Our identity is the essence of who we are … But what if our identity is threatened? What if our family members or partners reject our identity? What if educators and employers push us to conform to their prejudices or expectations for us? When we twist, contort, bleed, unravel, and die on the vine—what becomes of the pieces that remain? How much can we cut before there’s nothing left?

Through the pages of The Dead Inside, some of the best horror writers of our era examine the forces that can threaten our identity, exposing the ways identity horror threatens our well-being, our dreams, our very existence.

Featuring stories and poems by:

S. H. Cooper, M. Lopes da Silva, Paul Michael Anderson, K. P. Kulski, Robert Bagnall, Belicia Rhea, Eric Raglin, Robert Stahl, Sarah Jackson, Daniel Barnett, R.J. Joseph, Sam Kyung Yoo, A. K. Dennis, Ali Seay, Michelle Cadiz, Joe Koch, Jaecyn Boné, Avra Margariti, Michelle Mellon, Evelyn Freeling, Katie Young, Marcus Woodman, Sarah Wu, Elle Turpitt, Renee Cronley, Mary Rajotte, Patrick Tumblety, Roxie Voorhees, Tabatha Wood, and Scott J. Moses

Foreword by weird and horror author Donyae Coles

Inheritance often comes with strings attached, but rarely are they as tangled as those hanging over High Hearth.

When Eudora Fellowes learns she's the sole heir of her estranged great-aunt's seaside manor, she believes it will be the peaceful escape she's longed for. What awaits, however, is a dark legacy shrouded in half a century of secrets, and it doesn't take long before Eudora realizes she's not the only one to call High Hearth home.

The most wholesome families have the darkest secrets. 

Most little girls don’t dream of growing up and spending their days surrounded by human blood. My sister was not most little girls.

Inside you'll experience intimate first hand accounts of modern day murders, kidnappings, and violent revenge. Other stories are heartwarming with whimsical mysteries, gothic fairy tales, and supernatural monstrosities.

Praise for From Twisted Roots: 

"SO SCARY!! This fine collection, varied but always with impact, will likely keep you awake at night, and will definitely burrow into your memories to recur when you least expect (such as middle of the night or in dreams)."
★★★★★ Haunted Reading Room Reviews

"She has a way of telling a concise and vivid tale that leaves you satisfied yet somehow still wanting more. She's a jewel of the horror genre."
★★★★★ Roxie Reviews

"Each story is delightfully creepy and chilling and there's a definite spark of humanity in her writing that leaves me breathless each time."
★★★★★ Priscilla J. Tilton

Read these thrilling tales to uncover the truth for yourself.

A monster lurking in the mountain.

A mysterious cult seeking a doorway.

An otherworldly evil waiting to be unleashed.

Faith York was a young girl when she saw her father dragged into the ground by a spider-armed woman, never to be seen again. Twenty years later, the events of that day continue to haunt her, and her need for answers has only grown stronger with time. After her estranged mother's death forces her to return home, old wounds are reopened and Faith finally decides to face her demons. What started as a search for closure soon pits her against a shadowy cult known as The Gathered and the eldritch beings they worship. With reality becoming more blurred by the day and the thousand eyes of an alien deity fixed on her, Faith must decide if the dark secrets of White Crow Mountain are really worth losing herself over.

2020 Ladies of Horror Fiction Winner for Best Collection!