Black As Night

BLACK AS NIGHT AND OTHER NIGHTMARES is a compilation of 32 short stories, most in the horror genre, and most with surprise endings.THE NIGHTMARES INCLUDE:THE CLOWN AT MIDNIGHTCharles likes to watch horror flicks by candlelight with his monster mannequins...MASQUERADEThe Madeira Club has hired a travel agent to rent a castle in Transylvania for this year’s gala Halloween party...BLACK AS NIGHTTwo teenagers try to rescue a helpless woman from being buried alive by a masked rider on Halloween...HANGMAN’S OVERLOOKA scam artist wagers $800 he will spend the night on Hangman’s Overlook and live...THE SHELL GAMEAn elderly man loses his faith in a snowstorm on the last day of his life...WEREWOLF ON BROADWAYA werewolf propositions a promoter to make his transformation the main event at Madison Square Garden...THE BOY WHO CRIED BOOGEYMANJohn returns to the house where the boogeyman tried to eat him when he was ten years old...TOOTH FAIRYA serial killer has driven a crucifix through the hearts of seven boys and extracted their incisors...SURPRISE! SURPRISE!Jane has arranged a surprise birthday party for her boss at his funeral parlor...THE AXA warlock has sworn to return on the anniversary of being burned at the stake three hundred years ago...CYCLOPSThe final show at the end of the fairgrounds is one Jed Norman will never forget...CHRISTMAS EVEIt’s the night before Christmas and something’s in the house, and it’s not Santa...And twenty others...To secure the sanity of the reader, I suggest these nightmares be read in broad daylight with loved ones in close proximity that can be summoned in an instant by a sudden cry. I take no responsibility for the circumstances that may befall those who dare to visit these foreboding scarescapes alone at night. Abandon all hope for these pitiable souls if the lights go out.

About the Author

I am retired and living in the Villages, FL. with my wife, Ursula. Our son, Christopher, is a schoolteacher who resides in Ewing, New Jersey. I was controller for one of the world's largest architectural firms for almost 40 years and worked 16 years in Washington, DC and 24 years in New York City. Although pursuing accounting as a career path, I have always had a great interest in creative writing. I have authored more than 200 songs, writing both the music and/or lyrics and collaborating with numerous writers and musicians through the years. I signed 39 publishing agreements with a host of publishers and almost realized a cut on Vanessa Williams' "Sweetest Days" album; however, 39 times my dreams did not come to fruition. I have written many poems and short stories and one screenplay. I was poet laureate of my high school and college. I love movies and had seen over 1,500 by the age of 13. I have always enjoyed horror and from an early age wrote numerous short stories in that genre. Some of those early stories are in this book. My favorite horror movies are Halloween, Night of the Living Dead, and the Evil Dead. My favorite movie of all time Is Frank Capra's It's A Wonderful Life with James Stewart. My favorite authors are Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, John Sandford, Michael Connelly, Robert B. Parker, Clive Cusler, James Patterson, Jeffery Deaver, Dean Koontz, Edgar Allen Poe, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, James Lee Burke, Lee Child and Richard Matheson.

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