Fresh snow fell, erasing all evidence of her pain and injury, and it left the land unblemished, ready for new hurts to be layered on top like a fan
Fresh snow fell, erasing all evidence of her pain and injury, and it left the land unblemished, ready for new hurts to be layered on top like a fantastic, hopeless sort of sediment beneath the white powder of broken dreams.
I love a good Christmas horror story, and while my tastes for holiday frights usually leans more into the fantastical or blood-splattered sort, there's nothing like a classic gothic tale to creep into your bones and settle there on a winter night.
I've loved Gemma Amor's work ever since I was introduced to it by the NoSleep Podcast years ago, and I was so excited to receive a review copy of Christmas at Wheeldale Inn. This is an eerie historical novella of a couple who gets lost out on a desolate moor in a snowstorm on Christmas Eve and finds themselves at Wheeldale Inn, where they believe they've found salvation despite the somewhat unusual nature of the inn's occupants.
Wheeldale is a difficult read at times, as it features heavy themes of grief and domestic abuse in a marriage gone sour, but there's also an underlying element of magic in the way Mrs. Wilcox views the inn and its innkeeper that I was mesmerized by. I loved to hate Mr. Wilcox and found myself desperately flipping the pages in hopes of seeing him get his comeuppance, and while I won't spoil a thing for you, I'll say that I was both surprised and delighted by the final twist in this story.
If you want a cozy, quiet horror story to keep you company for the holidays, I highly recommend this one!
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.
✨ Content warnings for: (view spoiler)[child loss, loss of a spouse, domestic abuse (emotional, verbal, and physical), dissolution of a marriage, grief, descriptions of a decaying corpse, insects/maggots, exposure (hypothermia, etc.), animal death (brief, not graphic), infidelity (hide spoiler)]
I love a collection of Christmas horror stories and I had high hopes for this one, especially with the way it kicked off. The first story, 'T2.5 stars
I love a collection of Christmas horror stories and I had high hopes for this one, especially with the way it kicked off. The first story, 'The Fourth Emergency Service' by Lex H. Jones, was an instant favorite for me. It follows a woman who works at a very unique call center and, while it was predictable, it was in a good way — one of those stories that leaves you eagerly flipping the pages to see if you're right and to watch it all play out.
Unfortunately, after the first story, the rest were a bit of a letdown. I mostly enjoyed 'Ho Ho Howard' by RJ Roles and thought the writing in 'Lords of the Sleigh' by Gage Greenwood was beautifully written, but none of the remaining pieces stuck out to me and I even found myself skim-reading the endings of a couple because I couldn't seem to get interested in them.
Collected Christmas Horror Shorts III has some good pieces and is worth picking up if you're an avid lover of holiday horror short stories like I am, but it won't go down in my "best of" list this year, sadly.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.
This was brutal! I didn't read the synopsis at all, just went into this without any expectations other than knowing it was extreme horror, and I didn'This was brutal! I didn't read the synopsis at all, just went into this without any expectations other than knowing it was extreme horror, and I didn't see the twist coming at all.
I know I've ranted about this many times before, but so much of the extreme horror I've read has been poorly written with very bland characters and predictable plots that rely on grossing the reader out more than telling a story, so I'm always extra impressed when I pick up an extreme horror book and find depravity and successful story-telling. ...more
As someone who's already familiar with the guy and "haunt" this book was inspired by, this was a SUPER fun read. The Last Haunt is a documentary-styleAs someone who's already familiar with the guy and "haunt" this book was inspired by, this was a SUPER fun read. The Last Haunt is a documentary-style story told through interviews about the death of a haunt-goer at the McKinley Manor a year earlier, as well as a bit of insight into how the Manor came into being and what the consequences of the young woman's death were.
The Last Haunt is a very quick read that is PERFECT for the Halloween season, especially if you enjoy haunted houses. I've always loved haunted houses, but never been interested in "extreme haunts", and I'm definitely one of those people who can't help but question the motives compelling some of the minds behind those infamous places, so this little novella was right up my alley.
Between the unique storytelling format (with voices that actually felt distinct to each character, something not every author can accomplish), the absolute derangement of the mind behind McKinley Manor, and the suspenseful recounting of everything that went down, I really enjoyed The Last Haunt and I highly recommend picking up a copy. After loving this and We Need to Do Something, I'm landing solidly in the Max Booth III Fanclub and can't wait to read more of his work!
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.
There's no such thing as monsters, right? Right? There are. And they look like you and I.
I've been terrified of the idea of doppelgangers and body-
There's no such thing as monsters, right? Right? There are. And they look like you and I.
I've been terrified of the idea of doppelgangers and body-snatchers since I was a little kid. I remember waking up in the mornings and being afraid to get out of bed and say hello to my parents because I was convinced that I would wake up one day and they would have been replaced with something else. I had nightmares about it for years! Needless to say, doppelganger horror hits me in a sweet spot and Them tackled the trope pretty well. I wish there had been more emphasis on the fear of not knowing if someone is really who they say they are or a mimic, but there is one scene (I won't tell you where) that hit the nail on the head and gave me full-blown goosebumps!
I can't review this without talking about the violence and gore, because wow, this book is depraved lol. I read a decent amount of extreme horror, and I'll be the first to admit that I'm hard to please because gratuitous violence rarely affects me, but this book had a couple of scenes that left me feeling sick to my stomach for a few hours afterward. DEFINITELY check my trigger warnings below if you think you'll need them! A lot of the novella's strengths lay in the fact that Mique Watson did a great job of making me care about the characters before harm came to them, which made it hit home a lot harder.
As far as downsides go, the writing could have used a lot more editing, mostly in terms of continuity and dialogue (there are a few scenes with back-and-forth dialogue with nothing to break it up and no "she said", "so-and-so said", etc.; hard to explain in a review, but it made it tough to follow). I also wish there had been more of an explanation as to what was going on and how this all began. Honestly, Them could have been fleshed out into a full-length novel, no problem! All of that said, I had a pretty good time reading this (even if I spent a good bit of that time wrinkling my nose in disgust or cringing in sympathy) and I'll read more of this author's work soon.
This was another fantastic story from Ruth Anna Evans that reminded me of how well she can keep me entertained and wreck me emotionally.
Do Not Go in TThis was another fantastic story from Ruth Anna Evans that reminded me of how well she can keep me entertained and wreck me emotionally.
Do Not Go in That House follows a podcaster named Maggie who desperately wants to go viral and thinks she might have found her ticket when she has the opportunity to dive into a cold case about a terrible, brutal child death from a decade earlier.
The premise is worrisome enough on its own, but we quickly learn that Maggie has been off of her mental health medications for a bit and mania is setting in hard. Not only does her mental illness add a layer of complexity to Maggie's character, but her mania symptoms and history also go a long way in helping us to understand why she powers through red flags that many people might have ran screaming from.
(As a side note, I don't have bipolar disorder and don't experience mania the way Maggie does, but I have numerous other mental health disorders and a lot of experience with close loved ones' experiences with unmedicated bipolar disorder; for what it's worth, I thought Ruth Anna Evans handled the portrayal very lovingly and honestly!)
All in all, I really enjoyed this story — it might even be my favorite of this author's works so far! The setting was truly unsettling and I enjoyed Maggie as a character. No spoilers, but this story ran my heart through the wringer in the best way, and I can't wait to read more from this author soon!
Thank you to the author for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.
✨ Representation: Maggie has bipolar disorder
✨ Content warnings for: (view spoiler)[unmedicated mental illness, mania, depression, intrusive thoughts, suicidal ideation, thoughts of self-harm, brief mention of hospitalization, description of child death, violence, gore, endangerment of a pet cat, ableism (hide spoiler)]
Sometimes people asked why he did it as if there might be some logical explanation for why a husband would murder his wife and then tell his six-ye
Sometimes people asked why he did it as if there might be some logical explanation for why a husband would murder his wife and then tell his six-year-old son that the boogeyman did it.
I love Grady Hendrix's writing and I love boogeyman stories, so this was a natural winner for me. My only complaint is that I wish it had been 10-20 pages longer so we could have seen more of the inevitable outcome the ending was building towards! I loved the fact that we actually got a description of what was happening with the boogeyman and the fact that it left remains, since it seems like most under-the-bed monster attacks don't leave any traces. 4.5 stars!
What a fun little fairytale. I particularly enjoyed the author's note at the end — I agree that one of the most magical things about folklore is the wWhat a fun little fairytale. I particularly enjoyed the author's note at the end — I agree that one of the most magical things about folklore is the ways our brains re-shape the stories in our memories.
He liked the idea that all his undirected hate could be funneled away, leaving him drained, refreshed, and restored.
I think this might have been
He liked the idea that all his undirected hate could be funneled away, leaving him drained, refreshed, and restored.
I think this might have been my favorite of the Amazon Originals short stories that I've read so far. Joe Hill knows how to write a short story for sure, using so few pages to endear you to the characters and build up a storyline while still leaving space in the end to pack a terrifying punch. This story about a couple who moves to a small town after a recent miscarriage is painful on numerous levels and downright ominous, and I loved it.
✨ Content warnings for: (view spoiler)[miscarriage, grief, depression, alcohol, gore, brief description of animal death (hide spoiler)]
I mean, this was mildly entertaining, but at the same time, I've now given two of this author's books 2 stars each, and am beginning to think I shouldI mean, this was mildly entertaining, but at the same time, I've now given two of this author's books 2 stars each, and am beginning to think I should maybe stop trying. Or maybe I just need to read one of his books with a male MC, because I think my biggest issue ultimately lies in how cringe-inducing the female characters tend to be ...more
This last installment was pretty all over the place and the ending was a bit odd, but I still enjoyed it for the cute, silly shenanigans of Creepy Cat & co. I'm glad I picked up this series and I need more cute, goth cat stories in my life!
This one took me a while to get into, mostly because there were SOOO many characters, but once I was sucked in, I really enjoyed it. It had some reveaThis one took me a while to get into, mostly because there were SOOO many characters, but once I was sucked in, I really enjoyed it. It had some reveals I definitely didn't see coming! I'm glad I finally checked out Christopher Golden's writing and I can see why his work is so popular. I'll be reading more for sure. RTC! ...more
I'm sad to say this one didn't hit nearly as well as Getting It On With Gargoyles did for me! I just really didn't enjoy Ohken very much as a characteI'm sad to say this one didn't hit nearly as well as Getting It On With Gargoyles did for me! I just really didn't enjoy Ohken very much as a character overall, though I loved Wren and the plot points that weren't revolving around the romance itself. I'm still super excited for the rest of the series and have a pretty strong feeling this will be the exception to the rule for me with these books, or so I hope! ...more
Oooh, this was so messed up and fun! I always get such a kick out of Ruth's work and this was no exception. 4.5 stars, RTCOooh, this was so messed up and fun! I always get such a kick out of Ruth's work and this was no exception. 4.5 stars, RTC...more
Kaufman almost smiled at the perfection of its horror.
I read this in my bind-up of Books of Blood volumes 1-3, but I wanted to give it its own rev
Kaufman almost smiled at the perfection of its horror.
I read this in my bind-up of Books of Blood volumes 1-3, but I wanted to give it its own review since I'm not reading the entire collection right now. Wow, this story was immensely fucked up and did not go anywhere near where I was expecting it to go. The Midnight Meat Train is a quick, punchy reminder of why Clive Barker is one of the masters of modern horror and I loved this.
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