Short & Sharp: An A-Z of tiny terrors

by Dave Musson

Just because something is small, doesn't mean it can't bite...

If you're in the mood for a set of stories that get in, get under your skin, and get out again then this is the collection for you. In Short & Sharp, award-winning horror author Dave Musson brings you 26 small but deadly tales - one for each letter of the alphabet. Whether it's the family who keep getting closer to pile-ups on their drive home, the mysterious day where a man went out and everyone knew his name, or the dark depths of being awake and sleep-deprived with a small child in the early hours...this smorgasbord of snackable scares has something for all fans of horror.

So, pull down this macabre dictionary and see where it might take you...

106 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 9, 2026

About the author

The Bookstagram Awards Author of the Year for 2024, Dave is a glasses-wearing, bearded human being from the middle of England who likes heavy music with loud guitars, watching movies, and reading and writing creepy stories. He has more hobbies than he should really have time for; playing in a band, hosting a bunch of podcasts, writing, and running a Stephen King-themed YouTube channel. Oh, and he also wrote and published The Ultimate Stephen King Quiz Book in 2022.

Dave lives at home with his wife, sons, and annoying dog. He made his debut as a published fiction writer in 2021's Welcome to the Funhouse, from Blood Rites. He was also a finalist in the Bellingham Review’s 2022 Tobias Wolff Prize for Fiction, and has been published in Psychotoxin Press, The Reach, and on The Horror Tree.

His first full collection of short stories, Once More Round the Sun, was published on his own Always Darkest imprint in August 2024, and won the Best Collection and Best Horror categories of the 2024 Bookstagram Awards.

Reviews

[Dave Musson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really proud of how this collection came out - a gathering of just about all of the short short stories I've written over the last few years and arranged into a weird little dictionary for you. Don't forget to let me know your favourite tale from this one once you've read them all!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short & Sharp: it's an apt title indeed!

[Daniel Conn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book by Dave that I’ve read so far, and found out about it through his “Dave Reads King” YouTube channel that I frequently watch as a Stephen King fan.

These short tales were highly addictive to read. As soon as I finished one, I couldn’t help but go on and read the next one. Highly enjoyable, with some very disturbing stories throughout.

My personal favourites were The Enforcer, Loss, and “X”

Definitely will be reading more of Dave - next up is “Found” I think!