Happy Thursday, everyone! We’re officially less than three weeks away from Christmas, which means the shopping season is rapidly counting down now. For today’s installment of Daily Dead’s 2019 Holiday Gift Guide, we’re taking a look at all the incredible horror and sci-fi books that have come out this year, and to make things easier on y’all, I’ve broken down today’s post into two sections, fiction and non-fiction.

So, if you have a bookworm or two on your holiday shopping list this season, there’s undoubtedly something here that should tickle their literary fancy.

NON-FICTION:

Rick Baker: Metamorphosis: Volume 1 (1950-1989) & Volume 2 (1990-2019)

Rick Baker: Metamorphosis chronicles the career of the legendary special effects and makeup artist, best known for his creature effects and designs. This deluxe, two-volume set, replete with more than 1,600 four-color images and original sketches, covers the makeup artist’s forty-plus-year journey, from his early days as a young “monster maker,” creating body parts in his parents’ kitchen, to his more than seventy film and television credits, which resulted in seven Academy Awards, one Emmy, and three BAFTAs, among numerous others.

From the gory zombies of Michael Jackson’s Thriller and the staggeringly lifelike Bigfoot in Harry and the Hendersons to the creative builds in Men in Black and the groundbreaking effects in An American Werewolf in London, Rick Baker’s special effects, makeup, and prosthetics count among some of Hollywood’s most enduring legacies.

Taking Shape: Developing Halloween From Script to Screen

Silver Shamrock. Thorn. White Horses. It’s all in here. Join authors Dustin McNeill and Travis Mullins for a deep dive into the evolution of Halloween’s vast mythology. Extensively researched, TAKING SHAPE is the ultimate guide to the first forty years of Haddonfield history. Featuring exclusive interviews with filmmakers from every installment, prepare to gain new insight into Halloween’s iconic boogeyman. Oh, you don’t believe in the boogeyman? You should.

Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction

Satisfy your craving for extraordinary authors and exceptional fiction: Meet the women writers who defied convention to craft some of literature's strangest tales, from Frankenstein to The Haunting of Hill House and beyond.

The Making of Alien

A comprehensive and definitive volume telling the complete story of how Alien was made, featuring new interviews with Ridley Scott and other production crew, and including many rarely-seen photos and illustrations from the Fox archives.

Darkening the Italian Screen: Interviews With Genre and Exploitation Directors Who Debuted in the 1950s and 1960s

The birth and rise of popular Italian cinema since the early 1950s can be attributed purely to necessity. The vast number of genres, sub-genres, currents and crossovers and the way they have overlapped, died out or replaced each other has been an attempt, in postwar years, to contain the invasion of U.S. product while satisfying the demands the American industry had created in Italy. 

The author explores one of the most multi-faceted and contradictory industries cinema has ever known through the careers of those most closely associated with it. His recorded interviews were conducted with directors and actors both well-known and upcoming.

The Collected Pulp Horror: Volume One

A collection of the out-of-print first three issues of Pulp Horror, the fanzine dedicated to vintage horror fiction from pulps, magazines and paperbacks. Interviews, articles and reviews on 50 years of classic horror fiction.

Harryhausen: The Lost Movies

Known for his iconic stop-motion creatures, Ray Harryhausen was at the forefront of Hollywood special effects for much of the 20th century. His films include One Million Years B.C., Clash of the Titans and Jason and the Argonauts, among others. But for every film that reaches the big screen, half a dozen projects are never realised.

Harryhausen: The Lost Movies explores Harryhausen's unrealised films, including unused ideas, projects he turned down and scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor. This book includes never-been-seen-before artwork, sketches, photos and test footage from the Harryhausen Foundation archives.

Blood on Black Wax: Horror Soundtracks on Vinyl

Are you obsessed with John Carpenter's iconic music for the Halloween series? Do you thrill to the unforgettable stabs of the Psycho score, or the pounding synth of Goblin's soundtrack to Suspiria? Do you find yourself being pulled into the hair-raising modern scores for the likes of Get Out, Hereditary, and The Witch?

You're not alone.

Blood on Black Wax is a defining horror soundtrack volume that spotlights iconic franchises such as A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Jaws, The Exorcist, and George A. Romero's Dead films, highlighting both the music and the amazing, often rare artwork that graces the record sleeves. It also tells the stories behind the soundtrack, from the mouths of the musicians who made them, including John Carpenter, Fabio Frizzi, Christopher Young, Harry Manfredini, Charles Bernstein, Pino Donaggio, John Harrison, and more.

Joe Alves: Designing JAWS (Available on December 3rd)

Joe Alves: Designing JAWS provides the production designer's view into the development of this world-renowned film. Included are Joe's stunning pre-production illustrations; handwritten location and production notes; on-set photographs; blueprints of the shark's design; and first-time publication of his complete catalog of storyboards. Joe Alves: Designing JAWS is a must-have addition to every film reference library.

Ad Nauseam II: Newsprint Nightmares from the 1990s and 2000s

Mad movie ad collector Michael Gingold returns with Ad Nauseam II, a deep dive into his personal collection of horror movie newsprint notices from the 1990s and 2000s.

Feast your nostalgic eyes on more than 500 striking ads for the big-budget Gothics of the early and mid-'90s (Bram Stoker's Dracula, Interview with the Vampire), the slasher-film revival (Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Halloween: H20), gruesome franchises (Saw, Final Destination), remakes (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Dawn of the Dead, The Ring), found footage films (The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity) and more. Plus, unforgettable critic quotes of the time, fascinating facts about the films' releases, and Michael's always insightful commentary!

Ad Astra: 20 Years of Newspaper Ads for Sci-Fi & Fantasy Films

Once upon a time - the 1980s - in a galaxy not really all that far away - New York - Michael Gingold started a collection of newspaper advertisements for the science fiction, fantasy and horror releases that stoked his passion as a genre fan. Eventually, he would grow up to become a contributor, then editor, and even editor-in-chief of the legendary horror magazine Fangoria, plus a writer for numerous other genre publications, a screenwriter, respected author and all-around expert for films frightful and fantastical.

As the years went by, Michael held on to this collection of weird and wonderful art, eventually publishing the best-selling, horror-themed Ad Nauseam: Newsprint Nightmares from the 1980s and its sequel, Newsprint Nightmares from the 1990s and 2000s. And now he presents Ad Astra: 20 Years of Newspaper Ads for Sci-Fi & Fantasy Films, a year-by-year look at the movies that shaped many a childhood in the 80s and 90s.

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance: Inside the Epic Return to Thra

Explore the creation of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, Netflix’s highly-anticipated new prequel series from The Jim Henson Company, with this all-access look at the show’s journey to the screen.

Delving into the incredible creative process behind the series, this deluxe volume reveals how Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, legendary character and costume designer Brian Froud, and director Louis Leterrier brought Thra and its characters to life alongside the artists and puppeteers who are continuing the legacy of the original film.

Filled with exclusive interviews with the creative forces behind the show, plus concept art, set photography, puppet designs, and more, this is the definitive exploration of The Jim Henson Company’s epic return to Thra.

Ghoulish: The Art of Gary Pullin [New Exclusive Cover]

SECOND EDITION: New limited, exclusive cover!

Ghoulish Gary Pullin. Remember that name.

For more than ten years artist Gary Pullin has been taking art galleries, movie theater walls, and social media by storm with his fresh, inventive takes on film, music, and television properties. Equal parts nightmare and nostalgia, his instantly recognizable style always strikes a chord with fans, and his coveted and acclaimed pieces sell out in lightning speed.

A go-to artist for official film artwork, concert merchandise, LP packaging, and endless other pieces of pop culture ephemera, Pullin has put pencil to paper for film posters such as Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, The Big Lebowski, Vertigo, and The Babadook, soundtracks including Creepshow, Scream, Christine, and Tales from the Crypt, and concert merch for the likes of Jack White, Alice Cooper, and Misfits.

Featuring hundreds of full-color illustrations, lavish cover galleries, and never-before-seen concept and process shots, Ghoulish: The Art of Gary Pullin is both a celebration of one artist's remarkable career and an indispensable snapshot of the thriving world of genre art. Go behind the scenes with Gary, let your jaw drop at his brilliant, long out of print artwork, and get ghoulishly inspired by an unforgettable pop artist.

The Lady from the Black Lagoon

The Lady from the Black Lagoon uncovers the life and work of Milicent Patrick—one of Disney’s first female animators and the only woman in history to create one of Hollywood’s classic movie monsters.

The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft: Beyond Arkham

In 2014, The New Annotated H. P. Lovecraft was published to widespread acclaim― vaunted as a “treasure trove” (Joyce Carol Oates) for Lovecraft aficionados and general readers, alike. Hailed by Harlan Ellison as an “Olympian landmark of modern gothic literature,” the volume included twenty-two of Lovecraft’s original stories. Now, in this final volume, best- selling author Leslie S. Klinger reanimates twenty-five additional stories, the balance of Lovecraft’s significant fiction, including “Rats in the Wall,” a post– World War I story about the terrors of the past, and the newly contextualized “The Horror at Red Hook,” which recently has been adapted by best- selling novelist Victor LaValle.

In following Lovecraft’s own literary trajectory, readers can witness his evolution from Rhode Island critic to prescient literary genius whose titanic influence would only be appreciated decades after his death. Including hundreds of eye- opening annotations and dozens of rare images, Beyond Arkham finally provides the complete picture of Lovecraft’s unparalleled achievements in fiction.

Batman: The Definitive History of the Dark Knight in Comics, Film, and Beyond

This lavish 400-page book tells the complete history of Batman from his 1939 debut in Detective Comics to the current day. Learn secrets and see exclusive new content taken from some of Batman’s most iconic stories and moments, from the beloved Adam West TV incarnation, legendary comics such as The Killing Joke, Christian Bale’s iconic interpretation within Christopher Nolan’s trilogy and Kevin Conroy’s signature performance within the animated series and Arkham Asylum videogame.

Lost Transmissions: The Secret History of Science Fiction and Fantasy

Science fiction and fantasy reign over popular culture now. Lost Transmissions is a rich trove of forgotten and unknown, imagined-but-never-finished, and under-appreciated-but-influential works from those imaginative genres, as well as little-known information about well-known properties. Divided into sections on Film & TV, Literature, Art, Music, Fashion, Architecture, and Pop Culture, the book examines Jules Verne’s lost novel; AfroFuturism and Space Disco; E.T.’s scary beginnings; William Gibson’s never-filmed Aliens sequel; Weezer’s never-made space opera; and the 8,000-page metaphysical diary of Philip K. Dick. Featuring more than 150 photos, this insightful volume will become the bible of science fiction and fantasy’s most interesting and least-known chapters.

The World of IT

Collecting the best artwork produced during the making of both of these sophisticated and visually enthralling films—including concept art, sketches, storyboards, and behind-the-scenes photography—The World of IT explores the films’ singular aesthetic and meticulous world-building. This compendium includes commentary from director Andy Muschietti; producer Barbara Muschietti; the acclaimed ensemble cast; and other creative players who helped bring a new, disturbing vision of King’s perennial bestseller to life. 

Savini: The Biography

What can you say about Tom Savini? 

Well, the facts work just fine for this multi-hit wonder. He created the zombies and all of the iconic special makeup effects for the mother of all zombie movies, DAWN OF THE DEAD. He created Jason, one of the most prolific movie villains of all time, for the movie franchise FRIDAY THE 13THand for the mega-hit video game.  He created Leatherface in the much-loved fan favorite TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE PART TWO.  He created the crate creature Fluffy, the grave-rising cadaver Nate, and all of the twisted, cockroach-filled, water-soaked zombies for the five horrific chapters of the movie CREEPSHOW and continued to dazzle audiences with his work on a dozen other horror movies in his career as a special makeup effects magician. He played the crotch rocket-wearing character Sex Machine in FROM DUSK TILL DAWN and mesmerized movie-goers with his many other standout roles as an actor, including those in GRINDHOUSE, MACHETE, and THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER. He directed three of the most memorable episodes of the television series TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE and the much loved and respected remake of the movie NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, and most recently he was called upon by his pal Greg Nicotero to direct an episode of the new Creepshow television series for AMC's Shudder.

In this beautiful picture book, Tom, in his own unique writing style, tells his life story, discusses his movies, shares anecdotes, give his opinions, and of course, talks about the movies in a way only Tom can.  

Stephen King at the Movies: A Complete History of the Film and Television Adaptations from the Master of Horror

Surely America’s greatest storyteller, no single author has been adapted more regularly than Stephen King. With 65 existing movies and 30 television shows, and many more to come, the concept of the King adaptation lies at the core of what we understand as Hollywood entertainment, the essence of horror, and the landscape of American life. Illustrated with a fabulous array of familiar and unusual iconography, this is the most comprehensive account of the films and television series adapted from the work of Stephen King ever put together.  

Every Children of the Corn movie has been accounted for; every remake and reboot wrestled into submission; all the dark recesses of King’s imagination brought out into the light. Including fresh critical analysis, interviews, behind-the-scenes revelations and biographical detail, this is both a King completist’s dream and a must for all movie fans. Here is the chance to delve deep into such terrifying and beloved movies and TV shows as Carrie, Salem’s Lot, The Shining, Cujo, Stand By Me, Misery, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and such modern marvels as Castle Rock, Mr. Mercedes, Pet Sematary, It: Chapters One and Two, and Doctor Sleep.

Marvel's Avengers: Endgame - The Art of the Movie

It all comes down to this. Featuring concept art and exclusive interviews, The Art of Marvel Studios' Avengers: Endgame showcases the work behind the culmination of 22 interconnected films. Go behind the scenes with this keepsake volume!

The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Available on December 20th)

The official behind-the-scenes book of concept, production, and post-production art for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Go inside the creative process behind the most anticipated film of the century. The latest trilogy in the Star Wars film series brings the Skywalker Saga to a close and The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will take readers into the creative process behind visualizing the epic worlds, creatures, characters, costumes, weapons, and vehicles of the landmark conclusion more than 40 years in the making.

FICTION:

A Lush and Seething Hell: Two Tales of Cosmic Horror

Bringing together his acclaimed novella The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky and an all-new short novel My Heart Struck Sorrow, John Hornor Jacobs turns his fertile imagination to the evil that breeds within the human soul.

The Joker: Year of the Villain

Now a human-alien hybrid, Lex Luthor has made his appeal to the world, asking its citizens to embrace doom and give in once and for all to evil, humanity’s true nature. In exchange, he will grant them the tools to ascend to their ultimate selves. While some DC villains (and heroes) are willing to hear what “Apex Lex” has to offer, the Clown Prince of Crime isn’t going to wait around until Lex gets to him. This puts The Joker on a mission to get his swagger back in a world gone bad by out-badding everyone else, proving that the greatest evil is always the one that leaves them laughing.

Carnivorous Lunar Activities

Ted and Justin were once best friends, but over the years they’ve seen less and less of each other. Now, something’s wrong with Justin. He can’t sleep, he can’t think straight, and he certainly can’t explain why he keeps waking up naked and covered in blood. Ted might be the only person who can save him-- assuming he’s okay with shooting his childhood BFF with a silver bullet. But that’s what friends are for, right?

From Max Booth III and FANGORIA comes Carnivorous Lunar Activities― the ultimate werewolf bromance. It’s a toxic cocktail of An American Werewolf in London, Old School, and Bubba Ho-Tep that dives deep into the well of childhood nostalgia, blood soaked horror, and irredeemable dick jokes to bring readers a slice of Southern Fried horror that proudly wears its heart―not to mention a few other internal organs―on its sleeve.

Night Shoot: A Horror Novel

A group of desperate student filmmakers break into Crawford Manor for an unauthorised night shoot. They have no choice. Their lead actress has quit. They’re out of time. They’re out of money.

They’re out of luck.

For Crawford Manor has a past that won’t stay dead, and the crew are about to come face-to-face with the hideous secret that stalks the halls. Will anyone survive…the NIGHT SHOOT?

A Cosmology of Monsters: A Novel

Noah Turner sees monsters.

His father saw them—and built a shrine to them with The Wandering Dark, an immersive horror experience that the whole family operates.

His practical mother has caught glimpses of terrors but refuses to believe—too focused on keeping the family from falling apart.

And his eldest sister, the dramatic and vulnerable Sydney, won't admit to seeing anything but the beckoning glow of the spotlight . . . until it swallows her up.

Noah Turner sees monsters. But, unlike his family, Noah chooses to let them in . . .

The Library of the Unwritten (A Novel from Hell's Library) 

Many years ago, Claire was named Head Librarian of the Unwritten Wing-- a neutral space in Hell where all the stories unfinished by their authors reside. Her job consists mainly of repairing and organizing books, but also of keeping an eye on restless stories that risk materializing as characters and escaping the library. When a Hero escapes from his book and goes in search of his author, Claire must track and capture him with the help of former muse and current assistant Brevity and nervous demon courier Leto.

But what should have been a simple retrieval goes horrifyingly wrong when the terrifyingly angelic Ramiel attacks them, convinced that they hold the Devil's Bible. The text of the Devil's Bible is a powerful weapon in the power struggle between Heaven and Hell, so it falls to the librarians to find a book with the power to reshape the boundaries between Heaven, Hell…. and Earth.

Blood Sugar (Hard Case Crime)

In a ruined house at the end of Yellow Street, an angry outcast hatches a scheme to take revenge for all the wrongs he has suffered. With the help of three alienated kids, he plans to hide razor blades, poison, and broken glass in Halloween candy, maiming or killing dozens of innocent children. But as the clock ticks closer to sundown, will one of his helpers - an innocent himself, in his own streetwise way - carry out or defeat the plan?

The Vine Witch

For centuries, the vineyards at Château Renard have depended on the talent of their vine witches, whose spells help create the world-renowned wine of the Chanceaux Valley. Then the skill of divining harvests fell into ruin when sorcière Elena Boureanu was blindsided by a curse. Now, after breaking the spell that confined her to the shallows of a marshland and weakened her magic, Elena is struggling to return to her former life. And the vineyard she was destined to inherit is now in the possession of a handsome stranger. 

Vigneron Jean-Paul Martel naively favors science over superstition, and he certainly doesn’t endorse the locals’ belief in witches. But Elena knows a hex when she sees one, and the vineyard is covered in them. To stay on and help the vines recover, she’ll have to hide her true identity, along with her plans for revenge against whoever stole seven winters of her life. And she won’t rest until she can defy the evil powers that are still a threat to herself, Jean-Paul, and the ancient vine-witch legacy in the rolling hills of the Chanceaux Valley.

Imaginary Friend

We can swallow our fear or let our fear swallow us.

Single mother Kate Reese is on the run. Determined to improve life for her and her son, Christopher, she flees an abusive relationship in the middle of the night with her child. Together, they find themselves drawn to the tight-knit community of Mill Grove, Pennsylvania. It's as far off the beaten track as they can get. Just one highway in, one highway out.

At first, it seems like the perfect place to finally settle down. Then Christopher vanishes. for six long days, no one can find him. Until Christopher emerges from the woods at the edge of town, unharmed but not unchanged. He returns with a voice in his head only he can hear, with a mission only he can complete: Build a treehouse in the woods by Christmas, or his mother and everyone in the town will never be the same again. 

Twenty years ago, Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower made readers everywhere feel infinite. Now, Chbosky has returned with an epic work of literary horror, years in the making, whose grand scale and rich emotion redefine the genre. Read it with the lights on.

The Institute

In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis’s parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there’s no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents—telekinesis and telepathy—who got to this place the same way Luke did: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and ten-year-old Avery Dixon. They are all in Front Half. Others, Luke learns, graduated to Back Half, “like the roach motel,” Kalisha says. “You check in, but you don’t check out.”

In this most sinister of institutions, the director, Mrs. Sigsby, and her staff are ruthlessly dedicated to extracting from these children the force of their extranormal gifts. There are no scruples here. If you go along, you get tokens for the vending machines. If you don’t, punishment is brutal. As each new victim disappears to Back Half, Luke becomes more and more desperate to get out and get help. But no one has ever escaped from the Institute.

As psychically terrifying as Firestarter, and with the spectacular kid power of It, The Institute is Stephen King’s gut-wrenchingly dramatic story of good vs. evil in a world where the good guys don’t always win.

Curious Toys

In the sweltering summer of 1915, Pin, the fourteen-year-old daughter of a carnival fortune-teller, dresses as a boy and joins a teenage gang that roams the famous Riverview amusement park, looking for trouble.

Unbeknownst to the well-heeled city-dwellers and visitors who come to enjoy the midway, the park is also host to a ruthless killer who uses the shadows of the dark carnival attractions to conduct his crimes. When Pin sees a man enter the Hell Gate ride with a young girl, and emerge alone, she knows that something horrific has occurred.

The crime will lead her to the iconic outsider artist Henry Darger, a brilliant but seemingly mad man. Together, the two navigate the seedy underbelly of a changing city to uncover a murderer few even know to look for.

Growing Things and Other Stories

A masterful anthology featuring nineteen pieces of short fiction, Growing Things is an exciting glimpse into Paul Tremblay’s fantastically fertile imagination.

In “The Teacher,” a Bram Stoker Award nominee for best short story, a student is forced to watch a disturbing video that will haunt and torment her and her classmates’ lives.

Four men rob a pawn shop at gunpoint only to vanish, one-by-one, as they speed away from the crime scene in “The Getaway.”

In “Swim Wants to Know If It’s as Bad as Swim Thinks,” a meth addict kidnaps her daughter from her estranged mother as their town is terrorized by a giant monster . . . or not. 

Joining these haunting works are stories linked to Tremblay’s previous novels. The tour de force metafictional novella “Notes from the Dog Walkers” deconstructs horror and publishing, possibly bringing in a character from A Head Full of Ghosts, all while serving as a prequel to Disappearance at Devil’s Rock. “The Thirteenth Temple” follows another character from A Head Full of Ghosts—Merry, who has published a tell-all memoir written years after the events of the novel. And the title story, “Growing Things,” a shivery tale loosely shared between the sisters in A Head Full of Ghosts, is told here in full.

From global catastrophe to the demons inside our heads, Tremblay illuminates our primal fears and darkest dreams in startlingly original fiction that leaves us unmoored. As he lowers the sky and yanks the ground from beneath our feet, we are compelled to contemplate the darkness inside our own hearts and minds.

Frankissstein: A Novel

Lake Geneva, 1816. Nineteen-year-old Mary Shelley is inspired to write a story about a scientist who creates a new life-form. In Brexit Britain, a young transgender doctor called Ry is falling in love with Victor Stein, a celebrated professor leading the public debate around AI and carrying out some experiments of his own in a vast underground network of tunnels. Meanwhile, Ron Lord, just divorced and living with his mom again, is set to make his fortune launching a new generation of sex dolls for lonely men everywhere. Across the Atlantic, in Phoenix, Arizona, a cryogenics facility houses dozens of bodies of men and women who are medically and legally dead… but waiting to return to life.

What will happen when homo sapiens is no longer the smartest being on the planet? In fiercely intelligent prose, Jeanette Winterson shows us how much closer we are to that future than we realize. Funny and furious, bold and clear-sighted, Frankissstein is a love story about life itself.

Full Throttle: Stories

A little door that opens to a world of fairy tale wonders becomes the blood-drenched stomping ground for a gang of hunters in “Faun.” A grief-stricken librarian climbs behind the wheel of an antique Bookmobile to deliver fresh reads to the dead in “Late Returns.” In “By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain,” soon to be an episode on Shudder TV’s Creepshow, two young friends stumble on the corpse of a plesiosaur at the water’s edge, a discovery that forces them to confront the inescapable truth of their own mortality . . . and other horrors that lurk in the water’s shivery depths. And tension shimmers in the sweltering heat of the Nevada desert as a faceless trucker finds himself caught in a sinister dance with a tribe of motorcycle outlaws in “Throttle,” co-written with Stephen King.

Replete with shocking chillers, including two previously unpublished stories written expressly for this volume (“Mums” and “Late Returns”) and another appearing in print for the first time (“Dark Carousel”), Full Throttle is a darkly imagined odyssey through the complexities of the human psyche. Hypnotic and disquieting, it mines our tormented secrets, hidden vulnerabilities, and basest fears, and demonstrates this exceptional talent at his very best.

The Monster of Elendhaven

The city of Elendhaven sulks on the edge of the ocean. Wracked by plague, abandoned by the South, stripped of industry and left to die. But not everything dies so easily. A thing without a name stalks the city, a thing shaped like a man, with a dark heart and long pale fingers yearning to wrap around throats. A monster who cannot die. His frail master sends him out on errands, twisting him with magic, crafting a plan too cruel to name, while the monster’s heart grows fonder and colder and more cunning.

These monsters of Elendhaven will have their revenge on everyone who wronged the city, even if they have to burn the world to do it.

Doomsday Clock: Part 1

The world of Watchmen collides with the DC Universe in the most shocking story in DC history! Written by master storytellers Geoff Johns and Gary Frank--As the Doomsday Clock ticks toward midnight, the DC Universe will encounter with its greatest threat: Dr. Manhattan. But nothing is hidden from Manhattan, and the secrets of the past, present and future will leave ramifications on our heroes lives forever.

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Be sure to check back here for more horror gift guide ideas in the coming days, and happy holidays to our readers from all of us at Daily Dead!

  • Heather Wixson
    About the Author - Heather Wixson

    Heather A. Wixson was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, until she followed her dreams and moved to Los Angeles in 2009. A 14-year veteran in the world of horror entertainment journalism, Wixson fell in love with genre films at a very early age, and has spent more than a decade as a writer and supporter of preserving the history of horror and science fiction cinema. Throughout her career, Wixson has contributed to several notable websites, including Fangoria, Dread Central, Terror Tube, and FEARnet, and she currently serves as the Managing Editor for Daily Dead, which has been her home since 2013. She's also written for both Fangoria Magazine & ReMind Magazine, and her latest book project, Monsters, Makeup & Effects: Volume One will be released on October 20, 2021.