That cat that always jumps out of the closet at the wrong time, the killer that just won't die, the vengeful curse of a disturbed native burial ground-these tropes and countless others haunt the horror genre like chain-rattling ghosts. Everyone has one that gets under their skin.

But these writers sharpened their pencils, picked their favorite, and made it work! These twenty-nine stories feature murderous cows, outer space plagues, very bad dreams, and weed-smoking clowns that take worn out tropes and turn them on their heads to genuinely chilling effect. Featuring original fiction from: Joe Koch, D.

Matthew Urban, Tom Coombe, Rebecca Harrison, Edward Lodi, Liam Hogan, Yelena Crane, Najua Ismail, Cassandra Daucus, Briar Ripley Page, Amanda Cecelia Lang, Tiffany Michelle Brown, Angelique Fawns, Sydney Paige Guerrero, David J. Thirteen, Michael Pearson, Steve Loiaconi, Mark Silcox, Angela Sylvaine, Dana McKay, Ria Hill, Cynthia Gómez, Avra Margariti, J.

L. Foux, Red Lagoe, Francis J.

Matozzo, Gwendolyn Kiste, Nadia Bulkin, and Rena MasonForeword by Matthew M. BartlettInterior illustrations by Christopher Castillo DíazAnd a full-wrap cover by Trevor Henderson.