TERROR TALES OF CHAOS is a special bumper edition, available in hardback as well as paperback and ebook, which was commissioned to coincide with the WORLD FANTASY CONVENTION 2025 in Brighton (Oct 30-Nov 2), where it will be officially launched.
It was a great honour to be asked to do this, and a perfect opportunity from my POV for the series to finally start branching out from the geographic locations where it has previously dwelled, into a world of dark fiction opportunities that are infinitely broader.
Before I talk anymore about the book, here’s the official cover - courtesy again of that astonishing artist, Neil Williams, and below that the blurb, the full Table of Contents and the usual batch of juicy excerpts:
Children of chaos, servants of darkness, monsters, aberrations and other devilish entities. From slavering man-beasts in dank, icy forests to strangler vines in tropical deathtraps, from the cold-blooded songstress in the depthless lake to the soulless suburban killer who looks just like you. The myths and folktales of all civilisations are filled with heinous miscreations, abominable beings who exist purely to wreak mayhem …
The giant serpent of the Richtersveld
The shapeless leviathan in the Polar Sea
The stone colossus of Prague
The winged predator of Thebes
The snow beast of the Balkans
The many-headed horror on Erytheia
The corpse eater of the Middle East
A feast of terrifying tales by: CC Adams, David Barnett, James Brogden, Simon Clark, Paul Finch, Helen Grant, Christopher Harman, Carly Holmes, SL Howe, Stephen Laws, Tim Lebbon, Keris McDonald, Mark Morris, Reggie Oliver, Lynda E Rucker, Sarah Singleton, Simon Kurt Unsworth and Stephen Volk.
CONTENTS
Draugr by Keris McDonald
Golem
Ogre by Stephen Volk
Lamia
Redcap by Christopher Harman
Wendigo
Nephilim by Reggie Oliver
Grendel
Polyphemus by Helen Grant
Werewolf
Bauk by Simon Clark
Manananggal
Cockatrice by Sarah Singleton
Titanoboa
Nixie by Lynda E. Rucker
Organism 46-B
Medusa by C.C. Adams
Nuckelavee
Doppelganger by David Barnett
Ningen
Echidna by Mark Morris
Spring-Heeled Jack
Tupilaq by Simon Kurt Unsworth
Goblin
Harpy by Stephen Laws
Yateveo
Jorōgumo by SL Howe
Geryon
Kraken by Tim Lebbon
Ghoul
Baobhan Sith by Carly Holmes
Sphinx
Woodwose by James Brogden
Behemoth
Krampus by Paul Finch
Okay, I hear you ask ... what’s the story behind this one?
Well, to start with, for those who aren’t aware of the TERROR TALES series, we previously focussed on physical locations, be they parts of Britain or Europe (and don’t worry, those who are attached to this: there are many more of those yet to do), and my role as editor was to commission original dark stories (aka horror stories) relevant to these locations. I also took the occasional liberty of inserting a few classics in there too, and lastly - and very enjoyably - interspersed the works of fiction with true terror anecdotes: myths or folktales, or incidents of ‘true life’ terror that were also relevant to the region. (Anyone interested in the TERROR TALES back-catalogue, just follow this LINK).
A firm lover of the series’ folkloric elements, I proposed TERROR TALES OF CHAOS, for which I would invite a group of writers to participate who have proved themselves time and again to be excellent masters and mistresses of the short horror tale, and would give each one a bunch of horrific names drawn from world mythologies (primarily monsters). When they’d each selected one of these, the deal was that they must write an all-new horror story using that name as the title.
When we had a full complement of wordsmiths on board, those monstrous names left over would be explored by me in the usual way, as anecdotes.
As those who follow the series will already have noticed, it’s a larger-than-usual Table of Contents this year. That’s because for all the reasons previously mentioned, TERROR TALES OF CHAOS is going to be a very special edition, a landmark in the series. We’re even doing a de luxe hardback version, complete with these nightmarish endpapers depicting a range of ghastly monsters making hay among the souls of the damned (the hardback can also be acquired at WORLD FANTASY).
I don’t want to say much more about it now, except that for those attending WORLD FANTASY 2025, the Telos event will occur at 5pm on the Saturday evening. Check your programmes for the location, but it will be in the main hotel.
This time the box’s lid snapped up a centimetre or so before she pinned it back down with those thin, bare arms. He had a glimpse of something in the box, something grey and patched with mottled darker areas, before the lid clapped back down over it. Both girls giggled.
Did they have something alive in there? Really? Despite himself Colley turned more fully towards the girls to try and work out what was going on. Something alive in the box? It seemed cruel. Was it a cat? A pigeon? God, was it a rat, all teeth and claws and a long, hairless tail, with an appetite unfettered by mercy or morals? He shuddered...
Her assertion that a mythical creature actually existed was entirely believable. Besides, hadn’t I seen the strangely elongated creature with my own eyes? Hadn’t I seen the horns on its head for myself? The answer is a resounding ‘yes’. As for its power to reach into the human brain. Hadn’t I seen Robyn inexplicably slow from a run to a shambling walk when the creature pursued him? And hadn’t I felt that intrusion of total dread when I had stood on the other side of the cellar door from the monster? Yes, I had. And it was such a strange sensation. I felt that malign intrusion passing through the layers of my skin, then penetrating the subcutaneous tissue before entering my flesh and blood and bones...
‘Nobody knows who or what Bosky Tom really is,’ he said. ‘Only that he’s hungry and he has a taste for human flesh. During the Civil War a company of Royalists were said to have taken refuge in Lesher’s Wood, and disappeared without a trace. The soldiers that went in after them found only blood and gnawed bones.’ He paused to let that sink in. ‘Some people say that they’ve heard strange noises, like something calling from deep within the woods, only not using words that anyone can understand.' ...
Before I talk anymore about the book, here’s the official cover - courtesy again of that astonishing artist, Neil Williams, and below that the blurb, the full Table of Contents and the usual batch of juicy excerpts:
Children of chaos, servants of darkness, monsters, aberrations and other devilish entities. From slavering man-beasts in dank, icy forests to strangler vines in tropical deathtraps, from the cold-blooded songstress in the depthless lake to the soulless suburban killer who looks just like you. The myths and folktales of all civilisations are filled with heinous miscreations, abominable beings who exist purely to wreak mayhem …
The giant serpent of the Richtersveld
The shapeless leviathan in the Polar Sea
The stone colossus of Prague
The winged predator of Thebes
The snow beast of the Balkans
The many-headed horror on Erytheia
The corpse eater of the Middle East
A feast of terrifying tales by: CC Adams, David Barnett, James Brogden, Simon Clark, Paul Finch, Helen Grant, Christopher Harman, Carly Holmes, SL Howe, Stephen Laws, Tim Lebbon, Keris McDonald, Mark Morris, Reggie Oliver, Lynda E Rucker, Sarah Singleton, Simon Kurt Unsworth and Stephen Volk.
CONTENTS
Draugr by Keris McDonald
Golem
Ogre by Stephen Volk
Lamia
Redcap by Christopher Harman
Wendigo
Nephilim by Reggie Oliver
Grendel
Polyphemus by Helen Grant
Werewolf
Bauk by Simon Clark
Manananggal
Cockatrice by Sarah Singleton
Titanoboa
Nixie by Lynda E. Rucker
Organism 46-B
Medusa by C.C. Adams
Nuckelavee
Doppelganger by David Barnett
Ningen
Echidna by Mark Morris
Spring-Heeled Jack
Tupilaq by Simon Kurt Unsworth
Goblin
Harpy by Stephen Laws
Yateveo
Jorōgumo by SL Howe
Geryon
Kraken by Tim Lebbon
Ghoul
Baobhan Sith by Carly Holmes
Sphinx
Woodwose by James Brogden
Behemoth
Krampus by Paul Finch
Okay, I hear you ask ... what’s the story behind this one?
Well, to start with, for those who aren’t aware of the TERROR TALES series, we previously focussed on physical locations, be they parts of Britain or Europe (and don’t worry, those who are attached to this: there are many more of those yet to do), and my role as editor was to commission original dark stories (aka horror stories) relevant to these locations. I also took the occasional liberty of inserting a few classics in there too, and lastly - and very enjoyably - interspersed the works of fiction with true terror anecdotes: myths or folktales, or incidents of ‘true life’ terror that were also relevant to the region. (Anyone interested in the TERROR TALES back-catalogue, just follow this LINK).
TERROR TALES OF CHAOS, though (which can be bought on AMAZON or here on the TELOS SITE), is something a little different. It was born of a conversation between myself and David Howe, head honcho at TELOS PUBLISHING, at - of all events - Bristol CrimeFest a couple of years ago. My idea was to bring out a special, larger-than-usual edition (it will be the 16th in the series, if that matters to you), and with a wider than normal remit.
A firm lover of the series’ folkloric elements, I proposed TERROR TALES OF CHAOS, for which I would invite a group of writers to participate who have proved themselves time and again to be excellent masters and mistresses of the short horror tale, and would give each one a bunch of horrific names drawn from world mythologies (primarily monsters). When they’d each selected one of these, the deal was that they must write an all-new horror story using that name as the title.
When we had a full complement of wordsmiths on board, those monstrous names left over would be explored by me in the usual way, as anecdotes.
Just in case all this isn’t enough, here are several excerpts from the stories, just to whet your whistles ...
This time the box’s lid snapped up a centimetre or so before she pinned it back down with those thin, bare arms. He had a glimpse of something in the box, something grey and patched with mottled darker areas, before the lid clapped back down over it. Both girls giggled.
Did they have something alive in there? Really? Despite himself Colley turned more fully towards the girls to try and work out what was going on. Something alive in the box? It seemed cruel. Was it a cat? A pigeon? God, was it a rat, all teeth and claws and a long, hairless tail, with an appetite unfettered by mercy or morals? He shuddered...
Simon Kurt Unsworth - Tupilaq
Her assertion that a mythical creature actually existed was entirely believable. Besides, hadn’t I seen the strangely elongated creature with my own eyes? Hadn’t I seen the horns on its head for myself? The answer is a resounding ‘yes’. As for its power to reach into the human brain. Hadn’t I seen Robyn inexplicably slow from a run to a shambling walk when the creature pursued him? And hadn’t I felt that intrusion of total dread when I had stood on the other side of the cellar door from the monster? Yes, I had. And it was such a strange sensation. I felt that malign intrusion passing through the layers of my skin, then penetrating the subcutaneous tissue before entering my flesh and blood and bones...
Simon Clark - Bauk
‘Nobody knows who or what Bosky Tom really is,’ he said. ‘Only that he’s hungry and he has a taste for human flesh. During the Civil War a company of Royalists were said to have taken refuge in Lesher’s Wood, and disappeared without a trace. The soldiers that went in after them found only blood and gnawed bones.’ He paused to let that sink in. ‘Some people say that they’ve heard strange noises, like something calling from deep within the woods, only not using words that anyone can understand.' ...
James Brogden - Woodwose
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