Dark Harbors [Kindle Edition]

Howard Hopkins (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"...do not read this at night, alone. Not if you want to sleep afterward that is..."
--Sue Hartigan, All About Murder Reviews

Eppie Nominated Horror Anthology

Where Evil meets the shore lies Dark Harbor. Where horror slithers over the sand nightmares collide. Where terror lives and fear rises in jagged reefs. Twenty-nine terrifying tales of the Supernatural...

Strange and terrifying things happen in the small seacoast town of Dark Harbor, Maine. A ghostly image in stone calls out to a lost love... A mysterious entity rises from the sea, beckoning to a searching soul... A living blue liquid invades a lonely widow's life... A ghost train rears out of the misty gray morning... A malicious entity, trapped within mirrors, reaches out to possess the living... A distraught man discovers his girlfriend is having an affair--with a werewolf... A mysterious ship's mirror reflects the past and spawns a deadly force... Dark Harbors takes you on a chilling journey into the macabre. Travel through twenty-nine tales of dark fantasy, haunting love and spine-tingling terror--if you dare... Includes three extra tales exclusive to this edition and a bonus tale of vengeful spirits and honor in the Old West...

"...totally scared me out of my wits. And I loved it."
--Sue Hartigan, All About Murder Reviews

"Mr. Hopkins is in the running for the title of Michael Angelo of word painters. I got so involved in his beautiful phrasing I almost forgot to be frightened by his flawless prose...I read the book twice trying to decide which of the stories was my favorite...they will either make you sigh or leave the lights on all night and shudder at every sound. If you like your prose elegant, your fear factor off the chart, and want a good read, DARK HARBORS is the book for you."
--Patricia White, Scribesworld (5 star Review)

"Dark Harbors is like a box of chocolates...each story in this anthology is like a chocolate truffle, perfect in its own way and different from all other stories in the book. Like eating a box of chocolates, these stories need to be read and savored individually, one or two at a time. Some are touching, some send shivers up your spine, some offer hope. Each is an exceptional bit of writing."
--Janet Miller, Paranormal Romance Reviews

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 553 KB
• Publisher: Golden Perils Press (July 8, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005BYWAP8
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #384,647 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Howard Hopkins' life took a dramatic turn after picking up his first Doc Savage book at the age of 13, though he wouldn't realize it until a number of years later. On a snowy November day, the daydream prone, shy child began a journey into escapist fiction that would later inspire him to write over 40 novels in the horror, western, comic book, science fiction and pulp adventure genres. "I never realized at the time how much the author of that book would inspire me to create my own stories and fire a passion to help others escape from their own problems, even if only for a few hours." Many years later Howard sold his first short story, a horror tale, to a small press magazine and not long after completed his first novel NIGHT DEMONS, a generational horror tale set in the supernaturally cursed town of Dark Harbor, Maine. A second horror novel, GRIMM, soon followed, which spawned his most recent supernatural/mystery series THE CHLOE FILES.

Now Howard is the author of numerous horror novels/western novels/comic book fiction, as well as over 50 published short stories, one recently appearing in THE SPIDER CHRONICLES with John Jakes (The Spider being that uber violent and trifle psychotic crimefighting pulp hero of the 1930s. He recently coedited, wrote the intro and two stories for THE AVENGER CHRONICLES, a short story anthology dedicated to the greatest pulp hero of the 40s, The Avenger) and has upcoming work in the Captain Midnight and The Green Hornet anthologies.

Besides NIGHT DEMONS, GRIMM, and THE CHLOE FILES, his novels under his own name include, THE DARK RIDERS (a vampire western) and his short story anthology DARK HARBORS, which were EPPIE nominated finalists and Fictionwise top five bestsellers. He also write a spooky series for children (8+) called THE NIGHTMARE CLUB, the first called THE HEADLESS PAPERBOY.

His recent trade paperback novel PISTOLERO combines horror and mystery with his second writing love, westerns, which he authors under the penname Lance Howard. So far he has written 32 Black Horse Westerns in hardcover and trade paperback, the most recent being COYOTE DEADLY.

His comic book and graphic novel scripts include, The Spider: Judgement Knight and the upcoming The Strange Case of The Spider and Mr. Hyde, and he is a big fan of the pulps, especially Doc Savage, The Avenger and The Shadow.

"I love entertaining people and taking them away from reality and giving something back to others. I started writing because Doc Savage, and other pulp heroes helped me through a difficult period in my life and awakened a creative spark that turned into a roaring fire. Writing is my passion and being able to touch others' lives through words drives me to tell stories. I invite you to take a look at my personal website for excerpts, contests and more info about my work."

Howard lives in a small southern Maine coastal town and his interests include bodybuilding and playing multiple instruments.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the book that got me hooked!!!, July 21, 2011

By 

Christy Kay - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark Harbors (Kindle Edition)

This was the first taste I had of Mr. Hopkins. When I opened the cover and began reading, I was immediately interested. There on the very first page..."A ghostly image in stone calls out to a lost love...", "A mysterious entity rises from the sea, beckoning to a searching soul", "A ghost train rears out of the misty gray morning..."...and others! I had to keep reading. About 250 pages later, I knew I was a fan for life. Mr. Hopkins entices his readers with a variety of supernatural and mysterious circumstances, plots, and characters. He pulls at all sorts of fears and emotions, leaving you breathless and needing more. If you have not read anything by Howard Hopkins, PLEASE start here! You can get a wonderful sample of his exquisite writing in his vast array of short stories. This is NOT your average ghost story...or should I say ghost stories! You will not regret reading this book! You WILL however become a fan and want more...LOTS more!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning!, July 9, 2011

By 

Patti J. Phillips "Jeannie" (Seattle) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dark Harbors (Paperback)

What a wonderful book!And for only 99 cents!

Mr. Hopkins keeps his reader's on the edge of our seats by writing stories that are not only polished but quite scary.

I can't pick out which stories I liked best because there was not a dud among them.

One thing the author writes about is love lost and what happens when people grow apart.Another topic is supernatural occurrences in Dark Harbor,Maine.I love reading about the supernatural and ghosts and the author includes these stories just in the right amount.

We really get a chance to visit and learn about the characters in Dark Harbor by his excellent portrayal of peoples imperfections. While a lot of authors who write collections fall back on topics like serial killers and the like Mr. Hopkins does not do this(thank god)His stories are eclectic and perverse.

Anyone who is interested in very high quality horror/supernatural stories should but this book.I am currently downloading some of the authors other works and so far I am very pleased.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A little bit of everything you could ever want, February 5, 2008

By 

Sharon M. Johnson "Avid Reader" (Washington State) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dark Harbors (Paperback)

This book is a collection of short stories that never fail to grab you in their first few lines. There are some truly frightening moments, moments of the pain of unrequited love, ghosts and just about any other horrible situation the human mind can conceive. This author provides it all. The book is a treat for the horror lover.