Kealan Patrick Burke

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About Kealan Patrick Burke

Hailed by BOOKLIST as “one of the most clever and original talents in contemporary horror,” Kealan Patrick Burke was born and raised in Ireland and emigrated to the United States a few weeks before 9/11. Since then, he has written five novels, among them the popular southern gothic slasher KIN, and over two hundred short stories and novellas, including PEEKERS, SOUR CANDY and THE HOUSE ON ABIGAIL LANE, all of which have been optioned for film.

A five-time Bram Stoker Award-nominee, Burke won the award in 2005 for his coming-of-age novella THE TURTLE BOY, the first book in the acclaimed Timmy Quinn series.

As editor, he helmed the anthologies NIGHT VISIONS 12, TAVERNS OF THE DEAD, and QUIETLY NOW, a tribute anthology to one of Burke’s influences, the late Charles L. Grant.

Most recently, he adapted his work to comic book format for four volumes of John Carpenter’s TALES FOR A HALLOWEEN NIGHT series of anthologies and contributed a short story to Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden’s HELLBOY: AN ASSORTMENT OF HORRORS. He is currently at work on a new novel, MR. STITCH.

Kealan is represented by Merrilee Heifetz at Writers House.

He lives in an unhaunted house in Ohio with a Scooby Doo lookalike rescue pup named Red.

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Sour Candy Nov 13, 2015

by Kealan Patrick Burke

( 1,411 )

$2.99

At first glance, Phil Pendleton and his son Adam are just an ordinary father and son, no different from any other. They take walks in the park together, visit county fairs, museums, and zoos, and eat together overlooking the lake. Some might say the father is a little too accommodating given the lack of discipline when the child loses his temper in public. Some might say he spoils his son by allowing him to eat candy whenever he wants and set his own bedtimes. Some might say that such leniency is starting to take its toll on the father, given how his health has declined.

What no one knows is that Phil is a prisoner, and that up until a few weeks ago and a chance encounter at a grocery store, he had never seen the child before in his life.

A new novella from the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of THE TURTLE BOY and KIN.

Other Formats: Paperback

KIN Jan 4, 2012

by Kealan Patrick Burke

( 707 )

$6.99

On a scorching hot summer day in Elkwood, Alabama, Claire Lambert staggers naked, wounded, and half-blind away from the scene of an atrocity. She is the sole survivor of a nightmare that claimed her friends, and even as she prays for rescue, the killers — a family of cannibalistic lunatics — are closing in.

A soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder returns from Iraq to the news that his brother is among the murdered in Elkwood.

In snowbound Detroit, a waitress trapped in an abusive relationship gets an unexpected visit that will lead to bloodshed and send her back on the road to a past she has spent years trying to outrun.

And Claire, the only survivor of the Elkwood Massacre, haunted by her dead friends, dreams of vengeance... a dream which will be realized as grief and rage turn good people into cold-blooded murderers and force alliances among strangers.

It's time to return to Elkwood.

In the spirit of such iconic horror classics as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Deliverance, Kin begins at the end and studies the possible aftermath for the survivors of such traumas upon their return to the real world — the guilt, the grief, the thirst for revenge — and sets them on an unthinkable journey... back into the heart of darkness.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback

Blanky Sep 12, 2017

by Kealan Patrick Burke

( 356 )

$2.99

In the wake of his infant daughter's tragic death, Steve Brannigan is struggling to keep himself together. Estranged from his wife, who refuses to be inside the house where the unthinkable happened, and unable to work, he seeks solace in an endless parade of old sitcoms and a bottle of bourbon.

Until one night he hears a sound from his daughter's old room, a room now stripped bare of anything that identified it as hers...except for her security blanket, affectionately known as Blanky.

Blanky, old and frayed, with its antiquated patchwork of badly sewn rabbits with black button eyes, who appear to be staring at the viewer...

Blanky, purchased from a strange old man at an antique stall selling "BABY CLOSE" at a discount.

The presence of Blanky in his dead daughter's room heralds nothing short of an unspeakable nightmare that threatens to take away what little light remains in Steve's shattered world.

Because his daughter loved Blanky so much, he buried her with it.

A new novella from the Bram Stoker Award-Winning author of SOUR CANDY and KIN.

Other Formats: Paperback

Lullabies For Suffering: Tales of Addiction Horror Jan 14, 2020

by Caroline Kepnes, Kealan Patrick Burke, Gabino Iglesias, John FD Taff, Mark Matthews , Mercedes M Yardley

( 154 )

$4.95

"Chilling and thought-provoking" ~The Library Journal (Starred Review)

Shirley Jackson Award Nominee for Best Anthology of the Year
'This Is Horror Award' Nominee for Best Anthology of the Year
Includes the Bram Stoker Award Finalist story: 'Beyond the Reef'

Addiction starts like a sweet lullaby sung by a trusted loved one. It washes away the pains of the day and wraps you in the warmness of the womb where nothing hurts and every dream is possible.

Yet soon enough, this warm state of bliss becomes a cold shiver, the ecstasy and dreams become nightmares, yet we can't stop listening to the lullaby. We crave to hear the siren song as it rips us apart.

A powerful list of talent has woven tales featuring the insidious nature of addiction--damaged humans craving for highs and wholeness but finding something more tragic and horrific on the other side. You're invited to listen to these Lullabies for Suffering.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Kealan Patrick Burke: "Sometimes They See Me"

Caroline Kepnes: "Monsters"

Mark Matthews: "Lizard"

John FD Taff: "The Melting Point of Meat"

Gabino Iglesias: "Beyond the Reef"

Mercedes M. Yardley: "Love Is A Crematorium"

__________

*Look for the follow up to Lullabies for Suffering — Orphans of Bliss: Tales of Addiction Horror in May of 2022. Availabel for PreOrder now!

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback

This title and over 1 million more available with Kindle Unlimited.

The House on Abigail Lane Jun 17, 2020

by Kealan Patrick Burke

( 363 )

$2.99

From the outside, it looks like an ordinary American home, but since its construction in 1956, people have vanished as soon as they go upstairs, the only clues the things they leave behind: a wedding ring, a phone...an eye.

In its sixty-year history, a record number of strange events have been attributed to the house, from the neighbors waking up to find themselves standing in the yard outside, to the grieving man who vanished before a police officer's eyes. The animals gathering in the yard as if summoned. The people who speak in reverse. The lights and sounds. The music. The grass dying overnight...and the ten-foot clown on the second floor.

And as long as there are mysteries, people will be compelled to solve them.

Here, then, is the most comprehensive account of the Abigail House phenomenon, the result of sixty years of eyewitness accounts, news reports, scientific research, and parapsychological investigations, all in an attempt to decode the enduring mystery that is...

...THE HOUSE ON ABIGAIL LANE.

Other Formats: Paperback

Jack & Jill Dec 2, 2013

by Kealan Patrick Burke

( 140 )

$2.99

A NEW NOVELLA FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE TURTLE BOY & KIN.

When they were kids, Gillian and John used to visit the local cemetery every Sunday after church. It was a curious place for children to frequent, but they had their reasons. The main attraction was the lofty hill that separated the cemetery from the elementary school, and the act of tumbling down it like Jack and Jill was a ritualistic escape from the abuse they were suffering at their father's hands.

It was an escape that lasted only until John's tragic death.

Now, Gillian is all grown up. Married with two children, she has managed over the years to force the trauma of her nightmarish childhood into the darkest recesses of her mind.

But lately there are dreams, and in them Gillian sees impossibly vivid reenactments of the horrors she endured as a child. Nightly, she sees John die all over again, only not in the way she remembers.

And something else is in those dreams, stalking her, a terrible figure with wire-hanger hands and a plastic bag wrapped around its rotten face. A monster whose reach starts to extend beyond the boundaries of sleep into the waking world, threatening everything Gillian holds dear.

A monster she once called Daddy.

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

Garden of Fiends: Tales of Addiction Horror Apr 18, 2017

by Jack Ketchum, Kealan Patrick Burke, Mark Matthews, Jessica McHugh, John F.D. Taff, Max Booth III, Glen Krisch, Johann Thorsson

( 118 )

$3.99

*Garden of Fiends: Tales of Addiction Horror, is the predecessor to the Shirley Jackson Awards nominated anthology, Lullabies for Suffering.

The intoxication from a pint of vodka, the electric buzz from snorting cocaine, the warm embrace from shooting heroin--drinking and drugging provides the height of human experience. It's the promise of heaven on earth, but the hell that follows is a constant hunger, a cold emptiness. The craving to get high is a yearning as intense of any blood-thirsty monster. The best way to tell the truths of addiction is through a story, and dark truths such as these need a piece of horror to do them justice. The stories inside feature the insidious nature of addiction told with compassion yet searing honesty. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of accidental deaths, and some of the most incredible names in horror fiction have tackled this modern day epidemic.

A WICKED THIRST, by Kealan Patrick Burke

THE ONE IN THE MIDDLE, by Jessica McHugh

EVERYWHERE YOU'VE BLED AND EVERYWHERE YOU WILL, by Max Booth III

FIRST, JUST BITE A FINGER, by Johann Thorsson

LAST CALL, by John FD Taff

TORMENT OF THE FALLEN, by Glen Krisch

GARDEN OF FIENDS, by Mark Matthews

RETURNS, by Jack Ketchum

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Paperback

This title and over 1 million more available with Kindle Unlimited.

The Best of Horror Library: Volumes 1-5 Jul 13, 2021

by Bentley Little, Jeff Strand, R.J. Cavender

( 42 )

$5.99

The +Horror Library+ anthologies are internationally praised as a groundbreaking source of contemporary horror short fiction stories--relevant to the moment and stunning in impact--from leading authors of the macabre and darkly imaginative.

Filled with Fears and Fantasy. Death and Dark Dreams. Monsters and Mayhem. Literary Vision and Wonder. Each volume of the +Horror Library+ series is packed with heart-pounding thrills and creepy contemplations as to what truly lurks among the shadows of the world(s) we live in.

Containing 33 stories, read "The Best of Volumes 1-5" in this ongoing anthology series, and then continue with the other volumes.

Shamble no longer through the banal humdrum of normalcy, but ENTER THE HORROR LIBRARY!

Included within "The Best of Volumes 1-5":

- In "The Station," a married couple discover an abandoned gas station where corpses tell the future.

- In "Trapped Light Medium," a tabloid photographer is able to foresee the future and be present at the perfect moment to capture on film horrifying events.

- In "Footprints Fading in the Desert," a woman stranded in the desert finds a barefoot savior who promises help.

- . . . and more!

Other Formats: Paperback

DEAD LEAVES: 9 Tales from the Witching Season (Dead Seasons Book 1) Oct 6, 2011

by Kealan Patrick Burke

( 91 )

$2.99

Strange text messages portend a strange kind of apocalypse...Two brothers find themselves drawn to the only house in the neighborhood not decorated for Halloween…A man returns to his hometown to bury his overbearing mother, and finds more than memories awaiting him in the shadows of his childhood home…A young girl walks a lonely country road, recalling a rhyme that brings with it memories of death…A teenager hoping for romance gets more than he bargained for when the object of his desire introduces him to the object of hers…An aging millionaire awakes buried in a cheap coffin with only a lamp and a bell for company…The son of a woman accused of being a witch accepts the villagers' peace offering at her funeral, but all is not quite as it seems…A woman with a violent past realizes that this year's Halloween party may be coming for her…and a lonely trick-or-treater awakes in a house rumored to be a place of death.

Featuring a new introduction, and rounded out by the author's recommended Halloween reading and watching lists, DEAD LEAVES makes for the perfect autumnal read.

Dark Cities May 16, 2017

by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Scott Smith, Cherie Priest, Jonathan Maberry, Christopher Golden

( 90 )

$9.99

An anthology of spine-tingling tales of urban terror from modern masters of horror, including Sherrilyn Kenyon, Cherie Priest, and Seanan McGuire

In shadowy back alleys, crumbling brownstones, and gleaming skyscrapers, cities harbor unique forms of terror. Here lie malicious ghosts, cursed buildings, malignant deities, and personal demons of every kind . . .

Twenty of today’s most talented writers bend their skills toward the darkness, creating brand-new tales guaranteed to keep you awake at night—especially if you live in the dark cities.

Far worse than mythical creatures such as vampires and werewolves, these are horrors that lurk in the places you go every day—where you would never expect to find them. But they are there, and now that you know, you’ll never again walk the streets alone.

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

Dark Screams: Volume Five Oct 6, 2015

by J. Kenner, Bentley Little, Mick Garris, Brian James Freeman, Richard Chizmar

( 89 )

$3.99

Mick Garris, J. Kenner, Kealan Patrick Burke, Del James, and Bentley Little pry open a sarcophagus of horror and dread in Dark Screams: Volume Five, from Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar of the esteemed Cemetery Dance Publications.

EVERYTHING YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED by Mick Garris
It was supposed to be the night of his life: a celebration of his one hit slasher flick. But the price of admission is higher than this has-been filmmaker ever could have imagined.

THE ONE AND ONLY by J. Kenner
When he was seven, Will Underwood’s nanny told him she had the Sight. Years later, a broken heart sends him to New Orleans . . . but it’s fate that leads him to Madame Darkling’s Voodoo Emporium.

THE LAND OF SUNSHINE by Kealan Patrick Burke
Although she was mute long before the affair that nearly wrecked their marriage, her silence has tortured her husband ever since. Now he will seek out what he has lost—or be driven mad by remorse.

MECHANICAL GRATITUDE by Del James
Arnold loves his ’68 Camaro almost as much as he loves his wife, and he’s willing to do anything to protect them both—especially after hearing strange noises coming from his garage.

THE PLAYHOUSE by Bentley Little
A real-estate agent is drawn into a children’s playhouse behind an abandoned property she’s trying to sell—and finds herself strangely reluctant to leave.

Praise for Dark Screams: Volume Five

“Freeman and Chizmar’s fifth horror anthology runs the gamut from throwback horror to lyrical and heartbreaking tales. . . . This collection will satisfy.”—Publishers Weekly

“A horror fan’s dream . . . As with the rest of the series, fans of the genre should not hesitate to pick this one up.”—Examiner

“You can discover new authors and rediscover old ones, and that’s always a good thing in my book. Recommended for fans of short story collections!”—Char’s Horror Corner

“Dark Screams: Volume Five builds on the success of previous volumes, with the editors picking top-notch horror stories from old pros and new stars alike.”—Battered, Tattered, Yellowed & Creased

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Audio CD

The Hides (The Timmy Quinn Series Book 2) Sep 9, 2010

by Kealan Patrick Burke

( 138 )

$2.99

The Bram Stoker Award-nominated sequel to THE TURTLE BOY.

It's been almost seven years since the events of Myers Pond. Seven years since a child rose from the dead, seeking Timmy Quinn's help in finding a murderer, a search that left more questions than answers in its terrifying wake. But for Timmy, the dead never leave. They're everywhere, reaching out to him, and there is nowhere to hide from their quiet desperation.

Following a nightmarish encounter at home, Timmy's search for peace takes him to his grieving grandmother, and a small harbor town on the south coast of Ireland.

But no peace can exist in a place whose past is colored by hate, betrayal and murder, and it is not long before Timmy realizes his haven has become a death trap.

And in the very foundations of an old crumbling factory, the dead are gathering, uniting...

To save his life and the lives of those he loves, Timmy Quinn must step behind the Curtain, into the realm of the dead, and face something far more terrifying than he has ever encountered before.

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

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