In the twelve years since I took up position as assistant to Monsignor Armand at Holy Cross Church, Govan, I had become used to hearing confessions on a Monday night...
Mrs. Sprague paused in front of the china cabinet when she heard a thunk. “What was that?” she called into the parlor. “Boys?” “Nothing, Mrs. Sprague,” they sang back in unison...
When pump #12 sputters and the needle on its pressure gauge drops out of the green, Smuthagill sighs with relief. He checks the time: fifteen minutes till his shift is done. He shouldn’t need more than five...
If you are receiving this transmission, I hope it is not too late for you. I am the last of my kind on this world, the last one who remembers the truth. Everyone else, they have forgotten, and become…them...
Matt Connaught wants nothing more than to enjoy life with his new wife, Michelle, and to catch up on lost time with his parents, who were held captive for seven years. As a member of one of the wealthiest families in the Terran Federation, this should be easy. It’s not...
Stupefying Stories emerges from long-term cryosleep with a great new lineup of science fiction, fantasy, political comedy and horror! (There is a difference between those last two. Trust us.) Featuring: • MAKING MONSTERS, by Sarah Read • AT WORK IN THE FIELDS OF THE LORD, by Edoardo Albert...
“From a traffic camera on the 405,” Carly’s father said. “Must have been right after your so-called study session.” If Tom Paden was angry, he didn’t show it...
Lance J. Mushung has been one of our regular contributors for years. If you enjoyed “No Accounting for Taste,” you might also want to go spelunking in our archives, to find...
I sat on a bench on one side of the small, battleship-gray drop bay of my patrol cutter, Oliveria. The last month and a half of the patrol had been mind-numbing, but taking a ship of wasters into custody would soon make it all worthwhile...
Captain Nancy Martin expects a lonely death. Passing out as her battle-damaged starfighter bleeds the last of its air, she comes to in the cavernous and deserted docking bay of an unknown starship. Leaving her crippled fighter to seek help, she finds she’s been been scooped up by a gigantic generation ship inhabited by...
I just want to get it over with—have Tina’s family judge my immune song to be lacking and declare that we don’t have a future together. Because that’s what’s going to happen, isn’t it? I swirl my wine, coming close to an embarrassing spill on the Ryans’ pristine polar-hair sofa...
Colin had a white birthmark on his blonde hair and one on his blonde lashes. Blindingly white and full of bones, he looked more like a towering birch than a teenage boy. “You want to know how white I am?” He whispered over the book stacks...
“Do you know how many species of post-arboreal bipeds we have on the conservation list?” the vaguely froglike creature asked. It was the size of a rhinoceros and using its tongue to manipulate a three-dimensional holographic listing of species and their home systems. “Not offhand, no,” Megan said...
“I smelled Jennifer last night, while I slept,” Richard said, staring at the white ceiling. The doctor nodded and wrote on his pad. “And what did she smell like?” Richard closed his eyes. “Her favourite perfume. Plums and roses and the faintest hint of musk. It smelled so real.”...
“My parents are not dead!” Everyone thinks I’m in denial, and have been ever since my parents vanished seven years ago. Everyone thinks I should just shut up, and accept the vast inheritance coming my way. Everyone thinks I should let it go, and get on with my life. Everyone is wrong...
From the creators of Stupefying Stories comes our new sister publication, THEIAN JOURNAL. It’s a bit unearthly—a bit alternative—these are decidedly different from our usual selection of SF/F stories...
When we launched the e-book version of Stupefying Stories, we included a “three years and out” self-destruct clause in the contract. Four years later that self-destruct clause continues to work as designed, so this is your LAST CHANCE to buy...
Eternal fame, top hammock, and a shoe contract all came down to five used drinking straws clutched in the oversized mitt of a slightly inebriated Irishman...
OCTOBER, WHAT A MONTH. People in this world are so fascinated with their “holidays” that they set aside any remaining good sense and judgment they have to allow for fun and festivities. Fools. They make the tasks of the underworld disgustingly easy, even more so than in the days of the plague...
“My God, they’re everywhere!” From the creators of Stupefying Stories comes an exciting new anthology series: PUTREFYING STORIES! Sixty-four pages of pulse-pounding, shuffling, moaning, brain-munching zombie action! Issue #1 features...
I answered the door myself, as I always did when the shelter had visitors after dark. The gaunt man on the doorstep swept aside his cloak with one hand. “I am Nikolai,” he said. “I haff come to take Lucy home.” More than his emaciated physique, the power of his stare gave him away...
Digging into the vault—excuse me, crypt—this week we exhume SHOWCASE #8, released October 29, 2013, and featuring: • “Soft Magic” by Paul DesCombaz • “The All-Seeing Ring” by Kelda Crich • “The Calling Card” by Eric J. Guignard • “The Blue Ridge Wreath” by Georgia Ruth...
A mad scientist. An army of zombies. And three plucky kids who just might be able to save the world… The five-star reviewers say...
“…the best of the trilogy. KUDOS!” Years ago, Terran Scout David Rice crash-landed on the lost colony world of Aashla, where he rescued and fell in love with the beautiful Princess Callan. Pledging his life and sword to Callan and his adopted home world, David thought he’d never see another Terran again—until the night...