Dead Boxes are scary things. Wonderful and dreadful secrets hiding themselves in plain view.
On the surface, they often appear to be ordinary, everyday objects. Items which are easily overlooked at first glance. Perhaps that’s just as well because the Dead Boxes are as far from ordinary and everyday as you can get. They hold miracle and mystery, horror and salvation, answers to questions best not asked and directions to places better left unfound.
This collection offers an insight into some of these delightfully eerie articles. A stunning omnibus of old school inspired horror, the brooding and ominous variety. Not to say that there isn’t a little gore and gruesome in the mix. But one of the beauties of horror is that it comes in many forms. Blood and guts don’t need to be stars of the show for a story to be dark and disturbing. Something that will stay with you long after the reading is done.
There are five tales that are available to buy as individual books and two more with limited availability. The exceptional Linger is previously only published in the charity horror anthology, Diabolica Britannica. The Screaming Mike Hawkins Story is new for this collection.
Some of these stories were new to me, others I have had the pleasure of reading previously. I really enjoyed most of them, but Burtbridge Boys was just not my cup of tea.
Of all the stories Night Service is my favorite, and is actually one of the best short stories I've read this year. It's the most wonderful time of the year. Christmas is approaching and there's no need to worry about the cold weather. Luke and Jessica plan to keep each other warm, and tonight's the night. It's the end of their third date and Jessica has invited Luke to come home with her. This must be his lucky night! Of course it would be better if he could afford a taxi. Wandering the streets looking for a bus stop well past midnight can put a damper on things. So can boarding a bus with a handful of unsavory characters. Things start to get uncomfortable before the bus even arrives, but once it does, well you'd have to be more brave than I am to board it. The ride is less than smooth and the destination is not at all the type of excitement Luke had been hoping for. The night service might not take you where you want to go but it will take you on a ride you'll never forget.
I loved the way the author turned the ordinary every day event of a bus ride into something extraordinarily terrifying.Call drops
Oddly enough, telephones have often been a source of nightmares for me. I do mean that literally, not just that I dislike talking on the phone. In my dreams it's a land line of the old fashioned rotary dial type. In this story it's a cell phone. A simple older slider model with no inner workings and no service provider that somehow manages to ring anyway, bringing brief but disturbing messages for it's new owner. The first time the phone rings it's shocking, as is the information Vincent is given by the disembodied voice when he answers the call. Further calls lead to far more gruesome discoveries. This was a short but shuddersome read that I would recommend to all who love horror and dark fiction.
Doggem was another story that I have read previously, and I enjoyed revisiting it here
It's been 20 years since I was the parent of a kindergartener, but I still remember my son coming home with a stuffed toy and a note from the teacher telling me it was our turn to host said toy for the weekend, and to record in it's diary the events of our time together. I don't remember what we shared with the class but I do remember keeping quiet about our cat dragging it to the litter box in an attempt to bury it or maybe murder it. Perhaps the cat sensed something? In this short story Doggem goes home with a very special boy. George is to host Doggem for the entire 6 week school break. This is more than enough time for Doggem to become privy to dark family secrets that even little George has yet to discover.
Is there such a category as whimsical horror? If not, I think the author has invented it. This was an enjoyable read that would have fit in perfectly as an episode of Amazing Stories or Tales from The Darkside.
Is there such a category as whimsical horror? If not, I think the author has invented it. This was an enjoyable read that would have fit in perfectly as an episode of Amazing Stories or Tales from The Darkside.
A Plague of Pages was new to me, and showcases the peril of the written word in more ways then one. What if horror stories came true? And does the power to turn them into reality reside within the writer or the pen? Is it something that can be passed from one generation to the next? This was one of the gorier and creepier reads in this collection.
Linger tells the story of a man who never knew his father, suddenly inheriting all of his money and a huge house full of bizarre objects. Is this the act of a repentant man wanting to make things right on his death bed? Or are their more sinister reasons for this last minute generosity afoot?
The Screaming Mike Hawkins Story is the tale of a blues man with a life as fascinating as any legend of Robert Johnson, the Mississippi blues singer who purportedly sold his soul at the crossroads and his life, although not cut short, came to a most horrific end.
I received an advance copy for review
