The Haunted

“Bentley Little keeps the high-tension jolts coming.”

—Stephen King

“On a par with such greats as Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Peter Straub.”

—Midwest Book Review

Praise for the Novels

of Bentley Little

The Academy

“A tightly allegorical piece of horror.”

—Publishers Weekly

The Vanishing

“A plethora of gore and perversion.”

—Publishers Weekly

The Burning

“Stephen King–size epic horror.”

—Publishers Weekly

Dispatch

“Little has the unparalleled ability to evoke surreal, satiric terror … should not be missed.”

—Horror Reader

The Resort

“An explicitly repulsive yet surrealistically sad tale of everyday horror.”

—Publishers Weekly

The Policy

“A chilling tale.”

—Publishers Weekly

The Return

“A master of horror on par with Koontz and King … so powerful that readers will keep the lights on day and night.”

—Midwest Book Review

“If there’s a better horror novelist working today, I don’t know who it is.”

—Los Angeles Times

The Collection

“A must-have for the author’s fans.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Little’s often macabre, always sharp tales are snippets of everyday life given a creepy twist.”

—Booklist

The Association

“Haunting … terrifying … graphic and fantastic … will stick with readers for a long time. Just enough sex, violence, and Big Brother rhetoric to make this an incredibly credible tale.”

—Publishers Weekly

The Walking

“Wonderful, fast-paced, rock-’em, jolt-’em, shock-’em contemporary terror fiction with believable characters and an unusually clever plot. Highly entertaining.”

—Dean Koontz

“Bentley Little’s The Walking is the horror event of the year. If you like spooky stories, you must read this book.”

—Stephen King

“The Walking is a waking nightmare. A spellbinding tale of witchcraft and vengeance. Scary and intense.”

—Michael Prescott, author of In Dark Places

“Flowing seamlessly between time and place, the Bram Stoker Award–winning author’s ability to transfix his audience … is superb … terrifying. [The Walking] has the potential to be a major sleeper.”

—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Little possesses the uncanny ability to take everyday situations and turn them into nightmares.”

—Publishers Weekly

The Ignored

“This is Bentley Little’s best book yet. Frightening, thought provoking, and impossible to put down.”

—Stephen King

“A singular achievement by a writer who makes the leap from the ranks of the merely talented to true distinction with this book. This one may become a classic.”

—DarkEcho

“Little is so wonderful that he can make the act of ordering a Coke at McDonald’s take on a sinister dimension. This philosophical soul searcher is provocative.”

—Fangoria

The Revelation

Winner of the Bram Stoker Award

“I guarantee, once you start reading this book, you’ll be up until dawn with your eyes glued to the pages. A nail-biting, throat squeezing, nonstop plunge into darkness and evil.”

—Rick Hautala

The Store

“Frightening.”

—Los Angeles Times

The Mailman

“A thinking person’s horror novel. The Mailman delivers.”

—Los Angeles Times

University

“By the time I finished, my nerves were pretty well fried, and I have a pretty high shock level. University is unlike anything else in popular fiction.”

—Stephen King

ALSO BY BENTLEY LITTLE

The Disappearance

His Father’s Son

The Academy

The Vanishing

The Burning

Dispatch

The Resort

The Policy

The Return

The Collection

The Association

The Walking

The Town

The House

The Store

The Ignored

The Revelation

University

Dominion

The Mailman

Death Instinct

THE

HAUNTED

Bentley Little

A SIGNET BOOK

Copyright © Bentley Little, 2012

All rights reserved

THE

HAUNTED

One

“They’re here again, Dad.”

Julian came out of the kitchen, coffee cup in hand, and walked across the living room to where his son, James, was holding on to the edge of the curtains, peeking through the crack and out the front window. Julian reached for the cord to pull open the drapes.

“What are you doing?” James cried, panicked. He flattened against the wall so as not to be seen.