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The Fear Report
A short story collection of over 100,000 words with both old and new and some very hard to find stories by the two time Bram Stoker award winning author Elizabeth Massie. Signed by the author and artist Cortney Skinner.
Contents:
Stephen
The Dwindle-Light
In the Cow Pasture
The Reclamation of Sweeney Todd
Hot Orgy of the Caged Virgins
The Fear Report
Thanks
Fixtures of Matchstick Men and Joo
Bargains at Binsleys’
Arrangements
Lock Her Room
Teachers’ Pet
The Merry Music of Madness
Daddy Man
Willy Wonka and the L. Walker BioFair
Slip of the Mind
Sick’un
That Old Timer Rock and Roll
Brazo de Dios
Products of the Past
Hooked on Buzzer
The Landlock
Day Is Done, Gone The Sun
Blessed Sleep
The Bath
Stinkin’ Rudy
Whittler
Inside Out
Dancin’ Man
Contents:
Stephen
The Dwindle-Light
In the Cow Pasture
The Reclamation of Sweeney Todd
Hot Orgy of the Caged Virgins
The Fear Report
Thanks
Fixtures of Matchstick Men and Joo
Bargains at Binsleys’
Arrangements
Lock Her Room
Teachers’ Pet
The Merry Music of Madness
Daddy Man
Willy Wonka and the L. Walker BioFair
Slip of the Mind
Sick’un
That Old Timer Rock and Roll
Brazo de Dios
Products of the Past
Hooked on Buzzer
The Landlock
Day Is Done, Gone The Sun
Blessed Sleep
The Bath
Stinkin’ Rudy
Whittler
Inside Out
Dancin’ Man
- GenresHorrorShort Stories
430 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2004
1 person is currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Massie
179 books161 followersElizabeth (Beth) Massie is a 2-time Bram Stoker Award and Scribe Award-winning author of horror/suspense, historical fiction, media tie-ins, nonfiction, and short fiction for adults. She also writes novels for teens and middle grade readers. Her series, Ameri-Scares, is currently in development for television by Warner Horizon (Warner Brothers), LuckyChap, and Assemble Media. Stay tuned! She lives in the Shenandoah Valley with her husband, illustrator Cortney Skinner.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 26, 2012
I flew through this collection in a couple of days, but I didn't really love it. It was more like eating a bag of chips.
Massie is capable of writing disturbing, powerful and moving stories, but many of these felt low-brow and comic-bookish. Here are some of the standouts:
"Stephen": A social worker forges a relationship with one of the more unusual patients in a youth rehabilitation center.
"In the Cow Pasture": Two sisters and a friend decide to dig a hole through to hell in their backyard.
"Brazo de Dios": A missionary finds her faith tested when she is abducted by a group of militants in South America.
"Products of the Past": New kids on the block learn that certain houses are best avoided.
"The Fear Report": A college student uses an unwitting and superstitious family as the subject of her study.
"Hot Orgy of the Caged Virgins": A tale of sexual experimentation among a group of backwoods teens.
"Fixtures of Matchstick Men and Joo:" At the height of the Vietnam War, a man and a teenaged girl gradually discover the sinister truth about the commune at which they've sought refuge.
The other stories run from "okay" to...not so okay, but the good thing is that they are all quick reads. This volume contains about twice as many stories as Massie's earlier collection, Shadow Dreams, but it isn't nearly as strong overall. I suggest seeking that one out first.
On a side note, this edition (like many small press books) is absolutely littered with typographical and formatting errors. Line breaks and punctuation occur (or don't occur) randomly, a character's name changes in the middle of a story and then back again, "Blessed Sleep" is mistitled "Blessed Sheep" and there are even a couple editor's notations left in the text. I don't understand why I can buy a cheap mass-market paperback that is flawless and pay $40+ for a collector's edition that has a nice signature page but looks like it was typeset by a drunken monkey on drugs.
Massie is capable of writing disturbing, powerful and moving stories, but many of these felt low-brow and comic-bookish. Here are some of the standouts:
"Stephen": A social worker forges a relationship with one of the more unusual patients in a youth rehabilitation center.
"In the Cow Pasture": Two sisters and a friend decide to dig a hole through to hell in their backyard.
"Brazo de Dios": A missionary finds her faith tested when she is abducted by a group of militants in South America.
"Products of the Past": New kids on the block learn that certain houses are best avoided.
"The Fear Report": A college student uses an unwitting and superstitious family as the subject of her study.
"Hot Orgy of the Caged Virgins": A tale of sexual experimentation among a group of backwoods teens.
"Fixtures of Matchstick Men and Joo:" At the height of the Vietnam War, a man and a teenaged girl gradually discover the sinister truth about the commune at which they've sought refuge.
The other stories run from "okay" to...not so okay, but the good thing is that they are all quick reads. This volume contains about twice as many stories as Massie's earlier collection, Shadow Dreams, but it isn't nearly as strong overall. I suggest seeking that one out first.
On a side note, this edition (like many small press books) is absolutely littered with typographical and formatting errors. Line breaks and punctuation occur (or don't occur) randomly, a character's name changes in the middle of a story and then back again, "Blessed Sleep" is mistitled "Blessed Sheep" and there are even a couple editor's notations left in the text. I don't understand why I can buy a cheap mass-market paperback that is flawless and pay $40+ for a collector's edition that has a nice signature page but looks like it was typeset by a drunken monkey on drugs.
Displaying 1 of 1 review