Nocturnal Screams Volumes 1 to 4

Fans of the eerie episodes of Black Mirror, The Twlight Zone or the stranger tales from Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine are in for a treat in this collection of short horror tales from the dark mind of Mark Leslie.

This eBook contains the full selection of stories that appear in Nocturnal Screams Volumes 1 through 4, which were separated into the following themes: Night Cries, Ode to Classics, Dark Shadows and Literary Haunts.

If you are looking for fun and eerie jaunts into worlds where darkness mingles with the echoes of cries in the night, you'll want to crack open the pages to read these 12 stories and start listening for the nocturnal screams.

VOLUME 1: Dark Cries

TASTE OF DARKNESS: Sensory deprivation takes on a new meaning when you let the darkness completely consume your senses of sight, sound, touch and smell, leaving you with the bitter taste of the encroaching darkness. And you'll be surprised what you find lurking there just beneath the surface and the cold, clear light of day.

THE PIZZA MAN: A group of students keep getting pizza deliveries that they never ordered. Is it a strange prank, or is there something more to the mysterious man who keeps showing up at their door?

LITTLE THINGS: Strange little creatures appear in the middle of the night, but Daniel is the only one who can see them. His wife, Joy, becomes distraught at the bizarre way her husband is acting, but, more horrifying is what the tiny little things are doing to her.

VOLUME 2: Ode to Classics

MEMENTO MORI: A CURIOUS NIGHTMARE: Inspired by the short story "A Curious Dream" this tale draws from the same sentiment Twain was projecting regarding the ill regard the living have with "taking of the deceased." Only, in this tale, the repercussions of such neglect are far more serious.

THE RITUAL OF THE DRAWING: Inspired by the small-town rituals that made Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" such a memorably chilling tale, this tale explores how a town might attempt to survive in peace and prosperity with a monster in their midst.

PROSPERO'S GHOST: When, decades after his death, university employees begin to digitally replicate the precious copy of Shakespeare's 1861 folio edition, renowned scholar Dr. Marshall Emerson returns from beyond the grave to put a stop to the blasphemy.

VOLUME 3: Dark Shadows

THE SHADOW MEN: The bogeymen of the New Hampshire wilderness known as "The Shadow Men" lurk in the shadows of the trees and only come out at night in order to lure and trick children into their clutches.

FOLLOW THE SHADOW: Isn't it funny how a person's shadow follows every single movement a person makes? Or could it perhaps be the other way around? What if a person was forced to follow the lead of their shadow?

A MURDER OF SCARECROWS: A small east coast community becomes over-run in the middle of the night by a growing army of scarecrows that seem to appear out of nowhere.

VOLUME 4: Literary Haunts

SPIRITS: People who haven't died can still leave their spirit behind, tied to a place. Sally and Rob, two young lovers, are caught up in the legend of The Phoenix Baby, the ghostly crying that haunts a repertory theater in the city of Ottawa and, as they unravel the mystery they find themselves becoming inextricably entangled with the old abandoned building.

FALL SPECTACLE: In the midst of a small northern community spiraling into the depths of fear and panic over an elusive dark figure rumored to be stalking the night, a young man attempts to reclaim both his innocence and the passion of his youth and his first love.

LESS OF A MAN: The horror of losing a loved one to a vicious wasting disease can lead a person to try almost anything to bring them back.