Craven's Freaks

by Dan Shrader

Jason Toole is a piece of shit, and he deserves to die.

Five years wasn’t a long enough sentence for his crimes. Now free, he is looking for his next victim. He takes pleasure in harming, maiming, and killing women. But Jason Toole will never see what is coming...

The saying “the sins of the father are visited upon the son” might be true in his case.

This short story is EXTREME HORROR.

81 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 11, 2024

About the author

Dan Shrader is a horror author hailing from Southern Indiana with a penchant for the macabre. He delves into the realms of Splatterpunk and Extreme, leaving no stone unturned in his twisted tales. His passion for writing ignited when he stumbled upon a treasure trove of VHS tapes at his grandparents. Within the confines of that box, he discovered a diverse collection of horror movie titles, including classics like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, C.H.U.D, Black Christmas, and Night of the Demons.

Since publishing in February of 2024, he has gained a following and received three horror award nominations for his novella “The Devil’s Rite” and debut collection “Those Who Live in Darkness.” Shrader is also known for his popular “Full Nasty” series and bestselling short story “Craven’s Freaks.”

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Dan Shrader a lot. But this one missed the mark in almost every way. There was an attempt at a plot and a good one, at that. However, everything quickly devolved into an oddly placed set of body horror and sexual situations without much context or purpose. And it wasn't even so vulgar or memorable that it was worth sacrificing everything else that had been built up. This needed to be a ton longer and more developed to have the desired effect. In its current form, it's not terrible, however it's also just not very good.

[Yvonne (the putrid Shelf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr Torso just wants to be loved

[Danielle Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Prison was an eyeopening experience for Jason, and it molded him into an even harder criminal than he was before.”

I’ve already read all of Dan’s published work. Like, all of it, lol. So whenever I find out he’s up to something new, I’m relentless and annoying. 🫣 When this popped up in my inbox, I audibly squealed. 😅

Craven’s Freaks was originally published in his short story collection, Those Who Live in Darkness, and was one of my favorite stories in it. So I’m really excited to see it was turned into a standalone and hope it gets the love it deserves. (I highly recommend checking out the entire collection by the way.) 🙌🏼

Anyway, this story.. per usual.. hits exactly how it should. I loved it the first time I read it, and I actually enjoyed it more the second time around. I love this writing style from Dan, and it shines bright like a diamond here. 💎 It’s a damn gritty tale and pretty fucking brutal. But it’s really well done and a read in one sitting type story. 🤌🏼

Themes: Heinous criminal. Prison. Recently released. Organized crime. Like father, like son. Objectifying women. Sexual depravity. Plot twist AF. Extreme Horror.

[Carrie Shields · Rating 5 out of 5]

"𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐧."

A nasty little short story that really packed a punch! Jason Toole has recently been released from prison, even though he's neither rehabilitated nor remorseful. His arrival was almost written in the stars as his father had been a long-time occupant of the same cell block before his death. The first thing on his mind is looking for a woman to use.

But business must be tended to first when Marco "The Piranha" Pinnelli, a notorious boss of a crime family, summons Jason to deal with a less than favorable 'investment' involving the Craven family, Jason smugly says, "Consider it done." He has no way of knowing how those words will come back to haunt him.

What follows is an absolute horror show full of torture, suffering, perversions, and the absolute glee in knowing that sometimes people DO get what they deserve. I've only read The Satanic Bill series from this author, but now I'm on a hunt to acquire all of his backlist. Thoroughly enjoyable extreme horror short!

[Eve Moss · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book saved me from a reading slump all hail Dan 10/10 a vile little book

[[ T.A.L.L.Y ] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guy meets the most WONDERFUL woman and they get married 💍 🌭

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first taste of Dan Shrader, and I shall be reading more. He has a great way with words. A horribly fascinating little story.

[hailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short story but I would have enjoyed it more if it was a full-length story as I feel like there was a lot more that could have been included.

[HWaltz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Paige Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're familiar with Dan's work then you might recognize this story from his short story collection, Those Who Live in Darkness. Craven's Freaks gets its own separate story for readers to discover or rediscover Jason's release from prison and the aftermath that follows.

Craven's Freaks follows Jason as he has been released from prison. This guy is a real piece of garbage and doesn't deserve to walk free. What is the first thing that comes to mind being a free man? Look for a woman to use and dispose of, of course!

However, his bubble is quickly burst as the infamous Crime Boss known as "The Piranha" has requested Jason's assistance in removing the Craven family. Jason gladly does as he is told but he has no clue what lays ahead of him during his quest.

If you haven't checked out, Those Who Live in Darkness, you need to change that. There's a lot of great stories in there. If you enjoyed Craven's Freaks then you need to add that one to your list next!

[Nicola (deathandthemacabre) · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Jason knew he was a monster. He partially blamed his mother for it, giving him the first sweet, addicting taste.."

If Dan's other stories were anything to go by, I knew this book would be nasty and fucked up, and I wasn't wrong 😅

Immediately you hate the main character because he's an arrogant dick, who's already thinking about the next woman he wants to abuse after getting out of jail, so you're hoping he gets some kind of comeuppance and it delivered, but in the weirdest, most unexpected hilarious way 😂 did I feel sorry for him? Absolutely not.

It's gross, bizarre, and a pretty brutal short story where a POS gets exactly what he deserves. What more could you ask for?

[Bambi Ortiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, nothing like getting out of a maximum security prison after years of serving and having your first day of freedom go to hell real quick!

The leader of a group of circus freaks gives you two choices. Which one are you choosing? Choose carefully!

This short story was so much fun! And my little heart got so excited about the circus freaks!

[ScarlettAnomalyReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fabulous gory crazy one by Dan.

This one felt on the extreme side to me, and was full of the fun terror that Dan writes.
This also had a new element for me, crime family type horror, and I actually liked it.

This one was out of left field for me, but would recommend to anyone looking for something to really push those boundaries .

[Tanner Caraway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good little sprint of a read but it suffers from what a lot of EH books do, cohesion and feeling rushed. Would have definitely benefited from a bump in page/chapter count, but perhaps that would have detracted from the short sweet nature of a little disgusting novella like this. All in all, worth the read and burned through the pages.

[Janine · Rating 1 out of 5]

This could’ve been better if it was longer but it felt rushed. It was a little depraved but I wouldn’t say extreme horror. Which is what I was expecting from the description.

[Krystal Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well then, I wanted more of cravens freaks. Not sure what else to say.

[Bethany Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

My only critique is that I wish this was longer tbh

[Phoe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could’ve been longer

[Laura Bilodeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another amazing piece of work by Dan. I love the way he uses words. He is like an artist or composure creating such a vivid experience for the reader with every story he tells. The depictions of every scene played out like a movie.
The only thing I can say is I wish this was a full length story, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would’ve loved to have gotten more from it.

[Captain Howdy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Did I Just Read????

This story starts out and you think you know the direction it’s headed in, but then it takes an abrupt turn that flips you on your head and you have no idea what’s happening next.

A fun short disturbing read.

[Autumn Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick and gross!