Spin a Black Yarn by Josh Malerman

 

Five harrowing novellas of horror and speculative fiction from the singular mind of the New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box

Josh Malerman is a master weaver of stories--and in this spine-chilling collection he spins five twisted tales from the shadows of the human soul:

A sister insists to her little brother that "Half the House Is Haunted" by a strange presence. But is it the house that's haunted--or their childhoods?

In "Argyle," a dying man confesses to homicides he never committed, and he reveals long-kept secrets far more sinister than murder.

A tourist takes the ultimate trip to outer space in "The Jupiter Drop," but the real journey is into his own dark past.

In "Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer(TM)," a trendy married couple buys the latest home gadget only to find themselves trapped by their possessions, their history . . . and each other.

And in "Egorov," a wealthy old cretin murders a young man, not knowing the victim was a triplet. The two surviving brothers stage a savage faux-haunting--playing the ghost of their slain brother--with the aim of driving the old murderer mad.

Do you like weird fiction? Strange Tales? These novellas are not necessarily horror, but they do bite when you least expect it.

I loved three out of the five stories. 

In my three favorites, a little girl terrifies her baby brother with frightening pranks and her insistence that half the house is haunted. Is she just evil or can she see what others can't?

A loathsome married couple's incessant need to brag and show off their status will be their undoing when their past can not be washed away.

A family man on his deathbed shares a jarring secret that blindsides his loved ones as they gather to say goodbye.

There is some supernatural horror in the mix but the majority of these stories rely on psychological scares and surprising twists. 

My thanks to Random House/Ballantine/ Del Rey Publishing.

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That Night in the Woods by Kristopher Triana

 

When Jennifer receives a message from Scott Dwyer after twenty years without contact, her first reaction is one of excitement. Scott was her first love, and now that she’s in her forties and in the middle of a divorce, nostalgia for her youth gets the better of her.

Scott invites Jennifer to his house in Redford, the very same town she grew up in. It’s a place she’s made great effort to put behind her, for not all her childhood memories are sunny. When she accepts Scott’s invite and returns to her old hometown, she struggles with mixed feelings, especially when she learns of the death of Steven Winters, one of her and Scott’s childhood friends.

Scott invites three other people from their past to honor Steven’s memory—Corey, Traci, and Mark. But the group is more than old friends. They share a dark secret that has troubled them for decades. Now it’s time to face their traumatic pasts. Together, they must unravel the mystery of what happened that night in the patch of forest behind Scott’s house, a place once known as Suicide Woods.

From the author of Gone to See the River Man comes a chilling novel that reminds us old ghosts are the ones that haunt us most.

Twenty years ago seven teenagers went into suicide woods on Halloween, to party, camp out, and scare themselves a little. Only six of them made it out alive. 

They went their separate ways after that, never wanting to think about that night, trying to put it, and each other out of sight and out of mind.

Now all these years later, the messages come to each of them from the one person who stayed in town. Scott still lives in the house near suicide woods and he has bad news. Their childhood friend Steven has passed away and he wants them all to come back in honor of his memory. He claims this reunion was Steven's final wish and he has a message to share with them. 

Is he telling the truth or does he have nefarious reasons for wanting his former friends to return? He's certainly acting a bit strange. 

There's an old saying that tells us you can't go home again. Maybe that should be changed to "Don't go back if you were lucky enough to survive the first time."

As a fan of small-town horror,  I loved the atmosphere and the characters, These are people I could have gone to school with. The friends, the lovers, the nerdy kid, it's like I knew them all. But then came the sudden fear of the unknown. The party went from innocent fun, to fight for survival.  You wouldn't think you could get claustrophobia from reading about being outside in the forest but I did start to feel like those trees were closing in on me. I'm not going to tell you anything about what really happened that night in the woods but it has me staring suspiciously out my window on the lookout for more than just wildlife, and I won't be answering any calls or emails from long lost friends who want to reunite.

5 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Cemetery Dance Publications.

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I'll Tell You My Secrets by A. Lopez Jr.

 

When Camila approached horror author A. Lopez Jr. in 2019, she had no idea that her life was about to change forever. Over the next two years, she shared her family's haunting story, and now, her chilling autobiography is finally here. Growing up in a traditional Mexican-American family in Arizona, Camila was an ordinary girl with an extraordinary gift that would ultimately lead her down a dark and sinister path. In this gripping memoir, Camila shares her harrowing journey of coming to terms with her paranormal abilities, as she grapples with the shadows that lurk in her family's home and the malevolent presence that seems to have taken hold of her devout Catholic mother. As Camila uncovers the truth behind her family's sinister secrets, she takes readers on a terrifying journey, filled with twists and turns, as she battles to rid herself of her debilitating curse. But with the fear that she may pass on her gift to her young daughter, Camila is left wondering if she will ever be truly free. I'll Tell You My Secrets is a haunting tale, steeped in deeply rooted Mexican-American culture and beliefs, that shines a light on the shadows that exist just beyond the edge of reality. In this work of fiction inspired by true events, this gripping memoir will challenge everything you thought you knew about religion and science, leaving readers with a frightening glimpse into the dark forces that hunger for our souls. If you're a believer in the paranormal or simply looking for a spine-chilling read, then this is a must-have for your bookshelf.

In this cleverly written "mockumentary" style novel, the author paints a chilling picture of a young girl growing up with abilities she doesn't yet understand in a house full of creepy happenings where a demon has possessed her mother.

Camila's story begins when she is a child, sharing a room with her sister in a house her father built with his own two hands. They are a close-knit Mexican-American family, but a wedge begins to form when Camila knows her parents are keeping a secret from her.

Strange shadows and ghostly apparitions torment Camila, but the real terror begins when her mother seems to have an evil presence taking over her body and mind. This evil plagues her into adulthood, and years later she tells this story to the author, who may also face the consequences of the curse on Camila's family.

The author's skill drew me in and made me feel like I was the one Camila was trusting with her terrifying story. Now I'm wondering if I too will face the consequences of knowing.

Will you dare to let her tell you her secrets?

My thanks to A. Lopez Jr.

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The Dead Pennies by Robert Ford

 

After leaving an abusive relationship, Abby visits an old friend on her way to her mother’s in Florida.

Hayden’s Uncle Jack is renovating a building into high-end apartments in town, and with the lure of living rent-free in a beautiful loft, Abby becomes the caretaker with the entire building all to herself.
Abby hears strange sounds in the building. Shadows move as if they’re alive. Led to believe the structure
was previously a school, Abby is told by the last living employee of Harper’s Grove that the building
used to be a home for the infirm and unwanted children, the Dead Pennies of society, unfit for circulation.
Abby and Hayden search for the cause of the strange events at Harper’s Grove, and find out why the
spirits of the dead children won’t sleep until they get vengeance.

Abby has finally called it quits on an abusive relationship with a drug addicted creep. She packs what will fit in her car and heads to her mother's house although she really doesn't want to stay with her. On the way, she speaks to an old friend and decides to stop at his loft instead. He offers up what sounds like a great alternative to her mother's house. She can stay rent-free in a gorgeous apartment in a huge empty building while his uncle sorts through some red tape before renovations can continue to turn the rest into apartments.

It seems like the answer to all her problems. What she doesn't know, is that this building used to be an institution for physically and mentally disabled children, some of whom never moved on after death.

This was a chilling, multifaceted, ghost story. The spine tingling suspense comes from both the living and the dead. There is an unnerving encounter with a strange man before Abby even moves in, but the intricately woven back story of the building's days as a home to unwanted children was both heart-breaking and enraging due to its realistic portrayal of life for the residents of that kind of institution in those days. 

I felt for Abby and her circumstances, but it was the backstory of the building's dark past that really twisted my guts and kept me awake nights. 

Robert Ford is now on my short list of must read authors.

My thanks to Cemetery Dance Publications.

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