A powerful Nigeria-set horror tale of possession, malevolent ghosts, family tensions, secrets and murder from the recipient of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement and 'Queen of African Horror'. For readers of Octavia Butler, Ben Okri and Koji Suzuki.

Bata, a young girl tormented by nightmares, wakes up one night to find herself standing sentinel before her cousin's door. Her cousin is to get married the next morning, but only if she can escape the murderous attack of a ghost-bride, who used to be engaged to her groom.

A supernatural possession helps Bata battle and vanquish the vengeful ghost bride, and following a botched exorcism, she is transported to Ibaja-La, the realm of dead brides. There, she receives secret powers to fight malevolent ghost-brides before being sent back to the human realm, where she must learn to harness her new abilities as she strives to protect those whom she loves.

By turns touching and terrifying, this is vivid supernatural horror story of family drama, long-held secrets, possession, death - and what lies beyond.

Following the hugely successful Black Sci-Fi Short Stories and Asian Ghost Short Stories, comes this deluxe edition of new African writing and tales rooted in ancient culture. This collection explores the deep-seated supernatural element in African storytelling - whether reaching back to the spirits, ancestors and ogres of folklore or the vibrantly modern ghosts of today's African horror. New and contemporary stories complement poignant folktales such as 'The Story of Takane' from Lesotho and 'The Disobedient Daughter Who Married a Skull' from Nigeria.

With a foreword by award-winning Nigerian-British writer Nuzo Onoh, an introduction by Prof. Divine Che Neba, and invaluable editorial support from writer and editor Chinelo Onwualu, this latest offering in the Flame Tree Gothic fantasy series delves into the fascinating heritage of African ghostly lore and literature, while allowing it to be reclaimed and retold by contemporary African voices.

New, contemporary and notable writers featured are: Oluwaseyi Adebola, Fikayọmi Adeniyi, Michael Agugom, Eugen Bacon, Florence Adongo Bull, Tara Campbell, Rutendo Chichaya, Rutendo Chidzodzo, Mwenya S. Chikwa, Bekwele Chuku, Melody Cooper, Dilman Dila, Carol B. Duncan, Naomi Eselojor, Stanley Gazemba, Gabrielle Emem Harry, MaryAnn Ifeanacho, Achalugo Chioma Ilozumba, Amanda Ilozumba, Lucky Grace Isingizwe, Osahon Ize-Iyamu, B.T. Karuma, Kay Mabasa, Christopher Mlalazi, Keletso Mopai, Tariro Ndoro, Uchechukwu Nwaka, Ebere Obua, Eugene Odogwu, Okwiri Oduor, Ivana Akotowaa Ofori, Tobi Ogundiran, Suyi Davies Okungbowa, Makena Onjerika, Hannah Onoguwe, Ephraim N. Orji, Anjali Patel, Peter K. Rothe, Nisi Shawl, Makhosi Sthembi, Tlotlo Tsamaase, Chisom Umeh, and Franka Zeph. These appear alongside classic work by Amos Tutuola and Thomas Mofolo, as well as folktales from around Africa.

The Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy, Classic Stories and Epic Tales collections bring together the entire range of myth, folklore and modern short fiction. Highlighting the roots of suspense, supernatural, science fiction and mystery stories, the books in Flame Tree Collections series are beautifully presented, perfect as a gift and offer a lifetime of reading pleasure.

Recipient of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement, a pioneer of the African horror literary genre, and hailed as the ' Queen of African Horror' Nuzo Onoh offers her most fantastical tale yet. The Fake Ghost is a dark farce and a supernatural thriller of rebirth, betrayal, vengeance, occultic magic, mysterious invocations and creepy rituals. Set both in Africa and the USA, it follows the whacky and sinister travails of a powerful American leader that is reborn as a black child in a tiny African hut. With the help of the medicine-man, he must find a way to free his trapped soul and return to the United States to prevent a dastardly plot against him. But first, he must enter a diabolical blood pact, which might return to haunt him with devastating consequences.

Nuzo Onoh, 2022 WINNER of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement! On a moon-lit night, Diké, heir to the Kingdom and leader of the terrifying warrior cult, the Ogwumii, falls asleep inside his bedroom. He wakes to find himself trapped within the secret shrine of the village deity, a dark cave forbidden to all, save the powerful witchdoctors. Overnight, the mighty warrior-prince becomes an Osu--an untouchable and outcast. In disgraced exile in the forbidden shrine, his sole companion is the raging ghost of a murdered slave girl, wrongly sacrificed to the gods on the false prophecy of a lecherous witchdoctor. To break the Osu curse, Diké must find the traitors who orchestrated his downfall and embark on a terrifying journey to the ancestors' realm. A deadly quest, but one that could return him to full citizenship and glory.

An innocent boy is lured to his death by the one person that should have protected him. Someone knows the truth about his disappearance; his little sister, Obel , a child that hears a secret voice which tells her terrible things no child should know about. Obel knows too much and must be killed. Her salvation lies in the hands of her new friends, a group of giggling little girls she meets at an abandoned cursed house. Except their friendship comes with a terrible price. And suddenly, Obel starts to ask herself who exactly...or rather, what exactly are her new friends. Worse, how can she free the tormented ghost of her dead brother, trapped by a witchdoctor's curse? Set amidst the Biafran War, The Sleepless follows one child's struggles against both the natural and supernatural forces that threaten to end her life before the deadly enemy bombs can do so. And perhaps, death from the skies is a better option than the terrifying alternative. The Sleepless - Another chilling tale about the restless and vengeful dead by the Queen of African Horror, Nuzo Onoh.

How do you bury a corpse that refuses to die?

The first time she died, Aku didn't realise she was dead. She thought she was suffering a nightmare, at worst, a supernatural attack by malevolent spirits, inconvenient but not life-threatening. But when she died for the second time, she knew that something was wrong... sinisterly wrong.
It would take Aku's third death to free her mind from the dark haze that kept her trapped in a series of harrowing events she'd give ten lifetimes to avoid. Except by then, it would be too late; too late for her to change the chain of tragedy that followed her walking corpse like a swarm of grave-flies.

DEAD CORPSE - Another chilling tale of ghostly vengeance by the undisputed Queen of African Horror, Nuzo Onoh.

Oja-ale is the night market run by the dead. Everything can be bought for a deadly price. Alan Pearson is a sceptical British diplomat, contemptuous and dismissive of native superstitions...Until the day he receives a terrifying purchase from the Night Market, which defies Western science and logic. And Alan must finally confront the chilling truth of Oja-ale. - Night Market - Oja-ale A dead child returns to haunt his grieving mother with terrifying consequences - The Unclean The ghost of a drowned slave is resurrected from his watery grave to exact revenge on the family that betrayed him and sold him into slavery, with tragic consequences - Our Bones Shall Rise Again. Three chilling stories of revenge by the restless dead buried in Unhallowed Graves by the frontrunner of African Horror and author of The Reluctant Dead, Nuzo Ono

A dead child is cast into the evil forest by the clansmen in a burial ritual steeped in dark superstitions. His grieving mother, Desee, resorts to desperate and terrifying measures to bring him back to life. Desee's quest will force her to make some terrible choices, and with the diabolical help of a powerful witch-doctor, embark on a harrowing journey that will end in deadly consequences, culminating in a trial by ordeal underneath the infamous Tree of Truth.

A scorned wife returns to wreak a terrible vengeance on the husband and mistress that caused her untimely death! A morgue assistant fails to follow the strange night-time rules of the mortuary and gets himself a follower, the restless spirit of a murdered young woman. The ghost of a young boy returns to his school to complete his classes, tragically cut short by the cruel fists of death. The Reluctant Dead is a unique collection of six spine-chilling ghost stories from the deepest lands of Africa. Be warned! These stories will leave you glancing over your shoulders for a very long time!

For readers of Oyinkan Braithwaite's My Sister the Serial Killer and Bella Mackie's How to Kill Your Family, this is a monstrous, gleeful, bitingly funny tale of murder, body-swapping and bloody vengeance from the recipient of the Bram Stoker Award(R) for Lifetime Achievement and 'Queen of African Horror'.

Betrayed by the men in their lives, two women seethe with rage and bitterness. When a trickster spirit offers them the gift of revenge, they cannot resist.

Chia runs one of the best restaurants in Abuja, Nigeria, and is renowned among the male clientele for her captivating beauty and delicious hot pepper soup. But her hot pepper soup has a secret ingredient, and her beauty is not what it seems.

Claire is a 50 year-old British woman living in Abuja with her young Nigerian boyfriend and his beautiful cousin, Shadé. Consumed by jealousy and resentment, Claire's carefully organised life spirals into chaos after a night out at Chia's infamous restaurant.

Crackling with wit, this is a blood-soaked, expletive-laden, vengeance-filled horror story. Satirical, twisty and murderous, this is bloody, deadly fun from a writer at the top of her game.