Now in FULL COLOR! Weird Fiction Quarterly returns for its fourth installment, rounding out the seasonal cycle with a special double-sized volume featuring two themes: Fall and Halloween! Within these pages, you will harvest twice as many 500-word stories from your favorite authors while gazing terrified upon morbid illustrations by Sarah Walker, Nora Peevy, and Andy Joynes. The bewitching cover painting by Robert H. Knox makes this issue a cherishable autumnal keepsake. And if that weren’t enough, this issue features a bagful of spectral poetry by K.A. (The Pumpkin King) Opperman, Adam Bolivar, and Maxwell I. Gold.

Weirdbook #32 presents a selection of great fantasy and horror tales by current and upcoming masters of the genre. Included are: Childhood's Dread, by Taye Carrol The Other Neighbors, by Daniel Davis Rare Air, by Mark Slade The Children, by J.E. Álamo The Radiant Boy, by Kevin Wetmore The Whisperer in the Woods, by Peter Schranz Sweet Oblivion, by Andrew Darlington An Unsolicited Lucidity, by Lee Clark Zumpe Black Carnival, by Bobby Cranestone The Howard Family Tradition, by P. R. O'Leary Hell in a Boxcar, by Scott A. Cupp Jorōgumo, by Kelda Crich Clay Baby, by Jack Lee Taylor The Corpse and the Rat: A Story of Friendship, by Joshua L. Hood Getting Thin, by DJ Tyrer Maybe Next Door, by Richard LaPore Containment Protocol, by Leeman Kessler Under a Rock, by Lori R. Lopez The Children Must Be Hungry, by L.F. Falconer The Road to Hell, by Kevin L. O'Brien Maggot Coffee, by Roy C. Booth and Axel Kohagenv Baby Mine, by Marilyn "Mattie" Brahen In Blackwalk Wood, by Adrian Cole My Longing to See Tamar, by Jessica Amanda Salmonson Gust of Wind Made by Swinging a Blade, by Molly N. Moss Necromancer's Lair, by Chad Hensley The Helm, by Chad Hensley Ex Arca Sepulcrali, by Wade German The Laughter of Ghouls, by K.A. Opperman Ode to Ashtoreth, by K.A. Opperman The Necro-Conjuring Sorceress, by Ashley Dioses What Dark Gods Are Friends to Me? by Chad Hensley Scarlet Succubus Shrine, by Frederick J. Mayer Penelope, Sleepless, by Darrell Schweitzer

Weird Fiction Quarterly does Folk Horror! Once again we bring you the finest in our now-signature 500 word flash fiction and exquisite poetry contributions, featuring over 60 writers from all around the globe and a dubious burlap sackful of color illustrations by our own Sarah Walker! Visit a strange, quaint village where the yearly festival is Everything. Call on the cunning woman or the witch doctor for a cure that might cost your very soul. Go deep into the woods in search of what may be a monster—or some forgotten god that Must be Appeased. Find a famous cryptid or two in (very) unexpected places! However you think of Folk Horror, hold onto your garland of flowers, because, as with every issue of Weird Fiction Quarterly, there is no possible way to prepare yourself for what could pop up in these pages. Portals open and close; trees are not what they seem. Tales from different countries and cultures intermingle. From the wilds you hear the reel of bewitching pipes. Whether or not you follow them, folks, things around these parts are about to get really weird!

JOURNEY ONCE AGAIN TO THE DARKNESS AT SUMMER'S END... In this brilliant follow-up to Past the Glad and Sunlit Season, K. A. OPPERMAN takes us to an enchanted autumnal land overflowing with candy-sometimes sweet, sometimes cursed by witches. Jack-o'-lanterns keep watch as we travel through Pumpkin Country, questing for the rich rewards that are to be found in contemplation of October's pastoral and many-colored tapestry. These stories told in rhyme, and melancholy hearthside meditations, are sure to rekindle a yearning for the Halloween season in hearts young and old. Open this book, and chase October ghosts through a realm of autumn dreams. The author has provided an extensive notes section which delves into his inspiration and creative process-and Halloween obsession-plus a brief essay on Halloween symbols, "Trick-or-Treat as Initiatory Rite, and Attendant Symbolism. With an insightful foreword by Adam Bolivar and loaded with atmospheric full-page black and white illustrations by Dan Sauer. "This book will cast its spell on your dark Halloween heart!" --MICKIE MUELLER, author of Llewellyn's Little Book of Halloween "This is a book to pick up anytime in the year when you need a dose of magic." --LISA MORTON, author of Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween "Open this book after dark, listen to the wind rage outside, and read-to yourself, to your children, to whoever might be listening in the shadows." --LESLIE PRATT BANNATYNE, author of Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History "KA Opperman's October Ghosts & Autumn Dreams: More Poems for Halloween is an enchanting dive into all the beauty that encapsulates the autumnal spirit. From catchy rhythms to recite while carving jack-o-lanterns in 'Carver's Rhyme' to a well-researched look into Appalachian customs in Appalachian Halloween, every line is beautifully crafted and sure to be appreciated by anyone who is a fan of the spooky season!" -HEATHER MOSER, Producer of Small Town Monsters

A collection of Halloween verse by poet K. A. Opperman, with a preface by Halloween expert and award-wining author Lisa Morton, an introduction by the author, and 15 full-page illustrations by Dan Sauer.

At Summer's Wistful End is the third entry in the popular Poems for Halloween Series. These poems range in tone from celebratory to somber, from cozy to macabre. Illustrated throughout by Dan Sauer.

"K. A. Opperman's The Laughter of Ghouls is a dark gem of endless depths in which one may see the decadent procession of exquisite darkness in which this poet revels!"-D. L. Myers, author of Oracles from the Black Pool For close to a decade, K. A. Opperman has been among the leading weird poets of our time. Bursting on the scene with the scintillating volume The Crimson Tome (published by Hippocampus Press in 2015), Opperman has consistently displayed a wide imaginative range, a metrical precision reminiscent of the work of George Sterling and Clark Ashton Smith, and a sensitivity to the subtle overtones of the weird in daily life that make his poems far more than mere exercises in shudder-coining. The Laughter of Ghouls shows Opperman at the height of his poetic powers. The emphasis here is on ghouls as symbols of the fragility of our human mortality. Opperman's fascination with vampires male and female is displayed in a series of poems, while verses on the ghost, the werewolf, and the witch show the poet infusing new life into these traditional weird motifs. Throughout, Opperman exhibits all the qualities that have made him a pioneer in the renaissance of weird poetry that has been ongoing over the last several decades.

In this scintillating volume, K. A. Opperman immediately places himself in the forefront of contemporary weird verse. Deeply influenced by Clark Ashton Smith, George Sterling, and other masters of the form, Opperman nonetheless reveals a vibrancy and originality of outlook that stamps his poetry as very much his own. A master of several of the most rigorous forms of metrical poetry-the sonnet, the quatrain, the rhyming couplet-Opperman's poetic brilliance conveys, seemingly without effort, images of terror, gruesomeness, and bleak melancholy. The book concludes with tributes to Opperman by D. L. Myers and Ashley Dioses. K. A. Opperman is a young poet living in California. His verse has appeared in "Weird Fiction Review, Spectral Realms, " and other venues. "The California Romantic tradition lives on in this ambitious and varied collection. Redolent of Clark Ashton Smith with more than a whiff of Poe, Opperman's complex verse forms are an ideal setting for darkness. Whether questing for the Crimson Tome through an extended sonnet sequence, celebrating the heights-and hideous depths-of romantic attraction, lingering in October shadows, or traversing lost Atlantis, these poems are surefooted and unabashedly exotic."-Ann K. Schwader, author of "Twisted in Dream" & Bram Stoker Finalist "Opperman is a latter day lapidary who works in words much as his spiritual mentors George Sterling and Clark Ashton Smith. Here you will find poetic gems of a rare provenance, indeed, perhaps mined long ago in Xiccarph or Averoigne and cut with the aid of a most powerful sorcery."-Michael Fantina "K. A. Opperman's "The Crimson Tome" reveals a flare for intense weird poetry. Elevated, beautiful imagery vies with startling and fearful visions of dread for supremacy of tone. The titles themselves convey some of the wide range of subjects touched on: "To an Unknown Enchantress," "The Corpse of Beauty," "Siren of the Dead," "Vampiric Roses," and "Decapitated Kiss," amongst so many others, exhibit an unearthly decadence and splendour not to be missed. In the tradition of Edgar Allan Poe, Clark Ashton Smith, George Sterling, Charles Pierre Baudelaire, and H. P. Lovecraft, "The Crimson Tome" exhibits a technique of the sombre, which, paradoxically, is very enlightening. In such bardic horrors as these, the Muse of Monstrousness unveils her face and smiles wickedly."-Charles Lovecraft, P'rea Press "This generous collection marks the appearance of a distinctive new voice in weird and fantastic verse. The exemplary degree of craft in Opperman's darkling poems is exceeded only by the author's delectably delirious imagination, and his command of language of elegant simplicity interspersed with archaisms to savour, like exotic black berries glistening on platters of ebony. Songs of sorcery and sensuality mingle herein with incantations on the ineluctable effects of decay and the death which awaits us all. A rare feast for all devotees of the macabre."-Leigh Blackmore, author of "Spores from Sharnoth & Other Madnesses""The poetry of K. A. Opperman is a wonder and a revelation. His verse spans the full spectrum of the weird, from fantasy and the supernatural to brooding pessimism and melancholy. "The Crimson Tome" is his first book, but all lovers of true poetry will fervently hope it will not be his last."-S. T. Joshi

Hekate and Diana. Odin and Apollo. Freyja and the Witch-Lord. Eternal Haunted Summer was born in the late summer of 2009. It was created as a place where Pagans and polytheists and witches (and non-Pagans with a love of the old myths) could feature their short stories and poems and essays with those of a like mind and similar beliefs and practices. EHS has grown steadily over the years, due entirely to the wonderful contributors whose works fill its digital pages. Without their creativity and talent, EHS would not exist; it would have disappeared long ago. This thirteenth anniversary edition is a celebration of their work. I love every piece that appears in Eternal Haunted Summer, and I just wish that I could have included them all here. These poems, essays, and short stories range from tragic to triumphant, from exciting to despairing, from comic to horrific, from grotesque to sensual, from erotic to subtle; here you will find odes to terrible Gods, exciting tales of adventure, melancholy meditations on creation, and wonderings at the nature of human and divine hearts. These are the best of Eternal Haunted Summer. I hope that you find them as inspiring as I do.

A horror and weird fiction anthology of haunted manuscripts.