Everyone Is a Moon: Strange Stories by Sawney Hatton

 

From Sawney Hatton, the devilishly inventive mind who brought you the acclaimed Dark Comedy novel DEAD SIZE and the YA Noir novella UGLYVILLE, comes 12 twisted Dark Fiction tales featuring a magical finger, a cannibalistic memorial, an extreme piercing parlor, a Space Age monastery, a budding serial killer, and more.

Presenting three new, never-before-published stories, as well as re-mastered versions of earlier works, this collection is sure to disturb and delight readers who like to play in the dark. (Warning: contains some graphic material.)

Stories include "The Good Touch,” "Cutting Remarks,” "The Boy Who Cried Alien,” “Pet,” "In Memoriam the Ostrich,” "The Mortality Machine,” "The Lord Is My Rocket,” "The Beholder,” "Mr. Gregori,” “FYVP,” "The Dark at the Deep End,” and "Suitable for Framing."

I read horror for the scares. I'm all about the chills and less about the shock factor or the gore. Not that gore bothers me, it just doesn't terrify me. So with that in mind I took no heed of the "graphic material" warning, and plowed ahead. Not all of the stories were my cup of tea but I did  love the first 3. In The Good Touch we meet two friends with very different personalities. One quite selfish and the other his polar opposite. Perhaps that is why their friendship works. But when one comes into possession of a gift from God it sparks a jealousy in the other that is the undoing of both.

Cutting Remarks is the story of a bullied housewife who at last finds happiness in her marriage. It was both humorous and darkly disturbing. The Boy Who Cried Alien was another dark comedy, if only someone had explained about the birds and the bees to this boy it may have avoided such a catastrophe.

 When I got to the 4th story Pet I put the book down and almost didn't finish it. I am not a fan of animal cruelty. I don't care how many people may get beheaded or dragged to hell in any book but I need you to leave the animals alone.  To me the only saving grace to this story is that no such animal exists on this planet. I don't mean that it was badly written because it wasn't. It's just my own personal limit of what I choose to read. I do not actively seek out animal abuse stories and I guess this is what the graphic content warning was for.

I liked The Mortality Machine, in which a couple who is running out of time together don't really make the most of what they have left. I loved Mr Gregori who is the lonely ghost haunting an apartment, watching people move in and out but never being able to engage with any of them.. until now.

So although every story was not a hit with me, that is the joy of short stories, take what you like and leave the rest.  I would recommend this collection to all who have a dark sense of humor and those with a stomach for disturbing subject matter.

I received a complimentary copy for review.

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About the author

Sawney Hatton is an author, editor, and screenwriter. Other incarnations of Sawney have produced marketing videos, attended all-night film festivals, and played the banjo and sousaphone (not at the same time). As of this writing he is still very much alive.

A Seed in a Soil of Sorrow by Keith Anthony Baird

 

When the death cult calls ... what are you running from?

The path to the Viridian Chapter is paved with many sorrows. It's a sect which sits on the site of a brutal atrocity, and one which harbors numerous dark secrets. Leader, Hans Lehmann, is a visionary bestowed with remarkable abilities, with followers who are prepared to offer their lives in exchange for his promise of a utopia.

On the cusp of autumn, a lone seeker arrives to discard his former life and embrace his rebirth as a chapter disciple. Stark lessons within a strict regime are the lure for those who have been traumatized by their uncaring past. The promise of a doomsday ascension through the waste of flesh proves at odds with a union between two souls who must flee the confines of the commune, if their love is to stand a chance of being fully realized.
But will the inner circle elite discover this betrayal and exact a terrible retribution, or will they escape the clutches of the sect's unstable originator and lift the lid on the culture of violence within? 

I went into this short story totally blind, not even having read the synopsis. I don't normally do that, nor do I often stray from the horror genre. I knew only that it was a short story, which as I've said many times, I'm rather addicted to those. So with that being said it becomes immediately apparent that a man with a troubled past has found his way to a death cult looking for a sense of belonging that he has never experienced.

"Even though I was angry with him he was still the only person I admired, and the broken part of me that had brought me to him in the first place was stronger than the rest of me back then"

At first glimpse it seems he will become just another lost soul in a long list of disciples, but then he meets a woman who makes him reconsider, and he begins to plan an escape.

It's hard to say much more without giving anything away but you could have knocked me over with a feather when the ending came, I was that surprised.

4 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review.

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The Halloween Store, and Other Tales of All Hallows' Eve by Ronald Kelly

When you first enter The Halloween Store, things seem normal. Fun and frightful decorations, ghastly costumes and masks of the season, and bags of candy galore. Then, as you travel farther into its shadowy depths, things begin to change. The air smells of damp autumn leaves and candle-scorched pumpkin. The shelves of All Hallows’ Eve fare grow darker and more disturbing. Strange and unsettling things of Halloweens past and present lurk amid the cobwebs and dust…

Four trick-or-treaters purchase vintage costumes from a strip-mall shop, only to discover that they must sign a mysterious disclaimer for the Halloween celebration to come…

After a man’s missing daughter is found–near death and physically altered–he must once again face a horrifying monster from his own childhood…

A teenage girl hitches a ride after a Halloween rock & roll concert, only to learn that her favorite singing idol has made a pact with the Devil himself…

Three kids receive unusual treats during a Halloween stop at their favorite teacher’s house…

During a random visit to his hometown, a businessman treats a young boy to the joy and excitement of a Halloween festival, only to find that things are not what they first appeared to be…

A rash of ghoulish jack-o’-lanterns leads a small-town sheriff to the doorstep of one of the most notorious serial killers of all time…

An advertisement in the back of an old comic book prompts two friends to place an order that they soon come to regret…

Seven horrific tales and two nostalgic essays… hand-picked for your Trick-or-Treat bag. With the arrival of a 2020 Halloween, there is no telling what terrifying treats and petrifying prizes may await you!

I love short horror stories all year round, but once the nights turn cold and the leaves begin to turn it feels like the perfect time to indulge in some Halloween tales. Every story here can stand alone, but to me they are even tastier if you have read Ronald Kelly's previous collections, as some monsters of the past do visit in this book. Fear not if you haven't read them, they are not a requirement in order to enjoy these spookalicious stories. In the title story The Halloween Store four friends get hold of some very unusual costumes and may regret not doing their shopping at Walmart. Mister Mack Is Back In Town revisits the otherworldly being that I previously met in Mister Glow-bones  25 years have passed and children are still suffering but Mister Mack may finally be caught. Blood Suede Shoes is a cautionary tale, don't accept rides from strangers when you're walking home from a rock and roll Halloween show, even if the driver is famous. In Clown Treats three friends head to their favorite teacher's house to trick or treat but end up with a nasty surprise. The Cistern felt like the best elements of Rod Serling and Ray Bradbury in a creepy story of small town horror that proves you can't go home again, or maybe  you just shouldn't! Pretty Little Lanterns is a story of a serial killer on the loose and those are not pumpkins he's carving. The Amazing and Totally Awesome Fright Creature is an advertisement two boys find in a very old comic book, and it makes me glad I listened to my mother about not sending away for things in ads although they certainly got their money's worth.

This book is all treats and no tricks. I feel like I scored a bag of full size candy bars and not a mini toothpaste or pencil eraser in the bunch.

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About the author

Ronald Kelly was born and raised in the hills and hollows of Middle Tennessee. He became interested in horror as a child, watching the local "Creature Feature" on Saturday nights and "The Big Show"---a Nashville-based TV show that presented every old monster movie ever made ---in the afternoons after school. In high school, his interest turned to horror literature and he read such writers as Poe, Lovecraft, Matheson, and King. He originally had dreams of becoming a comic book artist and created many of his own super heroes. But during his junior year, the writing bug bit him and he focused his attention on penning short stories and full-length novels. To date, he has had ten novels and eight short fiction collections published. In 1992, his audio-book, DARK DIXIE, was included on the nominating ballot for a Grammy Award.

He currently lives in Brush Creek, Tennessee with his wife, Joyce, his two daughters, Reilly and Makenna, and his son, Ryan (Bubba).

 

The Thing In The Lake by Conor Metz

 

Billy McGregor just wants to enjoy his summer before high school, but a creature lurks within his lake and seems to be picking off the residents one at a time. As a horror-buff, he’s quick to pick up on this and with nobody else seeming to notice, it’s up to him and his friends to take matters into their own hands.

But they aren’t the only ones after the creature.

A local cop realizes the several deaths are linked and an organization called SID is trying to cover it up. They have their own plans for the creature, but if they don't capture it quickly, things could spiral out of control due to a potential for infection. A single bite or scratch will turn any person it injures into another one of its kind.

It’s a race for who can deal with the creature first, but will any of them be successful against a genetically engineered killing machine?

It begins with an accident on a rain slicked road. If not for that, the "thing" may have never escaped, leaving death and a fate worse than death in it's wake. Then again, if not for that rain slicked road nobody may have ever found out about the ghastly experiment that has gone so terribly awry. This was a fast paced creature feature story and it doesn't take long from the time of it's escape for the "thing" to make its presence known in the most gruesome of ways. I enjoyed the relationships between Billy and his friends, and I was rooting for them to be able to handle this creature. I even liked the annoying older sister but I did wish the focus was more on the creature and it's victims and less on the not quite government/not quite military SID agents.

3.5 stars, that I will round up to 4 on sites that don't allow half stars.

I received a complimentary copy for review.

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About the author

CONOR METZ was born in Renton, Washington in 1984. His early years exposed him to a variety of outlandish films, novels, and comics books, which have shaped him into the writer he is today. He currently lives in Seattle, Washington.

Double Barrel Horror: Highway Hunger / Motel Madness by Calvin Demmer

 

Two Twisted Tales from author Calvin Demmer.

"Highway Hunger" pits a young road worker against an urban legend with a taste for living flesh.

"Motel Madness" is the last stop on the way to another world, where they'll be expecting you.

These two short stories are a quick and creepy good time.

In Highway Hunger a court ordered community service gig is more than just a punishment as one man comes face to face with a road demon.

In Motel Madness a woman awakens in a strange room with no memory of how she arrived or what has happened to her traveling companions.

Both stories share an underlying theme of revenge and retribution with a bit of dark humor thrown in.

4 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review.

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About the author

Calvin Demmer is the author of The Sea Was a Fair Master and Dark Celebrations. When not writing, he is intrigued by that which goes bump in the night and the sciences of our universe.

Blood Wail by Jae Mazer

 

Every night, sisters Saoirse and Imogen beg their Dadai to read to them from an old storybook, Tales from Ramnon. They’re entranced by the mythical creatures described within its weathered pages. But when tragedy devastates their blissful childhood, the book is closed, and the sisters are forced to cope with a loss darker than they could have ever imagined.

As Saoirse and Imogen grow into adults, they attempt to navigate their lives in County Cork, Ireland. But phantoms from their past have followed them, lurking in the shadows and wailing in the night. In desperation, one sister turns to drugs to quiet the horrors, while the other embarks on a journey to seek answers from the fables and myths of their childhood.   
BLOOD WAIL is a folk horror story about addiction, loss and pain, family and love, and the possibility of creatures beyond our understanding.  

Sometimes the stories are real.

Saoirse and Imogen reveled in the stories their father read to them nightly, but were left unprepared to deal with the night he didn't come home. There was far more to these stories that had been held back from young ears and dark secrets kept from the girls that will shape their adult lives. When they begin to see and hear the wailing mournful screams of the harbinger of death they tell no one. Not even each other.

 This dark folktale combines Irish legend with real life horror in a moving portrayal of one loving family's grief and loss. 

4 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review.

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About the author
Jae Mazer is a Canadian who was born in Victoria, British Columbia, and grew up in the prairies of Northern Alberta. After spending the majority of her life in the Great White North, she migrated south to Texas. She is a connoisseur and creator of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Many moons ago, a rampant love of reading led her to believe she could weave a good tale herself, and now she is an award-winning author with ten novels under her belt, as well as stories published in various anthologies.

Monster Carnival: An Anthology of Things, Beasts & Creatures

 This Halloween the monsters are real, and they are coming to your house! Shadow House Publishing opens the crypt and unleashes a MONSTER CARNIVAL!

Under the bed and behind the closet, in dank basements and gloomy attics…they are the whisper in the dark, the growl in the corner…they are everything we fear, and all that we secretly desire…they are us…they are MONSTERS!

MONSTER CARNIVAL: An Anthology of Things, Beasts, & Creatures, edited by supernatural horror author and critic WILLIAM P. SIMMONS, is an evocative anthology featuring the monsters that terrified us when we were children…and still do.

They’re all here, a paranormal parade of the dead, demonic, and devilish! Vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghouls, and blobs…unnamable entities and marvelous monstrosities, murderous severed hands and demonic frogs…every crawling, lurching, leaping, shambling THING that ever stalked a printed page.

They were the original bad boys of horror–the ugly outcast, the despised loner, the creature from the grave-basement-coffin-outer space-that everybody loved to be scared by (even as we secretly rooted for them). From ancient folklore bogies to inter-dimensional demons, this funerary feast of 22 classic and rare stories makes fear fun again.

Children of the night stalk in 22 tales from a diverse group of authors, some well-known, others anonymous or forgotten, from the gothic era to the 20th century. Contributors include Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, E.F. Benson, H.P. Lovecraft, Ambrose Bierce, Rudyard Kipling, Lord Dunsany, and H.G. Wells alongside fear specialists Manly Wade Wellman, Frank Belknap Long, William Hope Hodgson, Henry S. Whitehead, and Robert E. Howard. Some chilling tales make their first appearance in decades, including monstrosities from Edward Lucas White, Victor Roman, Anthony M. Rud, Hume Nisbet, Ulric Daubeny, Augustus Hare, and several others.

Editor William P. Simmons leads this spectral spectacle, hand-picking supernatural, psychological, and weird tales for every torrid taste. From the bloody behemoths of pulp magazines to the terror titans of the Lovecraft circle, from classic supernatural monsters to mutants and slithery things with tentacles, this compendium of long legged beasties and ‘things that go bump in the night’ features an Introduction discussing the appeal of the monster in fiction.

Featuring a cast of creatures to delight and disgust, the Monster Carnival has something for everyone... Well everyone who is not afraid to plow full steam ahead into some very dark and disturbing worlds where creatures masquerade as human and family curses can ruin one's love life.

Most of these stories were new to me, since my knowledge of the classics is pretty limited to Poe and Lovecraft. This anthology includes monsters that were familiar to me, but aside from the usual werewolf and vampire fare it offers strange and unusual tales with creatures that as of yet had never made the acquaintance of my nightmares. I am sure that will change now that I have been introduced to several wondrous and horrifying beings. Read if you dare, and should you see something from the corner of your eye in the misty morning fog trust your vision and seek immediate shelter.

I received a complimentary copy for review.

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Monster Carnival Table of Contents:

• Here There Be Monsters, William P. Simmons
• Amina, Edward Lucas White
• Four Wooden Stakes, Victor Rowan
• The Hounds of Tindalos, Frank Belknap Long
• Mark of the Beast, Rudyard Kipling
• The Demon’s Spell, Hume Nisbet
• Jumbee, Henry S. Whitehead
• The Spectre Spiders, W.J. Wintle
• The Werewolf, Eugene O’Neil
• At the End of the Corridor, Evangeline Walton
• The Hoard of the Gibbelins, Lord Dunsany
• The Lurking Fear, H.P. Lovecraft
• The Sea Raiders, H.G. Wells
• Lot 249, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Voice in the Night, William Hope Hodgson
• The Vampire of Cronglin Grange, Augustus Hare
• Frogfather, Manly Wade Wellman
• Rukorokubi, Lafcadio Hearn
• The Death of Halpin Frayser, Ambrose Bierce
• The Beast with Five Fingers, W.F. Harvey
• The Sumach, Ulric Daubeny
• Ooze, Anthony M. Rud
• The Thing in the Hall, E.F. Benson
• About the Editor: William P. Simmons is a supernatural fiction author, critic, & journalist. Eight of his stories earned Honorable Mentions in The Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror. By Reason of Darkness was praised by Publisher’s Weekly, All Hallows & Cemetery Dance. Graham Masterton, Hugh B. Cave & T.M. Wright endorsed his fiction. He has interviewed such authors as Richard Matheson, F. Paul Wilson & Caitlin Kiernan.
• SHADOW HOUSE PUBLISHING preserves our horror heritage!

Mister Glow-Bones and Other Halloween Tales by Ronald Kelly

 

Halloween is more than a holiday; more than a fun time of candy and costumes for the young. It is inoculated into our very being at an early age and there it remains. As we grow old, it grows dormant… but it is still there. For the lucky ones, such as us, it emerges every year, like a reanimated corpse digging its way out of graveyard earth to shamble across our souls. And we rejoice… oh, if we are the fortunate ones, we most certainly rejoice.

So turn these pages and celebrate our heritage. Blow the dust off the rubber mask in the attic and hang the glow-in-the-dark skeleton upon the door. Light the hollowed head of the butchered pumpkin and string the faux cobweb from every corner and eave.

It’s Halloween once again. Shed your adult skin with serpentine glee and walk the blustery, October streets of long years past. And, most of all, watch out for misplaced steps in the darkness and the things that lurk, unseen, in the shadows in-between.

I had actually read a couple of these stories not long ago in another collection The Essential Sick Stuff

and had planned to skip over them, but instead found myself enjoying them a second time.

The title story alone is worth it's weight in gold, or maybe chocolate, since I devoured these grim and grisly tales like a bag of Halloween candy. If you are looking for something to get you into the spooky spirit or whether like me you enjoy that delicious spine tingling feeling all year long this is a well written collection of creepy tales. But beware, some of your dollar store décor may have ill intent.

5 out of 5 stars

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Stories included in this collection:
Mister Glow-Bones
The Outhouse
Billy’s Mask
Pins & Needles
Black Harvest
Pelingrad’s Pit
Mister Mack & the Monster Mobile
The Halloween Train
The Candy in the Ditch Gang
Halloweens: Past & Present
Monsters in a Box

A Song for the End by Kit Power

 

Becoming an overnight sensation was supposed to be a good thing.
Not for Bill Cutter, supply teacher and weekend rock star. His band, The Fallen, have just released their latest tune on social media, and it’s blowing up.
So is the body count.
Now, Bill faces a frantic race against time to stop the spread of the song, before the horrific effects can no longer be contained.
Terrifying, bitterly funny, and tragic, A Song For The End is a breakneck, blood-soaked tale of truth, lies, consequences… and Rock N Roll.

Bill Cutter is thrilled at first, with his band's new song. It's literally the best work they've ever done. Unfortunately, the song forces everyone who hears it to tell the truth. While at face value this could be an amusing development as people spill their embarrassing secrets, there are deadly and immediate consequences for trying to lie, or even trying to remain silent. Bill's band mate Jeff feels that truth at any cost is exactly what the world needs, and he plans to spread the song far and wide regardless of the death toll. Bill will risk his life to stop him.

Sprinkled with humor and splashed with blood, A Song for the End lies somewhere between the Twilight Zone comedic episode The Whole Truth about the haunted car that forces the shady salesman to tell the truth, and the mysterious recording played on Lords Of Salem for the devil's child to take over the earth. Even the most honest among us may have to stop and think what would happen if the option of saying nothing when you had nothing nice to say, were replaced with a grisly death for not speaking the truth.

4 out of 5 stars

I received an advance copy for review

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About the author

Kit Power lives in the UK and writes fiction that lurks at the boundaries of the horror, fantasy, and thriller genres, trying to bum a smoke or hitch a ride from the unwary.
In his secret alter ego of Kit Gonzo, he also performs as front man (and occasionally blogs) for death cult and popular beat combo The Disciples Of Gonzo, www.disciplesofgonzo.com

Season of the Dead: Supernatural Horror for Halloween by William P. Simmons (Editor)

 

TWENTY TERRIFYING TALES FOR HALLOWEEN, THE MOST FRIGHTENING NIGHT OF THE YEAR!

“The Dead walk beside us in October…and this Halloween, they have a story to tell…”

SEASON OF THE DEAD: SUPERNATURAL HORROR FOR HALLOWEEN opens the veil between the living and the dead with 20 classic and rare supernatural stories set on or around All Hallows Eve. Macabre masters and unjustly forgotten authors revisit centuries of Halloween legends and folklore with stories of witches and demons, faeries and specters. These deliciously dark narratives from 19th & 20th centuries visit a time when the tricks were deadly, the treats horrifying, and people feared the dead.

Halloween—Samhain—Nut Crack night—Dia de los Muertos…on this night, ghosts, goblins, and ghouls cross into our realm, the familiar turns strange, and our most intimate fears are unmasked. A night of dark wonder and magic, mystery and the macabre. A Season of the Dead.…

Experience Halloween like never before! Light your pumpkin, lock your door, and listen to leaves scurry…the dry, rustling feet of the dead. Open this book, and try not to think about who, or what, might be peering in your window to set by the fire.

From landmark supernatural fiction by Edgar Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne and H.P. Lovecraft to literary nightmares by William Huntley, H.B. Marriott-Watson, Douglas Hyde, and Fritz-James O’Brien, there is a dark treat for every taste…along with some frightful tricks! Forgotten female authors appear in funerary finery, including E. Nesbit, Edith Wharton, Mrs. Henry Wood, and Mrs. J.H. Riddell. Horror favorites M.R. James, W.W. Jacobs, Bram Stoker, J.S. Le Fanu, and Robert W. Chambers stand alongside Nobel prize winning author Anatole France.

Feel October’s mingling of dread, lounging, and excitement. A celebration of olde halloween, when the monsters were real, the dead returned, and demons stalked every road.

Editor WILLIAM P. SIMMONS ushers readers through the Undiscovered Country of All Hallows with “Stories the Dead Know”, a thorough Introduction examining the holiday’s history, lore, and literature. Notes and Annotations create an eerie and informative context for readers.

These 20 classics from days gone by are arranged perfectly to get you into the spooky spirit of Halloween. Although previously published, all but H.P. Lovecraft, Bram Stoker, and Edgar Allan Poe were unfamiliar authors to me.

The notes that accompany each story were a plus as they explained a bit of background.

My favorites were Man Size In Marble in which a man finds his housekeeper's reasoning behind leaving her position near Halloween to be a mere superstition but may come to regret disbelieving.

Ken's Mystery, in which a man returns from a trip abroad entirely changed from his normal personality

The Three Sisters, a haunting story that begins at the death bed of one sister and the aftermath of her death on the survivors.

The Spectre Bridegroom in which young lovers are kept apart by their parents but drawn back together by the supernatural.

Whether you are already a fan of the classics or looking to test the waters before you dive in there is something for everyone in these collected tales.

I received a complimentary copy for review

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION: STORIES THE DEAD KNOW, by William P. Simmons
ULALUME: A BALLAD (1847) by Edgar Allan Poe
MAN-SIZE IN MARBLE (1887) by E. Nesbit
THE LOST ROOM (1858) by Fitz-James O’Brian
KEN’S MYSTERY (1883) by Julian Hawthorne
THE LAST OF SQUIRE ENNISMORE (1888) by Mrs. J.H. Riddell
THE THREE SISTERS (1914) by W.W. Jacobs
THE SPECTRE BRIDEGROOM (1865) by William Hunt
COUNT MAGNUS (1904) by M.R. James
TEIG O’ KANE AND THE CORPSE (1888) by Dr. Douglas Hyde
DRACULA’S GUEST (1914) by Bram Stoker
THE CHILD THAT WENT WITH THE FAERIES (1870) by J.S. Le Fanu
THE SCARECROW (1918) by G. Ranger Wormser
MASS OF SHADOWS (1927) by Anatole France
YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN (1855) by Nathaniel Hawthorne
REALITY, OR DELUSION? (1868) by Mrs. Henry Wood
THE DEVIL OF THE MARSH (1893) by H.B. Marriott-Watson
THE MESSENGER (1897) by Robert W. Chambers
THE VOW ON HALLOWEEN (1924) by Lyllian Huntley Harris
THE DUNWICH HORROR (1928) by H.P. Lovecraft
ALL SOULS (1909) by Edith Wharton

Prepare to Meet Thy God by Matt Starr

 

Almost Heaven

That's what the voice on the radio promised, and as Heath and his friends drove through the snow-capped mountains of West Virginia, they could almost believe it. Their destination? Blue Brier and the neighboring ski resort.

More Like Hell

The signs were there—becoming more evident as they drove deeper into the mountains of West Virginia—that something wasn't right. And nowhere was it more obvious than in Blue Brier itself, with its warning of "Prepare to Meet Thy God" painted on the side of a shed. Nor did the group heed the subtle warning issued by the local sheriff.

Ask, So That Your Sins May be Forgiven

The Harrowing is upon them, and it's too late to repent. Now they're running scared, running as though the very hounds of Hell are nipping at their heels.

A group of friends set off on a road trip to a secluded rental home where they expect to enjoy a vacation of skiing and partying. Sounds like a good time, right? Except the trip itself is a little freaky before they even reach their destination. At first I thought this was going to be one of those more tame and subtle horror stories with some mild spine tingly moments. (Not that there's anything wrong with that!) In fact I was so immersed in the characters and enjoying the dynamics between the friends, and the backstory of the main character Heath, that the horror aspect seemed secondary until all of a sudden it kicked in full force. I'm a sucker for small town horror where the locals keep dark secrets and outsiders don't escape unscathed, but there's more than mere mortals to fear in that desolate home in  unincorporated Mouth of Sheol. Do you know what Mouth of Sheol  means? you'll find out.

This is Matt Starr's first horror novel and I hope there will be many more to come because he's got quite a talent for it.

5 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review

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About the author

Matt Starr is a Best of the Net nominated typer and dog dad from a textile town in North Carolina. His work can be found in Barren Magazine, Empty House Press, and Schuylkill Valley Journal, among others. Matt is the author of Hell, or High Water (Main Street Rag, 2018), Prepare to Meet Thy God (Grinning Skull Press, 2020), and two collections of short fiction that, barring a miracle, only his girlfriend and dogs will ever read. Follow him on Twitter @illmattic919