The Macabre Mind of Lori R. Lopez: Thirteen Tormentous Tales

An array of dark and light horror tales . . . 1. Heartbeat: After the Zombie Apocalypse, civilization adapts to troubled times. Can the living and the undead co-exist in peace? A zombie defender must question his principles when a hunter becomes infected by the zombie plague and threatens the boy's mother. 2. The Wraith: A woman becomes intrigued by a brooding figure in one of her poems. She thinks she sees him everywhere she goes, an elusive presence. Is she going mad or is he really stalking her? Find out the twisted truth in an eerie tale that begins and ends with the haunting verse from which the phantom emerged. 3. Next Door: Have you ever wondered about your neighbors? A teen learns the terrible truth about the house next door in this comically chilling Halloween fright-fest. 4. Creep: What terror lurks behind the fence in an ordinary neighborhood? What manner of monster will you see if you peek through a knothole? Something ugly. Something angry. Something with a very large appetite. Take a peek, go ahead. And then run back the way you came!!! You do not want to reach the end of the fence . . . 5. Some Thing: A tongue-in-cheek tale about a man who drank the water, another man and his bazooka, and a lady with a loaded gun. Brought together in a showdown between paranoia and reality, three once-ordinary lives will never be the same. This horror fable is based on an actual environmental hazard along the Mexican border and the potential for disaster. 6. Macabre: A young woman's dream of independence is challenged when her parents depart and she must face her Night Frights. But she is never completely alone, for always the rickety windmill's presence haunts her. And what is in the house with her, playing games, chewing the furniture? Will she ever be able to outrun her fears? 7. Horrendus: A demonic entity will return at Midnight on All Hallows Eve to claim the lives of a child from each family. A young woman scoffs at the legend and invokes the monster's rage. She must face the truth and stand up to him alone to save her village. 8. Backlash: A very troubled man seeks professional help for his hang-ups, compulsions and phobias. But who needs help more, him or the doctor? 9. Fossil: Wellsby Manor has a history of bloodshed, built upon the grave of an evil entity who tormented and ate Stone Age humans then infected the soil for ages. His brutal presence inhabits the mansion, terrifying and slaughtering its occupants. Tobias Pallberry now intends to conduct a seance to contact the spirits of the dead. Those who attend must face a wild night of fright as The Bone Man awakens. 10. Chameleon: A furious woman tracks down the other girlfriends of the guy who broke her heart. A morality tale about a "Prince Charming" whose charm is spread a little thin. Some people just aren't who they seem . . . 11. The Lycaning: PARTS ONE AND TWO: This is not your traditional wolfman tale. An inventive and original take on a horror classic, THE LYCANING creates a new breed of the monster and a society transformed by a Werewolf Apocalypse. PART TWO delves deeper into the origins of character and plot. Secrets are revealed. Werewolves, humans, and were-zombies clash. 12. Unnatural: A Thin Man wanders into a world of trouble after the carnival that was his home goes bust. Adrift and alone, missing his sideshow friends, things get pretty freaky when he accepts a job for a doctor who isn't as nice as he seems. The oddities in his barn may bite! 13. Bloodpath: After striking something in the road with his truck, a man follows drops of blood through the forest to a mysterious settlement. Will he be able to save the young woman held prisoner by a primitive band of creatures with large feet? The print edition contains original artwork by the author. THE MACABRE MIND OF LORI R. LOPEZ received HONORABLE MENTION in Horror from the 2014 Halloween Book Festival.