[darrick]

might I suggest the weird, horror short stories of Thomas Ligotti...

here are a couple reviews so you can get a taste.

"Thomas Ligotti is one of the very few great masters of visionary horror." Ramsey Campbell

"Thomas Ligotti is a major figure in the contemporary literature of supernatural horror. Like H. P. Lovecraft and Ramsey Campbell, he is a scholar of literature, a fine critical mind, and a superior writer of the short story. His work is a delight for connoisseurs and a revelation to new readers. Ligott is an explosion of darkness."
David G. Hartwell

Personally, he is my favorite next to H. P. Lovecraft himself. You won't want to read more than one, maybe two at a time so you can savor the atmosphere of unreality he invokes.

Darrick