First published 2024
A thin silver line separates the mundane from the monstrous in these twenty unsettling tales. In "Gavin's Field," rural folk confront ancient terrors lurking beneath familiar soil. An elderly man embarks on his final journey in "The Old Man's Tale," discovering that some roads lead to places maps never show. Halloween brings dark reflections in "When They Fall," while "Privacy" transforms personal isolation into apocalyptic dread. Jack the Ripper's legacy surfaces in unexpected ways through "Monkeys," and pandemic fears merge with ancient hunger in the Wendigo story "An Gorta Mór." From cosmic horrors that exist just beyond perception in "The Things We Do Not See" to the bizarre underground odyssey of "Within the Concrete," each story fractures the familiar world. Steve Rasnic Tem, acclaimed winner of World Fantasy, British Fantasy, and Bram Stoker awards, reveals how quickly normal life can slip into something unrecognizable. These narratives capture the moment when reality bends and everyday experiences become doorways to the impossible, leaving readers questioning what lies beneath the surface of their own ordinary days.
Genres: short-stories, horror, supernatural, dark-fantasy
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: cosmic-horror, everyday-horror
Setting: Gavin's Field, An Gorta Mór
Period: Halloween
267 pages · Paperback · Macabre Ink
Content warnings: body-horror, gore, violence