Psychological Horror
Date Published: January 16, 2025
Publisher: Dragon Soul Press
Zombies, reapers, and more monsters.
In a world where so many dark things go bump in the night, terror awaits
around every corner as these authors take horror stories to the next level.
Discover ghosts, demons, and your worst nightmares. Read at your own
risk.
Featured stories by C.L. Hart, Mae Thorn, S.E. Reed, Kristen Argyres,
Barend Nieuwstraten III, Demi Michelle Schwartz, Adele Liles, C.L. Storm,
Benjamin Kurt Unsworth, Desirae Gracyn, Rob Nisbet, Anwen Redlake, Kat
Craig, Gabriella Balcolm, Lianne Robinson, David O’Mahony, Andrew J. Lucas,
Binod Dawadi, Daniel DiQuinzio, Arwyn Sherman, Stephen Johnson, Kelly
Barker, and J.E. Feldman.
The Darkness Within
When does the time come to give up the fight?
When her husband leaves their hardscrabble homestead in the remote Arizona
territory to pick up their daughter and granddaughter from the train station
in Tucson, Kine Šimonis is left alone to deal with the ghosts of her
past. She knows from experience that humans are the worst of monsters,
capable of committing actions with lifelong repercussions for the
victim.
This story is based on a real incident in the author’s family.
Excerpt
“I’ll be back this afternoon, mijn liefje. Back home with our
daughter and granddaughter. You and Hema will comfort one another, and
spirited Miss Emina and I will enjoy adventures together. Things will be
good now, you will see.”
Kine Šimonis regarded her husband standing near the door with an expectant
look in his forest green eyes. Though time had weathered his face and turned
his once-thick rusty brown hair silver, he still stood tall and powerful.
Tygo Šimonis had an adventurous spirit and tended to look on the bright side
of things. This rugged land was an ideal match for him. Although she was a
sturdy woman with the physical stamina of someone half her age, Kine was not
as well suited to her environment and circumstances.
A smile turned up the corners of Kine’s mouth but didn’t reach
her eyes. She embraced her husband. She still loved him deeply. She
didn’t blame him for the darkness inside her.
About the Author
C.L. Hart had a stormy start to her life. She was born at 6 A.M. the
morning after Valentine’s Day in 1965 during a raging blizzard.
She has been a fan of horror and weird fiction for as long as she can
remember. She used to read horror comics under the covers with a flashlight
as a child.
She started reading Edgar Allan Poe when she was six years old. In her
early teens, she discovered H.P. Lovecraft. She pretended to lose the copy
of At the Mountains of Madness that she borrowed from the school library and
paid the fine so she could keep the book.
Ms. Hart blames the team at Chaosium Role-Playing Games for renewing and
strengthening her obsession with Lovecraft’s writing. She lives in a
small town on the northeastern plains of Colorado in an appropriately old
and storied house with her son and cats. She enjoys watching the normal
people pass by as she records the happenings in the weird worlds of her
imagination.
C.L. Hart writes poetry and nonfiction as Cara Hartley, and erotica as Lil
DeVille.
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