A woman plagued by blood-draining mosquitoes on the Alaskan tundra figures out a horrific way to scratch her unending itching.
There’s something outside my tent…and I think it’s hungry.
A collector of rare tropical fish, receives a new species that is both fascinating and terrifying.
DREAD - Thousands of people have gone missing out in the wild and here is a collection of tales that offer up some horrifying reasons why. Emmy-award-winning National Geographic cinematographer Kevin Bachar has swum with sharks, climbed the peaks of mountains, and explored the darkest of forests. In DREAD, he weaves together terrifying true stories from his real-life adventures with twisted fiction from the depths of his frightening imagination. Flip open the pages to indulge in the dark side of nature— haunted forests, tree demons, monstrous snakes, and a search-and-rescue team terrorized by the ghosts of those they couldn’t save.
Read... if you dare.
Angry spirits, swarms of bugs, strange lights that lead people astray, Bigfoot, and more are featured in these 22 new tales of Dread. Most take place in wild and dangerous outdoor settings because like they say, write what you know, and the author certainly has lots of experience with such places.
Some of the stories were too short for my taste but that is just my own preference. I love short horror stories but I tend to avoid flash fiction.
It was the longer stories that gave me chills, and I enjoyed all of them starting from the opening lines of The Peak of Fear in which a search and rescue team is haunted by a mistake. There was more than the icy temperatures in this one that gave me the shivers!
Another of my many favorites was Forest For The Trees. I love a woodsy setting, probably due to my own complete lack of a sense of direction. I always get an uneasy feeling from these kinds of stories because I live vicariously through the characters from the safety of my cozy chair knowing full well that if it were me I would be the one lost and never seen again.
Working Like A Dog was another of my favorites. While not a scary story there are some supernatural aspects to this tale of a New England grave digger and his best pal, a loyal dog named Rex.
I also loved The Starter, which is about a man with a struggling pizza restaurant. If you've ever wondered how to make the perfect crust at home like your favorite pizzeria does you can find an alarming secret here.
Branching Out was the final and creepiest of the stories, in which a grumpy old man who just wants some peace and quiet on his own property, goes a little overboard and pays a horrific price. All the stories were good but those are the ones that I am still thinking about that will be cemented in my memories for quite a while.
If you like dark fiction this collection is for you.
4 out of 5 stars
My thanks to Kevin Bachar
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