Nocturnal Screams Series

THE MOST TERRIFYING THINGS HAPPEN IN THE DARK Screams echo through the thick darkness of night in this collection of three short horror tales from the dark mind of Mark Leslie. Taste of Darkness: Sensory deprivation takes on a new meaning when you let the darkness completely consume your senses of sight, sound, touch and smell, leaving you with the bitter taste of the encroaching darkness. And you'll be surprised what you find lurking there just beneath the surface and the cold, clear light of day. The Pizza Man: A group of students keep getting pizza deliveries that they never ordered. Is it a strange prank, or is there something more to the mysterious stranger who keeps showing up at their door? Little Things: Strange little creatures appear in the middle of the night, but Daniel is the only one who can see them. His wife, Joy, becomes distraught at the bizarre way her husband is acting, but, more horrifying is what the tiny little things are doing to her. If you're looking for three quick jaunts into worlds where darkness mingles with the echoes of cries in the night, you'll want to crack open the pages and start listening for the nocturnal screams. The stories and accompanying "behind the screams" notes from the author come to approximately 16,000 words.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO SCREAM? These screams you hear echoing through the thick darkness of night are an ode to the classic masters of short fiction and horrific tales. MEMENTO MORI: A CURIOUS NIGHTMARE: Inspired by the short story "A Curious Dream" by Mark Twain, this tale draws from the same sentiment Twain was projecting regarding the ill regard the living have with "taking of the deceased." Only, in this tale, the repercussions of such neglect are far more serious. THE RITUAL OF THE DRAWING: Inspired by the small-town rituals that made Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" such a memorably chilling tale, this tale explores how a town might attempt to survive in peace and prosperity with a monster in their midst. PROSPERO'S GHOST: When, decades after his death, university employees begin to digitally replicate the precious copy of Shakespeare's 1861 folio edition, renowned scholar Dr. Marshall Emerson returns from beyond the grave to put a stop to the blasphemy. Volume 2 of Nocturnal Screams contains three short tales of terror designed to both send a chill down your spine as well as allow you to reflect upon the original texts and storytellers who helped inspire them. The stories and the accompanying "behind the screams" notes from the author comprise approximately 14,000 words.

THERE IS NO ESCAPING YOUR OWN SHADOW Dark shadows hide some of the horrors, but not all of the screams in this third collection in a series of short horror tales from the dark mind of Mark Leslie. THE SHADOW MEN: The bogeymen of the New Hampshire wilderness known as "The Shadow Men" lurk in the shadows of the trees and only come out at night in order to lure and trick children into their clutches. FOLLOW THE SHADOW: Isn't it funny how a person's shadow follows every single movement a person makes? Or could it perhaps be the other way around? What if a person was forced to follow the lead of their shadow? A MURDER OF SCARECROWS: A small east coast community becomes over-run in the middle of the night by a growing army of scarecrows that seem to appear out of nowhere. If you're looking for three quick jaunts into worlds where darkness mingles with the echoes of cries in the night, you'll want to crack open the pages and start listening for the nocturnal screams. The stories and accompanying "behind the screams" notes from the author come to approximately 14,000 words.

Something Strange This Way Comes! We have been told, from the earliest days of our childhood, to be wary of strangers. From a fear of strangers who stalk their prey in their homes as darkness descends, and one mother's valiant attempt to protect her family, to an eerie encounter of two strangers in a seemingly innocent chance meeting on a lonely rural bus stop bench, and to an awkward transient who needs to avoid eye contact with the strangers he encounters lest they fall victim to his death curse, all three stand-alone shorts in this collection involve unexpected strangers meeting. Join Mark Leslie as he introduces you to Mary, to Rupert and to Peter; three people that he calls friends, but folks that are still strangers to you, and you should be weary of. At the end of the ficional jaunt, he also shares the inspiration and story behind each tale. If you enjoy weird and strange Twilight Zone, Outer Limits or Black Mirror styled dark and eerie tales, then you're sure to enjoy this collection of short tales that run about 12,000 words.

Are you ready to be infected? The walking dead take center stage in these three decidedly different takes on the reanimated corpses of the recently deceased. These original tales are about mindless, flesh-seeking shells of former humans, about the still sentient undead, and about a unique and daring bet made on a boys' night out. THE ZOMBIE WHISPERER: Taking a dare and winning is everything to Robert LaChance. He lives up to his name by doing almost anything to win a bet; but what happens when his friends dare him to French-kiss a zombie? VENGEANCE IS A DELICACY BEST SERVED COLD: Martin Hecht no longer possessed a human consciousness; but all he knew is he could hear a woman screaming and it hurt his brain HIDE AND ZEKE: He was engaged in a high-stakes game of "Hide & Seek" when the zombie apocalypse began, but are his skills at hiding and evasion enough to keep Zeke alive against an army of the undead? If you enjoy weird and strange Twilight Zone, Outer Limits or Black Mirror styled dark and eerie tales, then you're sure to enjoy this collection of short tales from the dark mind of Mark Leslie. You can read the Nocturnal Screams story collection series in any order. Each volume is a stand-alone.

The echo of screams haunt the night in this fourth collection in a series of short horror tales from the dark mind of Mark Leslie. SPIRITS: People who haven't died can still leave their spirit behind, tied to a place. Sally and Rob, two young lovers, are caught up in the legend of The Phoenix Baby, the ghostly crying that haunts a repertory cinema in Ottawa and, as they unravel the mystery they find themselves becoming inextricably entangled with the old abandoned building. FALL SPECTACLE: In the midst of a small northern community spiraling into the depths of fear and panic over an elusive dark figure rumored to be stalking the night, a young man attempts to reclaim both his innocence and the passion of his youthful first love.  LESS OF A MAN: The horror of losing a loved one to a vicious wasting disease can lead a person to try almost anything to bring them back. If you're looking for three quick jaunts into worlds reminiscent of an episode of Black Mirror or The Twilight Zone, you'll want to crack open the pages and start listening for the nocturnal screams. The stories and accompanying "behind the screams" notes from the author come to approximately 14,300 words.

Sometimes you see them. Sometimes you hear them. Sometimes they touch you. But you know they are there.   Ghosts, phantoms, spirits. Whatever you call them, however you think of them, they have haunted us since people first sat around the safety of a fire, sharing speculative stories of the afterlife and what might happen when we shuffle off this mortal coil, huddling closer to one another and to the light, fearful of those dark shadows closing in. The four tales included in this collection explore ghosts that come back to this world for different reasons.   Phantom Mitch - Barry is plagued by a phantom itch on the left arm he lost in a tragic accident. But he is convinced that his phantom hand can also hold the hand of his dead wife. Hereinafter Referred to as the Ghost - What if ghosts were hired actors cast in roles meant to inspire terror in the living? Escape - When a distraught man holds his deceased daughter's favorite stuffed animal close, he swears he can see and hear her. Being Needed - An elderly man is haunted by the eerie sound of a baby crying from an abandoned and boarded up house next door to the nursing home.   If you enjoy Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, or Amazing Stories style tales, then you'll love these eerily haunting tales from Mark Leslie.  

Fans of Black Mirror, The Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine are in for a treat in this collection of short horror tales. If you enjoy fun & eerie jaunts into worlds where darkness mingles with the echoes of cries in the night, you'll love these 12 stories. VOLUME 1: Dark Cries TASTE OF DARKNESS: Sensory deprivation takes on a new meaning when you let the darkness completely consume your senses of sight, sound, touch and smell, leaving you with the bitter taste of the encroaching darkness. And you'll be surprised what you find lurking there just beneath the surface and the cold, clear light of day. THE PIZZA MAN: A group of students keep getting pizza deliveries that they never ordered. Is it a strange prank, or is there something more to the mysterious man who keeps showing up at their door? LITTLE THINGS: Strange little creatures appear in the middle of the night, but Daniel is the only one who can see them. His wife, Joy, becomes distraught at the bizarre way her husband is acting, but, more horrifying is what the tiny little things are doing to her. VOLUME 2: Ode to Classics MEMENTO MORI: A CURIOUS NIGHTMARE: Inspired by the short story "A Curious Dream" this tale draws from the same sentiment Twain was projecting regarding the ill regard the living have with "taking of the deceased." Only, in this tale, the repercussions of such neglect are far more serious. THE RITUAL OF THE DRAWING: Inspired by the small-town rituals that made Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" such a memorably chilling tale, this tale explores how a town might attempt to survive in peace and prosperity with a monster in their midst. PROSPERO'S GHOST: When, decades after his death, university employees begin to digitally replicate the precious copy of Shakespeare's 1861 folio edition, renowned scholar Dr. Marshall Emerson returns from beyond the grave to put a stop to the blasphemy. VOLUME 3: Dark Shadows THE SHADOW MEN: The bogeymen of the New Hampshire wilderness known as "The Shadow Men" lurk in the shadows of the trees and only come out at night in order to lure and trick children into their clutches. FOLLOW THE SHADOW: Isn't it funny how a person's shadow follows every single movement a person makes? Or could it perhaps be the other way around? What if a person was forced to follow the lead of their shadow? A MURDER OF SCARECROWS: A small east coast community becomes over-run in the middle of the night by a growing army of scarecrows that seem to appear out of nowhere. VOLUME 4: Literary Haunts SPIRITS: People who haven't died can still leave their spirit behind, tied to a place. Sally and Rob, two young lovers, are caught up in the legend of The Phoenix Baby, the ghostly crying that haunts a repertory theater in the city of Ottawa and, as they unravel the mystery they find themselves becoming inextricably entangled with the old abandoned building. FALL SPECTACLE: In the midst of a small northern community spiraling into the depths of fear and panic over an elusive dark figure rumored to be stalking the night, a young man attempts to reclaim both his innocence and the passion of his youth and his first love. LESS OF A MAN: The horror of losing a loved one to a vicious wasting disease can lead a person to try almost anything to bring them back.

Screams echo through the thick darkness of night in this single volume collection of the eight books in the Nocturnal Screams short story series.   Fans of the eerie episodes of Black Mirror, The Twilight Zone or the stranger tales from Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine are in for a treat in this collection of short horror tales from the dark mind of Mark Leslie.   Contains the full volumes with introductions and conclusions uniquely adapted for this special volume from: Night Cries - Tales about the dark and the night Ode to Classics - Stories inspired by or that are nods to classic literature Dark Shadows - Tales that involve/include shadows Literary Haunts - Stories with a more literary/contemporary fiction appeal Unexpected Strangers - Tales about unexpected visits or meetings Z is for Zombie - Zombie stories Something Wicked - Disturbing tales of erotic horror Phantom Itch - Ghost stories   More than 118,000 words of eerie jaunts into worlds where darkness mingles with the echoes of cries in the night.