t shift at a mattress store that sells beds full of monsters. A traveling student eats a fried tarantula only to find it bites back. A jogger is forced to use a kitchen knife and hammer to keep her neighbor's skull and kneecap from fusing together. A young man running from his past gets wrapped up in a small fishing town's bizarre ceremony for sacred beasts that lurk beneath the ocean's surface.

In Austin Mooney's debut short story collection Midnight Mattress, horror and humor combine in 25 exciting tales that echo influences from Stephen King, Shirley Jackson, Junji Ito, H.P. Lovecraft, and 80s horror movies.