Fears: Tales of Psychological Horror

Bestselling horror editor Ellen Datlow (Body Shocks) returns with her most eclectic anthology. Here are twenty-one stories of extreme psychological dread from horror icons such as Joyce Carol Oates, Stephen Graham Jones, Priya Sharma, Simon Bestwick, and more. The unsettling tales explore the nature of fear as it stirs in dysfunctional families, toxic friendships, and mismatched lovers, and culminates in relentless stalkers, remorseless killers, and perpetrators of savage rituals.Your grandfather confesses his heinous crime to you alone. You try to save a young girl from sexual assault, but she’s not really a victim. Your child is sacrificed in compensation for your social misstep. You compete in a sick game to save your loved ones. Your mom is insane, your dad is dying, your brother is not your brother, and you’re stuck in the same house until one or all of you are dead.Far below the unlikeliness of the supernatural lives something worse: the depths of human depravity. We live in fear of the cruelties of respected leaders and of the despicable crimes of neighbors who seem normal. We live with anxiety about our innermost desires and the unforgivable things we might do in a moment of passion. Or, if we fail to curb our urges, we live with the terrible secrets of our unfettered resentments.In this uniquely unsettling anthology, editor Ellen Datlow has unearthed twenty-one exemplary tales of what humanity fears most: People.“Bait” by Simon Bestwick“The Pelt” by Annie Neugebauer“A Sunny Disposition” by Josh Malerman“The Donner Party” by Dale Bailey“White Noise in a White Room” by Steve Duffy“Singing My Sister Down” by Margo Lanagan“Back Seat” by Bracken MacLeod“England and Nowhere” by Tim Nickels“Endless Summer” by Stewart O’Nan“My Mother’s Ghosts” by Priya Sharma“The Wink and the Gun” by John Patrick Higgins“One of These Nights” by Livia Llewellyn“LD50” by Laird Barron“Cavity” by Theresa DeLucci“Souvenirs” by Sharon Gosling“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates“The Wrong Shark” by Ray Cluley“21 Brooklands: next to Old Western, opposite the burnt out Red Lion” by Carole Johnstone“Unkindly Girls” by Hailey Piper“A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts” by Charles Birkin“Teeth” by Stephen Graham Jones