Hotel Macabre Vol.2: Tales of Horror

by Gwendolyn Kiste, Graham Masterton, Karolina Mogielska

Welcome back to the Hotel Macabre—where nightmares check in, but they never check out.

Step inside for another unforgettable stay in Hotel Macabre Vol. 2, a groundbreaking horror anthology where short stories, novellas, poetry, flash fiction, a dramatic reading, and even comics collide to create a dark literary experience like no other.

Featuring some of horror’s most celebrated voices—Graham Masterton, Nick Roberts, Ramsey Campbell, Gwendolyn Kiste, Jasper Bark, John Durgin, Viggy Parr Hampton, Gage Greenwood, Kyle Toucher, Tom Deady, Robert Ford, Alison Littlewood, John Ward, Jamal Hodge, Leigh Kenny, Jay Bechtol, Karolina Mogielska, Jonathan Gensler, S. C. Fisher, Larry Hinkle, Ben Eads, Matthew Mercier, and Mike Deady—this collection blurs the boundaries between traditional and experimental horror. Includes an introduction by the Bram Stoker Award-winning editor/publisher Joe Mynhardt.

Whether you crave psychological unease, supernatural horror, or raw, visceral nightmares, Hotel Macabre Vol. 2 delivers a room full of voices you’ll never forget.

And remember… You can check out, but you can never truly leave the Hotel Macabre.

Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Where Stories Come Alive!

271 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication January 30, 2026

About the author

Gwendolyn Kiste is the three-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens, Reluctant Immortals, Boneset & Feathers, and Pretty Marys All in a Row, among others. Her short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in outlets including Lit Hub, Nightmare, Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, Vastarien, Tor Nightfire, Titan Books, and The Dark. She's a Lambda Literary Award winner, and her fiction has also received the This Is Horror award for Novel of the Year as well as nominations for the Premios Kelvin and Ignotus awards.

Originally from Ohio, she now resides on an abandoned horse farm outside of Pittsburgh with her husband, their excitable calico cat, and not nearly enough ghosts. Find her online at gwendolynkiste.com

Reviews

[Michael J.]

NOTES ON THE STORIES

INTRODUCTION by Joe Mynhardt Short, sweet, on point.

COMIC BOOK INTRO by Jasper Bark
Clever, showcases Bark’s previously unknown artistic abilities. A guest at the hotel complains that he isn’t haunted or disturbed. Consults hotel’s astrologer who says he was born under lucky configuration - nothing bad will ever happen to him. Although, she also see indications that a giant meteorite is about to hit the hotel. Fun, disposable entertainment. THREE STARS.

DON’T CRY FOR THE DEAD by Graham Masterton and Kristina Mogielska
A chilling spin on vampire lore. Greive for the deceased too long and bad things can happen. Set within a peasant village, quaint but restless. FOUR STARS.

HAMMERED HALLOWEEN by Jonathan Gensler
Divorced dad gets to spend Halloween with his young daughter and gets hung up on decorations, with life-changing results. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.

GENE OF THE OBSCENE by Nick Roberts
Grim, chilling, dark - - short and to the point. On the nose and disturbing. Does the killing gene get passed down through generations? FOUR STARS.

LAST DAY FREE by Viggy Parr Hampton
A down-on-his-luck male, at one time a promising baseball player, visits the amusement park of his youth. It's now equally run down, but one particular ride changes his life. This read like a Twilight Zone episode, and that's a compliment. THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS

THERE IS NO HEAVEN, ONLY HELL by S.C. Fisher
Is the main character hallucinating, or just receiving troubling advice from the psychotherapist? Hell if I know - - and I like the ambiguity of that ending. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.

CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR by Tom Deadly - - A drug runner traveling long distance to his next drop-off point is harassed by a seemingly vanishing pursuit car. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.

RACING THE MILK by Robert Ford - - The author gives an emotional reading of his story via a YouTube video. A man deals with grief by writing letters to his deceased wife. There’s a link to the video in the digital edition, and a QR code to access it in the paperback anthology. Powerful and moving. FIVE STARS.

[ScarlettAnomalyReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I was super lucky and got to check out Volume 1 when it came out and I loved it, it had some amazing stories in it.

So you can imagine how excited I was to see this coming up and I got a chance to read it early!!

So last year I was obsessed with Jasper’s contribution, I know it’s been awhile but I still don't want to spoil it but trust me it was so cool, this year was just as Jasper.

We got Comic Book Intro by him and it was fun and crazy and about a hotel which duh, sign me up, you know I love that kind of horror. I don't want to say too much but this was just pure fun bizarre chaos horror and one of my favorite things from this.

Last Free Day by Viggy Parr Hampton, I know, shocker, again but I can’t help it, I am obsessed with her writing it sucks me in and some how I’m equal parts horrified and destroyed by the time its over. I loved how it felt like a new episode of Outer Limits and I wish I could get a whole book of this from her, a guy visiting an amusement part, but he finds a ride that changes somethings, but is change always a good thing, guess it depends on the price…

There are so many more, but this isn’t out yet and I am NOT going to ruin it for everyone waiting, but this hotel, you might check out with more than you checked in with and I don't mean the hotel shampoos and lotions..