Outside of Steele By Christopher S. Allen Outside the small West Virginia town of Steele, a mutilated body is found sacrificially displayed within a hollow tree trunk. The local police and a detective from the larger town of Phistle begin looking for clues to identify the unknown cadaver and to find out who used him for such a display. What they discover is something far more sinister than they expected. The Awakening of Samantha Stein By Richard Phillip Hoffman In the summer of 1983 Samantha Stein, a woman just past middle age and on the verge of suicide, succumbs to the dreams that have haunted her for half a century and journeys to a farm in Colorado seeking out an imprisoned girl to be the daughter she never had but always wanted. Waiting there for her is an immortal monster known as a lich and its psychotic undead henchman dressed as a scarecrow who quickly attempt to herd her into the hills beyond the farm in order to kill her in a ritualistic manner to steal her soul. A psychic-like gift from Sam's childhood, the very one that gave her those dreams, gives her an epiphany when near death and she follows through her long thought through suicide by gunshot to her heart and is instantly transformed into a lich herself with exponentially greater powers. The trap turns into a battle and, after rising above the self-pity that has dominated her life, Sam destroys the scarecrow and defeats the lich but, while heavily incapacitating him, she fails to fully destroy him. She rescued the girl she came for, another lich named Kacey killed in the 1930s who had been summoning her all along, and the two regenerate back into life with Sam even becoming young again. They escape the farm and leave Colorado with the understanding that before them is a near perfect life with Sam having the daughter she always wanted and Kacey with the mother she always wanted but with only one problem, one flaw in the form of the lich who would, in the process of time, hunt them down. Bitch of a Witch by Boyd Reynolds Breaking up is hard to do, especially for Charlie. The woman of his dreams, Sabine, has become a nightmare - callously ending their love affair and leaving his mind obsessing on her every move. It's as if a spell has been cast upon him. For every woman he sees, they all look like Sabine. Charlie's long-time friend, Anna, offers him a way out. He must cross over the border and seek help from the old witch. The witch can wipe his memory clean of Sabine.Yet there's a twist - should he ever see his ex-girlfriend again, the result will end in murder. He agrees but eventually becomes a pawn between Sabine, Anna and the witch, all vying for power, love and a kiss. On Halloween night, he crosses the border and can't take his eyes off a woman. Finally, he remembers - it's Sabine. The witch's prophecy must be fulfilled, as someone will die at Charlie's hands.
