After his divorce, Hunt Jackson decides to start over in Tucson, where an old buddy fixes him up with his wife's friend, Beth. The attraction is immediate, and they're married a few months later. But Hunt's happiness is marred by his bizarre encounter with an insurance agent whose insistence that Hunt increase his coverage sounds, incredibly, like a threat. The agent - tall, gaunt, oddly dressed in an old-fashioned suit and fedora - is himself a menacing figure.

Successful author Todd Klein and his wife Rosita live a quiet small town life. Todd's latest novel is selling well and despite recent budget cuts, Rosita relishes her job at the local library. After years of marriage, they're still in love, the mortgage to their suburban home is paid off, and their future is bright. Until, that is, Todd makes an appointment at the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew his license.

Steve Nye writes for an alumni magazine and his long-term relationship is on the steady path to marriage. But his quiet life takes an unexpected turn when he receives a phone call from his mother. His father attacked her and has been committed to a mental asylum. The doctor says he’s suffering from dementia. But Steve’s father seems so calm, clear-eyed, and perfectly lucid. Is it simply another symptom of delusion and madness? To find the answer, Steve investigates the cryptic message leading him down a terrifying path of his own making—and of his own nightmares.

Cathy was six when the man next door killed his wife and himself. It was early morning, and she was playing outside when she heard the first shot. And then another shot. And another.

Barry and Maureen have just been approved as tenants by the Association. Pity they never read the fine print on the lease. It could be the death of them....

The festival was intended as a getaway from UCLA for Gary, his girlfriend, Joan, and their friends. But soon after they arrive, Joan vanishes. Calls to her parents’ home yield only dead air. Her school records are gone. And there’s no evidence that Joan, or even her roommate, ever existed. Most disturbing of all is what they do find. Among Joan’s belongings is a prayer written on a small scroll. It’s a safeguard — and a warning — from something called The Outsiders. For Gary and his friends, it’s the only clue.

Opulent doesn't begin to describe the Arizona getaway where Lowell Thurman, his wife Rachel, and their three young sons have come for one glorious week. Everything at The Reata is perfect - although Rachel is a bit unnerved by the openly lustful gaze of one of the gardeners, something she doesn't mention to Lowell. Nor does he tell her about the frightening sensation he has in the pool of hands clutching at him, trying to pull him under.

Once upon a time, waiting for the mail was filled with warm anticipation. But the suicide of the local mailman has left the residents of this tiny Arizona town shell-shocked. Nothing this bad has ever happened here. And now, there's a new mail carrier in town, one who's delivering lethal letters stuffed with icy fear. Nothing - not even the most outstanding citizens or the most secret weaknesses - is safe from the sinister power of this malicious mailman....

The formerly laid-back principal has become unusually strict. And with her toadying secretary, she seems to be running the show. That isn’t all. The janitors no longer work nights because of what they hear. The students are frightened by what they see. And things are happening on school grounds that defy rational explanation. But there is an explanation. It’s just not anything that anyone can begin to believe — or hope to survive.

In the small town of Montgomery, Arizona, Kyle Decker's book shop is barely breaking even. When a bank opens in the empty storefront next door, he hopes the new establishment will bring in more foot traffic. Trouble is, nobody has ever heard of the First People's Bank, and the local branch has appeared mysteriously overnight. Their incentives for new customers seem reasonable...at first. But is it a coincidence when Kyle's wife has her identity stolen and his son receives emails that seem to know his private thoughts? Or when the manager of a competing bank dies a gruesome death?

When Gregory Tomasov moves into an abandoned farm on the edge of McGuane, Arizona, he discovers a terrible secret buried in the walls of the old building.

Brad Woods has performed a lot of autopsies, but never one like this. The body is purged of all blood. Fear has made Sue Wing run from the darkened school and into night, a fear so powerful she can only name it using the Cantonese myths of her grandmother: Cup-hu-girngsi, the corspe who drinks blood. Reporters like Rich Carter don't believe in the supernatural, but all the signs are pointing to the same conclusion: a vampire is stalking the streets of Rio Verde. No, Rich Carter doesn't believe in such things. Not yet.

It begins in a small Southwestern town. Then, it spreads. Across the country, a series of strange deaths have overtaken the living. And a stranger compulsion has overtaken the dead. In a travesty of life, they drift with bizarre purpose toward an unknown destination. The walkers have become an obsession for investigator Miles Huerdeen. His father is one of them.

Considering she had just attended her mother's funeral, Gloria Jaymes never expected to see the woman again, but then her dead mom shows up at her house. Gloria's mom is...different. She's younger than when she died, dressed in clothes from the 1980s. And nobody else in Gloria's family seems to recognize her. As Gloria tries to figure out the reason for her mother's reappearance and the odd behaviors the woman begins to exhibit, other bizarre events occur. The changes to Gloria's world are small and subtle, at first...then they become much more startling.

From the mind of the man Stephen King calls "a master of the macabre", comes a brilliant new collection of no-punches-pulled horror stories, some never-before-collected and many originals that have never been published anywhere before. Bentley Little can take the innocuous, twist it around, and write a story that will change your way of thinking. Walking Alone: Short Stories is a shining example of his talent to scare you, creep you out, and make you shudder.

Springerville is famous for the legend of the Mongolian Monster. Of course nobody really believes it. It’s just a good campfire story, something to attract gullible tourists ­until an excavation team unearths the figurine of a screaming woman, the jawbone of a deformed animal, and a child’s toy. How odd that they were buried together. Odd, too, is the foul odor lingering in the air, the strange noises at night, and the man’s face found hanging from a tree. Now the locals are locking their doors. Because after sundown, campfire stories can seem very, very real.

Steve Nye writes for an alumni magazine and his long-term relationship is on the steady path to marriage. But his quiet life takes an unexpected turn when he receives a phone call from his mother. His father attacked her and has been committed to a mental asylum. The doctor says he’s suffering from dementia. But Steve’s father seems so calm, clear-eyed, and perfectly lucid. Is it simply another symptom of delusion and madness? To find the answer, Steve investigates the cryptic message leading him down a terrifying path of his own making—and of his own nightmares.

A college freshman finds herself stranded in Arizona with no place to stay and nowhere to run. Cabin fever closes in on an isolated park ranger, as two sinister beauties lurk in the desert outside his door. A California divorcee is starting a promising new life. But her young son knows better—because he's seen what's creeping outside the window. A cross-country traveler is on a journey of self-discovery. But one tourist trap holds its own dreadful surprises....

Considering she had just attended her mother's funeral, Gloria Jaymes never expected to see the woman again, but then her dead mom shows up at her house. Gloria's mom is...different. She's younger than when she died, dressed in clothes from the 1980s. And nobody else in Gloria's family seems to recognize her. As Gloria tries to figure out the reason for her mother's reappearance and the odd behaviors the woman begins to exhibit, other bizarre events occur. The changes to Gloria's world are small and subtle, at first...then they become much more startling.

When Gregory Tomasov moves into an abandoned farm on the edge of McGuane, Arizona, he discovers a terrible secret buried in the walls of the old building.

Once upon a time, waiting for the mail was filled with warm anticipation. But the suicide of the local mailman has left the residents of this tiny Arizona town shell-shocked. Nothing this bad has ever happened here. And now, there's a new mail carrier in town, one who's delivering lethal letters stuffed with icy fear. Nothing - not even the most outstanding citizens or the most secret weaknesses - is safe from the sinister power of this malicious mailman....

Barry and Maureen have just been approved as tenants by the Association. Pity they never read the fine print on the lease. It could be the death of them....

In Beverly Hills, a wealthy CEO goes on a bloody rampage and videotapes the slaughter. He leaves behind a chilling cryptic message: “This is where it begins." Miles away, an alarmed mother receives an unsettling letter from her estranged husband, stained with bloody fingerprints. And all across California, children are becoming affected by a monstrous change - and their parents by a mounting fear. Social worker Carrie Daniels and reporter Brian Howells are determined to find the link between these baffling crimes....

Brad Woods has performed a lot of autopsies, but never one like this. The body is purged of all blood. Fear has made Sue Wing run from the darkened school and into night, a fear so powerful she can only name it using the Cantonese myths of her grandmother: Cup-hu-girngsi, the corspe who drinks blood. Reporters like Rich Carter don't believe in the supernatural, but all the signs are pointing to the same conclusion: a vampire is stalking the streets of Rio Verde. No, Rich Carter doesn't believe in such things. Not yet.

It begins in a small Southwestern town. Then, it spreads. Across the country, a series of strange deaths have overtaken the living. And a stranger compulsion has overtaken the dead. In a travesty of life, they drift with bizarre purpose toward an unknown destination. The walkers have become an obsession for investigator Miles Huerdeen. His father is one of them.

Opulent doesn't begin to describe the Arizona getaway where Lowell Thurman, his wife Rachel, and their three young sons have come for one glorious week. Everything at The Reata is perfect - although Rachel is a bit unnerved by the openly lustful gaze of one of the gardeners, something she doesn't mention to Lowell. Nor does he tell her about the frightening sensation he has in the pool of hands clutching at him, trying to pull him under.

When Ross Lowry moves into his cousin's guest house in the small community of Magdalena, Arizona, he expects nothing more than breathing room and a brief respite from his economic woes. But something is not right in the desert. After a raucous party on New Year's Eve, the luck of the attendees undergoes an immediate U-turn. The rich and successful suddenly find themselves facing catastrophic failure while the less well-off are unexpectedly flush with good fortune.

The formerly laid-back principal has become unusually strict. And with her toadying secretary, she seems to be running the show. That isn’t all. The janitors no longer work nights because of what they hear. The students are frightened by what they see. And things are happening on school grounds that defy rational explanation. But there is an explanation. It’s just not anything that anyone can begin to believe — or hope to survive.

Jason has a gift for writing—and his talent has its rewards. His first letter results in free meals at a fast-food chain. Another yields passes to an amusement park. As he goes through life, writing letters makes things go his way—opening doors to colleges, connecting him with the President— and Jason feels the might of his own power.

For the town of Randall, Arizona, the terror starts quietly, oddly - a senile woman in her 80s becomes pregnant. Then the town's beloved minister mysteriously disappears, leaving his church and home hideously defiled by blasphemous obscenities scrawled in blood. Farmers going out to their fields in the morning find their herds of goats slaughtered. Then, as the terror intensifies, the farmers themselves are massacred. The town begins to smell of death, and the trust which has bound neighbors to one another turns to ashes.