Peter Toombs never stopped loving Diana Ward. Not after they broke up; not after she married someone else; not after she died. Peter never got over how he failed Diana when she needed him most when they were in college. Even as he became a successful TV writer, his failure haunted him more than the monsters he created to scare others.
His obsession prompts him to lease Diana's childhood home in the small Utah town of Bern. He's convinced that if he lives there, she will come back for him. When he sleeps, he dreams of ghosts: Diana's, the ghost he believes should be in the house, and the ghost of someone he never met. The townsfolk, however, don't like having a stranger in Bern. They have secrets they don't want Peter to learn. Secrets about Diana and her death. Secrets about Peter and the ghosts that follow him.
Joined by his friend Connor and Diana's widower Aaron, Peter must survive Bern and discover the truth behind Diana's fate. Learning the truth could exorcise the ghosts from Peter's life or it could break his heart and bring him face to face with his worst fears.
From the author of CRY DOWN DARK comes a frightening collection of short stories, poetry, and essays that will leave you screaming and begging for more.
In this nightmare room, you'll find living tattoos, a strange karaoke host, a vengeful widow, a salesman not that interested in making a sale, and more.
“An Appointment with the Knifeman” takes you inside the home of a serial killer, but who did we follow through the door? A disgruntled pharmaceuticals employee gets the better of his boss in “Hemingway at Work” and a teen girl learns that tattoos truly are forever in “Bury All Your Secrets in My Skin.”
If you think poetry can't be scary, wait until you read Tranchell's “Dead Again Tomorrow” about a man who dies every day … and wakes up each morning.
Collected here for the first time are Tranchell's horror movie columns “The Show Begins at 10:31” and a special essay on Stephen King.
ASLEEP IN THE NIGHMARE ROOM includes eleven short stories showcasing Tranchell's wide range of styles and characters; four poems that will stop your heart, make you laugh, and make you cry; and his own unique insights into the horror movies he's grown up with and the author who shaped much of his world.
Do you dare enter the nightmare room? If so, turn off the light, hide under the covers, and start to dream. Tranchell and his demons will be with you soon.
