Gemma Files

COME CLOSER, FRIEND. LET ME TELL YOU A STORY. Heard the one about the Airbnb that eats your dreams or the iron-crowned king who preys on his own bloodline from the air, still smoldering centuries after being burnt alive? How about the cloudy antique bottle you can wish your excess rage inside, or that crooked alley down which something waits to replace your disappointing child with a far more pleasant facsimile? We all know the truth, especially in times like these-in an anxiety-ridden, sleepless world such as ours, it's only ever our very worst dreams that come true. Here streets empty out and people pull themselves apart like amoebas, breeding murderous doppelgangers from their own flesh; houses haunt, ideas possess and a cold and alien moon stares down, whispering that it's time to spawn. New myths rise and ancient evils descend. From the seemingly mundane terrors of a city just like yours to all the most dark and distant places of a truly terrible universe, nothing is as it seems...not even that dimly-recalled cinematic memory you've been chasing all these years, the one you think might be just something you stumbled upon while flipping through channels after midnight. The one that still disturbs you enough to raise a cold sweat all over your body, whenever you try to will its details clear. Hot on the heels of her 2018 This Is Horror Award-winning short story collection Spectral Evidence, critically horror author Gemma Files compiles fifteen more of her most startling recent nightmares-a creepily seductive downward spiral of dark poetry and existential dread, entirely suitable to the slow apocalypse going on all around us. So take your mind off your troubles and send it somewhere the rules still operate, if only to punish those who violate them.

Named "One of the genre's most original and innovative voices" (L. A. Review of Books) and "An expert at terrifying prose" (LitReactor), Canadian author Gemma Files has been penning gritty and macabre fiction since 1993, earning industry awards and critical acclaim from sources such as National Public Radio, Publishers Weekly, and The National Post. Files imbues her cross-genre work with layers like dark stratum: heartbreak upon horror, built over the vignettes of life we may find ourselves in, but for one slight turn of reality. Dark Moon Books and editor Eric J. Guignard bring you this introduction to her work, the seventh in a series of primers exploring modern masters of literary dark short fiction. Herein is a chance to discover-or learn more of-the evocative voice of Gemma Files, as beautifully illustrated by artist Michelle Prebich. Included within these pages are: - Six short stories, one written exclusively for this book- Author interview- Biography and bibliography- Academic commentary by Michael Arnzen, PhD (former humanities chair and professor of the year, Seton Hill University)- ... and more Enter this doorway to the vast and fantastic: Get to know Gemma Files. Table of Contents includes: - Introduction by Eric J. Guignard- About Gemma Files (A Biography)- In The Poor Girl Taken by Surprise- In The Poor Girl Taken by Surprise: A Commentary- Slick Black Bones and Soft Black Stars- Slick Black Bones and Soft Black Stars: A Commentary- Venio- Venio: A Commentary- Sown From Salt- Sown From Salt: A Commentary- Guising- Guising: A Commentary- Yol- Yol: A Commentary- Why Gemma Files Matters by Michael Arnzen, PhD- In Conversation with Gemma Files- Stories in Pieces: Found Footage Storytelling, or Writing Epistolary Narratives for the 21st Century: An Essay by Gemma Files- A Bibliography of English Language Fiction for Gemma Files

They called it the Event. The Event changed everything. The earthquakes came first, including the Big One, shattering the Pacific Rim and plunging the world into chaos. Then the seas came, the skies opened, and the never-ending rain began. But as bad as that was, there is something worse. The Rising has begun. Providence is flooded. An agoraphobic artist watches from his window as the sea takes the streets. But the ocean has brought more than storms, as the presence of something alien prods and grasps his mind. Can he find the courage to flee, or will his mind and body be taken by the storm and the creatures within? Even as the skies open and the streets fill, an international art thief takes one last job to steal from the legendary Miskatonic Library. His mission is the Incendium Malificarum, powerful enough to end the world, or to save it. But is he simply a pawn of powers greater than he knows? A young mother, separated by floodwaters from her family, grieves and dreams as the world and the people around her begin to change, to become something else. But what dreams may come when the world has already ended? But how did this begin? A disgraced college professor makes a Faustian bargain and discovers a conspiracy older than man, and a Key to unlock the fate of the entire human race. Can he save himself, can he save anyone, or is this predestined since the Great Flood? And in the Pacific, He is rising. In Black Seas of Infinity: The R'lyeh Cycle Book Two, authors Curtis M. Lawson, Brett J. Talley, Gemma Files, and William Holloway have created a timely and uniquely modern reimagining of the Cthulhu Mythos.

Some horrors were never meant to be unearthed. Evil lurks within the pages of Dead Letters: Episodes of Epistolary Horror... A video game walkthrough harbors sinister secrets. A grieving sister's letters blur the line between alive and dead (and alive again). A chain of frightening emails is the only evidence that a young woman ever walked the earth. And a series of journals pursue a dwindling wagon train marching into Hell-or someplace worse. Haunting podcast transcripts. Blood-soaked police reports. Bewildering court findings. Brace yourself for an anthology that resurrects the chilling power of epistolary fiction-where ordinary documents transform into vessels of absolute terror. Spanning 21 original tales blending the classic gothic horror of Stoker's Dracula with the contemporary dread of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca, Dead Letters contains both short sharp shocks and prolonged sojourns into the macabre-and promises to haunt your sleepless nights. Featuring thrilling contributions from Gemma Files, Ai Jiang, Gordon B. White, J. A. W. McCarthy, and Red Lagoe, and curated with precision by Jacob Steven Mohr (The Unwelcome and Nightfall and Other Dangers) Dead Letters: Episodes of Epistolary Horror solidifies its place among the pantheon of must-read horror anthologies. Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing-Tales from the Darkest Depths.

Some horrors were never meant to be unearthed. Evil lurks within the pages of Dead Letters: Episodes of Epistolary Horror... A video game walkthrough harbors sinister secrets. A grieving sister's letters blur the line between alive and dead (and alive again). A chain of frightening emails is the only evidence that a young woman ever walked the earth. And a series of journals pursue a dwindling wagon train marching into Hell-or someplace worse. Haunting podcast transcripts. Blood-soaked police reports. Bewildering court findings. Brace yourself for an anthology that resurrects the chilling power of epistolary fiction-where ordinary documents transform into vessels of absolute terror. Spanning 21 original tales blending the classic gothic horror of Stoker's Dracula with the contemporary dread of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca, Dead Letters contains both short sharp shocks and prolonged sojourns into the macabre-and promises to haunt your sleepless nights. Featuring thrilling contributions from Gemma Files, Ai Jiang, Gordon B. White, J. A. W. McCarthy, and Red Lagoe, and curated with precision by Jacob Steven Mohr (The Unwelcome and Nightfall and Other Dangers) Dead Letters: Episodes of Epistolary Horror solidifies its place among the pantheon of must-read horror anthologies. Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing-Tales from the Darkest Depths.

You are not alone. Written by the scariest minds in horror today, these 22 brand-new tales show how monsters are taking back their power in a world that desperately needs an inhuman intervention. From violent tooth fairies and Twitter-addicted trolls to vengeful vampires and bittersweet Eldritch family holidays, these stories of real-life monsters-both familiar and never-before-seen-will soothe the monstrous soul of every reader. Because part of you knows that humans are the problem... and monsters are the solution you've been looking for. Humans Are The Problem: A Monster's Anthology is the premiere short-story anthology from Weird Little Worlds Press and made possible by the generous support from the horror community and Kickstarter backers. It includes: "When Humans Attack: A Concerning Introduction," by Michael Cluff and Willow Becker"Root Rot," by Sarah Read"Taffy Sweet," by Michaelbrent Collings"The Dawn Woman," by Calvin Cleary"Who We Are," by L. H. Moore"Aquarium Diver," by Philip Fracassi"Nothing Personal," by Georgia Cook"Woof," by Patrick Barb"If Wishes Were," by John Langan"On This Side of the Veil," by Gabino Iglesias"Epic Troll," by Auston Habershaw"The Man and Seaweed and Reeds," by Corey Farrenkopf"The Sound," by Leah Claire Kaminski"Poor Butcher-Bird," by Gemma Files"Crack of the Bat," by T. J. Tranchell"A Clean Kill," by Justin Guleserian"Mea Tulpa," by Gordon Linzner"In the House of the Elementals," by Lisa Morton"Passed On," by Die Booth"The Blanch," by Dominick Cancilla"My Friend Nessie," by J. H. Moncrieff"Laurel's First Chase," by Christi Nogle

COME CLOSER, FRIEND. LET ME TELL YOU A STORY. Heard the one about the Airbnb that eats your dreams or the iron-crowned king who preys on his own bloodline from the air, still smoldering centuries after being burnt alive? How about the cloudy antique bottle you can wish your excess rage inside, or that crooked alley down which something waits to replace your disappointing child with a far more pleasant facsimile? We all know the truth, especially in times like these-in an anxiety-ridden, sleepless world such as ours, it's only ever our very worst dreams that come true. Here streets empty out and people pull themselves apart like amoebas, breeding murderous doppelgangers from their own flesh; houses haunt, ideas possess and a cold and alien moon stares down, whispering that it's time to spawn. New myths rise and ancient evils descend. From the seemingly mundane terrors of a city just like yours to all the most dark and distant places of a truly terrible universe, nothing is as it seems...not even that dimly-recalled cinematic memory you've been chasing all these years, the one you think might be just something you stumbled upon while flipping through channels after midnight. The one that still disturbs you enough to raise a cold sweat all over your body, whenever you try to will its details clear. Hot on the heels of her 2018 This Is Horror Award-winning short story collection Spectral Evidence, critically horror author Gemma Files compiles fifteen more of her most startling recent nightmares-a creepily seductive downward spiral of dark poetry and existential dread, entirely suitable to the slow apocalypse going on all around us. So take your mind off your troubles and send it somewhere the rules still operate, if only to punish those who violate them.

“A vivid, haunting mix of horror and fantasy woven together through a complex fugue of short stories” from the award-winning author of Kissing Carrion (Entertainment Weekly). One of Canada’s most acclaimed horror writers, Gemma Files presents a mosaic of interconnected stories about interconnected families. After fleeing Scotland, five clans settled in the fictional town of Dourvale in northern Ontario. Known as the Five-Family Coven, they are the descendants of witches and witch-children, none of whom were spared persecution in their native country. Now shamans, spellcasters, singers, and thieves, the members of the Devize, Druir, Glouwer, Roke, and Rusk families survive by trading their occult powers and talents—though few can really afford their price . . . “What makes We Will All Go Down Together so riveting isn’t its ideas or imagery, as richly atmospheric and detailed as they are. It’s the author’s voice. Colorful, powerful, and charismatic, her characters are rendered in bold strokes and poignant nuances. . . . Her book is a short-story collection, true, but it also works as a dark, fractured mosaic of a novel. Across continents and centuries, the ghost-magic of Dourvale still cuts and pastes the fabric of reality. With her ghostly, magical storytelling, Files does the same.” —NPR.org Praise for Gemma Files “Gemma Files’s stories are always so smart and humane, and overwhelm the reader with a true sense of wonder, awe, and horror. She is, simply put, one of the most powerful and unique voices in weird fiction today.” —Paul Tremblay, award-winning author of A Head Full of Ghosts “One of the genre’s most original and innovative voices.” —Los Angeles Review of Books

“The rousing conclusion to Files’s remarkable Hexslinger trilogy . . . A bravura performance” from the author of A Book of Tongues and A Rope of Thorns (Publishers Weekly). A new Civil War is brewing. With the city of Bewelcome as its headquarters, Allan Pinkerton’s Detective Agency leads a siege on Hex City, the town founded by “Reverend” Asher Rook and his consort, the Mayan goddess Ixchel. Monsters prowl the battleground, rocket trails of spells crisscross the sky, and an unnatural rain falls. Sides must be taken, but Pinkerton-agent-turned-outlaw Ed Morrow, spiritualist Yancey Kloves, and even Rook must choose what ruin or redemption means to each of them. Meanwhile, Chess Pargeter gears up for the greatest fight of his life—and death. A battle out of hell itself . . . Praise for the Hexslinger Series “Gemma’s been producing top-notch horror stories for years, and her weird Western Hexslinger trilogy is chock full of hellish horrors.” —Mike Allen, author of Unseaming “Potent mythology, complex characters, and dollops of creeping horror and baroque gore establish Files’s Hexslinger series as a top-notch horror-fantasy saga.” —Publishers Weekly “Paints a stark, vivid, and gory picture of the ‘wild west’ in the years following the Civil War . . . Files’s latest is not for the squeamish but should delight fans of gothic Western fantasy and Central American myths.” —Library Journal “Ridiculously vivid . . . A magic-riddled, horror-strewn West with hexes running around wrecking reality and a spectrum of queer characters.” —Tor.com “Truly one-of-a-kind: violent, carnal and creepy.” —Fangoria

The award-winning author of the Hexslinger Series “explores the world of film and horror in a way that will leave you reeling” (Jeff VanderMeer, author of the Southern Reach Trilogy). Former film teacher Lois Cairns is struggling to raise her autistic son while freelancing as a critic when, at a screening, she happens upon a sampled piece of silver nitrate silent footage. She is able to connect it to the early work of Mrs. Iris Dunlopp Whitcomb, the spiritualist and collector of fairy tales who mysteriously disappeared from a train compartment in 1918. Hoping to make her own mark on the film world, Lois embarks on a project to prove that Whitcomb was Canada’s first female filmmaker. But her research takes her down a path not of darkness but of light—the blinding and searing light of a fairy tale made flesh, a noontime demon who demands that duty must be paid. As Lois discovers terrifying parallels between her own life and that of Mrs. Whitcomb, she begins to fear not just for herself, but for those closest to her heart. Winner of the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel “One of the standout horror novels of 2015 . . . From an author who has already established herself as one of the genre’s most original and innovative voices, Experimental Film is a remarkable achievement.” —Los Angeles Review of Books “Experimental Film represents the next, significant contribution to what is emerging as one of the most interesting and exciting bodies of work currently being produced in the horror field. Every film, Lois Cairns writes, is an experiment. The same might be said of every novel. This one succeeds, wildly.” —Locus “Experimental Film is sensational. When we speak of the best in contemporary horror and weird fiction, we must speak of Gemma Files.” —Laird Barron “[Experimental Film is] truly unnerving. This is a too-often overlooked postmodern gem.” —Esquire, “The 50 Best Horror Books of All Time”

OTHER VOICES, OTHER TOMBS is an anthology packed with unsettling stories from the finest independent authors in the horror genre. This collection runs the gamut of styles, including everything from literary horror to creepypasta. Ania Ahlborn, Kealan Patrick Burke, Michael Wehunt, Mercedes Yardley, and Gemma Files are widely considered some of the best authors working in dark fiction right now. Also included are stories from NoSleep Podcast legends: Gemma Amor, JD McGregor, and Michael Whitehouse.

The Legend Continues... In the spirit of popular Dark Fiction and Horror anthologies such as Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories and Behold: Oddities, Curiosities and Undefinable Wonders, and the best of Stephen King's short fiction, comes Crystal Lake Publishing's Tales from The Lake anthologies.