Adrian Slater, an 851-pound Twitch streamer, has been spiraling deeper into misery for the past decade, crushed under the weight of his own body. Desperate for a way out, he receives a strange invitation offering a miraculous weight loss solution. A mysterious figure known as Bunco lures Adrian to an abandoned ghost town, promising that a simple meal of spaghetti and meatballs will unlock his “best self.” But what starts as a desperate bid for salvation soon warps into a grotesque nightmare. After eating Bunco’s bizarre meal, Adrian’s weight begins to vanish at a terrifying speed.

It’s 1998 in Hooperstown, New Jersey and people are getting sick. Some citizens blame the local chemical plant. A select few believe something far more terrifying is responsible, a dreadful force that causes nightmarish visions and aberrant illnesses. Bad things are blooming in Hooperstown, and the stench of death is growing stronger... Standing on the edge of summer break after the longest last day of eighth grade ever, Doug Simms and his two best friends join a group of older kids for an all-night scavenger hunt. It’s supposed to be a celebration, an evening of fun and freedom.

Vinny Fowler is on the verge of having the life he’s always wanted. After fighting tooth and nail, he’s found love, formed a family, and carved out a lucrative career in construction. But while the future looks promising, the darkness from his past still haunts him.

Drake steals artifacts so they can benefit all of mankind. They belong in a museum, after all, not hoarded by a select few in their private vaults. It's a dangerous life, but someone has to do it. Until he learns of a map to the location of a lost mega-freighter once belonging to the ancient royal family. Drake, like so many before him, can't resist the siren's call. After all, it's the find of a lifetime.

Bram Stoker Award-winning author Laird Barron returns to the dark and dreadful with his fifth horror collection, which weaves sixteen weird tales into a mosaic of the bloody and the macabre.