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In a Deep, Dark December
For your entertainment during this season of goodwill - five festive nightmares from the pen of best-selling thriller and horror author, Paul Finch.
The ghoulish events in the frozen workhouse ...
The undead presence at the costumed ball ...
The pantomime that became a massacre ...
The winter goddess with the heart of ice
The thieves who awoke the darker side of the Christmas spirit
The ghoulish events in the frozen workhouse ...
The undead presence at the costumed ball ...
The pantomime that became a massacre ...
The winter goddess with the heart of ice
The thieves who awoke the darker side of the Christmas spirit
- GenresHorror
173 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2014
10 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Paul Finch
207 books473 followersPaul Finch is a former cop and journalist, now full-time writer. Having originally written for the television series THE BILL plus children's animation and DOCTOR WHO audio dramas, he went on to write horror, but is now best known for his crime / thriller fiction.
He won the British Fantasy Award twice and the International Horror Guild Award, but since then has written two parallel series of hard-hitting crime novels, the Heck and the Lucy Clayburn novels, of which three titles have become best-sellers.
Paul lives in Wigan, Lancashire, UK with his wife and children.
He won the British Fantasy Award twice and the International Horror Guild Award, but since then has written two parallel series of hard-hitting crime novels, the Heck and the Lucy Clayburn novels, of which three titles have become best-sellers.
Paul lives in Wigan, Lancashire, UK with his wife and children.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 23, 2021
More Paul Finch holiday horror!
The Christmas Toys - Two Christmas burglars get, what else, more than they bargained for when they rob the wrong house. Fun.
Midnight Service - A man stranded in a snowed-in town stumbles upon an old church where a strange priest compels him to perform in a midnight show. Creepy.
The Faerie - A henpecked hubby absconds from his biatch of a wife with his daughter. When a blizzard forces them out of their car they find what appears to be a Yuletide oasis: the ideal holiday home and a perfect woman. Too perfect? Fun and creepy.
The Mummers - It’s the office Christmas party from hell as a couple of boomers exploit a ghostly legend to get revenge on the millennial upstarts who have mercilessly put them out to pasture. Satisfying.
The Killing Ground - A not so thinly veiled Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz hire a husband-wife PI team to prove their new English country house isn’t cursed by a limey La Llorona. Blimey!
The last, a novella, is a real stand out. I enjoyed the unpredictability of it. I thought I was in for a twist but I wasn’t, which is in itself a twist. If only every Simon Ark/Scooby Doo collection could start with a story like The Killing Ground.
Finch doesn’t get enough credit. The horror communities online all seem to recommend the same overhyped names over and over, and maybe I’m looking in the wrong places but I very rarely see Finch’s name pop up. But he’s wicked good at what he does. His writing is smooth, his characters recognizable, his acuity for creating interesting details—like character names—is impressive, and everything in the stories, from geography to history, is extremely well-researched (or at least written that way, which is a different kudos but a kudos nonetheless.) For example, in The Mummers, a story about local newspapermen at Christmastime, he works lyrics from carols into his prose, as well as the phrase “And a good time was had by all,” which, as it turns out, originated in local newspapers.
I’m really surprised there aren’t blogs or podcasts yet dedicated to poring over his horror fiction. There’s more here than meets the eye. I can’t wait to come back to these stories for many Christmastimes to come. Particularly the final three stories, they’re top notch.
The Christmas Toys - Two Christmas burglars get, what else, more than they bargained for when they rob the wrong house. Fun.
Midnight Service - A man stranded in a snowed-in town stumbles upon an old church where a strange priest compels him to perform in a midnight show. Creepy.
The Faerie - A henpecked hubby absconds from his biatch of a wife with his daughter. When a blizzard forces them out of their car they find what appears to be a Yuletide oasis: the ideal holiday home and a perfect woman. Too perfect? Fun and creepy.
The Mummers - It’s the office Christmas party from hell as a couple of boomers exploit a ghostly legend to get revenge on the millennial upstarts who have mercilessly put them out to pasture. Satisfying.
The Killing Ground - A not so thinly veiled Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz hire a husband-wife PI team to prove their new English country house isn’t cursed by a limey La Llorona. Blimey!
The last, a novella, is a real stand out. I enjoyed the unpredictability of it. I thought I was in for a twist but I wasn’t, which is in itself a twist. If only every Simon Ark/Scooby Doo collection could start with a story like The Killing Ground.
Finch doesn’t get enough credit. The horror communities online all seem to recommend the same overhyped names over and over, and maybe I’m looking in the wrong places but I very rarely see Finch’s name pop up. But he’s wicked good at what he does. His writing is smooth, his characters recognizable, his acuity for creating interesting details—like character names—is impressive, and everything in the stories, from geography to history, is extremely well-researched (or at least written that way, which is a different kudos but a kudos nonetheless.) For example, in The Mummers, a story about local newspapermen at Christmastime, he works lyrics from carols into his prose, as well as the phrase “And a good time was had by all,” which, as it turns out, originated in local newspapers.
I’m really surprised there aren’t blogs or podcasts yet dedicated to poring over his horror fiction. There’s more here than meets the eye. I can’t wait to come back to these stories for many Christmastimes to come. Particularly the final three stories, they’re top notch.
December 2, 2020
1) The Christmas Toys
Burglars are out Christmas Eve looking for presents to steal.
They find the perfect house, empty for the night and full of gifts.
Fortunately the spirit of Christmas helps the homeowners out in a very surprising way.
A decent opener.
2) Midnight Service
A late night traveller finds himself featuring in a strange stage show as Christmas Day approaches.
I loved this odd folk horror with shades of The Wicker Man.
An enjoyable late night Christmas read.
3) The Faerie
Arthur is escaping from an abusive marriage to his sisters for Christmas, his kid in tow
He just wishes he could be happy
Snow forces them to stop at a house in the middle of nowhere
Arthur needs to be careful what he wishes for
A superb tale
4) The Mummers
A glorious slow burn of a horror tale. Wonderfully paced and a highlight of the collection.
5) The Killing Ground
I really enjoyed this chiller featuring historical horrors.
Deals with the devil, missing children & cannibalism all feature in this superb character driven tale.
I'd thoroughly recommend In A Deep Dark December for some superbly written festive horrors.
Burglars are out Christmas Eve looking for presents to steal.
They find the perfect house, empty for the night and full of gifts.
Fortunately the spirit of Christmas helps the homeowners out in a very surprising way.
A decent opener.
2) Midnight Service
A late night traveller finds himself featuring in a strange stage show as Christmas Day approaches.
I loved this odd folk horror with shades of The Wicker Man.
An enjoyable late night Christmas read.
3) The Faerie
Arthur is escaping from an abusive marriage to his sisters for Christmas, his kid in tow
He just wishes he could be happy
Snow forces them to stop at a house in the middle of nowhere
Arthur needs to be careful what he wishes for
A superb tale
4) The Mummers
A glorious slow burn of a horror tale. Wonderfully paced and a highlight of the collection.
5) The Killing Ground
I really enjoyed this chiller featuring historical horrors.
Deals with the devil, missing children & cannibalism all feature in this superb character driven tale.
I'd thoroughly recommend In A Deep Dark December for some superbly written festive horrors.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews