Family Horror

“I hate cats more than any on the planet,” Grandpa always told us. “A dog you can take hunting and a moose you can shoot, but a cat only gets in the way and barfs on your carpet in the nighttime, most usually in the very spot that you step on first thing in the morning with your bare feet - and then you are left walking around the whole day long smelling of cat-barfed-on-footprints.”

One of the earliest creative approaches to feminist literature, this sinister horror story tells of a woman's mental anguish and unconscious struggle with conformity in a society that generally viewed women as weak and hysterical creatures unable to think for themselves. The author, Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935), a prominent American feminist, paved the way for other authors like Sylvia Plath and Alice Walker. She suffered mental illness during her life and ultimately committed suicide.

Miles and Harper are on the cusp of middle age. Living a good life in the big city, they’re resigned to being childless. But when Harper suddenly learns that she is pregnant with twins, their somewhat boring marriage gets a much-needed kick in the pants. As they welcome a pair of beautiful little boys into their career-centered world, what should be the happiest moment of their lives quickly spirals into a pattern of heartbreak and paranoia.

Steven is a writer, by all accounts of self-proclamation. But no artist can be expected to work under serious pressure, especially not when the pressure consists of his own mother indenting his tender skull with the muzzle of the pistol held in her hand. Suddenly, it's write or die for Steven. He better tap away on that typewriter or expect to be extracted from the land of the living before he's had the opportunity to finish anything he's ever written. Not to mention that his recently departed father lying on the floor beside him should supply enough motivation.

A kidnapping turns to be unexpectedly deadly when the Mafia encounters ogres and demons. This is one of several tales in the Smoky Mountain Horrors collection.

Enter a melancholy world of Mardis Gras, sacrifice, and the death of a child. This is one of several tales in the Smoky Mountain Horrors collection.

A mythological figure comes and takes away bad memories and replaces them with someone else's. This is one of several tales in the Smoky Mountain Horrors collection.

The theme is revenge in this gruesome tale about the lengths we will go to for retribution. This is one of several stories in the Smoky Mountain Horrors collection.

Nice young boys collect white supremacists to feed a Lovecraftian monster. This is one of several tales in the Smoky Mountain Horrors collection.

A retarded young girl saves the lives of those in her care with box of broken crayons. This is one of several tales in the Smoky Mountain Horrors collection.

Deep in a kudzu forest, a small town sacrifices an unsuspecting traveler. This is one of several tales in the Smoky Mountain Horrors collection.

A boy discovers the special connection between fishing, grandfathers, and the great beyond. This is one of several tales in the Smoky Mountain Horrors collection.

In this chilling short story, the nature of a priest's prisoner and his crime are revealed through a letter. This is one of several tales in the Smoky Mountain Horrors collection.

The Hatfields and the McCoys set aside their differences to guard the gate of hell. This is one of several tales in the Smoky Mountain Horrors collection.

The blood of the tree is its sap. It has sustained Scott Belvedere's family for generations. It's the secret ingredient behind the family's intoxicating ale and bourbon, among other elixirs. But only when Scott inherits The Family Tree Inn, deep in the hills of Virginia, does he learn anything about his family, its symbiotic history, or the mammoth, ancient tree around which the inn is literally built.