Cumberland Furnace and Other Fear-Forged Fables by Ronald Kelly

 From the Master of Southern-Fried Horror comes a collection of stories that could only beat in the dark, diseased heart of Dixie...- An abandoned furnace, choked with shadow and haunted by tormented ghosts, stands as a grim testament to a time when cruelty and the abuse of human flesh was woefully commonplace...- A man's obsession with mysterious roadkill on a lonesome country avenue awakens a horrifying hunger that can not be satisfied...- Two boys let curiosity get the better of them and discover that a collector of monster movie memorabilia is something more than a retired master of greasepaint and latex...- A dimwitted projectionist at a small-town drive-in theatre upsets a Saturday night crowd when he unwilling releases a dark secret from a dusty and forgotten film can...- A grandfather's Christmas Eve story of a unfinished journey by a drunken peddler captivates a young boy and brings about the delivery of a yuletide gift once thought to be forever lost...- It started out as nothing more than a shortcut home... a detour through a shadowy stretch of forest known as Tanglewood. But what awaited an unsuspecting driver, amid the brush and bramble, made a simple flat tire seem like a horrifying journey into madness... 22 terrifying tales of Southern darkness and depravity

First I should say that I read the complete paperback version which contains the full 22 stories in 328 pages and NOT the kindle version which contains only 7 stories. 

I'm not sure if there are any of these paperbacks still in circulation but you might find a used copy here even though you will probably have to wishlist it for quite a while before a copy finally becomes available. If you don't want to wait or get fed up searching for used copies in good condition the kindle version is an option and the seven selected stories are excellent.

Some of these stories were new to me, but as a long time fan of Ronald Kelly I had read some of these in other collections. It was still a joy to revisit them.

There are ghosts, stories of revenge, magical and deadly places, psycho killers, satanists, and more in this entertaining and delightfully dark collection.

Ronald Kelly is a master story teller and I recommend him even to people who say they don't like short stories! Often what they don't like is the ambiguous or abrupt endings. It takes skill to fit a satisfying conclusion into a short story and Ronald Kelly is adept at doing just that.

5 out of 5 stars

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