Peter Rawlik

Cthulhu doesn't live here any more . . . From the distant past to the far future. From the depths of the darkest ocean to the empty spaces between galaxies. From war-torn Arkham down the stairs to Deepest Slumber. From seedy bookstores to shining starships. Pete Rawlik is proud to present twenty-seven tales of the Lovecraftian horrors that haunt the universe and the men, women, and cats that choose, for better or worse, to take a stand against them.

THE DREAMS IN THE WITCH HOUSE WERE JUST THE BEGINNING Arkham's own occult investigators HALSEY, PEASLEE, & LYDECKER have their hands full... There's a monstrous storm brewing over the college annex, something is haunting the Delapore Chemical Company, the university library is having trouble with the Whateley collection, the new librarian is probably too curious for her own good, and there's a young woman who may or may not be the rightful heir to the House of Jermyn. And let's not forget HP&L have agreed to provide security for the social event of the year. The guests have come to Arkham from all over the world, and only some of them might be human... but what else would you expect from the Wedding of Asenath Waite? Walter Gilman is Dead But for Frank Elwood, the terror continues. One by one his fellow students are dying, and the odds of that being accidental aren't just improbable-they border on the impossible. To protect himself Elwood seeks help from HP&L, who might just help him unravel the terrible secret of... THE ELDRITCH EQUATIONS.

Celebrated weird writer Peter Rawlik returns to his highly entertaining world of Lovecraft-inspired fiction with a standalone follow-up to his 2016 novel, Reanimatrix. ARKHAM, 1928Halsey, Peaslee, & Lydecker, Consulting DetectivesArkham's newest detective agency doesn't handle philandering spouses, missing relatives, kidnappings or even murders. Even so, they aren't looking for work-if anything, they would appreciate some time off, to rest and recuperate. The Miskatonic University Spiritualism ClubDilettantes playing at ghost hunting-but the university knows better. If the club wants to borrow university equipment, they'll need someone to chaperone them-someone that can handle themselves against the living, the dead-and whatever else the universe might throw at them. The KragThe crumbling mansion squats abandoned on a New England cliff, overlooking the cold, dark sea. They say its owner, a professor broken by tragedy, had spent years trying to contact the dead-only to vanish from behind the locked doors of the house itself. Nearly a decade later, the place remains untouched, and the caretaker won't spend the night. THESE ARE THE PLAYERS. THIS IS THE PLACE. IT'S CHRISTMAS. AND A GHOST STORY IS JUST THE BEGINNING. Illustrated by Dan Sauer.

Dorian Gray, that most intriguing creation of Victorian author Oscar Wilde, has served as a figure of horror, dark ambiguity, and personified cautionary tale for over 120 years now. Since the original serialized publication of THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, we've seen a multitude of literary and cinematic interpretations and re-interpretations of the story of a young man who obtained immortality at a tremendously dark cost, with the merciless effects of aging and the consequences of his actions now borne by a portrait rather than suffered by the young man himself... most of the time. We've seen him appear in horror-oriented TV shows, as part of an ensemble in major motion pictures, headline periodic comic book mini-series, and featured as the star of a terrific audio drama series by Big Finish. What we haven't seen, however, is a prose horror anthology devoted entirely to his tales, each of which display the variety of roles he can play: From debauched villain and corruptor of the innocent, to anti-hero, to an unlikely savior -- including taking a pendulum swing from one to another within a single story - which amply demonstrate how metaphorically apropos his surname actually is. That all changed the moment this volume was published, however. In this anthology, several authors bring Gray to life, showing the variety of effects he has on various individuals, both innocent and otherwise, who cross his path. The time periods range from the Edwardian era right up to the present, yet throughout each the man with the infamous portrait remains true to the variety of shades he embodies. Moreover, the paths of those he crosses will themselves be quite familiar to genre readers (e.g., Dracula, a mad scientist named Pretorius, artist Richard Pickman of Lovecraft's nightmarish tale "Pickman's Model," a lady-loving she-vampire called Carmilla, Becky Sharp of VANITY FAIR). This volume brings you two novellas, a short play, two short stories, a timeline, and even a short personal bonus memoir, all of which give readers a glimpse into the many shades that Dorian Gray can paint on those whose lives he touches... and how their lives affect his own continuing saga.

YOUR CALL TO CTHULHU IS IMPORTANT TO US. PLEASE HOLD. Red tape. Catch-22s. Circular chains of command. Whether you're a customer or co-worker, bureaucracies drive us all insane. Even management is just a cog in a vast machine. Information, items, and even people get lost in the system, never gone but never found. No one seems to notice the insanity surrounding them... or if they do, they keep it to themselves. After all, those who notice and call attention to it tend to disappear, leaving nothing behind but an empty desk and whispered rumors in the break room. If ever there was a place for a cosmic horror to hide, grow, and thrive, it's deep within the archives of a huge, old bureaucracy. But of all bureaucracies, corporations are the most powerful, seeming to have a life and will of their own. They're privately held with a multi-national reach, seemingly bottomless resources, and armies of lawyers jealously guarding their trade secrets. Corporate culture fiercely resists any attempt to change or regulate it, and anything and everything is justified by the bottom line. Who needs a Cthulhu Cult when you've got Cthulhu, Inc.? Into this insidious world are thrust our heroes-the curious, the puzzled, and the frustrated. Defying authority, seeking answers they'd be better off not knowing, the secrets they discover threaten their sanity and their lives. Will they become the next whistleblower media hero? Or the next no-call / no-show their coworkers promptly forget? Just remember: it's nothing personal-it's just business. This book contains twenty-five tales of bureaucratic insanity, including: DEATH PLEDGE by Jeff DeckWELCOME TO THE R'LYEH CORPORATION by James PrattSHADOW CHARTS by Marcus JohnstonCASUAL FRIDAY by Todd H. C. FischerTHE GOD UNDER THE CHURCH by David TallermanREFUSAL by DJ TyrerDAGON-TEC by Adam MillardESOTERIC INSURANCE, INC. by Evan Dicken & Adrian LudensCAREER ZOMBIE by John TaloniBOEDROMION NOUMENIA by Andrew ScottINCORPORATION by Max D. StantonTHE LOPONINE EXPLOITATION by John M. CampbellFESTIVAL PREPARATIONS by Justin BaileyMARYANNE'S EQUATIONS by Harry PauffWHOLESOME LABOR by Sam RentLIKE A GOOD NEIGHBOR by Wile E. YoungTINDALOS, INC. by Charlie AllisonCLEAN UP AISLE FOUR by Josh StoreyFORCED LABOR by Peter RawlikTHE SHADOWS LENGTHEN in the Close by Ethan GibneyIT CAME FROM I. T. by Gordon LinznerRETRACTION by Marie MichaelsFACILITIES MANAGEMENT AT DAGOCORP HQ by L ChanNO DOVES COME FROM RAVEN EGGS by Mark OxbrowAPOTHEOSIS by Darren Todd

'No one does the darker side of surreal better than this man.' - Laird Barron Nearly two decades before True Detective helped popularize The King in Yellow, Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. was writing poetic tales based upon Robert W. Chambers' King in Yellow. Collected within this substantial volume of madness, murder, and spectral tragedy are tales of Carcosa, the characters that inhabit the KIY Play, and Chambers' cosmic horror. Pulver's tales adhere to Chambers' core ideas and themes, and they retain all the mystery of Chambers originals. Joseph S. Pulver, Sr. has been acclaimed by many notable editors, writers, and reviewers, as the contemporary heir to Robert W. Chambers' King in Yellow. Have you seen the Yellow Sign? 'The King In Yellow reigns over the labyrinthine crossroads between the grand indifference of the cosmic Outside, and the inner wasteland of the tormented mind, so it's no surprise to find Joe Pulver's saturnine face so frequently behind the Pallid Mask. Joe plies the fathomless depths of existential nightmare breathing music and poetry, and brings back strangely beautiful salvage. That he has so lovingly and deeply explored Chambers' bizarre pocket universe without destroying the merest scintilla of its mystery is ample testament to his painfully sharp craftsmanship and terrible wisdom." - Cody Goodfellow, Radiant Dawn