The forces of the living have been engaged in an age-old battle with the spirits of the dead for ultimate control over the human soul, and each of us will serve in one of these ‘armies’ at the end of our own lives suggests the new anthology of horror fiction from Grey Matter Press, DEATH’S REALM.
Seeking to answer the terrifying question of what awaits humanity when we die, DEATH’S REALM features sixteen short stories of horror by critically acclaimed and award-winning genre authors and some of modern horror’s freshest new voices.
“Whether we want to consider it or not, there is an intersection that lies somewhere ahead of us on this road of life where, one day, each of us is most definitely going to arrive,” said Anthony Rivera, Grey Matter Press publisher andDEATH’S REALM editor. “It’s at this dreadful and deeply mysterious convergence at the end of this existence and the beginning of the next where the exceptional horror stories in DEATH’S REALM are set.”
Known for publishing titles that cross the boundaries of of horror, science fiction, dark fantasy and adventure thrillers, Grey Matter Press today released its DEATH’S REALM anthology to bookstores worldwide. DEATH’S REALM is the latest volume of dark fiction from the Chicago-based publisher and the first in a long line of titles slated for release throughout 2015.
“The horrific selection of character-driven tales included in DEATH’S REALM allow readers to peer into a number of end-of-life possibilities, offering up a glimpse as to how the forces of the living and the dead use their individual powers to influence what happens on either side of the veil,” explained Rivera about the theme of the anthology.
“Horror as fiction has forever shown us how the dead influence the world of the living,” said Editor Sharon Lawson. “But those of us yet to pass beyond also have an effect on the dead. Each of the stories in DEATH’S REALM provide a unique glimpse into the horrifying consequences that take place when the Here and the Hereafter collide.”
Nominated for the prestigious Bram Stoker Award for their editorial work on the premiere Grey Matter Press anthology, DARK VISIONS: A Collection of Modern Horror – Volume One, Rivera and Lawson have been recognized by critics for their ability to curate some of the most creative and heart-pounding works of modern dark fiction currently available. They expect DEATH’S REALM to continue this trend with its unique selection of sixteen new tales of terror by powerhouse authors.
Contributors to DEATH’S REALM include two-time Bram Stoker Award winner and World Fantasy Award nominee Hank Schwaeble; award-winning, Bram Stoker-nominated and Shirley Jackson Award-finalist Stephen Graham Jones; Bram Stoker and Thriller awards nominee JG Faherty; editor-in-chief of the highly respected Jamais Vu magazine Paul Michael Anderson; critically acclaimed authors John F.D. Taff and Jay Caselberg; masters of modern horror Aaron Polson, Gregory L. Norris and Martin Rose; co-authors of disturbing horror fiction Karen Runge and Simon Dewar; reader and reviewer favorites Brian Fatah Steele, John C. Foster and Jane Brooks; Lovecraft-inspired Rhoads Brazos; award-winning Jay O’Shea; and literary fiction author and playwright Matthew Pegg.
“DEATH’S REALM is the first in a long line of titles to come from Grey Matter Press in 2015. We’re proud to be able to kick off what is going to be a very busy year with an anthology that gives readers a front-row seat into the painful tragedies, personal anguish and terrifying events that take place when the forces of life and death battle over the human soul,” said Rivera.
DEATH’S REALM is now available at bookstores worldwide in trade paperback and a variety of digital formats.
TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR DEATH’S REALM
(In order of appearance)
OMNISCOPIC by Rhoads Brazos – Forever, mankind has sought proof of some existence beyond death, be that reincarnation or evidence of other realities. This terrifying Lovecraft-inspired story proves that sometimes the secrets of the universe are better left the mystery they are.
SOME OTHER DAY by John F.D. Taff – Following the death of his mother, a young boy goes to great lengths to maintain the tenuous connection with his grief-stricken father, no matter the cost to himself or the rest of mankind.
HAUNTER by Hank Schwaeble – Matthew has finally found love again after a tragic loss, but now the nightmares of the past are invading his new reality. And it seems that his terrifying history may be determined to repeat itself.
BURIAL SUIT by John C. Foster – After his father dies a violent death, an ex-con embarks on a perilous journey to ensure the man’s soul finds safe passage to a peaceful eternity, risking his own in the process.
NINE by Aaron Polson – An anthropologist’s obsession with a lost civilization becomes inexplicably intertwined with the devastating behavior of her two young sons that begins after the loss of their own father.
PENUMBRA by Jay Caselberg – Newly deceased, a young man is determined to reach across the veil to the woman he left behind, refusing to let his untimely death stand in the way of their true love.
FOXHOLE by JG Faherty – As the only survivors of a military unit engaged in a futuristic battle in the jungle, soldiers and childhood buddies stop at nothing to protect each other from the unseen enemy that pursues them.
DROWNING by Gregory L. Norris – Swedish immigrant Edgard miraculously escaped death when he survived the sinking of Titanic. Having made a new life for himself in America, a terrifying force threatens to drag him back to the dark and icy waters of the North Atlantic.
THE WEIGHT by Jane Brooks – Experiencing a debilitating pain that has her hovering at the edge of consciousness, a woman struggles against the torturous events of her past in order to remain among the living.
HARDER YOU FALL by Brian Fatah Steele – The ability to communicate with the dead has provided Madeline a lavish lifestyle. Now, with a desire for something more, she must find a way to escape the influence of her nefarious mentor.
MIRRORWORLD by Martin Rose – All Jude needed was the signature of a practicing Satanist on a legal document. What he got instead was an untimely death and a tortured hereafter, thanks to some very dangerous black magic.
MARCH HAYS by Matthew Pegg – When WWII leaves him wounded, Sam finds himself in a familiar place, where pleasant memories of his youth are darkened by a terrifying specter.
HIGH ART by Karen Runge and Simon Dewar – Raymond is living the life he always dreamed of now that his wife is out of the picture. But he quickly begins to question whether divorce would have been a less painful way to achieve his ends.
A PIRATE’S RANSOM by Jay O’Shea – Somali pirates discover a disabled, abandoned freighter adrift in the warm waters of the Arabian Sea, yet it is mysteriously covered in ice. They soon realize they should have let this opportunity pass them by.
TO TOUCH THE DEAD by Paul Michael Anderson – When our possessions are all that remain of our existence, future psychics from the People’s History Project are employed to catalog the energy we’ve left behind, with horrifying consequences.
YOU ONLY DIE ONCE by Stephen Graham Jones – There are no pearly gates or angels on high to welcome the dead into the afterlife. Instead there is only an ominous plane of mysterious rooms, filthy shadows and terrifying creatures.
