What do you think?
Rate this book
States of Horror
State of Horror: Illinois
WHAT IS YOUR STATE OF HORROR?
Come take a unique tour of the state of Illinois. Visit a little known pizza place where the deep-dish pizza is to die for. Spend the night in a haunted house or explore an abandoned resort town. What happens when you disturb the sanctity of an ancient deity? Swim with us in a lake where fish are not the only creatures under the water’s surface. Ghosts, mobsters, and zombies all provide thrills as we explore the Land of Lincoln.
The number 13 is often viewed as an unlucky, even evil number. However , here it is only fitting we traverse the horrors of Illinois through 13 tales to make the heart beast just a little faster. Join us if you dare.
Stories by:
Stuart Conover, Eric I. Dean, DJ Tyrer, Della West, Claire C. Riley, Herika R. Raymer, Frank J. Edler, Julianne Snow, A. Lopez, Jr., Armand Rosamilia, Eli Constant, P. David Puffinburger, and Jay Seate
Come take a unique tour of the state of Illinois. Visit a little known pizza place where the deep-dish pizza is to die for. Spend the night in a haunted house or explore an abandoned resort town. What happens when you disturb the sanctity of an ancient deity? Swim with us in a lake where fish are not the only creatures under the water’s surface. Ghosts, mobsters, and zombies all provide thrills as we explore the Land of Lincoln.
The number 13 is often viewed as an unlucky, even evil number. However , here it is only fitting we traverse the horrors of Illinois through 13 tales to make the heart beast just a little faster. Join us if you dare.
Stories by:
Stuart Conover, Eric I. Dean, DJ Tyrer, Della West, Claire C. Riley, Herika R. Raymer, Frank J. Edler, Julianne Snow, A. Lopez, Jr., Armand Rosamilia, Eli Constant, P. David Puffinburger, and Jay Seate
- GenresHorror
246 pages, Paperback
First published August 23, 2014
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 8, 2014
13 horror stories set in the great state of Illinois, published by a small Missouri press. Full disclosure, I know editor Jerry Benns and I own a bookstore that hosted Jerry and Margie Colton for an autographing in late 2014.
As with many horror anthologies, there will inevitably be some stories that appeal more than others, but this collection contains a pretty wide variety of styles. My favorite stories tend to be those that are closest in style to a good Twilight Zone episode, and there are several of those present, although there is no one style of horror that dominates the collection. For a small press publication, the editing is top-notch, and I'm sure that will be the case for upcoming releases by the publisher.
My personal favorite couple of stories are "Drowning in the Hazel" by Eli Constant, which plays upon the fear of places dark, deep, and underwater, "My Porcelain Monster" by Eric Dean, featuring a haunted toilet that's creepier than that initially sounds, and "Piasa Remains" by Herika Raymer, and not that it was more terrifying, but because it utilized the setting of Alton, Illinois more effectively than any other location in the collection. I know the short story length doesn't give the authors many extra words for "scenery", but this particular line of fiction really will benefit from a strong sense of place and local color.
I look forward to the upcoming volumes in the State of Horror series, and as the notoriety of the publisher and line increase, I hope a wide variety of authors and experts in local history will be included.
As with many horror anthologies, there will inevitably be some stories that appeal more than others, but this collection contains a pretty wide variety of styles. My favorite stories tend to be those that are closest in style to a good Twilight Zone episode, and there are several of those present, although there is no one style of horror that dominates the collection. For a small press publication, the editing is top-notch, and I'm sure that will be the case for upcoming releases by the publisher.
My personal favorite couple of stories are "Drowning in the Hazel" by Eli Constant, which plays upon the fear of places dark, deep, and underwater, "My Porcelain Monster" by Eric Dean, featuring a haunted toilet that's creepier than that initially sounds, and "Piasa Remains" by Herika Raymer, and not that it was more terrifying, but because it utilized the setting of Alton, Illinois more effectively than any other location in the collection. I know the short story length doesn't give the authors many extra words for "scenery", but this particular line of fiction really will benefit from a strong sense of place and local color.
I look forward to the upcoming volumes in the State of Horror series, and as the notoriety of the publisher and line increase, I hope a wide variety of authors and experts in local history will be included.
March 27, 2015
What a collection. Each story was more engaging than the other. There is something for everyone.Some stories are gorier or disturbing than others ones how about a talking pizza or Armand Rosamilia's "Great mistakes" story. Some are sweet, others creepy like the story by Eric I Dean "My Porcelain Monster" or "Chicago Mike" By Della West and Claire C Riley's "Out comes the wolves".Some are nice ghost stories such as "Ritter House " by A Lopez Jr or Jilian Snow "The Ghosts of Mores".This was a delightful long read.
July 25, 2019
Great stories!
I enjoyed reading each and every story in this collection. Each author has their own style which gives the book something extra. Kudos to all!
I enjoyed reading each and every story in this collection. Each author has their own style which gives the book something extra. Kudos to all!
February 11, 2015
i freely admit the only reason i picked this book up is a friend of mine was featured in it, but i was really happy i read it! it was fantastic!
for my full take on this anthology, go here State of Horror Illinois
for my full take on this anthology, go here State of Horror Illinois
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews