“The Call of the Mountains: And Other Tales of the Bizarre” features 11 different short stories that explore the strange and the suspenseful. While the simplest definition for these stories would be to call them horror, that term rather inaccurately describes the entirety of the collection. Below you’ll find a more in-depth description of the 11 different tales that are found within this collection.

”Blessed are the Dead” - A quiet church in between Kansas cornfields welcomes its congregants for a solemn vigil.

“Recursion Loop” - A sci-fi flair adorns this tale of a tech entrepreneur unveiling his new product, a device which he claims can receive messages from the future. While this hopeful genius unveils a product that is sure to change the world, something else is happening behind the scenes.

“Bayou Backroads” - On their road trip across the country, a young couple breaks down about 40 miles outside of New Orleans in a bayou town that offers little hope for a quick solution. After they settle on camping just outside of town, a stranger crashes their tent and brings a whole host of other dangers behind her.

“The Call of the Mountains” - The novella that lends this collection its name, “The Call of the Mountains” tells the tale of a troubled married couple, just a few years into their wedded bliss, taking a trip to the mountains of Gatlinburg, TN for the purpose of saving their marriage. What they find when they arrive, however, is an ancient terror that has been calling out to them and drawing them near for longer than they ever knew.

“The Black Bird’s Caw” - A strange old man and a frightful young boy have a brief encounter in the woods.

“What Walks at Night” - Willard and Myrtle have been married for more than 40 years. More than most, Willard truly understands what the vow “Until death do us part” really means.

“The Screaming Forest” - Celebrated hunter and tracker Beauchamp has hit a dry spell in the most recent season, and that pushes him to take a risky expedition deeper into the wilderness than he had ever hoped. What he finds will either dramatically change his fortunes, or leave him wishing he’d never come.

“Circling the Drain” - Two curious individuals wait for a strange conspiracist to appear in a Chicago dive bar. When he finally does, the tale he weaves for these two surpasses anything they could ever hope to have heard. Or believed.

“The Statement of Agent Best” - FBI agent Jason Best recounts the events of a recent shocking case for his superiors as they hope to uncover the truth behind the death of one of their own and the strange events that transpired in the sleepy town of Jug Tavern.

“Road to Omega” - After his fiancé leaves him at the altar, a young man takes a drive to visit a friend four states away. When he nearly runs out of gas in south Georgia, the man visits a gas station that just might be the last stop before the end of the world.

“Into the Eyes” - Two men sit across from one another in a standard interrogation room. But nothing about their encounter is standard.