A jealous teenager lures his rival into a tomb.
A five-year old child speaks in a voice beyond his years.
A therapist tells his patient to jump at every opportunity.
Trapped in an isolated funeral home, a man must get through the long night.
A spirit desperately wants to wed a living woman and refuses to take no for an answer.
Three boys on a road trip get lost...forever.
Some musicians really put their heart and soul into their work.
Amanda introduces her boyfriend to the person living inside her.
Selling a human skull shouldn't be difficult. Until a psychic gets involved.
Two sons see an apparition of their father...from thirty years in the future.
Near death experiences aren't all beautiful...
An eccentric inventor seeks patents on some novel and disturbing devices.
Christmas should be a time of joy, but when a man goes missing, his family tries to celebrate without him.
Buying a mysterious box on the DarkWeb leads a man down a rabbit hole of murder.
Confessing his sins to a priest, a man describes having a dark power.
A woman plans elaborate revenge on her cheating lover, only to find the tables turned.
I can't really say that many of these stories were scary, but the book did hold my interest. Several are written anecdotally as if the author is recounting an event that they personally experienced, and some, according to the editor's notes are admittedly "bite sized or ultra short." These are likely the stories I got the least enjoyment from. I don't like ambiguous tales with abrupt endings that seem to be over as quick as they start. That's just me. Other readers may feel differently.
The stories I most enjoyed were Convertible in which a traffic accident has an unexpected outcome.
Santa in which a jolly St Nick may not make it to the family gathering this year,
Mausoleum, about some young graveyard workers, and Gaslighting about a woman scorned, seeking revenge. All of these were by Joseph C. Gioconda.
The only story that I found scary was Lured by Amy Yun Yu. It is one of the more well rounded and fleshed out stories. A family living in a cramped trailer wherever they are able to park it have stopped at a book store on their way to the middle of nowhere and as the dutiful big brother begins to read the story his sister has chosen, sinister things are afoot.
So all in all it was worth the read and you may find some favorites too.
3 out of 5 stars
I received a mobi file through Book Sirens with no obligation to write a review.
No comments:
Post a Comment