“We’ve all heard rumour: that the austerity measures will be over by Christmas. That there will be a Christmas…” But now the prime minister, in the opulent surroundings of a banqueting hall, has publicly called for permanent austerity… The Con Dem Coalition government’s policies have brought real life horror stories: cancer patients bullied by the DWP, bereaved parents forced out of homes by the bedroom tax, pregnant migrants endangered by avoiding medical help in fear of hospital bills… Just when you thought things couldn’t get worse, Gray Friar Press presents macabre tales from the frontline of aus-terror-ty. We asked fine writers of horror to bring dark visions of a society blighted by poverty, debt and privatisation, exploring what ghosts, private madness and afterlife such a world might bring… The anthology counters a culture encouraging ordinary people to scapegoat benefit claimants and migrant workers, show-casing fiction that examines the real roots of a crisis that causes hardship for many and lining the pockets of few… Such acclaimed talents as Alison Littlewood, John Llewellyn Probert, Rosanne Rabinowitz, Gary McMahon, Anna Taborska, Joel Lane, Simon Bestwick, Andrew Hook, and Priya Sharma invoke a world where you queue to join the queues, personal space is strictly rationed, and sadistic game-shows control the population.