This Way Lies Madness

Short stories of madness from the mental health perspective: an engaging and entertaining read, and a must-have book for lovers of horror.

In the tradition of Poe’s ’The Tell-tale Heart’, This Way Lies Madness presents fictional interpretations of madness from some of the biggest names in the horror genre - an anthology of dark stories featuring monstrous manifestations of trauma and guilt, paranoia and persecution, anxiety, addiction, and crippling terror. With each contributor giving a unique introduction exploring their inspiration for their bone-chilling tale, This Way Lies Madness will provide a creative benchmark for writers, and challenge mental health stigma, awaken understanding, and offer hope to readers through the lens of horror fiction.

A mix of commissioned authors and stories selected from a hugely popular submissions call, the full list of featured authors in this book is: Alan Baxter, Freddie Bonfanti, Georgina Bruce, Ramsey Campbell, Grace Chan, Ryan Cole, L.E. Daniels, Kayleigh Dobbs, Sean Hogan, Alma Katsu, Amanda Cecelia Lang, Sara Larner, Jonathan Maberry, Marie O’Regan, Cynthia Pelayo, Callum Rowland, Sumiko Saulson, Sayan J. Soselisa, C.D. Vázquez, Emily Ruth Verona, Stephen Volk, Tim Waggoner, and Stephanie M. Wytovich.

Cover artwork and frontispiece by Greg Chapman: dark-designs.com

The Flame Tree Beyond and Within short story collections bring together tales of myth and imagination by modern and contemporary writers, carefully selected by anthologists, and sometimes featuring short stories from a single author. Overall, the series presents a wide range of diverse and inclusive voices with myth, folkloric-inflected short fiction, and an emphasis on the supernatural, science fiction, the mysterious and the speculative. The books themselves are gorgeous, with foiled covers, printed edges and published only in hardcover editions, offering a lifetime of reading pleasure.

Lee Murray (Editor) is from Aotearoa-New Zealand and is a Shirley Jackson Award and five-time Bram Stoker Award(R) winner with more than forty titles to her credit. Murray holds a Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in Fiction and is an Honorary Literary Fellow of the New Zealand Society of Authors. Author of the Taine McKenna Adventures, The Path of Ra trilogy (with Dan Rabarts) and Grotesque: Monster Stories, she has edited numerous volumes of speculative fiction, including Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women.

Dave Jeffery (Editor) is the author of 18 novels, two collections, and numerous short stories. Prior to retirement to write full time, Jeffery worked for 35 years in the National Health Service (NHS), specialising in the field of mental health nursing and risk management. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Mental Health Studies and a Master of Science Degree in Health Studies. A mentor on the Horror Writers Association’s Mentorship Scheme, Jeffery is the 2023 recipient of the HWA Mentor of the Year Award. He is currently co-chair of the HWA Wellness Committee.

Greg Chapman (Cover Art Detail and Frontispiece) is an illustrator and graphic designer based in Queensland, Australia, specialising in the horror field. Greg has provided artwork for various magazines, comics, graphic novels and promotional designs for the Horror Writers Association and the Australian Horror Writers Association. He also specialises in book cover design and has created cover art for many authors and publishers.