Book contains a special preview of the exciting opening pages of a spectacular new thriller; The Elijah conspiracy by Charles Robertson.

Frightened, lonely, and angry after her father is killed in a car accident, Clare is helped through the grieving process by her mother and grandfather.

Every morning when Mommy goes to work, I kiss her goodbye. Daddy stays home with me, and we do everything together–we do the laundry, we dance, we read, we race to the park. Everything is fun with Daddy. At bedtime Daddy reads to me, and sometimes he falls asleep.

ATF Agent Jack Donovan has two ambitions in life: take down cult leader Alex Gunderson after years of violent mayhem, and reconnect with his daughter Jessie, who has somehow managed to slip from his life. Unfortunately for Jack, none of his experience as a stellar cop or an absent father has prepared him for the unthinkable way these two parts of his life are about to collide. In a desperate act of revenge, Gunderson kidnaps Jessie and buries her alive. But just as Jack's team is closing in, Gunderson is shot dead and the secret to Jessie's location is lost with him. With only a few precious hours of oxygen to sustain her, and with not a single clue pointing in her direction, Jessie is sure to die unless Jack can somehow find her. Armed with a father's love and a newfound understanding of the power of family, Jack would trade anything at all to save his little girl - even his own life.

This richly informed study analyzes how various cinematic tools and techniques have been used to create horror on screen--the aesthetic elements, sometimes not consciously noticed, that help to unnerve, frighten, shock or entertain an audience. The first two chapters define the genre and describe the use of pragmatic aesthetics (when filmmakers put technical and budgetary compromises to artistic effect). Subsequent chapters cover mise-en-scene, framing, photography, lighting, editing and sound, and a final chapter is devoted to the aesthetic appeals of horror cinema. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Steve Rasnic Tem once said his writing was filtered through “a different lens to view the world.” With a style all his own, Tem has galvanized and thrilled fans of weird fiction worldwide. His efforts have earned him the Bram Stoker, World Fantasy and British Fantasy Awards. His métier is the monstrous secret, the unsettling darkness hidden within all of us. “Bedtime Story” opens with a line that defines Tem’s style: “I don’t know why bad things happen. There’s never a good reason. They just do.” The story introduces us to a nightmare conjured from the mind of a child, preparing to victimize her own father. “The Unmasking” takes us into the tortured psyche of a horribly deformed recluse obsessed with the intricacies of human skin. “Outside,” one of several homages to the great H.P. Lovecraft, melds Tem’s uniquely poetic style with the cosmic horror created by that twisted gentleman from Providence. “The Masque of Edgar Allan Poe” focuses on Tem’s fondness for mask imagery, and how the veneer we wear on the surface can become immobile, consuming our souls. “The Doll Thief” is a deeply disturbing exercise in pathos, perversion and psychosis. In “Pulled Down to Sleep,” a man fights to remain awake, knowing that sleep will doom him to a life of unspeakable nightmares. “Worms” is a frightening tale of vengeance that will literally leave your skin crawling. With “Mother Hag,” Tem gives us a “grim” fairy tale about monstrous motherly love, courtesy of a grotesque, carnivorous witch.

BLEEDING SKULL! A 1980s Trash-Horror Odyssey is the definitive resource on 1980s trash-horror cinema. BLEEDING SKULL! features 300 in-depth reviews of movies that have escaped the radar of people with taste and the tolerance of critics. Black Devil Doll From Hell, A Night To Dismember, Heavy Metal Massacre, The Last Slumber Party — this book gets deep into gutter-level, no-budget horror, from shot-on-video (SOV) revelations (Doctor Bloodbath) to forgotten theatrical casualties (Frozen Scream). Clown midget slashers! The Indonesian Jason! A pregnant woman in a bikini who eats fried chicken before getting her fetus ripped out by a psychopath! It’s all here. And it’s all curated by the enthusiastic minds behind Bleedingskull.com, the world’s foremost authority on trash-horror obscurities. Jam-packed with rare photographs, advertisements, and VHS sleeves (most of which have never been seen), BLEEDING SKULL! is an edifying, laugh-out-loud guide through the dusty inventory of the greatest video store that never existed.