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The Scream
It begins early one morning in the sleepy town of Pine Ridge. A scream, desperate and piercing, filling the streets. And it never stops.
As confused locals start to search for the source of the scream, they realize that it seems to be everywhere at once. The streets, the buildings, the public areas... No matter how long they spend trying to find the person who's screaming, they come up with nothing.
And still, it won't stop.
As the day continues and the scream goes on and on, people start to lose their minds. Some still frantically search for the source, while others make plans to get out of town. Even when they realize that only one person is missing, they still can't find her. It's as if the scream has come to haunt the residents of Pine Ridge, and it won't stop until they've all lost their minds.
And then, finally, the truth becomes clear...
The Scream is a horror novella about a small American town that wakes up one day to a terrifying scream that threatens to tear their entire community apart.
As confused locals start to search for the source of the scream, they realize that it seems to be everywhere at once. The streets, the buildings, the public areas... No matter how long they spend trying to find the person who's screaming, they come up with nothing.
And still, it won't stop.
As the day continues and the scream goes on and on, people start to lose their minds. Some still frantically search for the source, while others make plans to get out of town. Even when they realize that only one person is missing, they still can't find her. It's as if the scream has come to haunt the residents of Pine Ridge, and it won't stop until they've all lost their minds.
And then, finally, the truth becomes clear...
The Scream is a horror novella about a small American town that wakes up one day to a terrifying scream that threatens to tear their entire community apart.
- GenresHorror
126 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 9, 2015
19 people are currently reading
163 people want to read
About the author
Amy Cross
664 books1,677 followersAmy Cross writes novels and short stories in a number of genres, mainly horror, paranormal and fantasy. Books include The Farm, Annie's Room, The Island, Eli's Town and Asylum.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 5, 2016
☆☆☆ 3.5 Make It Stop Stars☆☆☆
Well....hmmmm....well.....this review has me stumped for words. I liked this one, it kept me suspended into knowing what is going to happen but when you find out, well....I am a bit speechless.
If you woke up one morning to a horrible, agonizing scream, that just would NOT end, what would you do?
The small town of Pine Ridge is left helpless trying to figure out what is happening in their quiet town.
After a couple of hours of endless screaming they figure out they are looking for Jessica Burton.
With no success and hours later, the scream has not ended and towns people are mentally cracking.
They need to find her, they just can't and the screaming won't end.
The one person that knows what is happening but not sure how to end the agony, is a stranger to their town, Pastor Roake.
What he needs to do to end this once and for all is not likely to happen or easily.
This ending, well be prepared to be left screaming!!!
Well....hmmmm....well.....this review has me stumped for words. I liked this one, it kept me suspended into knowing what is going to happen but when you find out, well....I am a bit speechless.
If you woke up one morning to a horrible, agonizing scream, that just would NOT end, what would you do?
The small town of Pine Ridge is left helpless trying to figure out what is happening in their quiet town.
After a couple of hours of endless screaming they figure out they are looking for Jessica Burton.
With no success and hours later, the scream has not ended and towns people are mentally cracking.
They need to find her, they just can't and the screaming won't end.
The one person that knows what is happening but not sure how to end the agony, is a stranger to their town, Pastor Roake.
What he needs to do to end this once and for all is not likely to happen or easily.
This ending, well be prepared to be left screaming!!!
July 23, 2018
This was a very interesting read, only the ending is a bit awful.
First book I've read by Amy Cross, I will say not very bad. I'm welling to try and read her other books. She does know how to hold the readers attention.
First book I've read by Amy Cross, I will say not very bad. I'm welling to try and read her other books. She does know how to hold the readers attention.
September 9, 2015
The only reason why I don't give only one star is the idea. The execution, however, is quite lacking. Therefore 1.5 round up to two, because it was, in fact, 'okay'.
This story rather reads like a script for a film. There is no introduction or description of the characters whatsoever.
It feel like Amy Cross was trying to channel her inner Stephen King. She probably did, because I can't find anything intriguing about his stories, apart that his books are more suspenseful than this one.
There is no room for own theories, because there are no hints to whatever might be happening. Finally, somewhere closer to the end, a tale is served as explanation.
It is the ending of the book that was absolutely anticlimactic for me. It didn't add to the suspense or 'horror', but left me even more indifferent as the style of the book had done before.
October 31, 2018
That was for an original idea. Yeah, applause for that. But, it was almost boring. A priest was there but, he was too shaken to do anything. And the ending. Isn't the initial plan was to let the town people suffer? The novella is okay. Gory but, not scary enough.
BEWARE of SPOILER
May 18, 2025
I was so excited about the premise but it was just meh...
Amy Cross is my favorite writer ever but this wasn't for me 😔
Amy Cross is my favorite writer ever but this wasn't for me 😔
July 13, 2016
A scream rings out at dawn, very loud, and never stops. It's a female scream, but has no origin. In fact, trying to track it down is impossible. Follow it to one end of town, and it's at the other end. Think it's coming from right behind you? Nope. Turning around also turns the scream around behind you again.
The towns folk eventually decide to figure out who is screaming. They find one missing girl. So they search for her. Again and again. Everyone's convinced they've somehow missed her, yet couldn't have. Door to door, house to house, to no avail. All day and into the night the search, while the scream keeps on screaming. Not just one continuous scream. It varies. Louder lowering to almost a stop at last. But no, back to original volume. Intersected with sobs. Repeat randomly. The towns folks begining to go crazy, and then . . . Epilogue with an unexplainable ending.
Pros:
This seems like a Twilight Zone episode. Apart form the obvious annoyance of the scream, this would make a great episode. The towns folks also do work together to try and figure out the location of the girl.
Cons:
1) Time makes no sense. The scream begins at dawn. 2 hours later, it's almost night. A few more hours later, night is just setting in. Then it's been 14 hours, but 9 hours are unaccountable.
2) The biggest con of all. No explanation. No real ending. The epilogue picks up 6 months later, and well, not to spoil it, but it makes no sense. I feel ripped off. All that set up, and nothing. No explanation for the scream., or where the girl is. Are they even connected. Nada, zero, zilch. Just some hand waving to pretend a resolution has been achieved. Yet the book flat out says in the beginning they do indeed discover the truth. Which never happens. This is why I can only give it tow stars. I don't like unresolved plots. It would have been quite enjoyable, and 4 stars, if there was a reason given.
Yes, you can theorize. I suspected a magic spell (which would have been a great ending). There's also a hint that a stranger in town might be a Civil War era legend come to life. A legend of an evil demon who makes you scream forever. But who knows. Dropped plot thread. Much like the missing girl and the scream itself. It almost feels like the true ending was left out before the epilogue. Where we learn what is actually going on, and sets up the epilogue. But alas, no Part 6, so no explanation.
The towns folk eventually decide to figure out who is screaming. They find one missing girl. So they search for her. Again and again. Everyone's convinced they've somehow missed her, yet couldn't have. Door to door, house to house, to no avail. All day and into the night the search, while the scream keeps on screaming. Not just one continuous scream. It varies. Louder lowering to almost a stop at last. But no, back to original volume. Intersected with sobs. Repeat randomly. The towns folks begining to go crazy, and then . . . Epilogue with an unexplainable ending.
Pros:
This seems like a Twilight Zone episode. Apart form the obvious annoyance of the scream, this would make a great episode. The towns folks also do work together to try and figure out the location of the girl.
Cons:
1) Time makes no sense. The scream begins at dawn. 2 hours later, it's almost night. A few more hours later, night is just setting in. Then it's been 14 hours, but 9 hours are unaccountable.
2) The biggest con of all. No explanation. No real ending. The epilogue picks up 6 months later, and well, not to spoil it, but it makes no sense. I feel ripped off. All that set up, and nothing. No explanation for the scream., or where the girl is. Are they even connected. Nada, zero, zilch. Just some hand waving to pretend a resolution has been achieved. Yet the book flat out says in the beginning they do indeed discover the truth. Which never happens. This is why I can only give it tow stars. I don't like unresolved plots. It would have been quite enjoyable, and 4 stars, if there was a reason given.
Yes, you can theorize. I suspected a magic spell (which would have been a great ending). There's also a hint that a stranger in town might be a Civil War era legend come to life. A legend of an evil demon who makes you scream forever. But who knows. Dropped plot thread. Much like the missing girl and the scream itself. It almost feels like the true ending was left out before the epilogue. Where we learn what is actually going on, and sets up the epilogue. But alas, no Part 6, so no explanation.
September 13, 2015
This review was originally posted to Jen in Bookland
The Scream is supposed to be a horror novella, but nothing about it is very scary or terrifying. It was a let down for sure. I love horror, but it is hard to find good horror. This one I just found kind of boring and unbelievable.
Suddenly one morning in a small town the residents start hearing screaming. Like a girl being tortured. They are not quite sure where it is coming from, but they will find the girl and help her, hopefully before it is too late. The town comes together to search for said girl, they take a census and see who is missing, who is screaming, and they search and search for her, but never find her. That is the story.
Now the biggest issue with this story for me was the characters. None of them acted like real people. The screaming goes on for a really long time and yet the people don't react how I would have imagined they would. The phones are down so they cannot call for more help, but no one tries to drive out of town or anything. They just deal with it while trying to find the girl. Once and a while someone will be a little cranky, but overall people dealt with hearing someone being tortured remarkably well. Just everyones thoughts and reactions were off for me. The story is told from multiple points of view and I couldn't identify with any of them. The one was this guy who was trying to think like the torturer and man he was strange. It was just like who says this stuff? Is this really what he is thinking? Are we sure he is not a psycho killer? I mean really he creeped me out.
Then suddenly you have someone who has a theory of what is going on. It was just like really? This is what we are doing? This is the explanation we get? Okay. I just found the execution of what is happening especially lame.
Overall it was kind of a boring story. If it were not so short I am not sure that I would have read the entire thing. It was just not that good or even scary at all.
The Scream is supposed to be a horror novella, but nothing about it is very scary or terrifying. It was a let down for sure. I love horror, but it is hard to find good horror. This one I just found kind of boring and unbelievable.
Suddenly one morning in a small town the residents start hearing screaming. Like a girl being tortured. They are not quite sure where it is coming from, but they will find the girl and help her, hopefully before it is too late. The town comes together to search for said girl, they take a census and see who is missing, who is screaming, and they search and search for her, but never find her. That is the story.
Now the biggest issue with this story for me was the characters. None of them acted like real people. The screaming goes on for a really long time and yet the people don't react how I would have imagined they would. The phones are down so they cannot call for more help, but no one tries to drive out of town or anything. They just deal with it while trying to find the girl. Once and a while someone will be a little cranky, but overall people dealt with hearing someone being tortured remarkably well. Just everyones thoughts and reactions were off for me. The story is told from multiple points of view and I couldn't identify with any of them. The one was this guy who was trying to think like the torturer and man he was strange. It was just like who says this stuff? Is this really what he is thinking? Are we sure he is not a psycho killer? I mean really he creeped me out.
Then suddenly you have someone who has a theory of what is going on. It was just like really? This is what we are doing? This is the explanation we get? Okay. I just found the execution of what is happening especially lame.
Overall it was kind of a boring story. If it were not so short I am not sure that I would have read the entire thing. It was just not that good or even scary at all.
August 22, 2015
Overview: Early one morning, the small town of Pine Ridge is awaken with the sound of a girl screaming. It builds and builds, until it fills the whole town and bounces off the buildings making it impossible to tell where it’s coming from. The town gathers and searches everywhere but can’t find the source. Some believe it’s a prank after a few hours, some are dead set it is real and human. They discover that out of the 79 residents in town, only one is missing. Now they know who they are searching for, they just need to find her. After 14 hours of fruitless searching they find nothing and everyone is either ready to give up or are going crazy. Six months later, a couple come into town and hear the scream still going. They ask about it but residents think they are crazy and leave.
Opinion: For a horror story it started off really good, but went downhill fast. The mystery was never solved, the only inkling of what happened was a story the mayor heard from his great-grandfather and that story was only mentioned once, discredited and said in an offhand way. Then the ending was abrupt and horrible in my opinion. The blood curdling scream had gone on so long that no one notices it any more and in “Stepford Wife” fashion they ignore any mention of it. Completely forgetting about the poor young woman who has disappeared and is being tortured somewhere.
Recommend: No
August 17, 2015
I really enjoyed this novella. It captured your attention immediately and held it to the end. When getting to the end you are left wanting more and I think it ultimately succeeded in what a quick story should do. The only thing that kept this from being a 4 (or even 5) star review was the reveal of what might be behind the never-ending scream. They way it was revealed felt like it was hastily added rather than it being a discovery or a true revelation. I look forward to reading more from this author.
August 2, 2015
Wow
This book was seriously freaky . I mean you thought that they were going to find a girl or that a monster was gonna coming to town something anything but nothing happened. Quite honestly the end took me totally by surprise, I did not expect to see a town that was totally fine acting normal and the screaming was still going on. I am still stunned because I'm not quite sure what the ending meant . Were they in hell what the heck is going on
This book was seriously freaky . I mean you thought that they were going to find a girl or that a monster was gonna coming to town something anything but nothing happened. Quite honestly the end took me totally by surprise, I did not expect to see a town that was totally fine acting normal and the screaming was still going on. I am still stunned because I'm not quite sure what the ending meant . Were they in hell what the heck is going on
February 10, 2016
The Scream by Amy Cross I received a free kindle copy of The Scream by Amy Cross in an Amazon promotion in exchange for a fair review.I gave this horror novella three stars. The title of this book reminded me of Edvard Munch's famous painting by the same name.https://www.pinterest.com/pin/1984405... begins early one morning in the sleepy town of Pine Ridge. A scream, desperate and piercing, filling the streets. And it never stops."
April 5, 2016
A chilling psychological horror story that will seep into your head and stay there.
This sleepy town has an unusual experience...how will they cope?
No spoilers from me.
If you like creepy, this is for you.
This sleepy town has an unusual experience...how will they cope?
No spoilers from me.
If you like creepy, this is for you.
June 16, 2016
Interesting book .. a nice fast read.makes you think what would you do if this happened in your town.will check out more from this author
It was a interesting book and I would recommend..a nice fast read for a couple hours on a beach or traveling somewhere
It was a interesting book and I would recommend..a nice fast read for a couple hours on a beach or traveling somewhere
June 9, 2015
A short, bizarre and a bit confused by the end, feels like the opening chapter of a story that I would like to read the rest of it.
June 10, 2015
So weird.... Bizarre
August 17, 2015
Very weird, very creepy and a good short story. Wasn't sure where the author was going but the ending was a little surprising.
March 9, 2016
A very good first time read by Amy Cross.
September 7, 2015
It was an okay short read. It grabs your attention from the very beginning. The ending was just a little lacking for me.
October 10, 2015
The writing was good, original concept for a plot, great characters, excellent flow and pace. But the ending was very disappointing.
December 6, 2016
I was mostly just bored......
December 29, 2015
Strange, very strange! Absolutely no idea what it was all about!!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews