BLACK AS NIGHT AND OTHER NIGHTMARES is a compilation of 32 short stories, most in the horror genre, and most with surprise endings. THE NIGHTMARES INCLUDE: THE CLOWN AT MIDNIGHT Charles likes to watch horror flicks by candlelight with his monster mannequins... MASQUERADE The Madeira Club has hired a travel agent to rent a castle in Transylvania for this year's gala Halloween party... BLACK AS NIGHT Two teenagers try to rescue a helpless woman from being buried alive by a masked rider on Halloween... HANGMAN'S OVERLOOK A scam artist wagers $800 he will spend the night on Hangman's Overlook and live... THE SHELL GAME An elderly man loses his faith in a snowstorm on the last day of his life... WEREWOLF ON BROADWAY A werewolf propositions a promoter to make his transformation the main event at Madison Square Garden... THE BOY WHO CRIED BOOGEYMAN John returns to the house where the boogeyman tried to eat him when he was ten years old... TOOTH FAIRY A serial killer has driven a crucifix through the hearts of seven boys and extracted their incisors... SURPRISE! SURPRISE! Jane has arranged a surprise birthday party for her boss at his funeral parlor... THE AX A warlock has sworn to return on the anniversary of being burned at the stake three hundred years ago... CYCLOPS The final show at the end of the fairgrounds is one Jed Norman will never forget... CHRISTMAS EVE It's the night before Christmas and something's in the house, and it's not Santa... And twenty others... To secure the sanity of the reader, I suggest these nightmares be read in broad daylight with loved ones in close proximity that can be summoned in an instant by a sudden cry. I take no responsibility for the circumstances that may befall those who dare to visit these foreboding scarescapes alone at night. Abandon all hope for these pitiable souls if the lights go out.