The best horror collections and anthologies guaranteed to scare

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a member of the Horror Writers Association and have been a professional writer since 1997. I got into writing horror because I love reading horror and watching horror movies. Even as a kid, I watched horror movies on Saturday afternoons and read horror books late at night—under the covers, with a flashlight. I collected Universal monster models as a kid too and still have my collection and have even added to it. I love all things horror and believe I have a deep understanding of what scares people and how to scare them. I guarantee that the books on my list will scare you to the bone.


I wrote...

Holiday Madness: 13 Dark Tales for Halloween, Christmas & All Occasions

By Fred Wiehe,

Book cover of Holiday Madness: 13 Dark Tales for Halloween, Christmas & All Occasions

What is my book about?

The holidays have never before been more spine-tingling or more fun than in this anthology of 13 supernatural tales. All of the stories were originally written and then read on the radio by author Fred Wiehe, primarily at Halloween and Christmas, for a nonprofit, public radio station in the San Francisco Bay Area.

“Holiday Madness is weird, spooky, wild and outrageous. Very highly recommended!" - NY Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry, "Wiehe's tales will shock and thrill you to the bone. Teens and adults alike will love the twists and turns .... NOT A WORD WASTED. GREAT STUFF!!!" - Nate Kenyon (author of Bloodstone)

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Dark Halloween

Fred Wiehe Why did I love this book?

If you love Halloween like I do, this holiday horror collection from the twisted minds of some of today’s best horror authors will delight and scare you. The stories are short, fast-paced, entertaining, and shocking. Some of my favorites: A Wasted Pumpkin, Waiting for Death, The Hungry Child, Razorblade Smiles. Check this collection of flash fiction out. You’ll read it in one night. But keep the lights on!

By Eleanor Merry, Cassandra Angler, Brian Scutt (illustrator)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dark Halloween as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Skeletons, ghosts and witches. All Hallows Eve is filled with the terrors that walk the thin line of our world and the other. From the twisted minds of some of todays best horror authors, Dark Halloween is a collection of halloween themed stories sure to delight and terrify.

How will you celebrate the holidays?

Dark Halloween is book 5 in the holiday horror collection

Dark X-Mas
Dark Valentine
Dark Solstice
Dark Celebration
Dark Halloween

With stories from: M. Ennenbach, N.M Brown, G.G Flavell, Vic Kerry, Lamont A. Turner, Radar DeBoard, L.T. Emery, Alyson Faye, Jay T. Levy, Gabriella Balcom, P.S…


Book cover of Slices of Flesh

Fred Wiehe Why did I love this book?

Get your horror on! This collection of flash fiction will activate your taste buds like zombies drawn to fresh brains. These stories oozed from the brains of some of the best horror writers from around the world, the likes of Ramsey Campbell, Nate Kenyon, Tim Lebbon, William F. Nolan, Eric Guignard, Lisa Morton, Jack Ketchum, Nancy Kilpatrick, Del Howison, (yours truly) Fred Wiehe, and many more. Also, Mike Mignola of Hell Boy fame designed the cover art! I was honored to be included in this anthology and thoroughly enjoyed reading the other stories by these masters of horror.

By Stan Swanson (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Slices of Flesh as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Do you like your horror in small bite-sized chunks? If so, then SLICES OF FLESH from Dark Moon Books will activate your taste buds like zombies drawn to fresh brains. These flash fiction stories oozed from the brains of some of the best horror writers from around the world and will fit perfectly into your daily diet of "scary." SLICES OF FLESH includes the following short horror tales: Acceptance (Reesa Brown), Air Baby (Stephen Volk), All Paths Lead to Psychopath (Sephera Giron), Althea's Mistake (Jennifer Word), Angst (Fran Friel), The Bastard Called Hope (Jennifer Brozek), Big Bite (Rick Hautala), Blame…


Book cover of A Scream in the Night 2

Fred Wiehe Why did I love this book?

This anthology features chilling stories written by an all-female cast of horror writers. If you think only male writers can deliver explicit and graphic horror, this anthology proves you wrong. These talented women do not pull punches and their stories are not for the faint of heart. My friend Reyna Young (aka Miss Misery—Hall of Fame Horror Host, Producer, Director, and Writer) edited this volume and contributed the story The Dinner Party. Another friend actress and writer Debra Lamb contributed Collectibles. If you want stories that will leave you screaming for more, read this volume.

By Reyna Young (editor), Debra Lamb, Maureen Whelan , AnnMarie Martin , Christina Francine , Jessica Dwyer , Marjorie Dehey , Staci Layne Wilson

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Scream in the Night 2 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Featuring: Debra Lamb – AnnMarie Martin – Christina Francine – Staci Layne Wilson – Reyna Young – Ravennight – Tonjia Atomic – Tori Danielle Romero – Maureen Whelan – Jessica Dwyer – Marjorie Dehey – Michelle Nessk – Nicole Andrea Guzman

Last Doorway Productions and Black Bed Sheet Books celebrate women in horror fiction again by partnering to bring another chilling, all-female horror anthology, A Scream in the Night 2!
Horror Host Miss Misery (Reyna Young) has for a second time brought together 13 stories that set stellar examples of female voices in horror today and the tales they have…


Book cover of Read Us or Die

Fred Wiehe Why did I love this book?

I’m fortunate enough to have contributed a story in this anthology too, along with the likes of Nicholas Grabowski (author of Halloween IV), Reyna Young (horror host Miss Misery), Tom Sawyer, Patrick James Ryan, Rey Otis, and more. What makes this horror anthology different from others is the depth of characters and emotion of the stories. Yeah, it’s dark, scary, and will leave you squirming in your seat. But it’s the depth of characterization that truly propels these stories and sets them apart from other horror anthologies.

By Jason Gehlert (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Read Us or Die as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The first official publisher’s anthology featuring the exemplary talents of the authors of BLACK BED SHEET BOOKS!"Black Bed Sheet is not only a publisher of fantasticallycreative horror books but knows the meaning of heart and integrity....Grabowsky has taken BBS to heights that few could have imagined with his drive, determination and talent, along with the talent in his stable. If you haven't read anything from BBS, it's past time you did but it's never too late!"--- Gene Tipton, A SHOT IN THE DARK COMICS"I had this idea for an anthology. A crazy, outside the box thought that I hoped would…


Book cover of The Barrens & Others: Tales of Awe and Terror

Fred Wiehe Why did I love this book?

I was honored to have appeared alongside F. Paul Wilson at a book signing for Dark Delicacies, the premiere horror bookshop in Burbank, CA. He autographed a copy of The Barrens and Others for me. That night, I took it back to my hotel room and devoured it. Mr. Wilson may not be the household name of Stephen King or Clive Barker, but he is just as talented. What makes this collection even better is Wilson's introductions to the stories. This is a first-rate collection of first-rate tales, ranging from Lovecraftian to Western supernatural, with many mysterious combinations in between. Read this book, and you will be a F. Paul Wilson fan for life.

By F. Paul Wilson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Barrens & Others as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"F. Paul Wilson is among the finest storytellers of our time." (Rocky Mountain News)

In The Barren and Others, Wilson lets his fertile imagination run wild, traveling from the Old West of Doc Holliday to the Pine Barrens of present-day New jersey and encountering many strange, suspect, and supernatural happenings along the way. From urban mercenary Repairman Jack, to the obese and food-obsessed Topsy, Wilson's wild array of characters get caught up in adventures both fascinating and horrifying.

A first-rate collection of first-rate tales, ranging from Lovecraftian to Western supernatural, with many mysterious combination in between, The Barrens and Others…


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The Road from Belhaven

By Margot Livesey,

Book cover of The Road from Belhaven

Margot Livesey Author Of The Road from Belhaven

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Reader Secret orphan Professor Scottish Novelist

Margot's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

The Road from Belhaven is set in 1880s Scotland. Growing up in the care of her grandparents on Belhaven Farm, Lizzie Craig discovers as a small girl that she can see the future. But she soon realises that she must keep her gift a secret. While she can sometimes glimpse the future, she can never change it.

Nor can Lizzie change the feelings that come when a young man named Louis, visiting Belhaven for the harvest, begins to court her. Why have the adults around her never told her that the touch of a hand can change everything? When she follows Louis to Glasgow, she begins to learn the limits of his devotion and the complexities of her own affections.

The Road from Belhaven

By Margot Livesey,

What is this book about?

From the New York Times best-selling author of The Flight of Gemma Hardy, a novel about a young woman whose gift of second sight complicates her coming of age in late-nineteenth-century Scotland

Growing up in the care of her grandparents on Belhaven Farm, Lizzie Craig discovers as a small child that she can see into the future. But her gift is selective—she doesn’t, for instance, see that she has an older sister who will come to join the family. As her “pictures” foretell various incidents and accidents, she begins to realize a painful truth: she may glimpse the future, but…


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