"Lansdale is an immense talent."—Booklist. Small-town juvenile delinquents, Pentecostal snake-handlers, zombies, psychopaths, and assorted freaks populate these witty and gritty tales of horror by a master of the genre. The suspenseful, action-packed tales range from visions of a post-apocalyptic world ("Tight Little Stitches in a Dead Man's Back," "On the Far Side of the Cadillac Desert with Dead Folks") to alternative histories ("Trains Not Taken," "Letter from the South, Two Moons West of Nacogdoches"). A dozen other stories of gruesome violence and utter depravity include "The Pit," in which car trouble develops into a life-or-death struggle; "Night They Missed the Horror Show," involving an encounter with ornery rednecks; and "Hell Through a Windshield," in which a drive-in movie provides a one-way ticket to another dimension. By Bizarre Hands, Joe R. Lansdale's debut collection of short stories, was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction, and two of its tales have received Stoker awards. Lansdale's novella Bubba Ho-Tep was adapted into a 2002 film, and his Hap and Leonard detective stories inspired the Sundance Channel television series. This edition features an Introduction by science-fiction novelist Lewis Shiner and an Afterword by horror fiction author Ramsey Campbell. Suggested for mature readers. www.doverpublications.com

FREAKS OF NATURE, ODD CRIMES, SHOCKING DEATHS, DEVASTATING DISASTERS, BLOOD-CURDLING RITES, CRAZY CONSPIRACIES & MUCH, MUCH MORE -Gruesome Torture Devices -Mass Hysteria Outbreaks -Unbelievable Miniatures -Disturbingly Scary Clowns -Outer Space Mysteries -Astonishing Aphrodisiacs -Disgusting Ancient Jobs -Spooky Sports Curses -World-Famous Penises -Mail-Order-Bride Shockers -Brutal Pope Deaths -Outrageous Wedding Locales -Grossest Edible Animals -Appalling Religious Practices

Shirley Jackson meets The Virgin Suicides, set at an all-girls orphanage.

Ashley Reeves is a young journalist at freak-of-nature magazine Missing Link. His future's bright, even if he does spend most of his time investigating hoaxes. When he receives a letter promising him a once-in-a-lifetime story, he jumps at the opportunity. The only thing is, his life is exactly what it might cost him. The letter is from Reginald Mather, a man who at first seems no more than an eccentric collector of insects, happy to live in isolation on a remote island. But when Ashley finds himself stranded with Mather and unearths the horrific truth behind the collector's past, he is thrown headlong into a macabre nightmare that quickly spirals out of control. Ashley's life is in danger. . . . And Mather is not the only enemy. . . . Gruesome, compelling, and terrifying, The Hand of the Devil will make you never want to leave the house without bug spray again.

Now a Tubi original film starring Peter Dinklage and Juliette Lewis, this rip-roaring adventure set at the dark dawn of the East Texas oil boom is the perfect introduction to Joe R. Lansdale, whose work has been called "as funny and frightening as anything that could have been dreamed up by the Brothers Grimm — or Mark Twain" (New York Times Book Review). Jack Parker thought he'd already seen his fair share of tragedy. His grandmother was killed in a farm accident when he was barely five years old. His parents have just succumbed to the smallpox epidemic sweeping turn-of-the-century East Texas -- orphaning him and his younger sister, Lula. Then catastrophe strikes on the way to their uncle's farm, when a traveling group of bank-robbing bandits murder Jack's grandfather and kidnap his sister. With no elders left for miles, Jack must grow up fast and enlist a band of heroes the likes of which has never been seen if his sister stands any chance at survival. But the best he can come up with is a charismatic, bounty-hunting dwarf named Shorty, a grave-digging son of an ex-slave named Eustace, and a street-smart woman-for-hire named Jimmie Sue who's come into some very intimate knowledge about the bandits (and a few members of Jack's extended family to boot). In the throes of being civilized, East Texas is still a wild, feral place. Oil wells spurt liquid money from the ground. But as Jack's about to find out, blood and redemption rule supreme. In The Thicket, award-winning novelist Joe R. Lansdale lets loose like never before, in an action-packed adventure that's equal parts True Grit and Stand by Me.

The darkest, most twisted novel yet from the author of Timoleon Vieta Come Home. In a room above a bizarre German museum, and far from the prying eyes of strangers, lives in Old Man. Caretaker by day, by night he enjoys the sound of silence, broken only by the occasional crunch of a spider between his teeth. Little Hands Clapping brings the Old Man together with the respectable Doctor Ernst Frohlicher, his dog Hans and a cast of grotesque and hilarious townsfolk who find themselves involved in a crime so outrageous it will shock the world. From its sinister opening to its explosive denouement, Little Hands Clapping blends lavishly entertaining storytelling with Rhodes's macabre imagination, entrancing originality and magical touch.

Need a hand? Here are over a thousand! Over 1,100 images of hands in all shapes, sizes, and shades: writing, sewing, with pointing fingers, much more, all royalty-free. Drawn from rare 19th-century European and American books and periodicals, this treasury of hands will be perfect for spot illustrations and many other projects.