Darkling Press

Autumn Chills

A Place to Die: At Hope Farm, the dying come to settle, carried in on tired breaths and hollow bones, and one lonely caretaker guides them toward their final hush. It has always been a quiet place, a place that minds its own sorrow. But lately, the mountain nights have grown restless. The wind moves wrong through the pines, and the soil—rich with years of buried truths—has begun to stir like something waking from a long sleep.

Freeing Gracie: Gracie roams the dim corridors of the old Victorian home, her footsteps soft as moth wings. She wanders without answers, bound to rooms that remember more than she does. But her purpose is finally rising from the dust, ready to be known. Will it grant release or tighten its grip forever?

The Halloween Yard: In the little mountain town, everyone knew Grandpa Livingston’s Halloween yard. It wasn’t just decorations—it was a spectacle stitched from memory and mountain myth, and young Edgar helped bring it to life piece by piece. But this year, grief has carved its mark on their home, and Grandpa whispers of magic that can mend what’s breaking. He asks Edgar to help him with one last creation, a pact sealed in hope and old‑world belief. When Halloween night falls, the veil parts wider than it should, and the magic they call forth will demand a price neither of them expect.

Ms. Margaret: Time is unspooling for Ms. Margaret, her life dwindling in a quiet nursing‑home room where only Nurse Carla still sees the spark beneath the frailty. But as the shadows lengthen, a mysterious figure arrives—one who moves like they’ve stepped straight out of mountain lore. Their visit will teach Carla what the hills have always known: how to face death, how to honor a life, and how to let go when the moment comes.

Freedom’s Specter: Serena has little ones depending on her, their lives trembling in the balance as the man she once trusted becomes a creature she barely recognizes. Her escape will require quiet steps, steady nerves, and the kind of strategy born from raw survival. But soon she realizes the darkness twisting through him is no mere cruelty—it’s something older, meaner, and eager to claim them all. And if she hesitates, even once, the monster wearing her husband’s face will make sure none of them leave alive.

Resurrected Past: Summers with his grandparents were Jamie’s refuge, all bright days and mountain breezes drifting through the West Virginia holler. But the mountains keep their own counsel, and this summer, they’re done keeping quiet. Mystery coils around him, leading toward a truth sharp enough to carve into the heart of his childhood. When the secret finally surfaces, nothing about those once‑pristine ridges will remain untouched.

Tactics: What was meant to be a harmless lesson quickly sours when the ghost they pretended to summon answers for real. It does not take ridicule lightly. As the spirit’s rage coils tighter around the house, Shay and James find themselves racing to cast it out. Failure means more than a haunting—it means the end of two lives, and the quiet death of a love just beginning to take root.

The Monk: Jason was the campus prankster, always chasing a laugh and a little bit of legend. This year, he thought he’d craft a ghost story that would outlive them all—something whispered in dorm rooms long after he’d moved on. But the mountains have a way of listening, and sometimes they answer. His harmless prank stirs up something real, something hungry, and Jason soon learns that the line between life and the afterlife is thinner than he ever imagined… and far easier to cross.