Duane Barton has been writing horror stories since the first grade. Now, he has published his first collection of horror stories.

Barton, a staff member at Missouri University of Science and Technology, is the author of The Dark Playground, a collection of 13 short horror stories. The stories cover a broad range within the genre, including stories about ghosts, werewolves, slasher killers and “a very creepy insane asylum.”

“Each story is unique and the added unforeseen twists will have the reader guessing what will happen next,” says Barton, who works as a chief clerk in the civil, architectural and environmental engineering department at Missouri S&T.

The Dark Playground is published by Publish America, and Barton offers brief descriptions of each story on his MySpace website.

Barton credits Stephen King as a key influence, but calls Edgar Allen Poe “the greatest writer that ever lived. Just to be able to sit and have a conversation with him; can you imagine what went on in his mind?”
What’s next for the author? “I am always working on short horror stories and would love to have another book published someday,” he says. “But I also love to write dark poetry and that might be my next project.”

Barton’s book is available online from major booksellers and can also be ordered via his website or from Publish America. He also will appear at a book-signing event from 1-3 p.m. Aug. 15, 2009, at Hastings Books, 2233 Missouri Blvd, Jefferson City.