Lingering by Chris Coppel

 

The woods looked dark and ominous. Between the trees, where the darkness was blacker than black, dozens of slanted yellow eyes flicked open and stared back towards the house. They weren’t the eyes of anything human...

When Paul and Christy purchase Croft House, they are both looking forward to a new start. Christy’s abusive father is dying and she is ready to put the past well and truly behind her. But the house has other ideas. They soon realise there is something in the house, something that’s trying to communicate with them.

In their fear, they ask a local psychic to remove this entity. And in so doing, release something far, far worse.

Paul and Christy are a happily married couple, looking forward to moving into their new home. Cue the ominous warning from a stranger that they need to be sure about this house because once they move in it will be too late.

Follow that up with a presale home inspection that shows the inside dimensions of the house don't match up to the outside. Top it off with a way too thick wall in the loft and you have your makings for a typical haunted house story. Gosh I wonder what's behind there? You may be surprised but I was not.

Weirdly, Christy decides she has to go to her childhood home to care for her dying father after his stroke. I say weirdly because she has had nothing to do with him for decades, ever since she escaped his abuse when she was 16. It seemed an odd choice or at least a choice most people wouldn't make under such circumstances. So for this reason she is not there for her husband to help him with packing or moving into their new home.

Paul moves in by himself unless you count his wife's dog. The strange happenings begin right away, frightening the cable tv installer when he wanted to break through that unusually thick wall, although the ghost seems quite mild and even helpful. When Christy arrives she demands they have the house cleansed of this spirit immediately. Paul for some reason has this done by a woman who outright tells him she does not want to do it, that she doesn't do it anymore, that she has had something traumatic happen when she tried to cleanse a house of something more powerful than she is strong enough to deal with. Sure she sounds like the right woman for the job. He convinces her that this is a mere friendly ghost so against her better judgment she attempts this cleansing. It's not long before she is also frightened away, telling Paul that yes she got rid of the friendly ghost but there is something else in the house.

Up to this point, nothing really scary has happened unless you count dreams and hallucinations which just don't do it for me.

I enjoyed the parts of the story that were about Christy and what her life was like before she met Paul. It was almost like I was reading two different books, one a domestic drama and the other a haunted house story.

There were a few spooky parts near the end but after the big climax, I didn't care for the way  Paul and Christy treated the woman who they practically forced to attempt a cleansing that she did not want to do. I had liked them until then. To me, it's ridiculous to blame someone for not being able to do something they told you they couldn't do. The ending itself was not to my liking either. It's too Casper the friendly ghost or Beetlejuice for my taste. You may enjoy it more than I did, lots of people have loved it.

It also needs a trigger warning for child sexual abuse/rape

I received an advance copy.

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About the author

Chris Coppel was born in California. His family moved to Europe, living in Spain, France, Switzerland and mainly England. He has written numerous screenplays but Far From Burden Dell is his first novel. He taught advanced screenwriting at U.C.L.A.

Chris is also an accomplished drummer and guitarist. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Clare, and their very own scaredy-cat, Samantha.

Corpse Honey: A Banquet of Gruesome Tales by Michael J. Picco

 

"Out of the eater came something to eat; out of the strong, came something sweet." What is 'corpse honey, ' you ask? Is it something bitter or is it something sweet? Well, it is honey, after all, so let's assume it's sweet - so sweet in fact, that everything you eat afterward tastes like ashes. No? Then it must be bitter. So bitter that it leaves your tongue blistered and festering. Perhaps it's both bitter and sweet. Maybe it tickles the inside of your skull - like your head has been filled with bees. Some are there to make honey, some are there just to sting you... over and over. One thing is for certain: corpse honey is not for the squeamish. After all, even the sweetest honey is "loathsome in his own deliciousness..."Corpse Honey is a collection of twelve gruesome tales, drawing inspiration from the natural world, folklore, and fever dreams. Within these pages, you will find the lesser-known horrors that lurk in the shadows of our world: the possessed, the cursed, and the afflicted - and worst of all, the monsters with the all-too-human faces. For nearly a decade, award-winning author Michael Picco has brought his disturbing and strange visions to readers around the world. He is proud to present Corpse Honey, his second collection of disturbing stories - a banquet of grisly tales sure to satisfy even the most gruesome of appetites.

What first caught my eye was this gorgeous cover, designed by the author himself. It made me want to read Corpse Honey before I even knew that it was a collection of short horror stories, which of course made me want to read it all the more.

Some of these tales are more sci-fi than horror and others lean towards psychological thriller. My favorites are those with supernatural overtones. 

The author employs the stream of consciousness technique in the narrative which may be jarring for some readers who are not expecting the unusual syntax and rough grammar or heavy use of dashes and ellipses instead of the more conventional use of punctuation. For me, it put me into the characters' thought processes almost making me part of the stories.

Among my favorites were The Bark Men, which is a coming-of-age tale surrounding two young cousins' encounter with mysterious beings deep in the woods of Colorado. I would like to see this story developed into a full-fledged novel. It was both sad and creepy at the same time.

I also enjoyed Isle For One? - a Satirical, darkly humorous look at customer service that has not improved in pandemic times. If you've ever sat on hold while listening to a recorded voice this is for you.

Another favorite was Mortimer the Maus in which a man recalls a childhood visit to a cut-rate unsavory amusement park that went from unpleasant to horrifying when he became separated from his neglectful father. This one made my skin crawl.

Under My Bed... Where The Lower Things Crept - After being frightened by a story his older sister tells him, a boy is forced to give up his bedroom and move into the room where grandma died. Is there something evil under the rug? Or is it all in his mind?

All I have to say about The Popelick Goatman is Ladies, this is exactly why if you break up with your man on a dark and stormy night, you do not get into his junk car and drive off with nowhere to go. You stay inside where you are safe and warm and you toss his ass out. Let the Goat man have him, he deserves it. Trust me and learn from this.

Not every story was my cup of tea but these were my favorites, yours may be different. Recommended for readers who enjoy horror. sci-fi or weird tales.

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to the Denver Horror Collective for the finished paperback copy.

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Alfred Hitchcock's Ghostly Gallery

 

Eleven spooky stories for young people. "Good evening, and welcome to Alfred Hitchock's Ghostly Gallery..." So begins the introduction to this marvelous book for young readers presented by none other than the master of the macabre himself, Alfred Hitchcock. Following his invitation to "browse through my gallery", readers will find ghoulish ghost stories "designed to frighten and instruct" -- instruct, that is, about the strange existence ghosts must endure! Stories include "Miss Emmeline Takes Off" by Walter Brooks; "The Valley of the Beasts" by Algernon Blackwood; "The Haunted Trailer," "The Wonderful Day," and "Obstinate Uncle Otis," by Robert Arthur; "The Upper Berth" by F. Marion Crawford; "The Truth About Pyecraft" by H.G. Wells; "Housing Problem" by Henry Kuttner: "In a Dim Room" by Lord Dunsany: "The Waxwork," by A.M. Burrage: and "The Isle of Voices" by Robert Louis Stevenson. Parents and kids can't help but chuckle at Hitchcock's comment, "I don't want to appear disloyal to television, but I think reading will be good for you." Contains some very spooky two-color illustrations by Fred Banbery

Even though I know not to judge a book by its cover, that is exactly what attracted me to this anthology. I should not have judged it by the title either since I expected ghost stories and the majority of these tales are absent of spirits.

There were a few stories that I enjoyed, even though there were no scares to be found. Most of the stories were just not to my liking. Even "The Waxwork" which was made into one of my favorite episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents was kind of dull and flat here. Whoever they hired to turn it into a tv script is the one who added all the flavor and flair that is missing in this book.

The few stories that I liked were more whimsical than scary

I did enjoy The Wonderful Day in which a young boy drifts off to sleep after listening to his family gossip about the residents of their town. He thinks to himself that adults are confusing since they often say things they don't mean. He makes a wish as he falls asleep and soon the figurative becomes literal which is wonderful for some people but less so for others.

I also enjoyed Miss Emmeline Takes off, about a woman who sneaks into the home she lost after a financial difficulty to retrieve an important item that the new owner refused to let her take.

The Truth About Pyecraft was a fun story about a prescription for weight loss that works far too well.

The illustrations by Fred Banbery are amazing

I'm not sure that 3 stories out of 11 make a convincing argument in favor of this book but you may enjoy the rest more than I did. If you are interested there are plenty of used copies in decent condition floating around out there.

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The Man in the Field by James Cooper

 

The village: a remote, God-fearing place, governed by ancient rituals that provide eternal balance to the land. Here, people have faith in working the soil, the good Lord above, and their own peaceful community. This is how they have lived for centuries, the Council providing spiritual oversight and the charismatic Father Lynch lighting the way.

As he does every year, according to an age-old custom, the man in the field arrives amid much rejoicing and apprehension. To sanctify the newly planted crops and ensure a productive harvest, the village must make a personal sacrifice in his name. This is the tradition that must be honored. For every blessing, there is a debt to be paid . . .

Mother Tanner, an older member of the village, has seen all this before. She has been born and raised in the shadow of these harsh solemnities and feels increasingly disturbed by them. Celebrating the Turning of the Wheel and exalting in God’s bounty is only half the story; there is much here that she is starting to distrust. Not least of which is Father Lynch himself and his beloved Council. And the enigmatic man in the field, who gazes not at the village, but at the distant horizon, thinking only of the overdue debt and the stroke of midnight when it will be time to collect . . . 

The author states that the short story from which this book originally springs was a tribute to Shirley Jackson. I think she would have been honored, and I was strongly reminded of her story The Lottery as I dove into these pages. He also says that this may not be all there is, or all there will be to this story. That may explain why I am left with questions that I hope will be answered someday.

Who are these people? When are these people? Where are these people? What made them come here and what makes them stay?
I have no idea! The descriptions of the women and how they are dressed had me picturing them in my mind like something out of Little House On The Prairie. The villagers keep to themselves and the outside world is shunned. They live what seems to be a very primitive lifestyle, but in modern times, with superstition cloaked in religion. There is running hot water, indoor plumbing, and fragrant bath salts, but no phone, internet, or tv. It seemed more like a cult than a community, in that the leaders do as they please while preaching strict rules at everyone else.

Once a year The Man In The Field arrives, and as is his custom he stands there, feet planted firmly in the earth, face turned away from everyone. Nobody has ever seen his face, but they know that he demands a sacrifice, in return for which they will receive a bountiful harvest. Some people view this as a time to rejoice. There will be festivities and a feast to mark the occasion. Others face it with mixed feelings of fear and resolve. Our main character, Mother Tanner, and a few of her friends have started to feel that there is a definite wrongness in their way of life

I had a dreadful feeling when I suspected what the sacrifice was likely going to be, but that did not make it any less upsetting when it occurred. Horror, for me, is always at its best when it can stir up emotions and make me feel something. I don't need blood or gore, but I need someone to care about and someone to hate. The Man In The Field delivered that in spades. I was upset, I was enraged, I was gut-punched and disgusted. I felt at times hopeful for my favorite characters one minute and terrified for them the next.

The ending left me with more questions than I had when I started, yet I loved this book so much that I have to give it a 5 out of 5 stars. Even if I do hope the author will be haunted by dreams of Mother Tanner until he is inspired to write a sequel.

My thanks to Cemetery Dance Publications for the advance copy.

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Author's Website