Skullface - A Halloween Splatterpunk Story

by Brianna Raine

Poor Graham was involved in a fire when he was just a baby, resulting in scarring and disfigurement.
Suffering a tormented childhood full of bullying, as soon as he is old enough he goes under a major transformation.
Now it's Halloween and Graham moves back to his home town to face his childhood bullies and finally gets his revenge.

TW-
Murder
Sexual assualt
Bodily fluids
Fire
Dismemberment
Disfigurement
Torture
Gore
Psychiatric health

89 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2025

Reviews

[Steph's_Creepy _Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this! It's going to be the PERFECT book to read during Halloween 🎃
Brianna has picked the perfect setting for a revenge story. Who would suspect a gory figure during Halloween??

[Alana Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of reciving an ARC copy of Skullface and I have to say...I am hooked.
I loved this book!! I do highly recommend reading the trigger warnings first just in case. I however didn’t, I very rarely do but that is my personal preferance.
Who doesn’t love a good Halloween splatterpunk revenge story??

Poor Graham has a terrible accident as a small child that causes some serve bullying by his peers as he tries to navigate his way through school. Years later, he’s back and out for revenge on the the worst of the bullies.

This isn’t a fluffy story about them being sorry for the way they treated him. Oh no, its full of gorey revenge and I am so here for it.

This is not for the faint hearted. But if you are a lover of gore, horror and Halloween I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a short read.

[Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 🌟
The perfect Halloween revenge story!
We follow Graham and his journey through life and how he has planned the perfect revenge for friends in his life.
This was a quick, bloody read but I also felt it dealt with real issues that show how things can change and escalate!
The moral of the story always be kind kids

[GemieLou · Rating 5 out of 5]

What better time to enact revenge on your bullies than at Halloween? This gory tale follows Graham as he gets revenge on those who made his life a living hell just for looking different. This is a perfect halloween read!

[Becki 🤎 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skullface 💀 out 1st October 🎃

Owhhhh this really kicked off the start of spooky season for me 😱 Thank you so much Brianna for sending me this ARC! 🤎

Life has been hard for Graham from the very start. At just 13 months old he suffered horrific burns after an electric heater fell into his cot in the middle of the night, leaving him unrecognisable. This lead to a lifetime of bullying from his scars, by the age of 6 he was nicknamed ‘skullface’ and by the age of 10 it had got so bad they moved towns and placed him in a special school 😔

Now an adult, he’s worked hard on rebuilding himself in every way possible, new skin, teeth, career, everything to live a ‘normal’ life. The only thing he cannot change is his memories. The bullying & torment he suffered has stuck, so fifteen years later he’s decided it’s time to come back home.

It’s Halloween, he’s unrecognisable & he has the perfect disguise to get his revenge…it’s time for payback!

This was AMAZING 😱 It read like a Halloween movie for me, it was brutal but in a way that you’re like YES 🙌🏼 after every death, if that makes any sense 🤣 His decorations was just the perfect touch 👌🏻

I really enjoyed it! I’ve already pre-ordered my copy with Brianna, if you’re UK it’s only £7 signed so Makesure to grab yours too!

As always with any of my recs do check your triggers beforehand! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

[Claudia Rambles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know about you, but I’m already ready for Halloween and this book is the perfect way to kick off spooky season.

In Skullface we meet Graham. As a baby, he suffered a terrible accident that left him with severe burn scars.
At home, he was loved but at school, he was constantly being bullied because of his appearance.
Now as an adult, Graham is unrecognizable. After countless surgeries, hours at the gym, and building a very successful career, he’s completely transformed. But there’s one thing that never changed… his thirst for revenge. And now… it’s finally time to make the bullies pay.

This is a fast, one sitting kind of read that will leave you satisfied. Expect graphic, gory scenes that don’t hold back and will definitely make you squirm.
And a big shout out to Brianna’s creativity! I’ll never look at Halloween decorations the same way again.

Skullface releases on October 2nd, just in time to add to your spooky TBR. And the paperback is already up for pre order for just a fiver! Total bargain.

This review and more here:
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[BookSplatterBritt · Rating 4 out of 5]

graham is different from everyone else. he gets his revenge on the bullies from childhood on Halloween. an intense and gory read. not going to lie a couple things in here made me a little nauseous but loved it!

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

A really faced paced and quick read about a bully revenge story with a creative twist to it. This would definitely get you into the Halloween spirt and make you want to put up those decorations

[shyra ☾ · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you’re searching for a fast gruesome tale of revenge, let this be it.
skullface is coming 💀🎃💀

graham has been bullied relentlessly during childhood for his scarred facial disfigurement.
years later he moved back to his hometown and is now a figure in disguise going to get payback on his bullies

this is splatterpunk at its core and checking the box for deserving what they got.
nothing better than getting perfect gore fueled revenge on your past bullies and using them as halloween decorations

[Kieran Hatton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book great to read on Halloween very fast paced revenge story told brilliantly couldn’t put the book down looking forward to reading more of the authors books. Love a Halloween book

[Allyssa Gaines · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do love a good revenge story! And it sounds like Graham had waited long enough for his revenge. I loved the idea of waiting until Halloween to enact your revenge. Loved the gory details. I did feel like the length of this story did make things feel a bit rushed. Kind of wish it had been a bit longer to expand on those details. Overall, really cool story!

[K D Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

A horrific accident leaves Graham scarred for life. In school he’s given the title of skullface and is bullied relentlessly.
As an adult Graham would go on to reinvent himself. Physically he was a million miles away from ‘skullface’ but mentally… let’s just say you can change what’s on the outside but inside not so much and as I always say this is where this story really opens up!
This is a tale of revenge! One of my favourite tropes! The revenge was truly inventive and I devoured this book. I loved the ending and this was a quick read. Solid 5 stars

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly I just want to thank brainna for giving me the opportunity to read this as an arc!

This was a good quick splatterpunk novella that will fit perfectly on your October TBR!

As most of you know by now I love a revenge story and this one is a good one!
You’ve got a fast paced, read in one sitting, gory, Halloween themed story which will definitely have me looking at Halloween decorations a little closer from now on! You never know who is actually behind the mask! 🫣

[Emily Haynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Graham's life was changed in an accident. Now he is ready to seek revenge. Intense bloody good read.

[Catriona Mowat · Rating 4 out of 5]

How far would you be willing to go to get revenge on your bullies?

Graham has had a miserable life, suffering disfigurement after being badly burned as a baby. After a school life haunted by bullies, Graham finally has a chance for revenge. And he will do whatever it takes.

Skullface is short but it doesn’t pull any punches. There are intense moments of gore that may have you feeling pretty squeamish, I know I did, and behind it all there is still a well-developed plot. I was desperate to know more, there is a really interesting backstory to be explored here, and I hope that there is a prequel/sequel at some point!

Brianna has done something new here: a splatterpunk novella that will scratch the itch of extreme fans, but also filled with a story that will tug at your heartstrings and touch on psychological thriller fans. I was fascinated by Graham and his motivations, and I need more! This is a new direction for Brianna Raine, and very well done: with each release she proves herself to be a multi-skilled author of a number of sub genres.

[Laura Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good revenge story and this one was certainly gruesome. I found myself at several points clenching my teeth together because I felt the uncomfortableness about what was about to happen. my only negative is it was a little too short, I could have done with an extra chapter before the gore, maybe a little more over skullfaces experience that lead him to make the decisions he did. other than that a great short little read

[Liam Underwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up Skullface - A Halloween Splatterpunk Story at the Indie Horror Chapter event Chapter 3: Weston Horror Book Con, knowing this would be the perfect book to kick off my October reading month. This is the third book I've read by Brianna Raine, following The Clown Hotel (which I read last October) and The Haunting of Anne-Marie . One thing I appreciate about Raine's writing is that each of the three books of hers I've read so far have offered quite different experiences, although Skullface leans closer to The Clown Hotel than The Haunting of Anne-Marie .

This is an efficient no-nonsense revenge story that wastes no time before the body parts start flying. We follow protagonist Graham, who was involved in a horrific accident as a kid that left him horribly burned and scarred, and then had to endure merciless bullying from peers at school. But the meat of the story picks up with all of that long in the past. Graham has undergone transformative surgery and an impressive workout routine and is no longer recognisable as the cruelly labelled Skullface. But Graham can't let the past go, and his childhood tormentors need to pay.

Raine doesn't flinch away from the brutality of the revenge, and there is fun to be had in the inventiveness on display here. It's a quick one-sitting read that cold plunges you into Graham's world. I enjoyed how Raine structured this story, gradually building to an inevitable climax. I found the Epilogue to be very intriguing too.

There is an American Psycho Patrick Bateman-esque quality to Graham which Raine touches upon, but I do think this could've been explored further. I also feel that the victims would've benefited from some further fleshing out - yes, as children they were terrible, but we don't really get a good handle on how they are now as adults. I think counter-balancing Graham's tainted view of his tormentors with some character complexity could've provided for some more tension. My only other (minor) criticism is that some of the sexual elements included here felt a little out of place.

With its Halloween setting, Skullface is a perfect October read. It's a quick blast of splatterpunk fun, and I'm excited to see how Raine continues to experiment and evolve as a writer. Personally, I very marginally preferred The Haunting of Anne-Marie , but Skullface is still a good entertaining experience.

3.5/5

[Jim Ody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who has read Brianna's work will know she writes with a ghostly ease. Her subtle and spooky prose delivered previously in her novellas are fast-paced and entertaining. But now she's gone for something different. Splatterpunk!

Skullface is the story of Graham, a child having become disfigured through an unfortunate accident with fire, and then forever bullied as a child and later as a teen.

Now, fast-forward to adulthood and Graham is successful, handsome and finally decides to take revenge on those who previously had made his life a living hell. Each enemy has some original, and quite disgusting things happen to them in quite impressive ways. Brianna's normal subtleties have ejaculated out the window as she has fully embraced the genre - I've not seen her mention the word 'cock' so many times, and that really made me smile!

My only gripe was that I felt there was more backstory to be had. I needed to fully understand Graham's motivation to wait so long before taking revenge, and that might be on me not fully understanding the genre. I love characters and understanding them.

This was a nice toe in the water for Brianna and I loved the rawness and her freefom to move into the realms of shocking. I think she could go further but this was a grest little read! She's evolving wonderfully and I always enjoy whatever she writes.

[Liz Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skullface by Brianna Raine - a gory, splatterpunk story of Halloween revenge, perfect for spooky season!

In Skullface, we meet Graham, a handsome, successful man who has recently moved back to his hometown. However, as a baby, he was horrifically disfigured in an accidental fire. As a child and teenager, he was mercilessly tormented by his classmates. Teased, laughed at, lied about, and nicknamed Skullface, his peers made his life a misery. After years of cosmetic surgeries, gym workouts, and working hard at his career, Graham is now unrecognisable from the child he once was. However, scars are often never just skin deep, and Graham never forgot the group of kids who ruined his childhood. As Halloween approaches, Graham returns to his hometown to enact his revenge!

This a great short story full of revenge and lots of gore, as well as some very creative Halloween decorations (IYKYK)! It's graphic, had me squirming at times, but is also satisfying in terms of its conclusion. I sometimes find it hard to review short stories as I'm always left wanting to know more but Raine does a really good job at packing a lot into less than 100 pages, although more around Graham's backstory would have been good.

If you like gruesome, brutal, revenge stories that you can read in one sitting, then definitely give Skullface a go. Check the trigger warnings first, though!

Thank you so much to Brianna Raine for the ARC. Skullface is out on 1st October.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this short Halloween story, we are introduced to Graham, a little baby who suffers a horrific accident whilst in his crib, which results in horrific scarring and disfigurement.

As a young boy at school, you know how cruel kid's can be, tormenting and bullying and one day someone calls him a name that sticks, he has suffered so much by the hands of his tormentors.

As an adult, he is wealthy enough to get surgery, beginning a transformation in his body and face. He decides to go back to his childhood home after having to move away when he was little. What would you do when you move back and no one would recognise you, maybe revenge?

Years, he has had to think what he will do to the bullies, I tell you what, it was so bloody horrific and gruesome even I cringed at some scenes. Perfect read for anytime, not just Halloween well done!!

This is the second book I have read by this author. The words just draw you in and don't let go till the very last word has been read. I am looking forward to delving into the twisted mind of this author.

Absolutely loved it!!! A quick splatterpunk read for any avid horror reader!!

[Ali O · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skullface- A Halloween Splatterpunk Story
by Brianna Raine
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This is an excellent and creepy Halloween psychological- splatterpunk story.
It’s an amazing story of the ultimate revenge!

Graham had a very difficult childhood and was teased while growing up because of a horrible facial disfigurement he got due to being burned in a fire.
He worked very hard as he got older to overcome the bulling he endured as a child and decided to move back to his hometown as an adult and do some “reconnecting” with his old schoolmates.

This is a fast and engaging book that I didn’t stop reading. Brianna really knows how to tell a great story. She dug deep to get the originality, disgusting scenes and intense revenge in this book. She’s an excellent writer!
I was lucky to get an arc of this fantastic story!!

*This is a must read and comes out October 1st.
Read for the spooky season!*
💀☠️💀☠️💀☠️

[Rhiannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poor Graham. Involved in a horrific accident when he was a baby that left him scarred and disfigured lead to a childhood filled with torment and horrendous bullying. After going through an unrecognisable transformation and moving back to his hometown, Graham faces his childhood bullies and finally gets his revenge. As he befriends his old school bullies, Ryan, Max, Derek, and Callie, he goes in with the ultimate f*** you by putting together an unforgettable Halloween setup in his new home.

With this being my first Brianna read and dipping my toes into splatterpunk, I have to say, I loved every second of Skullface. I love how she captured the heartbreak of being bullied and the scars it leaves and how, although a quick read at 80 pages, it didn't take anything away or leave unanswered questions. It's a massive punch to the stomach, and I couldn't put it down. It's definitely a page turner and a brilliant ending. I loved how it correlated with his past. It was just perfect!

[Kirsty Southwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of this book. I don’t recommend reading it on Halloween whilst looking out if the window at your neighbours decorations and earring the spare candy you have for visitors. I nearly choked on my Pringles! Other salty snacks are available. Graeme was horribly scarred as a child and his family moved away from the area due to bullying from other children. Now he’s all grown up, Wealthy, healthy and fit and has had major plastic surgery, he’s unrecognisable. What would any good neighbor do in this situation? That’s right, wreak revenge! In the most twisted violent ways. A darned good splatter punk story that will bring tears to your eyes and possibly bile to your throat. I would love to know how Graeme developed in those missing years, what happened to his parents, how he chose his new face….it left me wanting more but was darned good!

[Louisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

graham had a rough start in life, having been disfigured from an accidental fire when he was just young. but things only got worse in childhood. He was bullied so bad because of the way he looked. now an adult, he plans on going back to his childhood town and confronting his bullies. Making this Halloween one to remember.
if you like to read stories about how the character confronts his bullies, they make up and all become friends over a pumpkin pie... then this story isn't for you. HOWEVER, if you like a story where the character exacts his revenge in the most heanous and cunning ways, then this is the read for you. filled with wonderfully descriptive scenes and a plot that will have you gripping the edge of your seat. This book had me hooked from the get-go.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick, brutal, Halloween splatterpunk revenge story. Graham Holloway had a horrible accident as a kid, got bullied relentlessly for how he looked, and now, years later, he’s back in his old neighborhood with a new face and a serious grudge.

It’s nasty in the best way — creative kills, plenty of gore, and that grimy small-town feel where everyone remembers the past… except the people who made it hell for you. The pacing is fast, the deaths are over-the-top, and the Halloween vibe runs through the whole thing.

Definitely not for the squeamish, but if you like short, mean horror that doesn’t pull punches, this is a solid one-sitting read.

[Josette Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read some nasty (not in a bad way) splatterpunk and yet I still find another book that pushes my limits. I’ve read about eyes being eaten, pedophile receiving their comeuppance and people being digested as nutrition. This book has moved right up the list to one of the most horrifying book to date. I do not think I have ever read about torture done in so many ways. The years of planning that Graham put into his plans shows how much bullying can affect a person if the person is already unstable or suffering their own trauma. This book could be a reminder to be a good person or not bully people because revenge is sweet.

[KaysBookcase · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graham was the victim of a tragic accident when he was baby, leaving him scarred and disfigured. The other kids bullied and tormented him. He never forgot his bullies. He was haunted by them. But things are different now. And it's time for Skullface to get his revenge!

I really enjoyed this book! It was really gruesome and a great revenge story. I also loved that it's set at Halloween, the perfect backdrop for a gore-fest!

I really felt sorry for the main character but I wanted to get to know him better! I think Skullface would work really well as a longer story.

Overall, this was a great read and perfect for Halloween 🎃

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Jason Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brianna takes you on a brutal revenge story journey with her upcoming new release....
Right of the bat, you are plunged into Graham's world and the unfortunate accident that shapes his world!
Let's just say Graham had it tough growing u, and his high school days are what motivates him to seek revenge on those that bully him and give him the nickname skullface.
I felt like I was there, when the brutal and revengeful acts were enacted on the victims ( which you feel they aren't), and especially felt this when Brianna was describing how Graham was processing Derrecks intestines near the end of the story.
Triggers a-plenty and a fun read.

[Abbey Vale · Rating 4 out of 5]

*arc review*

What a gruesome tale!! If you like a story of revenge and lots of gore this could be for you.

loved the story and the tale behind it however felt it was a little too fast paced. It could have done with a few extra chapters to set the scene with more detail maybe an insight into his life prior to moving back and the planning behind the murders!

a great Halloween tale tho and definitely worth a read as a short snappy horror!

[Ami Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
I had the pleasure of arc reading this.
let me start off by saying this was me dipping my toe into the splatterpunk genre and it did not disappoint.
This is a perfect little treat leading into the halloween season, this fast paced book .. and dont let that put you off because nothing was missed out!.. was brilliant i read in one sitting.
If you looking for the perfect revenge story this has it all wrapped up in a perfect halloween themed bow 🖤