Fifteen stories from living legends, rising stars, venerable masters and surprising newcomers, exploring our troubled past, our turbulent present, and frightening futures yet to come. Freedom of Screech. It's not for the faint of heart. Chet Williamson Elizabeth Massie Matt Hayward Jessica McHugh Richard Christian Matheson Jenny Orosel Jack Ketchum Georgia R. Buns Tom Monteleone Patricia Lee MacComber David Niall Wilson Robert Guffey Joseph Mulak Michael Picco Norman Spinrad
After an attack leaves Tony's stepfather wounded, his thirteenth birthday descends into a nightmare. His stepdad is home, a bite on his neck, as Riverside's only officer searches the woodlands for the aggressor. Tony is told not to cause a panic among the few kids living in Riverside's mountaintop community, and his best friends Ben Rodgers and Lee Tally are unaware. Overnight, the condition of Tony's stepfather worsens. His mother won't leave the bedside. And soon, Riverside is turned upside down as residents morph into moss-covered abominations. Freaks. Joined by the local bully, the boys seek refuge in Rodgers' tree house, trapped inside as neighbors, and even family, claw the trunk... Food and water soon run low. With all hope lost, the boys decide to have their first of what they can before time runs out. Their first drink, their first cigarette, their first of anything at all. Like baby birds thrown from the nest, they will need to fly or fall. And time is running short. For his thirteenth birthday, Tony learns the world has teeth. And someone else is out there, too, watching. An adult in a butcher's apron. Waiting... Those Below The Tree House is the new supernatural coming-of-age from the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of What Do Monsters Fear? and A Penny For Your Thoughts.
