More Than Midnight

"Brian James Freeman brings more to the table than the simple intent to horrify you... There's clean, sharp prose, there's a compelling, human heart to every tale, fine touches of humor, and an astute understanding of the more powerful emotions in life — terror, sure, but also loss, grief, struggle, endurance."
— From the introduction by bestselling author Michael Koryta

More Than Midnight: Five Horror Stories
by Brian James Freeman

Featuring an exclusive introduction by Michael Koryta, cover artwork by Vincent Chong, and original interior illustrations by Glenn Chadbourne

About the Book:
This collection features five tales of horror by Brian James Freeman that deal with both real and supernatural terrors. It explores locations you would never think to look in because sometimes we find our darkest demons in the most unexpected places.

• In "What They Left Behind," a young man discovers something lurking in the basement of the old office building his father-in-law has purchased in a last ditch effort to save the family business. This thing in the basement is evil and it's very, very hungry.

• In "The Final Lesson" you'll meet Ronald, a mild-mannered high school teacher who has never lifted his hand in anger, but there is a darkness inside him, which has been building and boiling since his wife was brutally murdered... and he might not be able to control himself when he learns more about why she died.

• A family man discovers there are monsters taking over the world in "Among Us," but he also learns that a chosen few can fight back if they're willing to sacrifice everything they've ever known and loved.

• As "Pulled Into Darkness" opens, Edward is certain of only one thing in life: eventually his wife will find a way to kill him.  Her previous failures won't stop her from trying again and again until she succeeds... and tonight one of them won't be leaving the house alive.

• Finally, a lonely young man's very unusual job is taking a heavy toll on him in "Answering the Call." He stays in the homes of the deceased during their funerals to answer the phone, receive deliveries, and deter thieves who might have seen the obituary in the newspaper. The young man has witnessed a lot of strange things over the years in the homes of the dead, and today his job will truly become a matter of life and death...

These five stories showcase Freeman's dazzling virtuosity and imagination as his characters descend into the depths of madness. Find out why Richard Matheson has called his writing "spooky stuff" and why Stewart O'Nan has said his stories have "great velocity and impact." There is darkness all around us, and Freeman isn't afraid to shine a light onto the things that scare us the most.

Brian James Freeman is the author of The Painted Darkness, Black Fire, Blue November Storms, The Illustrated Stephen King Movie Trivia Book (with Kevin Quigley and Hans-Åke Lilja), and The Illustrated Stephen King Trivia Book (with Bev Vincent). He edited Dueling Minds, which will be published by Cemetery Dance Publications in their acclaimed Signature Series, and he is the Managing Editor of Cemetery Dance magazine and the Publisher of Lonely Road Books.

His novella, The Painted Darkness, took the Internet by storm during the summer of 2010 and was published in hardcover in December 2010 by Cemetery Dance Publications. Due to overwhelming demand from booksellers, the first printing went out of print on the day of publication and Cemetery Dance rushed a second printing. The Painted Darkness was also offered as the "Free eBook of the Month" by WOWIO.com in October 2010, and within two weeks it became the most downloaded title in the program's history.

Seven Stories, an eBook exclusive short story collection, was the #1 bestselling story collection on Amazon.com in the US, UK, Germany, Spain, and France, and #2 bestseller in Italy, during the first week of February 2012.

His short fiction has appeared in From the Borderlands, all seven volumes of the Shivers series, Corpse Blossoms, Shroud Magazine, Shocklines, In Laymon's Terms, and many other magazines and anthologies. His essays, columns, and interviews have appeared in The Stephen King Library Desk Calendar series from Book-of-the-Month Club, Jobs in Hell, Hellnotes, FEARnet.com, and Cemetery Dance.

Visit him on the web at www.BrianJamesFreeman.com or http://brianjamesfreeman.wordpress.com.

"Brian James Freeman is one of those writers that someone, some day, is going to call an 'overnight success,' completely ignorant of the fact that the guy has been pounding a keyboard for years, honing his craft and developing his voice the way all good writers do... You get the sense that Freeman was having a ball writing these, telling his own little campfire tales and hoping they'd find an audience. His enjoyment is infectious."
— Blu Gilliand, October Country

"More Than Midnight contains five well-written, scary tales that do exactly what they were designed to do: make you turn on some extra lights, glance once or twice out the window (if reading on a dark night, which is the best time to read these kind of tales anyway) and feel the hairs on the back of your neck rise as you rub at the goose pimples slowly rising on your flesh. These tales were written in the hopes that they would spook you and that's exactly what they do. Mission accomplished!"
— G-POP.net, Melissa Minners

"For the numerous readers who have developed an appetite for Freeman’s charming dark fiction, here’s a brand new mini-collection assembling five excellent short stories... It is now evident that Freeman is no longer a promising horror writer but an established master of the genre."
— The British Fantasy Society, Mario Guslandi

"More Than Midnight by Brian James Freeman is the dark night of the soul with lightning snapping in the background, revealing that lone, dark figure standing in the roadway with his arms open for you. Go ahead and buy the book, then give that stranger a hug and pray he doesn't strangle you before the last page is finished."
— Hellnotes

Published in two states:
• Hardcover Limited Edition of 750 signed (by Brian James Freeman, Michael Koryta, and Glenn Chadbourne) copies bound in full-cloth and Smyth sewn ($35)
• Traycased Hardcover Lettered Edition of 26 signed (by Brian James Freeman, Michael Koryta, and Glenn Chadbourne) and lettered copies bound in leather and Smyth sewn with a satin ribbon page marker ($175)

A Few Sample Images:

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