Showing results by author "M. C." in All Categories

Owing to an unfortunate wager made by Sir Philip, the poor relations are once again scrounging around for a plan for solvency. This time it is Colonel Sandhurst to the rescue. After happening on Sir Randolph’s lovely daughter Frederica, who is running away to escape an awful marriage to Lord Bewley, the Colonel devises a plan to force Sir Randolph to settle his bill for six month’s stay and to save Frederica from her fate. The clever plan is thwarted when Lord Bewley shows up at the drop point instead of Sir Randolph.

She was a bewitching young girl, that pretty Polly Marsh, and she knew it. She also knew that beauty could be her passport into the castles where she had always known she belonged. So she set her sights on a duke and joined the firm of Westerman’s as a stenographer. Surely one of that noble family would notice her, and then all her dreams would come true! The trouble with pretty Polly Marsh was that she just didn’t know her place.

For two years Lucy and Sam renovated their beautiful Victorian home but spiraling debts are forcing them to sell. The agreement with their real estate agent is that they won’t be home for viewings, but when Lucy gets a voicemail saying the Agent is running late, she realizes she will have to show the prospective buyer around herself. Suffering from extreme anxiety and claustrophobia, Lucy watches the stranger on their doorstep waiting to be let in.

After years of bullying and cajoling others as a high-flying public relations boss, Agatha Raisin’s early retirement to the picture-postcard village of Carsley in the Cotswolds is a dream come true. And how better to begin making herself a local leading light than by entering the village quiche-making competition? Unburdened by old-fashioned ideas of fair play, the ruthless Agatha decides to ensure she wins by buying her entry from a London delicatessen.

We’ve recorded some 400+ stories since 2015 here at HorrorBabble. This collection comprises some of our very favorites. From Blackwood's evocative "The Transfer", through to Smith's terrifying visit to the vaults of Yoh-Vombis, there’s something here to strike fear into the heart of any horror enthusiast....

Mannerling, the splendid family estate gambled away by Sir Beverley, remains the passionate desire of his daughters. Beverley himself has died and the eldest daughter, Isabella - having failed in her bid to reclaim their home - is blissfully wed. The mantle of savior then falls to the next eldest daughter, Jessica. How fortunate that the new owner of Mannerling has a marriageable son. In truth, Harry is a brutal lecher, a drunkard, and a wastrel, but Jessica, blinded by determination, vows to secure a betrothal.

On the coach to Portsmouth, Miss Pym faces her most difficult matchmaking challenge yet. The lovely Miss Penelope Wilkins, daughter of a rich merchant, would be the perfect match for the handsome Lord Augustus, a nobleman whose fortune is almost depleted. Would be, that is, if the two were at all compatible. Though strikingly beautiful, the too-practical Penelope seems to stand on quite the opposite cliff from the carefree Lord Augustus. But when Miss Pym enlists their help in untangling an intrigue, and Lord Augustus steals an astounding kiss from the shocked Penelope, Miss Pym is convinced....

Believing that someone is trying to murder her, gorgeous Jane Wetherby asks Hamish Macbeth to spend Christmas with her and an exclusive group of friends at her Scottish island health farm. With a cold in his head and no place to go for the holidays, Hamish accepts her invitation. He thinks the lady is a bit daft, but, arriving on the lonely isle of Eileencraig, he feels a prickle of foreboding. The locals are openly threatening; the other guests, especially a terrible snob named Heather Todd, are barely civil.

Kate Hibbert is all too eager to lend a hand to her neighbors. Although she has been a resident of the sleepy village of Lochdubh for only a year, in that time Kate has alienated one too many of its residents with her interfering—and not entirely well-intentioned—ways. When Kate’s neighbor sees her lugging a heavy suitcase to the bus stop, he hopes that the prying woman is gone for good. But two weeks later, Kate’s cousin arrives in town with the news that Kate has gone missing.

They killed his friends, stole his ranch, and took from him the woman he loves. They branded him an outlaw, accusing him of the very crimes they committed. But they're about to learn that taking everything away from him has turned this Civil War veteran into the most dangerous kind of man there is: The kind that has nothing left to lose.

The handsome but arrogant Lord Charles Hawksborough desperately wants to catch the infernally insolent thief who held him up at pistol point on the King's Highway and rode off with his family's inheritance and jewels. Hawksborough tries just as desperately to not want the piquant and penniless Miss Amanda Colby when this young lady and her twin brother come to stay at his London townhouse during the height of the social season.

Private detective Agatha Raisin, having recently taken up power-walking, is striding along a path in Mircester Park during her lunch break when she hears a cry for help. Rushing over, she finds an elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Swinburn, in the middle of the green — with the body of an old man lying at their feet.

Lady Beatrice Marsham is in quite a coil. No sooner is she widowed from a brutish gambling husband, than her heartless family is forcing her into another horrid marriage. Fleeing by stagecoach to the Brighton seaside, the proud beauty meets Miss Hannah Pym, who is determined to find her a proper match.... The handsome and kind Lord Alistair Munro would be perfect. Unfortunately, he is convinced of the ton gossip that proclaims Lady Beatrice a cruel flirt. Miss Pym, however, is not worried.

Sleepy little North Bend just woke up. The newly promoted Sergeant Jade Monroe and her partner, detective Jack Steele, have just been informed of an unidentified male body found at a local lake. The town is in an uproar. The victim was nearly decapitated, and murder simply doesn't happen in North Bend. As more bodies turn up, the single connection between all of the victims becomes clear - it's Jade, herself. With each new victim getting one step closer to Jade, time begins to tick away. She must find the person responsible before her loved ones, or herself, are targeted next.

Hot bullies, busted cars, and the party of the year. On an endless loop. I don’t know how, but I’m living today over and over again. Every year, the town of Devil Springs holds a celebration known as Devils’ Day. There’s no magic, but there might as well be: We wear masks, we play tricks, we party hard. Every year, the students of Crescent Reform School party the hardest. They’re the lewdest, the most wanton, ribald, and lascivious.

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FBI Agents Jade Monroe and J.T. Harper are on the trail of their most recent serial killer, but they know his whereabouts only by the carnage left in his wake. By the time they reach his most recent location, he’s long gone. Without a clear description of the man, they’re chasing a shadowy figure that people see from a distance—a ghost—that’s killing at an alarming rate.

When Scotland is hit by the recession, Police Constable Hamish Macbeth notices that the Highland people are forced to come up with inventive ways to lure tourists to their sleepy towns. The quaint village of Braikie doesn't have much to offer, other than a place of rare beauty called Buchan's Wood, which was bequeathed to the town. The savvy local tourist director renames the woods "The Fairy Glen," and has brochures printed with a beautiful photograph of a kingfisher rising from a pond on the cover. It isn't long before coach tours begin to arrive.

The Havoc Boys rule the hellhole we call Prescott High. Once upon a time, they ruled me. For an entire year, I endured their shit. But senior year is going to be different. This year, I own them. I’ve made a pact with the Havoc Boys to get the vengeance I deserve. Their price? Me. At their beck and call, in their beds, a part of their gang.

Lady Lucinda Esmond's swine of a father, the Earl of Sotheran, was forever fleecing young bucks in London's gaming halls with impunity - until he cheats Captain Mark Chamfrey, who kidnaps 10-year-old Lucinda for ransom. But when Chamfrey has a change of heart and returns the girl, Earl Esmond nonetheless exacts his own price: Chamfrey can only redeem himself and save his skin by marrying his little victim nine years hence.