Dark Comedy Short Stories

Somewhere between here and whatever comes next, there is an office. It is understaffed. Its processing times are unreasonable. And it has been receiving complaints. From Martin H. of Ohio, who had a gift for music and a supervisor named Kevin. From Oswin of Croft, court jester, who wore bells for thirty-one years and would like it on record that he was a man of considerable intellectual capacity. From Agnes of Wrentham, who fed thirty-one people for fifty-seven years and was never once seated at the table while the food was still hot. From a centaur with strong opinions about chairs. From a...

H.H. Munro (Saki) is one of the undisputed masters of the short story. In this complete compendium, the full gamut of his subjects and themes is experienced. His stories are imbued with humorous satire, biting irony, and often the macabre, all of which have one target: the stupidities and hypocrisies of Edwardian upper-class society.

The water knew me before I knew myself. I bought a house for a broken hot tub. The realtor kept talking about removal costs, but I knew I was keeping it. A year out from a divorce I should have seen coming, all I wanted was to prove I could fix something with my own hands. I taught myself pump repair from online tutorials, replaced what was broken, and scrubbed a decade of neglect out of the basin. The water filled. The jets worked. I got in. The temperature was already perfect, and I hadn’t touched the controls. Now the tub knows my body better than any person ever has. It finds every ...

Swords. Sorcery. Dick Jokes. Truly do the gods smile upon you, dear listener, for the first four books in the hilarious Caverns and Creatures series are now available in one audiobook set. Join Tim, Dave, Julian, and Cooper as they are thrown into a hostile fantasy world filled with magic and monsters, and ruled over by a cruel and sadistic game master who taunts and harasses them while he sits back and eats their fried chicken.

Acclaimed humorist David Sedaris's beloved holiday collection is a perennial favorite. This updated edition includes six additional pieces, including a never-before-published story. David Sedaris's beloved holiday collection is new again with six more pieces, including a never before published...

It's 1928 and Bright Young Things are taking London by storm, but Lady Ophelia's life is all mapped out: marriage to a cod-faced aristocrat and a life of dull respectability. Refusing to play along, Ophelia is banished to her ancestral home in the Highlands of Scotland. There, she'll be so bored, she'll come to her senses... won't she? Meeting her eccentric relatives (not to mention ruggedly handsome estate manager Hamish) Ophelia isn't so sure. Let the mayhem begin!

For sheer unpredictable brilliance, Gogol may come to mind, but no author alive today takes a listener as far as Helen DeWitt into the funniest, most yonder dimensions of possibility. Her jumping-off points might be statistics, romance, the art world’s piranha tank, games of chance and games of skill, the travails of publishing, or success.

As the owner of a quirky bakery in the heart of Manhattan, Ella juggles a playful bet with her friends that pushes her to step outside her comfort zone—one wild fling at a time. When a sexy, mysterious plumber shows up to fix her latest disaster, she finds herself caught in a whirlwind of unexpected chemistry, witty banter, and simmering tension. But James isn’t just another notch on her belt. Beneath his rugged charm and magnetic smile lies a tangle of dark secrets that could upend everything Ella thought she knew. As their connection deepens, she must decide if she’s willing to risk...

Eight stories. Eight jerks. Eight very bad days. In these tales of poetic justice and visceral horror, nasty people get eaten, witches get even, and no one escapes unscathed. A cruel tourist becomes shark bait. Cannibal partners bond over troublemaker stew. Vampire cockroaches inherit the earth. And a very rude moviegoer learns to shut his popcorn-hole the hard way. Blending dark comedy with creature features, body horror with social satire, Tales From the Wrong Side of the Page serves up exactly what everyone deserves: justice with a side of terror. You'll laugh. You'll cringe. You'll ...

Bubba’s back from Fairyland, and sometimes it feels like they shoulda just stayed there! Man, coming back to the real world sucks. Bubba and his whole team have been fired on account of going MIA for a year and a half (yeah, time moves differently in Fairyland - yay), and now they’ve got to…get jobs? Oh, this is going to go well.

Thirty-eight cautionary tales. One recurring theme: people are terrible at behaving themselves. From the twisted mind behind The Adulterer Series comes a gripping, darkly comic collection of short stories exploring infidelity, obsession, and the deliciously disastrous consequences of wanting what (or who) you shouldn’t. Each story delivers a sharp twist, a dose of mischief, and a chilling reminder: cheating rarely ends well—unless you're the reader. Highlights include: Neighbourhood Watch – More is going on in the cul-de-sac than you'd ever suspect. Sexual Harassment – There’s a ...

Gus is having computer problems. Luckily for him, nothing takes a sheriff’s mind off an IT problem like an active shooter at the local elementary school. The biggest problem with Gus’s active shooter is the relative inactivity of the shooter when Gus arrives at the scene. It isn’t long before Gus finds his would-be shooter dead on the school grounds with a rather unattractive hole in their head. That will take the activity out of any man. The state police commissioner seems satisfied that the active shooter was killed by an anonymous hero before they could kill anyone. The Governor ...

This is a collection of six short stories from the Caverns and Creatures series. It includes the following stories: "Slimes and Misty Wieners", "Great Balls on Fire", "Your Anus Is a Gas Giant", "Clear and Present Ranger", "The Mimic's Chest", and "Styxian Stoners May Break My Boners".

This is a collection of the sixth six short stories in the Caverns and Creatures series...Sound interesting? The author thinks so too! Listen to 6d6 and experience the compelling world of dark humor and fantasy.

What if the world’s not ending, it’s just having an allergic reaction to itself? Step into the wings of the Apollo Theatre with Reggie Porter, the most dangerous man in British comedy (according to Zara, his manager, and possibly MI5). With a biro, a Greggs leaflet, and six pages of forbidden insight, Reggie isn’t just doing a set, he’s detonating sacred cows one punchline at a time. From gay frogs to £6 cheddar, from God to oat milk, The Gig is not a short story, not a manifesto, and definitely not safe for anyone still clinging to certainty. It’s a stand-up sermon. A comic ...

A mind-bending thriller and pitch-black comedy. "The nightmares are why you keep the gun under your pillow. Everyday you become more accustomed to the lump. You are glad when you survive your sneezes. But one time, a cough destroys the lamp on the nightstand." You are a nobody, just another somebody. So why does an odd stranger approach you one day with a peculiar and ominous message? Is it a misunderstanding? A warning? A dire threat or perverse game? The world seems as normal as ever, so why can't you shake the feeling that you are now locked in a dark countdown to your own horrific doom?

Alright, you know how the saying goes: "Sharing is caring," right? Well, get ready because this story is a banger! It dives deep into the vault of my childhood memories, and trust me, it's a doozy. We all have those formative experiences that shape who we are, but mine... well, let's just say my mother took a slightly different approach to parenting. Instead of the stereotypical, overflowing-with-affection kind of motherly love, I drew the short straw and got myself a narcissist. Think back to those moments of pure, unadulterated childhood pride. Remember that time you brought home a ...

You learn a lot about people when they’re hungry. Especially the ones who think you don’t count. Welcome to Lark & Ladle, where the checks are real, the lies are casual, and the side eyes could cut glass. Behind every “just one quick question” is a power play. Behind every “we’re in a hurry” is a person who expects the world to bend. And behind every smile a waitress wears is a private ledger of what people do when they think the apron makes you invisible. In Checks, Lies & Side Eyes, a sharp, funny, and quietly fearless waitress takes you table by table through ten darkly ...

From the undisputed Queen of Vampire Literature, Anne Rice, The Master of Rampling Gate is a chilling tale of vampiric seduction. Set in the gasslit streets of 1888 London and the wild moors of the countryside beyond, The Master of Rampling Gate tells the story of Julie, a young woman who...

ROMANTIC LIES (BOOK 2) Five years after coming to New York for her cousin Emma's funeral, Abby has it all: the man of her dreams, a well-paying job, and a luxury apartment that she shares with her billionaire boyfriend. Little does she know that Liam has been keeping a secret from her...one that could ruin things forever. When he suddenly ends their relationship without any explanation, Abby's beautiful world comes crashing down. Her best friend, Isabella, gives her a clue that might explain everything, and Abby sets out on a journey to solve the mystery of why Liam left. What she discovers...