. He doesn’t tread the safe (or even sane!) path, but goes off in quirky directions, and he’s happy to have company along the way. And while he’s poking around the oddest places, he finds humor in the outrageous and the unsettling. Vampires? Of course. Zombies? Definitely. But these are never quite the monsters you’re expecting. Don’t take my word for it. Here are some other opinions: “In the most devious manner, McLaughlin’s stories achieve a high degree of demonism by perpetuating a sinister ‘humor’ at the gallows of the human comedy.” (Thomas Ligotti) “Listen up. Noel Coward is back. Salvador Dali is back. Dylan Thomas is back. And they’re all rolled into one in the shape of Mark McLaughlin who writes stories that are wonderfully witty, surrealistic and ineffably strange. Absolutely fabulous.... If your palette is jaded, come to the feast that is Mark McLaughlin.” (Simon Clark) “McLaughlin’s tales are laugh-out-loud assaults on consensus reality.” (Paul Di Filippo, ASIMOV’S) “Reading Mark McLaughlin is a little like stepping out of the door of an airplane in mid flight. The view is pretty amazing, but the shock of impact may do you in...gruesome, funny and touching. Top that: anybody....” (TANGENT) So, dig in and enjoy these 28 tales by one of the modern masters of the macabre! Part 1: Cosmic Horrors The House of the Ocelot Queen of the Vultures The Foul One Lives to Destroy Der Fleischbrunnen A Beauty Treatment for Mrs. Hamogeorgakis Toadface Shoggoth Cacciatore Mrs. Dakhamunzu Used Viol, One Previous Owner The Resurrection of Nephren-Ka PART 2: Magic, Monsters, Zombies, And Demons Adroitly Wrapped Why Cosmo Used to Wear a Lab Smock Every Halloween Largesse ZOM BEE MOO VEE Empress of the Living Dead ascloseasthis Scenes from a Foreign Horror Video, with Zombies and Tasteful Nudity Aunt Paloma Diabolical Entities and How to Deal with Them The Disciples of Monidroth PART 3: Tales of the Surreal and the Bizarre The Vainglorious Simulacrum of Mungha Sorcyllamia The Astonishing Secret of the King of the Cats Deck the Halls with Guacamole The Revelations of McDeth The Agony of Claude Bawls Don’t Look in the Little Storage Room Behind the Furnace The Tale of the Cat-Headed Man, the Man-Headed Dog, and the Lady with Rats for Hands Dr. Belmont’s Hiking Buddy If you enjoy this ebook, check out the 400+ other volumes in the MEGAPACK® series, covering not just horror, but science fiction, fantasy, westerns, romance, and many other genres (even nurse novels!). Search your favorite ebook store for "Wildside Press MEGAPACK" to see the complete list of available titles.




The Weird Crime MEGAPACK®


Book Description

Here for your reading delectation, are 25 outre tales of crime. Since history has proven that there is nothing unusual or unexpected about the human (or inhuman) drive to break the law, it should come as no surprise that the weird, the strange, the supernatural, and the just plain odd often, in fictional form, manifest themselves allayed to the criminal element. Included are: INTRODUCTION, by Shawn Garrett THE WINDOW OF HORRORS, by H.L. Mencken THE FOOTSTEPS ON THE STAIRS, by William J. Wintle THE RÔLE OF THE WEIRD, by Tom Worth THE HAUNTED BURGLAR, by W.C. Morrow VALLEY OF THE STORM KING, by Joseph J. Millard THE MAN IN THE MIRROR, by Lillian B. Hunt SATAN’S FACELESS HENCHMEN, by Steve Fisher BAT MAN, by Victor Rousseau DOUBLE IN DEATH, by Gerald Vance CYANIDE AND OLD LACE, by Emil Petaja THE HOUSE OF FIRE, by Robert Moore Williams THE MAN WHO LOST HIS HEAD, by Thomas Burke DEATH’S BRIGHT HALO, by Robert Leslie Bellem FINISHED BY HAND, by H.B. Hickey THE COUNTERFEITER, by Robert Moore Williams THE ADVENTURE OF GOSNELL, by George T. Wetzell MONKEY ON HIS BACK, by Charles V. De Vet AGREE—OR DIE, by Rufus King DEATH OVER CHICAGO, by Robert Moore Williams HOPE CHEST, by Talmage Powell TUNE ME IN, by Fletcher Flora GRAMP, by Charles V. De Vet POISON PEN, by George T. Wetzel YOU KNOW WILLIE, by Theodore R. Cogswell THE ULTIMATE PREY, by Talmage Powell




Excitable Boys


Book Description

An original anthology inspired by the annual World Horror Convention Gross Out Contents, featuring some of its most audacious winners and runners up. Edited by Kelly Laymon, and featuring cover and interior artwork by GAK! Contents: * Introduction: Take a Tour Through the Sewer - Kelly Laymon * Good Care - Rain Graves * The Constipated Cannibal - Michael McCarty * The McCrath Model SS40-C, Series S - Ed Lee * Full of It - Brian Keene * Attack of the Fifty-Foot Prison Bitch - Mark McLaughlin * A Heartful of Love, A Bowelful of Hate - Gavin Williams * Genital Grinder: A Snuff Film in Five Acts - Ryan Harding * Afterword: Just Like Chicken - Geoff Cooper




Short Things


Book Description

Short Things is a collection of never-before-published stories based on John W. Campbell's classic short novel, "Who Goes There?" (filmed as The Thing). Commissioned one by one as stretch goals for the Frozen Hell Kickstarter project (which broke records as one of the most successful science fiction publishing projects in Kickstarter history), this series of stories grew to book size--thanks to contributions by many top writers. Included are new works by G.D. Falksen Paul Di Filippo Mark McLaughlin Alan Dean Foster Darrell Schweitzer Nina Kiriki Hoffman Kristine Kathryn Rusch John Gregory Betancourt Chelsea Quinn Yarbro Kevin J. Anderson Pamela Sargent Allen M. Steele Allan Cole Enjoy these sometimes very different takes on the classic monster, the Thing!




Human Doll


Book Description

One by one, America's most beautiful celebrities are dying. The murders are diabolically orchestrated so that the victims are subjected to bodily destruction. These victims are all guests or cast members from two TV shows - a medical reality show and a talent competition for drag queens. Male model December Storm appears as a guest on both shows. Dubbed a 'human doll' by the media, he regularly receives plastic surgery to enhance his looks. He is the founder of a modeling agency called HeadTurners, and is becoming one of America's most popular, compelling celebrities. A private investigator is hired to look into the murders, and soon, it becomes clear that December needs to beware. He might be the next celebrity to die. Mark McLaughlin's fiction, nonfiction, and poetry have appeared in hundreds of magazines, newspapers, websites, and anthologies. He has written fiction and poetry collections for many publishers nationwide. HUMAN DOLL: A Novel is the first solo novel of this Bram Stoker Award-winning author.




The Hounds of Tindalos


Book Description




To Rouse Leviathan


Book Description

Since the early years of the twenty-first century, Matt Cardin has distinguished himself by writing weird fiction with a distinctively cosmic and spiritual focus, publishing two short story collections that have now become rare collector's items. In this substantial volume, Cardin gathers the totality of his short fiction, including the complete fiction contents of Divinations of the Deep (2002) and Dark Awakenings (2010). Several of the tales have been substantially revised from their original appearances. Inspired by H. P. Lovecraft, Thomas Ligotti, and other masters of cosmic horror, Cardin's fiction explores the convergence of religion, horror, and art in a cosmos that may be actively hostile to our species. In tales long and short (including a new novella co-written with Mark McLaughlin), Cardin rings a succession of changes on those fateful words from the Book of Job: "Let those sorcerers who place a curse on days curse that day, those who are skilled to rouse Leviathan." Aside from his short story collections, Matt Cardin is the editor of Born to Fear: Interviews with Thomas Ligotti (2014) and Horror Literature through History (2017). He is also co-editor of the journal Vastarien.




Summer of Lovecraft: Cosmic Horror in the 1960s


Book Description

A new Lovecraftian anthology based in the 1960s from the editors behind World War Cthulhu: A Collection of Lovecraftian War Stories! Now available for preorder in ebook and to be delivered by September 2019.TABLE OF CONTENTSNight Trippers by Lois H. GreshBeing for the Benefit of Mr. Sullivan by Lee Clark ZumpeDreamland by David DunwoodyLost In the Poppy-Fields of Flesh by Konstantine ParadiasFive To One by Edward M. ErdelacKeeping the Faith by Sam StoneMud Men by Sean HoadeMisconception by Jamie D. JenkinsNo Colors Anymore by Joe L. MurrOperation Alice by Pete RawlikShimmer and Sway by Jayaprakash SatyamurthyShort Wave by Stephen Mark RaineyThe Song that Crystal Sang by Tom LynchThrough a Looking Glass Darkly by Glynn Owen Barrass and Brian M. SammonsThe Color from the Deep by William MeikleThe Long Fine Flash by Edward MorrisThe Summer of Love by C.J. HendersonJust Another Afternoon in Arkham, Brought to You in Living Color by Mark McLaughlin and Michael Sheehan, Jr.Crystal Blue Persuasion by Jeffrey Thomas




Exploring Science Through Science Fiction


Book Description

The material in this book forms the basis of an interdisciplinary, college-level course, which uses science fiction film as a vehicle for exploring science concepts. Unlike traditional introductory-level courses, the science content is arranged according to major themes in science fiction, with a deliberate progression from the highly objective and discipline-specific (e.g. Reference Frames; Physics of Space Travel and Time Travel) to the very multi-disciplinary and thought-provoking (e.g. Human Teleportation; Science and Society). Over 100 references to science fiction films and television episodes are included, spanning more than 100 years of cinematic history. Some of these are conducive to calculations (solutions included).




The Prisoner of Carcosa and More Tales of the Bizarre


Book Description

THE PRISONER OF CARCOSA presents tales of the bizarre, featuring Lovecraftian horrors, alien nightmares, oceanic monstrosities, an account of The King In Yellow, and much more. Many of these adventures have only been available so far on Kindle. This paperback collection is a companion volume to HORRORS & ABOMINATIONS, THE HOUSE OF THE OCELOT, and CITY OF LIVING SHADOWS. In "The Prisoner Of Carcosa," a traveler falls in love with one of the owners of the Golden Moon Bed & Breakfast. He doesn't know that the owner's family guards a copy of the accursed book, The King In Yellow, which brings madness to those who read it. He soon learns that when that evil book is near, a hideous creature known as the Seeker of the Yellow Sign isn't far behind. "Horrors Of The Trash Island" presents a Lovecraftian tale of ecological horror. Millionaire Asher Bellworth and his staff take a cruise on his yacht to check out an area in the South Pacific said to be the location of R'lyeh. R'lyeh is a legendary city on a sunken island where the evil entity Cthulhu is said to be trapped in a temple. They see a massive trash island floating over Cthulhu's realm, and discover that the trash island is inhabited by a bizarre array of deadly mutations, as well as a bizarre human inhabitant. "Yuletide Mementos: A Tale Of Lovecraftian Horror" is a sequel to Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness." The tale is set in the family home of Professor William Dyer, leader of an ill-fated Antarctic expedition conducted by Miskatonic University in 1930. When he returned, he brought back two trunks, which he stored in the attic. A young relative is now curious about those trunks, not realizing that they hold an ancient horror, waiting to be unleashed. In "Diabolical Entities And How To Deal With Them," Professor Artemis LaGungo provides an overview of the demonic denizens of Hell, and tells how to resist their unholy temptations. "You Shall Have This Delicacy" tells of the world's most powerful witch, who gathers her friends for a dinner party with a shocking agenda. Set in the far future, "Tell Your Secrets To The Slime" follows a band of space explorers to a polluted planet populated by a grotesque life-form that feeds on guilt and sorrow. Will they be able to escape the alien horror that threatens to destroy them? Mark McLaughlin is the author of EMPRESS OF THE LIVING DEAD, BEST LITTLE WITCH-HOUSE IN ARKHAM and HIDEOUS FACES, BEAUTIFUL SKULLS, among other horror collections. With McLaughlin, Michael Sheehan, Jr. has co-authored the Lovecraftian paperbacks, HORRORS & ABOMINATIONS, THE HOUSE OF THE OCELOT, and CITY OF LIVING SHADOWS, as well as the Kindle collections, THE ABOMINATIONS OF NEPHREN-KA, THE HORROR IN THE WATER TOWER, THE BLASPHEMY IN THE CANOPIC JAR, SHOGGOTH APOCALYPSE, THE RELIC IN THE EGYPTIAN GALLERY, THE CREATURE IN THE WAXWORKS, THE TESTAMENT OF CTHULHU, STAINLESS STEEL SARCOPHAGUS and more.