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In the Cold, Cold Ground: An Anthology of New England Horror
6 AUTHORS. 6 NOVELLAS.6 STATES OF HORROR IN NEW ENGLAND.Join William D. Carl, Kristin Dearborn, Ed Kurtz, Errick Nunnally, Kyle Rader, and Morgan Sylvia for six novellas—one for each state in New England—that explore the region from its haunted past to a horrifying vision of its future. Hidden doorways into bleak spirit realms and impossible pockets of time, ancient specters that inhabit the dark woods, unwanted visitors from unknown worlds and a cruel siren call from the waves crashing against the rocks…a hexad of horror from deep in the cold, cold ground.
- GenresHorror
427 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 6, 2023
37 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
Ed Kurtz
56 books145 followersEd Kurtz is the author of THE RIB FROM WHICH I REMAKE THE WORLD and other novels. His short fiction has appeared in numerous collections, and has been honored in Best American Mystery Stories as well as Best Gay Stories. Kurtz lives in Minneapolis.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 15, 2023
I have a fondness for horror collections . I get to read new stories by authors I’ve enjoyed before or find some new ones. There are six novellas in this collection and they knocked my socks off.
First up is All The Strangers Came Today by Ed Kurtz. Eun and Jim move into their new apartment. It’s a strange place, built in the 1880s. Right off the bat Eun has trouble settling in and is creeped out by the attic. It’s stifling hot and the window won’t stay shut. She starts seeing things and her husband thinks her schizoaffective disorder has returned, causing the horrific hallucinations she’s having. I wondered too. You never know where the author is taking you. Until you do. A haunting story superbly written.
Next up is The Art Of Devastation by Morgan Sylva. Right from the opening scene I knew I was going to love this one too. I never knew the main character’s name. She’s interviewing an older woman, Elle Sanders, that was once famous and also infamous. Elle knows what she wants to talk about and gets right to it. Back when she was a young woman, she steals her mother’s yacht and, along with five friends, goes island hopping. Months later, Elle is found on an island, covered in blood with something unmentionable in her stomach.
I really got sucked in by these characters. Both had something horrific happen to them in their past. It still haunted them. And once I heard what happened on that island. The one that wouldn’t let them leave. I was haunted too.
The third story is After Everything by Errick Nunally. Oh yeah. After reading the first three sentences I couldn’t stop reading.
“When it comes to creeps there is one thing you can count on. Every time. When all is said and done, they do not behave like humans.”
Eddie and Jeff are doing what they usually do at the end of each day. Hanging out at the playground and smoking some good weed. Then a shambler comes along. It’s not so much what it looks like, it’s the creepy moaning that causes a panic in Jeff. When the aliens, the bugs came, it was thought they brought the virus that turned humans into creeps. Whatever caused it, the world they knew is gone. The new one is a drag.
There was a crazy scene were Eddie and Jeff are fighting off a creep and having a tough go of it. It was once a soldier and was wearing a helmet and flak jacket. Pretty hard to kill. I feared for one of them. Or both. Authors often kill off the main characters. That’s what made this so suspenseful. I was hoping they would survive but fearing they wouldn’t.
And the fourth story is Mine by Kyle Rader. For Timmy and Hunter it was always about the fort in the woods. They never knew who built it. It was used by one generation after another. And over the years it grew and morphed into quite the clubhouse.
Other boys used the fort too and it was first come first serve. Whoever occupied the fort defended it. It was a safe place for Timmy and Hunter. And then it wasn’t. A battle between the groups of boys began and ended. When the battle was over, the boys expected to see the others. But something else was standing there. And not just their world would change. The evil would ooze into town. No one was safe.
Man this one got dark. I had no idea what in the world was going to happen. Prepared myself though. It wasn’t going to be pretty.
And the fifth story is Click Clack by William D. Carl. The title is so scary good. I couldn’t wait to see what it was all about.
The noise awoke Jonas from a sound sleep. Click Clack. He looked around the room, seeing nothing that would cause that sound. Knowing he was all alone, far from the city, he wouldn’t be going back to sleep until he figured out it’s cause. He found nothing in the house or garage and threw on some clothes to go check outside. Nothing he could see but he sensed he was being watched. Shrugging it off, he turned to go back inside. There it was again. Click. Clack. But when he spun around. Nothing.
The next night the sounds were back. What could be making them? The neighbors shared the same experience so he wasn’t imagining it. I probably should have figured out where this was going sooner. But I didn’t. And that’s okay. It made the ending even better.
And the sixth and final story is The Red Hike by Kristin Dearborn. Natalie wanted to be an outdoors influencer. Then she met Charlie and it got put on the back burner. When her friend, Elena, heard that Charlie hit Natalie, she wanted to protect her. That’s how she ended up rolling out of bed at the crack of dawn to go hiking. A producer noticed Natalie’s popularity and asked her to do a hike in Vermont for Halloween.
I’m telling you, if someone told me that someone had gone missing there, and her body mysteriously turned up later, right where they’d been searching for her, no way would I step foot on that trail. But these three did and I knew nothing good would come of it.
Can rocks eat people? It’s rumored that they did on the trail they were hiking. And that thing did happen. Natalie touched that cairn and Poof. Gone. Where was she? How do they get her back? And what else should they be worried about?
Well this story went in an unexpected direction. And so did the ending. The author got really creative.
Many of these got a 5 star rating on their own so I’m going to use that for the entire collection. There’s so much for fans of horror and dark fiction to enjoy.
I received a complimentary copy. My review is voluntarily given.
First up is All The Strangers Came Today by Ed Kurtz. Eun and Jim move into their new apartment. It’s a strange place, built in the 1880s. Right off the bat Eun has trouble settling in and is creeped out by the attic. It’s stifling hot and the window won’t stay shut. She starts seeing things and her husband thinks her schizoaffective disorder has returned, causing the horrific hallucinations she’s having. I wondered too. You never know where the author is taking you. Until you do. A haunting story superbly written.
Next up is The Art Of Devastation by Morgan Sylva. Right from the opening scene I knew I was going to love this one too. I never knew the main character’s name. She’s interviewing an older woman, Elle Sanders, that was once famous and also infamous. Elle knows what she wants to talk about and gets right to it. Back when she was a young woman, she steals her mother’s yacht and, along with five friends, goes island hopping. Months later, Elle is found on an island, covered in blood with something unmentionable in her stomach.
I really got sucked in by these characters. Both had something horrific happen to them in their past. It still haunted them. And once I heard what happened on that island. The one that wouldn’t let them leave. I was haunted too.
The third story is After Everything by Errick Nunally. Oh yeah. After reading the first three sentences I couldn’t stop reading.
“When it comes to creeps there is one thing you can count on. Every time. When all is said and done, they do not behave like humans.”
Eddie and Jeff are doing what they usually do at the end of each day. Hanging out at the playground and smoking some good weed. Then a shambler comes along. It’s not so much what it looks like, it’s the creepy moaning that causes a panic in Jeff. When the aliens, the bugs came, it was thought they brought the virus that turned humans into creeps. Whatever caused it, the world they knew is gone. The new one is a drag.
There was a crazy scene were Eddie and Jeff are fighting off a creep and having a tough go of it. It was once a soldier and was wearing a helmet and flak jacket. Pretty hard to kill. I feared for one of them. Or both. Authors often kill off the main characters. That’s what made this so suspenseful. I was hoping they would survive but fearing they wouldn’t.
And the fourth story is Mine by Kyle Rader. For Timmy and Hunter it was always about the fort in the woods. They never knew who built it. It was used by one generation after another. And over the years it grew and morphed into quite the clubhouse.
Other boys used the fort too and it was first come first serve. Whoever occupied the fort defended it. It was a safe place for Timmy and Hunter. And then it wasn’t. A battle between the groups of boys began and ended. When the battle was over, the boys expected to see the others. But something else was standing there. And not just their world would change. The evil would ooze into town. No one was safe.
Man this one got dark. I had no idea what in the world was going to happen. Prepared myself though. It wasn’t going to be pretty.
And the fifth story is Click Clack by William D. Carl. The title is so scary good. I couldn’t wait to see what it was all about.
The noise awoke Jonas from a sound sleep. Click Clack. He looked around the room, seeing nothing that would cause that sound. Knowing he was all alone, far from the city, he wouldn’t be going back to sleep until he figured out it’s cause. He found nothing in the house or garage and threw on some clothes to go check outside. Nothing he could see but he sensed he was being watched. Shrugging it off, he turned to go back inside. There it was again. Click. Clack. But when he spun around. Nothing.
The next night the sounds were back. What could be making them? The neighbors shared the same experience so he wasn’t imagining it. I probably should have figured out where this was going sooner. But I didn’t. And that’s okay. It made the ending even better.
And the sixth and final story is The Red Hike by Kristin Dearborn. Natalie wanted to be an outdoors influencer. Then she met Charlie and it got put on the back burner. When her friend, Elena, heard that Charlie hit Natalie, she wanted to protect her. That’s how she ended up rolling out of bed at the crack of dawn to go hiking. A producer noticed Natalie’s popularity and asked her to do a hike in Vermont for Halloween.
I’m telling you, if someone told me that someone had gone missing there, and her body mysteriously turned up later, right where they’d been searching for her, no way would I step foot on that trail. But these three did and I knew nothing good would come of it.
Can rocks eat people? It’s rumored that they did on the trail they were hiking. And that thing did happen. Natalie touched that cairn and Poof. Gone. Where was she? How do they get her back? And what else should they be worried about?
Well this story went in an unexpected direction. And so did the ending. The author got really creative.
Many of these got a 5 star rating on their own so I’m going to use that for the entire collection. There’s so much for fans of horror and dark fiction to enjoy.
I received a complimentary copy. My review is voluntarily given.
December 26, 2023
A solid collection of six horror novellas set in New England. The tales vary greatly in their tone, but they make good companions and the whole book is a satisfying read. Editor Ed Kurtz starts off the book with a haunted mind and the darkness threatening to devour it in "All the Strangers Came Today." "After Everything," by Errick Nunnally, brings us the apocalypse through the eyes of the young. "Click Clack" by William D. Clark is filled with heartache and misfortune. The high point is "The Art of Devastation" by Morgan Sylvia. The story of a famous dancer who somehow survived a maritime accident is filled with horrific encounters. Chilling, intriguing encounters.
December 4, 2023
A very, very unique collection of 6 novellas in the supernatural/horror genre, each one set in or concerning a different New England state. From ghost stories to time travel to witchery, each one had me enthralled. There's chills and thrills galore, a few not for the weak of stomach. I give it 5 stars for its variety and chill factor.
September 16, 2024
3.75 ⭐️
A definitive ranking of these 6 New England short stories:
1. The Art of Devastation (ME)
2. Mine (NH)
3. Click Clack (RI)
4. All the Strangers Came Today (CT)
5. The Red Hike (VT)
6. After Everything (MA)
Enjoyed all these stories for the most part, some where stronger than others. But gotta love a short story collection.
A definitive ranking of these 6 New England short stories:
1. The Art of Devastation (ME)
2. Mine (NH)
3. Click Clack (RI)
4. All the Strangers Came Today (CT)
5. The Red Hike (VT)
6. After Everything (MA)
Enjoyed all these stories for the most part, some where stronger than others. But gotta love a short story collection.
November 8, 2023
Excellent collection of spooky stories! Read them straight through. 🤯
Read
November 26, 2023error
November 30, 2023
It’s always difficult to rate an anthology – the stories can be of varied quality. So this is an average. My favorite was the sixth story, involving a town called Glastenbury in Vermont and its real-life tragedy, which has been re-worked into a Brigadoon now-you-see-me scenario. It's very well done and has just the right amount of believability versus improbability.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews