Horrible Gods: The Little Book of Atheist Horror Stories

by Wrath James White

“The Evidential Argument From Evil against the existence of God was summed up quite succinctly two thousand years ago by the Greek philosopher Epicurus: “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?” In Horrible Gods, Wrath James White poses these questions again and adds yet another, “What would the world be like if God were real? How terrifying a place would it be if an all-powerful being as selfish, capricious, egotistical, and insecure as the one described in the bible were actually running things?” The result are stories that are both terrifying and depressing, hilarious, and disturbing, thought-provoking and infuriating. From the story of a woman who has been told all her life that her sexuality was a “demon” inside of her that needed to be exorcised, to a man set on freeing mankind from the tyranny of a higher power that has manifested itself on earth, to the story of a computer program that allows the players to create their own worlds with intelligent life and a “freewill button” that gives the gamer the option to blame any mistakes on the beings they create, absolving the gamers of all guilt and responsibility, Wrath takes the question of God’s existence and benevolence for a ride in one gruesome tale after another.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories

196 pages, Paperback

First published October 2, 2014

About the author

Wrath James White is a badass motherfucker who writes baddasss books for other badass motherfuckers. He is a J.F. Gonzalez Lifetime Achievement Award winner and a Bram Stoker Award nominee with over two dozen books in print.

Wrath is the author of RABBIT HUNT, THE BUG COLLECTOR, and such extreme horror classics as THE RESURRECTIONIST (now a major motion picture titled "Come Back To Me") SUCCULENT PREY, it's sequel PREY DRIVE, 400 DAYS OF OPPRESSION, and many others.

To follow his Substack, purchase books, get the latest updates about upcoming releases, signed books, merchandise, and more, go to:

https://linktr.ee/wrathjameswhite

Reviews

[Karl]

This copy is signed by Wrath James white This copy is one of 80 copies printed.

[Sinister Grin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding read. Thought provoking and terrifying.

[Douglas Castagna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advanced copy of this for the purpose of an honest review.

First I want to say that there are a lot of Atheist writers out there, and some write horror, such is the case with Ray Garton, who delivers a great introduction to this anthology. Saying that, their outlook, or their Atheistic views do not tend to play directly into the fabric of their writing. With Wrath, it is a whole different ballgame. In many stories by Wrath James White, the characters are struggling to survive in a godless universe. With the first story, "He Who Increases Knowledge" you get an immediate sense of what an Atheist horror story is, and it is more frightening, visceral and extreme than anything I have read.

The anthology has several amazingly bleak, but insightful pieces in it including a poem that may or may not give us some glimpse into the Wrath himself.

All in all this is an amazing themed anthology by an author that has never been boring, redundant or relied on the tired old tropes of the genre. This is a must have for all horror fans, and dare I say readers of religious fiction as well. I say that because this gives some frightening looks into what can happen to the human psyche when religiosity is forced upon them. A definite must read.

[Todd Charlton · Rating 4 out of 5]

If gods were real Mr Wrath James White shows us just how horrible they would be. Who needs them.

[Allan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very nice collection of short stories, with a special gem 'Munchausen by Proxy'. Highly recommend for anyone interested in stories on the horrors of a god and how destroying it can be.

[Shayla Sherwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally! A book of short stories I was able to see through! Wrath James White has such an impeccable talent for drawing a reader in and making them think. I'm not religious but some of these stories made me heavily question religion and fall into an existential crisis or two. Some stories utterly terrifying, some had me laughing but all were phenomenal!

[Josh Warfel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some repeats from other Wrath books, but not a stinker in the bunch.