As old as the oldest of stories, as new as our latest imaginings. From the ancient stone corridors of the labyrinth to the graffitied alleyways of the contemporary metropolis, they stalk the shadows. Leering from the darkness of the forest, jostling for space in our closets, they walk, crawl, creep and scuttle through our nightmares. Close as the clutter under the bed or the other side of the mirror, they are our truest companions.

Creatures features the best monster fiction from the past thirty years, offering a wide variety of the best monster stories including original stories from the field's most relevant names and hottest newcomers including Clive Barker, Sarah Langan, Joe R. Lansdale, Kelly Link, China Miéville, and Cherie Priest.

• Monsters: As old as the oldest of stories, as new as our latest imaginings. From the ancient stone corridors of the labyrinth to the graffitied alleyways of the contemporary metropolis, they stalk the shadows. Leering from the darkness of the forest, jostling for space in our closets, they walk, crawl, creep and scuttle through our nightmares. Close as the clutter under the bed or the other side of the mirror, they are our truest companions.
• Creatures features the best monster fiction from the past thirty years, offering a wide variety of the best monster stories including original stories from the field's most relevant names and hottest newcomers including Clive Barker, Sarah Langan, Joe R. Lansdale, Kelly Link, China Miéville, and Cherie Priest.

**

Monsters: As old as the oldest of stories, as new as our latest imaginings. From the ancient stone corridors of the labyrinth to the graffitied alleyways of the contemporary metropolis, they stalk the shadows. Leering from the darkness of the forest, jostling for space in our closets, they walk, crawl, creep and scuttle through our nightmares. Close as the clutter under the bed or the other side of the mirror, they are our truest companions.

Creatures features the best monster fiction from the past thirty years, offering a wide variety of the best monster stories including original stories from the field's most relevant names and hottest newcomers including Clive Barker, Sarah Langan, Joe R. Lansdale, Kelly Link, China Miéville, and Cherie Priest.

**

About the Author

Clive Barker is the bestselling author of twenty-two books, including the New York Times bestsellers Abarat; Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War; and The Thief of Always. He is also an acclaimed painter, film producer, and director. For twelve years Mr. Barker has been working on a vast array of paintings to illuminate the text of The Books of Abarat, more than one hundred and twenty-five of which can be found within this volume.

Mr. Barker lives in California. He shares his house with seven dogs, three cockatiels, several undomesticated geckoes, an African gray parrot called Smokey, and a yellow-headed Amazon parrot called Malingo.

Christopher Golden is the New York Times bestselling author of Of Saints and Shadows, The Myth Hunters, The Boys Are Back in Town, and Snowblind. He has edited the anthologies The New Dead, The Monster's Corner, and 21st Century Dead. Baltimore; or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire, cowritten with Mike Mignola, launched the Eisner Award nominated comic book series Baltimore.

Joe R. Lansdale is the author of numerous novels, including "The Bottoms", "A Fine Dark Line", and "Leather Maiden"." "He has received the British Fantasy Award, the Edgar Award, and eight Bram Stoker Awards.

One of the founders of the Horror Writers Association, Robert R. McCammon (b. 1952) is one of the country s most accomplished authors of modern horror and historical fiction. Raised by his grandparents in Birmingham, Alabama, McCammon published his first novel, the Revelations-inspired "Baal", when he was only twenty-six. His writings continued in a supernatural vein throughout the 1980s, producing such bestselling titles as "Swan Song", "The Wolf s Hour", and "Stinger".

In 1991 "Boy s Life" won the World Fantasy Award for best novel. After his next novel, "Gone South", McCammon took a break from writing to spend more time with his family. He did not publish another novel until 2002 s "Speaks the Nightbird". Since then he has followed fixer Matthew Corbett in two sequels, "The Queen of Bedlam" and "Mister Slaughter". His newest novel is "The Five". McCammon and his family continue to live in Birmingham.

China Mieville has a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics. He lives in England. He is the author of several books, including "King Rat", which was nominated for both the International Horror Guild and Bram Stoker Awards for best first novel, and "Perdido Street Station", winner of the 2001 Arthur C. Clarke Award.

Cherie Priest debuted to great acclaim with "Four and Twenty Blackbirds", "Wings to the Kingdom", and "Not Flesh Nor Feathers", a trilogy of Southern Gothic ghost stories featuring heroine Eden Moore. She is also the author of "Fathom", "Dreadnought", and "Boneshaker", which was nominated for a Nebula and Hugo Award and won the PNBA Award and the Locus Award for best science-fiction novel. She is an associate editor at Subterranean Press. Born in Tampa, Florida, Priest went to college at Southern Adventist University and earned her master s in rhetoric at the University of Tennessee. After spending most of her life in the southern United States, she recently moved to Seattle, Washington, with her husband, Aric, and a fat black cat named Spain.

JEFF VANDERMEER is a two-time winner of the World Fantasy Award. He has been nominated for the Hugo Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, the International Horror Guild Award, the British Fantasy Award, the Bram Stoker Award and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award. His most recent books have made the year s best lists of Publishers Weekly, the San Francisco Chronicle and many others. His writing has appeared in various publications, including The New York Times Book Review. He lives in Tallahassee, Florida.

WEB: JEFFVANDERMEER.COMFACEBOOK: JEFF VANDERMEERTWITTER: @JEFFVANDERMEER

JEFF VANDERMEER is a two-time winner of the World Fantasy Award. He has been nominated for the Hugo Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, the International Horror Guild Award, the British Fantasy Award, the Bram Stoker Award and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award. His most recent books have made the year s best lists of Publishers Weekly, the San Francisco Chronicle and many others. His writing has appeared in various publications, including The New York Times Book Review. He lives in Tallahassee, Florida.

WEB: JEFFVANDERMEER.COMFACEBOOK: JEFF VANDERMEERTWITTER: @JEFFVANDERMEER

Cherie Priest debuted to great acclaim with "Four and Twenty Blackbirds", "Wings to the Kingdom", and "Not Flesh Nor Feathers", a trilogy of Southern Gothic ghost stories featuring heroine Eden Moore. She is also the author of "Fathom", "Dreadnought", and "Boneshaker", which was nominated for a Nebula and Hugo Award and won the PNBA Award and the Locus Award for best science-fiction novel. She is an associate editor at Subterranean Press. Born in Tampa, Florida, Priest went to college at Southern Adventist University and earned her master s in rhetoric at the University of Tennessee. After spending most of her life in the southern United States, she recently moved to Seattle, Washington, with her husband, Aric, and a fat black cat named Spain.

Clive Barker is the bestselling author of twenty-two books, including the New York Times bestsellers Abarat; Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War; and The Thief of Always. He is also an acclaimed painter, film producer, and director. For twelve years Mr. Barker has been working on a vast array of paintings to illuminate the text of The Books of Abarat, more than one hundred and twenty-five of which can be found within this volume.

Mr. Barker lives in California. He shares his house with seven dogs, three cockatiels, several undomesticated geckoes, an African gray parrot called Smokey, and a yellow-headed Amazon parrot called Malingo.

One of the founders of the Horror Writers Association, Robert R. McCammon (b. 1952) is one of the country s most accomplished authors of modern horror and historical fiction. Raised by his grandparents in Birmingham, Alabama, McCammon published his first novel, the Revelations-inspired "Baal", when he was only twenty-six. His writings continued in a supernatural vein throughout the 1980s, producing such bestselling titles as "Swan Song", "The Wolf s Hour", and "Stinger".

In 1991 "Boy s Life" won the World Fantasy Award for best novel. After his next novel, "Gone South", McCammon took a break from writing to spend more time with his family. He did not publish another novel until 2002 s "Speaks the Nightbird". Since then he has followed fixer Matthew Corbett in two sequels, "The Queen of Bedlam" and "Mister Slaughter". His newest novel is "The Five". McCammon and his family continue to live in Birmingham.