CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Stephen coughed again, sending a trickle of unease through Rachel. What if the boy got sick? Really sick?
DeVontay had dragged a couple of extra mattresses into a top-floor bedroom that had belonged to one of the dead boys. Then he’d gone outside to look for a shovel, saying he wanted to give the family a proper burial in exchange for their hospitality. Stephen didn’t fall for it, and Rachel wondered if DeVontay would simply stack the bodies in one of the barn stalls like so much cordwood.
Stephen was bundled under blankets in the dead boy’s bed, staring at the ceiling. Rachel had found an oil lamp, and its soft, bobbing glow send spooky shadows along the ceiling.
“Will the boy’s ghost come back?” Stephen asked. “Will he be mad that I played with his train set?”
Rachel brushed Stephen’s uneven bangs from his forehead, casually testing his temperature. “Of course not. He’s up in heaven, playing with brand-new toys.”
“Is his family there?”
“I’m sure they are, honey.”
“Does he have a doggie?”
“It wouldn’t be heaven without a dog, would it?” Rachel glanced at the window and the darkness that settled over the forest. DeVontay had left the pistol with her and promised tomorrow they would take some target practice with the rifle.
They’d silently agreed they would stay at the farmhouse for the time being. Rachel was excited about the prospects of the garden and the meals she could prepare, and DeVontay said the place could be easily defended if necessary. “Good lines of sight,” he’d said, as if that didn’t mean having plenty of time to shoot anyone who tried to approach.
“I miss Mommy,” Stephen said, staring at the shadows that flickered and danced on the white ceiling. “I hope she’s in heaven, too.”
“It wouldn’t be heaven without a mommy, either,” Rachel said. She smiled. Stephen coughed again, and something in his chest rattled.
Just the barn dust.
“Tomorrow, we’ll gather some apples,” she said. “And maybe play in the creek. I saw a little boat in the closet. Think that will be fun?”
Stephen nodded and coughed again.
Rachel thought of the three bodies hanging in the barn. She wondered if the farmer had hung his pigs there, skinned and salted for curing.
How long had After preyed on the farmer’s mind? How many times did he tell his children everything would be okay? How hard had it been to shoot his wife after she’d changed?
Stephen coughed again, twice.
What courage it must have taken. The farmer must have truly believed a better life, a better world, awaited them. Faith into action, love into purpose.
She rummaged in her backpack and found it. “How are you feeling now, Stephen?”
He rubbed his eyes. “Sleepy. And tired.”
She was tired, too.
She would tell him to think of his mother, waiting for him. Or would that scare him? What if he pictured his mother the way she’d been in the hotel, lying on the bed with the flies roiling around her mouth? What if that stench carried with him to the next After?
She recalled the pharmacist’s instructions. First, the antiemetic to prevent him from throwing up. And then, the Nembutal.
A glass of clean, filtered water from the creek sat on the desk beside the bed. Given his small size, three pills would probably be enough.
She bowed her head and closed her eyes. Dear Lord, is this merciful?
For the first time in her life, she felt the question was issuing forth into the deep vacuum of endless, empty space. A phone call with nothing on the other end of the line.
She had never been so frightened.
“Here, honey, I have something to make that cough go away,” she said, somehow managing to keep the tremor out of her voice, although her fingers shook as she twisted open the pill bottle.
“Where’s DeVontay?” he asked.
“He’ll be here in a minute. Take this, honey.”
She gave him the antiemetic, which he swallowed with a grimace. “Yuck. That’s gross.”
“Drink this.” She handed him the glass of water and he drank.
She was about to give him three of the pills when she looked into his face, hoping to see some sign of peace and acceptance. Instead, she saw Chelsea’s funeral face, the pale and powdered baby-doll skin with eyes forever closed.
She tightened her fist around the pills and then flung them toward the corner of the bedroom, where they rolled across the hardwood floor.
“You’re right,” she said. “Medicine’s yucky.”
Downstairs, the door slammed, and DeVontay called up the stairs.
“How long do I get to sleep in the boy’s bed?” Stephen asked, drowsy now.
“For a few days,” she said. “Then we’re heading to the mountains where it’s safe.”
“I thought we were going to Mi’sippi.”
“We’ll get there,” she said. “We’ve still got a long way to go.”
THE END
Table of Contents
Look for the free prequel novella, AFTER: FIRST LIGHT
Look for the sequel, AFTER: THE ECHO
Be the first to learn book giveaways, as well as news and advance peeks from the AFTER series and other books! Sign up for Scott’s Tao of Boo newsletter.
Afterword:
Aside from doomsday capitalists, hellfire evangelicals, and certain nihilistic madmen, most of us are not all that eager for the world to end. But the sun doesn’t care. It is a ticking time bomb that is likely to belch a fatal stream of radiation at us when we least expect it. And we never expect it, do we?
But the heat is on. Just check out a few of my research links:
A solar storm captured by NASA cameras
"Light bulb" solar storm
Electromagnetic storms carry risk
Life after an EMP attack
Michio Kaku on solar flare threat
Double solar storm
Best-case scenario, the sun lives to a cranky old age and dies out, turning into a frozen iceball before the universe collapses. Worst-case scenario is…the After series. I hope you will join me for more. Because it can get worse.
Speaking of which (although hopefully it is not my writing that gets worse!), be sure to look for the sequel, After: The Echo, as well as the prequel, After: The Storm.
I am also inviting writers to create their own stories set in my fictional world and I will publish the best of them in related ebooks (Ground rules: non-exclusive use and all rights to the characters, world, and intellectual property remain with me while you own your work. The stories will either be made freely available or any proceeds go to charity—these won’t be for-profit endeavovers.) If interested in writing an AFTER story, please email [email protected].
About Scott Nicholson:
I’m the international bestselling author of more than 30 books, including The Home, The Red Church, Liquid Fear, Chronic Fear, The Harvest, Speed Dating with the Dead, and many more. I collaborated with bestselling author J.R. Rain on Cursed, The Vampire Club, Bad Blood, and Ghost College. I’ve also written the children’s books If I Were Your Monster, Too Many Witches, Ida Claire, and Duncan the Punkin, and created the graphic novels Dirt and Grave Conditions. Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, or my website.
I am really an organic gardener, but don’t tell anyone, because they think I am a writer and occasional survivalist nutjob.
Sign up for my Tao of Boo newsletter for new releases, free books, and giveaways: https://eepurl.com/tOE89
Other books by Scott Nicholson
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br /> AFTER: FIRST LIGHT (Free Book 0)
By Scott Nicholson
The beginning of the end…
When NASA scientists detect intense solar activity, the warnings go unheeded. Soon communications fail, power goes out, and the world's technological infrastructure collapses. But the solar radiation has also inflicted an unpredictable change—a disruption in the impulses of the human brain. Billions die. And they are the lucky ones...
Prequel novella to the After post-apocalyptic series.
Learn more about it at Haunted Computer
AFTER: THE ECHO (Book 2)
By Scott Nicholson
Six weeks after a massive solar storm wipes out billions, a small group of survivors must face a future that may have no room for them. A group of mutants called “Zapheads” are evolving to replace humans at the top of the food chain.
Learn more about it at Haunted Computer
THE HOME
By Scott Nicholson
A Top 50 Kindle bestseller.
Experiments at a group home for troubled children lead to paranormal activity—and the ghosts are from the home’s past as an insane asylum. In development as a feature film.
Learn more about The Home
MEAT CAMP
By Scott Nicholson & J.T. Warren
In a desperate attempt to save their land from tax foreclosure, Delphus Fraley and his daughter open a camp for at-risk kids, with the goal of building character through experience in the Appalachian Mountain outdoors.
But a strange infection contaminating the camp’s mess hall soon triggers a violent rampage. As the isolated camp turns into a bloodbath, camp counselor Jenny Usher first fights to save the children, and then finds she must fight to save herself.
Because this infection doesn’t just kill, it brings the dead back to life…
Adapted from Scott Nicholson’s original horror screenplay. Visit the book’s web page to learn more.
CREATIVE SPIRIT
By Scott Nicholson
After parapsychologist Anna Galloway is diagnosed with metastatic cancer, she has a recurring dream in which she sees her own ghost. The setting of her dream is the historic Korban Manor, which is now an artist’s retreat in the remote Appalachian Mountains. Drawn both by the ghost stories surrounding the manor and her own sense of destiny, Anna signs up for the retreat.
Sculptor Mason Jackson has come to Korban Manor to make a final, all-or-nothing attempt at success before giving up his dreams. When he becomes obsessed with carving Ephram Korban’s form out of wood, he questions his motivation but is swept up in a creative frenzy unlike any he has ever known.
The manor itself has secrets, with fires that blaze constantly in the hearths, portraits of Korban in every room, and deceptive mirrors on the walls. A mysterious woman in white calls to Anna from the forest, while Mason is driven by the whispers of an unseen critic. With an October blue moon looming, both the living and the dead learn the true power of their dreams. The author’s preferred edition of the 2004 U.S. paperback The Manor.
Learn more about the paranormal thriller Creative Spirit
DISINTEGRATION
By Scott Nicholson
Careful what you wish for.
When a mysterious fire destroys his home and kills his young daughter, Jacob Wells is pulled into a downward spiral that draws him ever closer to the past he thought was dead and buried.
Now his twin brother Joshua is back in town, seeking to settle old scores and claim his half of the Wells birthright. Jacob’s wife Renee is struggling with her own guilt, because the couple lost an infant daughter several years before.
As Jacob and Joshua return to the twisted roles they adopted at the hands of cruel, demanding parents, they wage a war of pride, wealth, and passion. They share the poisonous love of a woman who would gladly ruin them both: Carlita, a provocative and manipulative Hispanic whose immigrant family helped build the Wells fortune.
If only Jacob can figure out which of them to blame. But the lines of identity are blurred, because Joshua and Jacob share much more than blood. And the childhood games have become deadly serious.
Learn more about the psychological thriller Disintegration
THE RED CHURCH
Book I in the Sheriff Littlefield Series
By Scott Nicholson
For 13-year-old Ronnie Day, life is full of problems: Mom and Dad have separated, his brother Tim is a constant pest, Melanie Ward either loves him or hates him, and Jesus Christ won’t stay in his heart. Plus he has to walk past the red church every day, where the Bell Monster hides with its wings and claws and livers for eyes. But the biggest problem is that Archer McFall is the new preacher at the church, and Mom wants Ronnie to attend midnight services with her.
Sheriff Frank Littlefield hates the red church for a different reason. His little brother died in a freak accident at the church twenty years ago, and now Frank is starting to see his brother’s ghost.
The Days, the Littlefields, and the McFalls are descendants of the original families that settled the rural Appalachian community. Those old families share a secret of betrayal and guilt, and McFall wants his congregation to prove its faith. Because he believes he is the Second Son of God, and that the cleansing of sin must be done in blood.
“Sacrifice is the currency of God,” McFall preaches, and unless Frank and Ronnie stop him, everybody pays.
Learn more about the real haunted church that inspired The Red Church
DRUMMER BOY
Book II in the Sheriff Littlefield Series
By Scott Nicholson
On an Appalachian Mountain ridge, three boys hear the rattling of a snare drum deep inside a cave known as “The Jangling Hole,” and the wind carries a whispered name.
It’s the eve of a Civil War re-enactment, and the town of Titusville is preparing to host a staged battle. The weekend warriors aren’t aware they will soon be fighting an elusive army. A troop of Civil War deserters, trapped in the Hole by a long-ago avalanche, is rising from a long slumber, and the war is far from over.
And one misfit kid is all that stands between the town and the cold mouth of hell…
Learn more about Drummer Boy
THE SKULL RING
By Scott Nicholson
Julia Stone will remember, even if it kills her.
With the help of a therapist, Julia is piecing together childhood memories of the night her father vanished. When Julia finds a silver ring that bears the name “Judas Stone,” the past comes creeping back. Someone is leaving strange messages inside her house, even though the door is locked. The local handyman offers help, but he has his own shadowy past. And the cop who investigated her father’s disappearance has followed her to the small mountain town of Elkwood.
Now Julia has a head full of memories, but she doesn’t know which are real. Julia’s therapist is playing games. The handyman is trying to save her, in more ways than one. And a sinister cult is closing in, claiming ownership of Julia’s body and soul . . . .
Learn more about The Skull Ring and False Recovered Memory Syndrome
SPEED DATING WITH THE DEAD
By Scott Nicholson
A paranormal conference at the most haunted hotel in the Southern Appalachian mountains…a man’s promise to his late wife that he’d summon her spirit…a daughter whose imagination goes to dark places…and demonic evil lurking in the remote hotel’s basement, just waiting to be awoken.
When Digger Wilson brings his paranormal team to the White Horse Inn, he is sceptical that his dead wife will keep her half of the bargain. He doesn’t believe in ghosts. But when one of the conference guests channels a mysterious presence and an Ouija board spells out a pet phrase known only to Digger and his wife, his convictions are challenged. And when people start to disappear, Digger and his daughter Kendra must face the circle of demons that view t
he hotel as their personal playground. Because soon the inn will be closing for good, angels can’t be trusted, and demons don’t like to play alone….
Learn more about Speed Dating with the Dead and the 2008 paranormal conference and inn that inspired the novel.
KISS ME OR DIE
By Scott Nicholson
Richard Coldiron’s first and last novel follows his metafictional journey through a troubled childhood, where he meets his invisible friend, his other invisible friend...and then some who aren’t so friendly.
There’s Mister Milktoast, the protective punster; Little Hitler, who leers from the shadows; Loverboy, the lusty bastard; and Bookworm, who is thoughtful, introspective, and determined to solve the riddle of Richard’s disintegration into either madness or genius, and of course only makes things worse.
Richard keeps his cool despite the voices in his head, but he’s about to get a new tenant: the Insider, a malevolent soul-hopping spirit that may or may not be born from Richard’s nightmares and demands a co-writing credit and a little bit of foot-kissing dark worship.
Now Richard doesn’t know which voice to trust. The book’s been rejected 117 times. The people he loves keep turning up dead. And here comes the woman of his dreams.
Learn more about Kiss Me or Die
OCTOBER GIRLS
By Scott Nicholson
Five days until Halloween and all hell is about to break loose.
And it’s all Crystal’s fault.
Momma warned her not to consort with the dead and tried to teach her the magic spells that would close the portal to the afterlife. But Crystal doesn’t want to be a trailer-trash witch like Momma. Her best friend Bone is only too happy to escape the afterlife and help Crystal break the rules. Bone died too young, and she’ll do whatever it takes to remain among the living.
Then a young movie maker comes to Parson’s Ford, and he has a very special project in mind: a horror movie starring a real ghost. The movie is rolling, the creatures are stirring, and the brainwashed teenagers are ready to welcome a new star from the other side of the grave.
Crystal and Bone must overcome drama queens, coffin cuties, and mangled magic if they want to remain best friends forever—but at this rate, forever may not last much longer.
Learn more about the paranormal romance series October Girls
CURSED
By J.R. Rain and Scott Nicholson
Albert Shipway is an ordinary guy, an insurance negotiator who likes booze and women and never having to say he’s sorry.
And he thinks this is just another day, another lunch, another order of kung pao chicken. Little does he know that he’s about to meet a little old lady who knows his greatest fear. A little old lady who knows what’s hiding in his heart.
In just a matter of minutes, Albert’s life turns upside down and he enters a world where magic and evil lurk beneath the fabric of Southern California. And all his choices have brewed a perfect storm of broken hearts, broken promises, shattered families, and a couple of tiny problems. Namely, killer mice and a baby.
Albert Shipway is finally getting a chance to right some wrongs. That is, if it’s not too late.
Learn more about the urban fantasy Cursed.
GHOST COLLEGE
By Scott Nicholson & J.R. Rain
First in a new series featuring paranormal investigators Ellen and Monty Drew. Ellen claims to possess a sixth sense but Monty, a former P.I., only believes what he can see. She views their work as a sacred mission while Monty just wants a happy wife and a paycheck.
Then the Drews are summoned to a Southern California bible college after workers report hearing mysterious voices at night. When they encounter the unhappy ghost of a young girl, Monty’s skepticism is shaken, but he resolves to help his wife free the trapped spirit. Their search uncovers the Latin phrase “Non omnis moriar”—not all of me shall die—and they learn more about the site’s history as a Catholic school destroyed by an earthquake. But a mysterious presence has plans of its own for the young ghost, and Monty and Ellen must go head to head with a Dark Master that’s had more than a century of practice in demonic deeds.
Learn more about Ghost College at Haunted Computer. Also look for Ghost Soldier and Ghost Fire in the Ghost Files series.
THE VAMPIRE CLUB #1: First Bite
By J.R. Rain & Scott Nicholson
A group of college students pursue their passion for vampires, but when they discover the real thing, one of them must make the ultimate sacrifice in order to preserve the undead kind. A new vampire series by the author of the Samantha Moon series and the Liquid Fear series.
BAD BLOOD (Spider series, Book 1)
By J.R. Rain, Scott Nicholson, and H.T. Night
People call him Spider. And people come to him when they have a problem. So when teenager Parker Cole approaches Spider at night school, he figures she’s just another problem waiting to happen. But then she tells him about her father, who runs a cult called Cloudland based at the foot of mystical Mount Shasta, California. And then she tells Spider about her best friend, who is now dead, her body completely drained of blood. Spider wonders if the death is the work of a fellow vampire...or if he’s now the target of a sinister game designed to lure him to Cloudland, where darker mysteries await.
SPIDER WEB (Spider series, Book 2)
By J.R. Rain & Scott Nicholson
For Spider, being a vampire is bad enough, but he's also cursed with the need to help others. Especially when they are young, attractive, and female.
So when Parker Cole goes on a cruise to aid her recovery from demonic possession, Spider goes along to keep an eye on her. It doesn't take long before Parker comes across a small-time thief who has swiped some big-time trouble - a mummified finger that holds mysterious black magic. Worse, the finger's owner is Demande Jemarcus, a crime lord and witch doctor who will do anything in his power to get it back.
And his power includes the ability to turn a shipload of passengers into zombies...
THE HARVEST
By Scott Nicholson
It falls from the heavens and crashes to earth in the remote southern Appalachian Mountains.
The alien roots creep into the forest, drawn by the intoxicating cellular activity of the humus and loam. The creature feeds on the surrounding organisms, exploring, assimilating, and altering the life forms it encounters. Plants wilt from the contact, trees wither, animals become deformed monstrosities, and people become something both more and less than human.
A telepathic psychology professor, a moonshine-swilling dirt farmer, a wealthy developer, and a bitter recluse team up to take on the otherwordly force that is infecting their town. The author’s preferred edition of the 2003 paperback release The Harvest.
Learn more about the science fiction thriller The Harvest
LIQUID FEAR
By Scott Nicholson
When Roland Doyle wakes up with a dead woman in his motel room, the only clue is a mysterious vial of pills bearing the label “Take one every 4 hrs or else.”
Ten years before, six people were involved in a secret pharmaceutical trial that left one of them murdered and five unable to remember what happened. Now the experiment is continuing, as Dr. Sebastian Briggs wants to finish his research into fear response and post-traumatic stress disorder. He’s backed by a major drug company and an ambitious U.S. Senator, but he also has a personal stake in the outcome.
Only by taking the mysterious pills can the survivors stave off the creeping phobias and madness that threaten to consume them. But the pills have an unexpected side effect—the survivors start remembering the terrible acts they perpetrated a decade ago. They are lured back to the Monkey House, the remote facility where the original trials took place, and Briggs has prepared it for their arrival.
Now they are trapped, they each have only one
pill left, and cracks are forming in their civilized veneer.
After the pills are gone, there’s only one option. “Or else.”
Read about it at Haunted Computer
CHRONIC FEAR
By Scott Nicholson
Chronic Fear is the second installment of the chilling Fear series, which began with the harrowing Liquid Fear. The story picks up one year after the notorious Monkey House trials, from which the tiny handful of survivors have scattered in the wind. For while the unwitting human guinea pigs are still alive, the experimental drugs to which they were subjected continue to wreak havoc on their emotional stability. World-renowned neurobiologist Dr. Alexis Morgan knows first-hand the horrors of the sadistic experiment: her husband, Mark, was one its victims. As a result, he is plagued by unpredictable bouts of rage and paranoia. Dr. Morgan’s research into the drug leads her to suspect presidential candidate and U. S. Senator Daniel Burchfield of plotting to gain control of the drug for his own purposes, a power play that is sure to result in countless casualties unless she and three Monkey House survivors can outwit the shadowy figures behind the conspiracy—if they don’t lose their own sanity first.
Read the first chapter at Haunted Computer
CRIME BEAT
A novella by Scott Nicholson
Crime doesn’t pay...but neither does journalism. When John Moretz takes a job as a reporter in the Appalachian town of Sycamore Shade, a crime spree erupts and circulation increases. Then the first murder victim is found, and soon a serial killer is grabbing headlines. Moretz comes under suspicion, but he stays one step ahead of the police, his fellow reporters, and seemingly even the killer.
Learn about Crime Beat
BURIAL TO FOLLOW
A Novella by Scott Nicholson
When Jacob Ridgehorn dies, it’s up to Roby Snow to make sure his soul goes on to the eternal reward. The only way Roby can do that is convince the Ridgehorn family to eat a special pie, but a mysterious figure named Johnny Divine is guarding the crossroads. When peculiar Appalachian Mountain funeral customs get stirred into the mix, Roby has to perform miracles…or else. Novella originally published in the Cemetery Dance anthology “Brimstone Turnpike.”
Learn more about Burial to Follow
FANGS IN VAIN
By Scott Nicholson
Sabrina Vickers is on a mission from God. Unfortunately, she's not quite sure what it is.
All she knows is that her lover Luke is a soulless vampire that she's supposed to save, the forces of evil could be approaching, and her spiritual adviser is a fallen woman who has been falling for the past few hundred years. And, of course, Sabrina has yet to master the set of angel wings God granted her.
A romantic getaway turns into a showdown that could trigger the start of Armageddon, if Sabrina can't handle her on-the-job training. The first installment of the Sabrina Vickers series features paranormal action, humor, and romantic fun.
ASHES
By Scott Nicholson
A collection of supernatural and paranormal stories by award-winning author Scott Nicholson, including “Homecoming,” “The Night is an Ally” and “Last Writes.” From the author of THE RED CHURCH, THE SKULL RING, and the story collections FLOWERS and THE FIRST, these stories visit haunted islands, disturbed families, and a lighthouse occupied by Edgar Allan Poe. Exclusive introduction by Jonathan Maberry, author of THE DRAGON FACTORY and GHOST ROAD BLUES, as well as an afterword.
Learn more about the supernatural stories in Ashes
CURTAINS
By Scott Nicholson
A collection of crime and mystery tales from the vaults of Scott Nicholson. Includes “How to Build Your Own Coffin” and Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror selection “Dog Person,” as well as the psychological thrillers “Letters and Lies,” “Sewing Circle,” and more stories that appeared in magazines such as Crimewave, Cemetery Dance, and Blue Murder. Includes and afterword and a bonus story from bestselling authors J.A. Konrath and Simon Wood.
Learn more about Curtains: Mystery Stories
GATEWAY DRUG
By Scott Nicholson
After the first hit, there’s no turning back. Ten tales of horror and suspense from a bestselling author. A man learns fast cars and fast women don’t mix, even when they’re dead. A young boy discovers the terrible power of love. A rock musician will do anything for stardom. Bonus contributions from Tim Lebbon and Shane Jiraiya Cummings, as well as the afterword “One Sick Puppy.”
Learn about Gateway Drug
HEAD CASES
By Scott Nicholson
Nine stories of psychological suspense and paranoid horror, featuring the first-ever appearance of “Fear Goggles.” Collected from the pages of Crimewave, The Psycho Ward, Cemetery Dance, and more, find out what happens when a writer thinks Stephen King is stealing his ideas. Bonus stories by William Meikle and John Everson. Learn more about Head Cases.
THESE THINGS HAPPENED
By Scott Nicholson
It’s been a strange life. It’s been my life. Features stories, poems, and essays on relationships, romance, writing, and taking oneself far too seriously. Plus some humor. You may laugh, you may cry, you may decide you want to be a writer, too. You may hate me after if it’s over. That’s okay. You wouldn’t be the first. Learn about These Things Happened
IF I WERE YOUR MONSTER
Children’s book by Scott Nicholson, art by Lee Davis
Creatures of the night teach a lesson of bravery in this full-color, illustrated bedtime story for all ages. Let vampires, ghosts, scarecrows, and mummies protect your little one from the bullies and mean people of the world. 24 screens or pages. View it at Haunted Computer
TOO MANY WITCHES
Children’s book by Scott Nicholson, art by Lee Davis
When Moanica Moonsweep plans a Halloween party, she needs the perfect potion of stinky stew. But when she asks her friends for advice, she ends up with one big mess and lots of hurt feelings. 28 full-color screens or pages.
DUNCAN THE PUNKIN
Children’s book by Scott Nicholson, art by Sergio Castro
A momma pumpkin must teach her young pumpkin all about the dangers of Halloween, while a mysterious creature known as Skeerdy-Cat-Crow watches over the pumpkin patch. 30 full-color pages or screens. See it at Haunted Computer
SOLOM: The Scarecrow
By Scott Nicholson
Katy Logan wasn’t quite sure why she left her finance career in the big city to marry religion professor Gordon Smith and move to the tiny Appalachian community of Solom.
Maybe she just wanted to get her 12-year-old daughter Jett away from the drugs and bad influences. Maybe she wanted to escape from the memories of her first husband. Or perhaps she was enchanted by the promise of an idyllic life on the farm that has been in Gordon’s family for 150 years.
But the residents of Solom know all about the man in the black hat. The Reverend Harmon Smith has come back more than century after his last missionary trip, and he has unfinished business. But first Katy and Jett must be brought into the family, and the farm must be prepared to welcome him home. Gordon has been denying his heritage, but now it’s time to choose sides. Does he protect the ones he loves, or surrender to the ancestral urge for revenge?
Author’s preferred edition of the 2006 U.S. paperback The Farm.
Learn more about the supernatural thriller Solom
THE GORGE
By Scott Nicholson
An experimental rafting expedition, an FBI manhunt for a delusional killer, and the worst storm in decades collide in the remote mountain wilderness...and then THEY come out.
Bowie Whitlock and a team of celebrity athletes is commissioned to test two experimental rafts in the rugged Unegama Wilderness Gorge in the remote Appalachian Mountains,
considered the most dangerous whitewater rapids in the eastern United States. The expedition is tense from the start as jealousy, romance, and money are riding on the mission’s success.
FBI agent Jim Castle and his partner are in the gorge looking for Ace Goodall, a deranged abortion clinic bomber. Ace, accompanied by a fragile young woman, is having visions that guide his murderous behaviour. The race is on as dark storm clouds gather, the river is swollen, and Ace hijacks the rafting expedition to make his escape. But the bloodthirsty creatures swooping down from the high cliffs have been too long without prey.
Ace has one more bomb. God is talking to him. It’s raining again, and his young companion is pregnant.
And killing isn’t what it used to be, because the dead no longer stay dead.
Author’s preferred edition of the 2007 paperback They Hunger.
Learn more about The Gorge
OMNIBUS EDITIONS
You can also save with the omnibus editions
Ethereal Messenger (contains The Red Church, Drummer Boy, and Speed Dating With The Dead)
Mystery Dance (contains Disintegration, Crime Beat, and The Skull Ring, and bonus stories and essays)
Horror Movies: Three Screenplays (The Gorge, Creative Spirit, and The Skull Ring screenplays)
Skeleton Tango (Cursed! and Ghost College with J.R. Rain)
Ghost Box (contains The Red Church, Drummer Boy, Transparent Lovers, Burial to Follow, Forever Never Ends, and Speed Dating With The Dead)
Story collection box sets: Mad Stacks, Odd Stacks, and Bad Stacks
Look for the rest of the AFTER series
Table of Contents
After: The Shock
Afterword
About Scott Nicholson
Other Books
After: The Shock Page 35
