The introduction
basically asks why do we like to be scared, especially by ghosties? This made me think…. I love to read horror
because it is escapism at the highest level for me, I can have romance, the
news shows me real crime, murders and thrillers every day but sci-fi and horror
are something that has to be fiction, please.
I was worried about
this anthology as I don’t believe in ghosts, so how was I to be scared, spooked
or terrorized? Not to worry, I had shivers, shakes and something definitely tapped me on the shoulder. I have
alwasys said I have never been a fan of
ghost stories, I don’t believe in them I say….. or maybe I do and that’s why
they give me the shivers so much.
I really enjoy the
little author bios but IMO they should be at the start or finish of each story
so that I can run off and grab their other works. That said the editor has done another
splendid job in arranging this in just the
right order to freak you out!
Daddy’s
Glasses by Allison M. Dickson
Loved
the southern twang to the story. An early baby death sets the tone for this
nightmare riddled story.
So much death in one family but AMD also manages to
show what happens in “real” life as families stretch, change and lose contact.
However,
when a blast from the past arrives in a little wooden box the narrator of this
story gets a full front seat to the true horror of human nature.
The
Curse of Kirby by Patrick C Greene
Poor Dawson he cant
seem to get any peace with Butthole the cat pooping everywhere or scratching
him to hell, not to mention his wonderful party hard neighbours.
Mendelbaum, his only other
sane neighbour, is also having a hard time sleeping. Then they meet Abigail and
Kirby; a mischievous ghost! and a plan is hatched.
However, as is always
with hauntings there are dark currents and secrets, and with PCG you can always
expect some even darker comments, not forgetting the gore, always lots of gore!
But funny gore!
A fantastic climactic
and grin worthy ending.
The
White Boy by Joshua Rex
Micheal is down on his
luck, however, not all the back story is laid bare, some is hidden, this unfolds later
in little scary drips. He finds Jacob, alone, cold and white.
As Michael is led
through a torturous route to really finding Jacob its all quiet sad. Well written enough to draw some serious
emotions.
Unseen
by James Glass
Omg! So spooky, two
dimensional people and rustling.
The end of the world is nigh according to our
narrator. Really enjoyed this story as it gave me goose bumps.
The tension of
not knowing if he is going mad or actually seeing ghosts is riveting.
John
by G. Elmer Munson
I was a bit confused at
first.
It started out like John was kidnapping Janelle, but then they get
caught in a storm and a strange house appears.
The time line is all a bit
squewhiff in the spooky house with the freaky old lady and ever spookier
noises, but all sort of becomes clear at the end.
Weird little story.
You’ll
Thank Me by Tomorrow by Michael D. Matula
Liam and Molly are
trying to enjoy a little naughty week away, and the temperature is getting a little
hot when the screaming starts.
This story is very much
Groundhog Day for horror lovers, as three people and two rooms rotate in
varying fashions to kill each other. It’s exhausting reading in a fantastic
way.
The ending is amazing
and I think this was my favourite story.
Thursday
Night Bingo by Kelli A. Wilkins
Betty gets midnight
visitors, she is used to them. Her son Jimmy, just thinks she is gong senile.
Blackie her dog saw the ghostie too, but as the story unfolds something more
sinister is afoot. I really enjoyed this until the ending, it just finished to
quick and too predictably for me, great writing style though.
The
Witness by Bryan W. Alaspa
Clever nods to your
novels BWA!
In this little story Tabitha is the Witness to all the strange
goings on in Knorr, especially the tale of the House on Kettle Street &
Clara.
Well written little piece with lots of love and tension, the build up is
good and then the final reveal is good if a little cliché.
However, it did have
the best line in the anthology for me: I
am the witness. And I shall remain so until I become my own ghost story.
His
Shrine to Santa Muerte by Michael G. Williams
Four people who regard
themselves as book witches effectively.
I did not connect with this story I
found the writing style too flowery and flowing for my tastes, but thought the
overall story was well thought out and deeply complex.
The
Other One by Patrick O’Neill
Set out as a testimony
which was an interesting way of starting a story but just reduced to a normal
telling after a while.
However, I found the
“old, rich and educated” flavor of the prose and the perfect little wife and
child routine far to sickly for my tastes, in short not making me care about
the characters at all, and little niggles regarding time lines such as the visit to the towns tiny Xmas
market, they spent all day there??
That all said, there
was some beautiful descriptions of places giving a sense of immersion in the
story.
As the narrator keeps
seeing a little wounded boy night after night, he becomes a little jumpy,
however when his wife and child confess to the same vision it all gets a little
spooky (I think that seems to be the theme of this anthology!).
As the coincidences and
sightings occur the history is revealed and PN leaves us with a little after
thought.
Inseparable
by Solomon Archer, Ph.D.
The first paragraph
left me feeling nauseated, such was the portrayal of devastation and lost come
to physical being.
As you continue to be dragged down
the rabbit hole of depression that has a dream like edge to it, I was wondering
where the spooky would be in this well penned tale.
I need not have worried as the very last line sent such shivers down my spine I needed to stop reading for
a while. Brilliant.
Whiteout
by Gary Buettner
Derek and Evie, she is
trying to get him killed for a cheating moment but he refuses to die.
On the
way to their cabin Evie crashes and leaves Derek, blinded by the latest assassination
attempt, alone in the snow.
Who is guiding him? Who
is pointing him in the wrong or right direction?
I had to smirk at the
ending, I wouldn't normally like to be
left that way but it suited the story.
Ain’t
They Bright by Cecilia Dockins
In the world of Nursing
and Medicine I found myself nodding and understanding all the pressures that CD
was portraying.
Even with a busy shift
it seems Hell has followed our narrator into work.
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