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With each passing year, science, technology, and the march of time shine light into the craggy corners of the universe, making the fears of an earlier generation seem quaint. But this light creates its own shadows.The Best Horror of the Yearchronicles these shifting shadows. It is a catalog of terror, fear, and unpleasantness as articulated by today´s most challenging and exciting writers.

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A group of mountain climbers, caught in the dark, fights to survive their descent; An American band finds more than they bargained for in Mexico while scouting remote locations for a photo shoot; A young student´s exploration into the origins of a mysterious song leads him on a winding, dangerous path through the US´s deep south; A group of kids scaring each other with ghost stories discovers alarming consequences.

The Best Horror of the Year showcases the previous year´s best offerings in horror short fiction.

List of Stories:
Better You Believe-Carole Johnstone
Liquid Air-Inna Effress
Holiday Romance-Mark Morris
Furtherest-Kaaron Warren
Where´s the Harm?-Rebecca Lloyd
Whatever Comes After Calcutta-David Erik Nelson
A Human Stain-Kelly Robson
The Stories We Tell about Ghosts-A. C. Wise
Endosketal-Sarah Read
West of Matamoros, North of Hell-Brian Hodge
Alligator Point-S. P. Miskowski
Dark Warm Heart-Rich Larson
There and Back Again-Carmen Maria Machado
Shepherd´s Business-Stephen Gallagher
You Can Stay All Day-Mira Grant
Harvest Song, Gathering Song-A. C. Wise
The Granfalloon-Orrin Grey
Fail-Safe-Philip Fracassi
The Starry Crown-Marc E. Fitch
Eqalussuaq-Tim Major
Lost in the Dark-John Langan

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction: Summation 2017-Ellen Datlow

Better You Believe-Carole Johnstone

Liquid Air-Inna Effress

Holiday Romance-Mark Morris

Furtherest-Kaaron Warren

Where´s the Harm?-Rebecca Lloyd

Whatever Comes After Calcutta-David Erik Nelson

A Human Stain-Kelly Robson

The Stories We Tell about Ghosts-A. C. Wise

Endosketal-Sarah Read

West of Matamoros, North of Hell-Brian Hodge

Alligator Point-S. P. Miskowski

Dark Warm Heart-Rich Larson

There and Back Again-Carmen Maria Machado

Shepherd´s Business-Stephen Gallagher

You Can Stay All Day-Mira Grant

Harvest Song, Gathering Song-A. C. Wise

The Granfalloon-Orrin Grey

Fail-Safe-Philip Fracassi

The Starry Crown-Marc E. Fitch

Eqalussuaq-Tim Major

Lost in the Dark-John Langan

Honorable Mentions

About the Authors

Acknowledgment of Copyright

About the Editor

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Datlow, Ellen Ellen Datlow has been editing science fiction, fantasy, and horror short fiction for more than thirty years. She was the fiction editor of Omni magazine and Sci Fiction and has edited more than fifty anthologies. Datlow has also won lifetime achievement awards from three prominent genre organizations, and currently acquires short fiction for Tor.com.

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