Lawrence Dagstine

Corpulent Insanity Press proudly presents Bloody October, a collection of chilling tales inspired by the haunted season. Inside you will find tales of bloodthirsty murderers, grisly specters, and undead celebrities, not to mention an unfortunate pizza delivery man who has a run-in with a particularly demonic customer. So bolt the doors and lock the windows as Christopher Fulbright, Lawrence Dagstine, Karen L. Newman, Rob Rosen, Aaron A. Polson, Kris Ashton, Sam Leng, Catherine J. Gardner, Tom Johnstone, and Christopher Allan Death bring you tales of torture and terror, beneath the ravenous October moon.

SWASHBUCKLING PLANK-WALKING TIMBER-SHIVERING Hidden treasure, ancient curses, mythical sea creatures, uncharted waters, and rip-roaring adventure across the seven seas-The Black Beacon Book of Pirates carries a clandestine cargo of timber-shivering, plank-walking, and swashbuckling goodies. You'll be entertained by tall tales of yore recounted over the the drunken din in the dingiest of taverns, you'll embark upon the most perilous of undertakings on the high seas, and you'll be reminded that even today, the legacy of pirates and privateers of a bygone age follows our every step like a shadow-but wait, what's that behind you? It's too dark to be a mere shadow...and what's that in its hand? No, not in its hand, but instead of a hand A steely hook ready to strike There's only one way to escape. Turn the page and set sail This book is your helm. If you stick to it and hold fast, you might just make it back to port alive, me hearty The Mutineer by Lawrence DagstineThe End of All Tides by Paulene TurnerPoll Pirate by Michael FountainThe Ghost by S. B. WatsonAnd the Sea by Jack WellsDungeon Rock by Edward LodiThe Avery Dog Has His Day by Rose BigginThe Curse of the Emerald Eye by Cameron TrostLes Femmes Sauvages by Karen BaylySting of the Schorpioen by DJ TyrerBeholden to No One by Karen Keeley

Within these pages is one nightmarish scenario after another. Horrifying situations that may go on forever, that don't seem to end. There may be a relief, a revelation, a change that helps the characters in each story... but that just might be only temporary. A woman with a ghost tethered to her is navigating her world as best she can with such a strange devotee. A tiny werewolf baby is found in the streets and is taken to a home for orphans who are just like her, to hopefully find parents who understand what she truly is. A man creates breathtaking paintings with acrylic on large canvases, at the shocking expense of his adoring models. Science can take us into the mind of a cosmonaut to find out what he saw on the Moon... but should we really have and be using this bio-technological knowledge? Nightmares such as these can cause unrest, constant sleeplessness, jitters, and the feelings of unease and fear while you think you're safe beneath the covers. Our own homes become alien to us; our bedrooms no longer sanctuaries of calm. No, these nightmares will cycle on to where you'll remember them long after you've closed the book and placed it on the shelf. Perhaps you will also become part of the cycle... "A sense of underlying unease, or something sinister lurking beneath the surface of what should be simple, permeates each tale... Reading The Nightmare Cycle is being trapped in a movie where you know the killer's on the loose, but you can't hide any more than the protagonists can." Eli Gregory, peer review