BORGO PRESS BOOKS BY CHARLES ALLEN GRAMLICH
Bitter Steel: Tales and Poems of Epic Fantasy
In the Language of Scorpions: Tales of Horror from the Inner Dark
Midnight in Rosary: Tales of Vampires and Werewolves in Crimson and Black
Swords of Talera (The Talera Cycle, Book One)
Wings Over Talera (The Talera Cycle, Book Two)
Witch of Talera (The Talera Cycle, Book Three)
Write with Fire: Thoughts on the Craft of Writing
Writing in Psychology: A Guidebook (with Y. Du Bois Irvin and Elliott D. Hammer)
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Copyright © 1989, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich
Published by Wildside Press LLC
www.wildsidebooks.com
DEDICATION
To Robert Reginald, Editor Extraordinaire
and to
Charles Nuetzel,
Who Introduced Me to Borgo Press
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
THESE STORIES AND POEMS WERE previously published as follows, and are reprinted (with minor editing, updating, and textual modifications) by permission of the author:
“Abraded by Light” was first published in GothicRevue.com, 2004. Copyright © 2004, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“A Choice of Ghosts” was first published at Brutal Dreamer’s Website, 2003. Copyright © 2003, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“A Curse the Dead Must Bear” was first published in Return of the Raven, 2009. Copyright © 2009, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“All God’s Children Got Guns” was first published in Detective Mystery Stories, No. 11, 1999. Copyright © 1999, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Blind” was first published in GothicRevue.com, 2004. Copyright © 2004, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Branded” was first published in the HWA Newsletter, 2009. Copyright © 2009, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Chimes” was first published in The Chapbook 1994: Deep South Writer’s Conference. Copyright © 1994, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Cold as Love” was first published in Penny Dreadful, 2002. Copyright © 2002, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Crypto” was first published in Intermix SF/Fantasy Online, 1995. Copyright © 1995, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Death Turned Away” was first published in Tales on the Twisted Side, Vol. 1, 1989. Copyright © 1989, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Do As I Say...” was first published in Fusing Horizons, Issue 1, 2003. Copyright © 2003, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Forever” was first published in Vicious Verses and Reanimated Rhymes, 2009. Copyright © 2009, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Good Night; Sleep Tight” was first published in Micro 100, 2009. Copyright © 2009, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Haunting Place” was first published in 31 Eyes Fantasy 2003. Copyright © 2003, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“I Can Spend You” was first published in Strange Days, 1992. Copyright © 1992, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“In the Ruins of Memory” was first published in Just Write, 1995. Copyright © 1995, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Machine Wash Warm, Tumble Dry” was first published in Crossroads, Vol. 1, 1992. Copyright © 1992, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Monster Spray” was first published in Classic Pulp Fiction Stories, No. 87, 2002. Copyright © 2002, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Old Bones” was first published in After Hours, No. 12, 1991. Copyright © 1991, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Old Dead Woman” was first published in Star*Line, 1996. Copyright © 1996, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Once Upon a Time with the Dead” was first published in Bits of the Dead, 2008. Copyright © 2008, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Razor White” was first published in Dark Voices 4: The Pan Book of Horror, 1992. Copyright © 1992, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“The Road to Hell” was first published in Nox, No. 7, 1996. Copyright © 1996, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Ruins and Wraiths” was first published in White Cat Publications, 2011. Copyright © 2011, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Smoked Meat” was first published in Intermix SF/Fantasy Online, 1995. Copyright © 1995, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Splatter of Black” was first published in Dark Terrors, 1995. Copyright © 1995, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Still Life With Skulls” was first published in Twisted, No. 6, 1991. Copyright © 1991, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Your Nightmare or Mine” was first published in Classic Pulp Fiction Stories, No. 54, 1999. Copyright © 1999, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Wall of Love” was first published in Agony in Black, Volume 3, 1999. Copyright © 1999, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“With Eyes Like Fangs” was first published in substantially different form on D. Lynn Frazier’s blog: “Writtenwyrdd,” August 24, 2010. Copyright © 2010, 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
“Altar,” “Floater,” “The Gray Man,” “Hell Is for Children,” “The Little Things,” “Outsider,” “Roadkill,” “Scritch Scritch Scritch,” “Spot,” and “Twenty-Four Mile Bridge” are all published here for the first time. Copyright © 2012 by Charles Allen Gramlich.
INTRODUCTION
Tales with twists and chills, dark deeds and eerie atmosphere await you just a few pages ahead. Charles Gramlich offers stories that go in unexpected directions, then take abrupt turns, and from there they make another left. The only certainty as you turn the next few pages is that you will encounter tales that will make you shiver.
Charles Gramlich has written in many genres. Tales in which men carry swords and tales in which men carry guns. He brings a powerful sense of storytelling and a gift for language to each, but the collection you hold features work he’s produced in the horror genre. Charles proves here he is a master of the short tale of terror as well.
Brace yourself, dear reader. You’re about to be strapped to a chair and fed relentless, unflinching
