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Ho Ho Horror

by Steve Rossiter (editor), Kathryn Hore (Goodreads Author), Cameron Trost (Goodreads Author), Keith Mushonga, Tony Dews, Andrew McKiernan (illustrator), Gordon Reece, Belinda Dorio (Goodreads Author) , more…

4.83 of 5 stars 4.83 · rating details · 6 ratings · 2 reviews

Ho Ho Horror is a collection of eight Christmas horror short stories from both established and emerging writers of horror fiction.

From the terrors of physical danger, to characters at the edge of insanity, unsettlingly disturbed children, poignant psychological horror, and the supernatural, this collection of Christmas horror provides a unique blend of Christmas cheer and...more

Paperback, 134 pages

Published December 23rd 2011 by The Australian Literature Review (first published December 21st 2011)

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Dec 18, 2012 Bob Milne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: bizarre-extreme, xmas2012

This was a very interesting holiday themed collection, with stories running the gamut from clean to obscene, and real to surreal.

HO HO HO by Gordon Reece is a great start to the collection. Here we have a spoiled, precocious, imaginative young boy, a pair of overindulgent parents, and one horrible case of mistaken identity. It's one of those stories that you figure cannot possibly be headed where you think, and where you're sure it'll stop shy of what you fear . . . only to be delightfully disa...more This was a very interesting holiday themed collection, with stories running the gamut from clean to obscene, and real to surreal.

HO HO HO by Gordon Reece is a great start to the collection. Here we have a spoiled, precocious, imaginative young boy, a pair of overindulgent parents, and one horrible case of mistaken identity. It's one of those stories that you figure cannot possibly be headed where you think, and where you're sure it'll stop shy of what you fear . . . only to be delightfully disappointed on both counts.

LET IT SNOW by Sam Stephens uses the holiday as an interesting backdrop to an otherwise straightforward tale of homicidal horror. As if family vacations weren't unsettling enough, you know things are not going to end well once the kids shatter an entire case of beer - especially not after the weird guy behind the reception counter already offered Dad a few lines of coke.

UNWANTED GIFT by Belinda Dorio changes things up again, offering us a horrific story of stalking and domestic abuse where the holidays hold special significance. There's a real sense of dread to this one, a feeling of plausibility that definitely sets the reader on edge.

Echoing the opening story, NAUGHTY OR NICE by Cameron Trost features a spoiled brat of a child, a pair of parents at their wits end in terms of discipline, and another horrible case of mistaken identity. Part of the horror comes from the way in which Barry tries to deny or rationalize the atrocities he's committed, while another part comes directly from the bathroom scene at the end.

If I had to pick a favourite from the anthology, then SATAN CLAUS by Keith Mushonga would definitely be it. The demonic Santa emerging from a fiery grave sets the tone early, with children and adults alike quickly descending from glee to terror just before he sucks out their souls. There's an interesting family dynamic at play here as well, but what ultimately won me over was the fact that instead of orchestrating some miracle act of redemption, Mushonga allows the difficult, teenage, atheist daughter to save the day.

X-MAS SECRETS by Steven Gepp is another tale where the holidays hold special significance, but this time it's a case of lost love and crushing regret that accompanies the season. The story starts out well, with the narrator engaging our curiosity before going on to demand our sympathy as well. It's a fantastical story, almost akin to a fairy tale, with an ending that holds some power, despite being a foregone conclusion from the opening.

RAINMAKER by Kathryn Hore is another strong tale that uses the holidays as a backdrop, without attributing any special significance to them. It's largely the tale of a conversation between a student and his counsellor, but one that gets stranger as it gets darker. The supernatural element is hinted at, suggested, and alluded to, but we're not really sure until the very end whether it's all just madness.

GLITTERING WERE THE LEAVES by Tony Dews is an unusual choice with which to end the anthology, since it has nothing to do with Christmas at all. Despite that, it's a chilling tale within a tale, and one that really grabs hold of the reader in the final pages.

All-in-all, a great anthology of stories that put a definite twist on the holidays.

Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins(less)

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Nov 22, 2012 Melanie added it

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Mar 18, 2013 Mort Chud marked it as to-read

Feb 27, 2013 Talie Helene marked it as short-story-anthologies

Nov 27, 2012 Marika marked it as to-read

Nov 08, 2012 Anders K. marked it as to-read

Sep 24, 2012 Kristina marked it as to-read

Sep 09, 2012 Tom marked it as to-read

Shelves: christmas

Jul 22, 2012 Jessica marked it as to-read

Jan 02, 2012 Elke marked it as wishlist · review of another edition

Shelves: anthologies, christmas, horror

Oct 21, 2012 Belinda Dorio rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author)

Dec 24, 2011 G.N. marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Dec 24, 2011 AusLit rated it 5 of 5 stars

Dec 24, 2011 AusLit rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Feb 01, 2012 Cameron Trost rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

Jan 31, 2012 Cameron Trost rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author)

Shelves: trost-s-tales

Holiday > Christmas

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