The supernatural, the surreal, and the all-too real . . . tales of the dark. Such stories have always fascinated and modern authors are carrying on the disquieting traditions of the past while inventing imaginative new ways to unsettle. Chosen from a wide variety of venues, the stories for this eighth volume of the series include sinister fairy tales, dreadful new legends, and spooky tales sure to spur the shivers. Encounter the eclectic terrors of today, frightening glimpses of bleak futures, and alarming considerations of the past. Welcome to the best of dark fantasy and horror.
Contents
Introduction: Not Afraid of the Dark | Paula Guran
Seasons of Glass and Iron | Amal El-Mohtar
The Future is Blue | Catherynne M. Valente
Grave Goods | Gemma Files
The Ballad of Black Tom | Victor LaValle
Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies | Brooke Bolander
An Ocean the Color of Bruises | Isabel Yap
The Iron Man | Max Gladstone
The Blameless | Jeffrey Ford
Birdfather | Stephen Graham Jones
The Jaws That Bite, The Claws That Catch | Seanan McGuire
The Rime of the Cosmic Mariner | John Shirley
Fairy Tales are for White People | Melissa Yuan-Innes
Lullaby for a Lost World | Aliette de Bodard
The Finest, Fullest Flowering | Marc Laidlaw
Spinning Silver | Naomi Novik
Grave Goods | Priya Sharma
Braid of Days and Wake of Nights | E. Lily Yu
Wish You Were Here | Nadia Bulkin
Only Their Shining Beauty Was Left | Fran Wilde
The Line Between the Devilβs Teeth (Murder Ballad No. 10) | CaitlΓn R. Kiernan
Photograph | Steve Rasnic Tem
Red Dirt Witch | N. K. Jemisin
My Body, Herself | Carmen Maria Machado
The Sound of Salt and Sea | Kat Howard
A Dying of the Light | Rachel Caine
Postcards from Natalie | Carrie Laben
As Cymbals Clash | Cate Gardner
The Games We Play | Cassandra Khaw
Bright Crown of Joy | Livia Llewellyn
Mommyβs Little Man | Brian Hodge
A Fist of Permutations in Lightning and Wildflowers | Alyssa Wong
Surfacing | Lisa L. Hannett
Meet Me at the Frost Fair | Alison Littlewood
Haunt: Under the House | Michael Wehunt
Whose Drowned Face Sleeps | An Owomoyela & Rachel Swirsky
When the Stitches Come Undone | A. C. Wise
The Red Forest | Angela Slatter
About the Authors
Acknowledgements