Bats by William W Johnstone

They’d flown north from Central and South America, appearing one day in the southern wetlands of the U.S. like ominous ink stains in the twilight sky. With each sunset, more appeared, first hundreds then thousands. Massing into a great black cloud of terror, the vampire bats were beating their wings in time with the panicked heartbeats in the towns below.

No one knew how to stop them as they fell onto their prey like dark, deadly shadows. But someone had to find a way. Because somewhere in the night, they had become a threat to more than wild animals and livestock. Somewhere in the night madness took hold as these vampire bats developed a taste for human blood.

 And the feasting had only just begun.



This is a vintage horror from way back in 1993 when the creature feature was still the rage. William Johnstone has long since passed and his books were out of print for years. Many of them have been re-released for Kindle and I grabbed a few plus some used paperbacks from the thrift store.

Our hero is some kind of former spy CIA guy or some such special ops thing that you will probably picture as Liam Neesan or at least I did since he is described as solid and fit but not too good looking. Luckily he pretty much already lives in a fortress since his retirement so his house is the safest place in town.
Some of the language is a bit cringe worthy, and I don't mean swearing. I was a bit put off by the number of derogatory terms the author chose to use because I don't think that was cool even back in 1993. If you can look past that, it's a decent classic horror about giant vampire bats swarming a town, with a high body count, lots of gore and chewed up eyeballs. If that's not enough they've also been spreading rabies to the local wildlife and to the crazy group of satanists too who think these giant bats are the answer to their dark prayers. All in all a it was a pretty good read if you're in the mood for a horror from days gone by.
4 out of 5 stars.

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Bottled by Stephanie Ellis

The house was his, an unwanted and unwelcome inheritance. As a child, Tyler Torrence spent many miserable hours beneath its roof, hating his grandfather and the man’s housekeeper, Mrs. Waites. His only escape during those visits had been via the impossible bottles created by his granddad; bottles holding miniature worlds in which he could lose himself for hours. Sometimes however, he sensed something else living in the house and in the bottles and when he returned home, he took the nightmares with him.Now an adult, Tyler decides one last visit can do no harm, allow him to finally shake off his nightmares. The bottles however, are waiting—and so is Mrs. Waites. As both house and bottles gradually yield up their secrets, it is made clear to Tyler what is expected of him and what will happen should he fail.Is Tyler master or servant of the house?



When Tyler was a child his father disappeared, and his mother grew hateful and bitter. She often sent Tyler to spend time with his grandfather even though she herself would not set foot in his creepy old house, neither knowing nor caring how Tyler was treated there. At long last Grandfather is dead and the house belongs to Tyler... or does Tyler belong to the house? This could be the chance that Tyler needs to get back on his feet and out from under his mother's thumb or it could be a way to trap Tyler's son into the family curse. This was a quick and creepy read that reminded me a bit of Burnt Offerings. (The movie not the book, I still need to read that someday!)

I received an advance copy for review.

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About the author

Snowball by Gregory Bastianelli

A group of motorists become stranded on a lonely stretch of highway during a Christmas Eve blizzard and fight for survival against an unnatural force in the storm. The gathered survivors realize a tenuous connection among them means it may not be a coincidence that they all ended up on this highway. An attempt to seek help leads a few of the travelers to a house in the woods where a twisted toymaker with a mystical snow globe is hell bent on playing deadly games with a group of people just trying to get home for the holidays.


A Christmas Eve blizzard wreaks havoc on what at first appears to be a group of random strangers trying to head home for the holiday. An accident  on the highway causes the only 8 vehicles with occupants crazy enough to be out in this weather to become stranded. I love Christmas themed horror and anything to do with storms so while I already expected to love this story I was surprised to find myself mostly reading it in bed at night huddled under the blankets so as not to shiver. This book literally made me cold with the descriptive passages of drifting snow, howling winds  and freezing temperatures. That's before the icy chill of supernatural horror even began. One would think this would be the worst catastrophe these characters had ever experienced, but no, they each have a ghastly story to share of their worst winter memory that makes being caught in a blizzard seem like a day at the beach.
This is the kind of book that makes me wonder why in the world the movie theaters are so full of reboots, remakes, and stale sequels. Film makers should really pick up a book once in a while. You'll want to turn up your heat before you read this one, and if the kids have built a snowman in your yard close the blinds and pull the shades so it can't see you.
5 out of 5 stars

I received an advance copy for review.

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About the author
Gregory Bastianelli , a New Hampshire native, graduated from the University of New Hampshire where he studied writing under instructors Mark Smith, Thomas Williams and Theodore Weesner.
He worked for nearly two decades at a small daily newspaper where the highlights of his career were interviewing shock rocker Alice Cooper and B-movie icon Bruce Campbell.

He is the author of the novels, "Jokers Club," "Loonies," and the soon to be released "Snowball."

His pulp horror novella "Lair of the Mole People" appears in the anthology "Men of Mystery Vol. II"

The Bedding of Boys by Edward Lorn

Regina Corsi is a monster, the vilest of predators. Her desire for young boys is only matched by the bloodlust that overcomes her once the sex is finished. But she’s grown hasty in her hunting. And only a special friend can keep her disturbing appetites a secret.

Nevada Barnes is fourteen, and, emotionally speaking, still very much a child. When his stable home life is thrown into turmoil by an unexpected visitor, he escapes into the arms of an older woman, where he will find his own desire growing stronger each and every day.

In the small town of Bay’s End, Regina and Nevada dive head first into a relationship doomed for disaster, a sex-fueled madness neither will be able to satiate. But Regina’s special friend is impatient and will not be distracted by their love affair. It will feed, whether Regina wills it to or not. For the bedding of boys has consequences that reach far beyond the legal ramifications of her actions.

When Ghost is hungry, only death will do.


"Midnight thoughts and three-am dreams, these are the gifts given to us by the horrors we have lived through. Because, although we’ve survived, our memories remain in the moment, so that we never truly escape. Ask any rape survivor what their nights are like, when the sun is down and the room is dark and their thoughts are the only company they keep. This is the burden of the living, and why the dead are the lucky ones."

Well Holy Yuck-a-Moly!
Regina is a serial killer with a perversion for pubescent boys. She is not a love them and leave them type, more like a love them and cleave them into pieces. She seems to have no empathy for anyone, which would suggest a borderline personality disorder until at last her twisted and shriveled heart finds what she thinks of as "Love" with her latest victim Nev, a 14 year old boy who doesn't realize how dangerous she is until it's far too late. There is also a supernatural aspect to the story, with her "ghost" who is on clean up duty, sucking up blood and chowing down on the dead bodies of her victims. Things are certainly never dull in the town of Bay's End.


Currently available for cheap in a collection of ALL the Bay's End Novels! Get a copy
All Things Lead to the End...

The Complete Bay's End Collection!

This collection includes seven full-length novels, one novella, a short story, and an excerpt, all of which are listed below:

BAY'S END
FOG WARNING
THE SOUND OF BROKEN RIBS
THE BEDDING OF BOYS
EVERYTHING IS HORRIBLE NOW
"Cinder Block" (a short story)
NO HOME FOR BOYS
CRUELTY
A sneak peek of CRUELTY & JOY

About the author
Edward Lorn (E. to most) is a reader, writer, and content creator. He's been writing for fun since the age of six, and writing professionally since 2011. He can be found haunting the halls of Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

E. lives in Alabama with his wife and two children. He is currently working on his next novel.