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The Gatekeeper
If you could have anything you wanted, once a year, in return for completing a simple task, would you do it? What if that task, was to let all of the demons out of hell, for a night of fun and carnage? Meet the GateKeeper.
This story is aimed at Kindle Unlimited users. It’s just over 2500 words.
The story was originally published in the Black Candy anthology by Jaded Books Publishing.
This story is aimed at Kindle Unlimited users. It’s just over 2500 words.
The story was originally published in the Black Candy anthology by Jaded Books Publishing.
- GenresHorror
10 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 24, 2017
2 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Kevin J. Kennedy
144 books326 followersKevin J. Kennedy is a Scottish horror author known for his fast-paced storytelling, dark humor, and unforgettable characters. He is also the curator of the bestselling The Horror Collection and Classic Monsters anthology series.
When he’s not writing tales of blood-soaked chaos, Kevin champions indie horror, supports fellow authors, and dreams up new ways to keep readers sleeping with the lights on.
When he’s not writing tales of blood-soaked chaos, Kevin champions indie horror, supports fellow authors, and dreams up new ways to keep readers sleeping with the lights on.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 28, 2017
The devil walks into a bar and meets a very drunk man. A deal is made, and we find out where monsters come from. An entertaining and rather naughty short story.
November 3, 2019
A drunkard gets a wish granted by the devil each year when he works for him as a gatekeeper. But what's behind the trap door he has to observe? Well, all kind of monsters we read in many stories seem to be true... interesting story with some eerie moments and some sex inside but nothing too extraordinary. An okay read!
June 8, 2017
Review: THE GATEKEEPER by Kevin J. Kennedy
THE GATEKEEPER relates the tale of a rather feckless, morally meandering, alcoholic, who is offered a strange, even frightening, once-annual job. Every Halloween, he hosts a gateway from Hell, and literal monsters pour out, spending Halloween night wreaking havoc. Must be difficult on one's conscience. I'm uncertain whether to feel sympathetic for the protagonist or not, but am leading toward "not." I'm rating this 18+ for language, sexual situations, and events that some readers will consider offensive.
THE GATEKEEPER relates the tale of a rather feckless, morally meandering, alcoholic, who is offered a strange, even frightening, once-annual job. Every Halloween, he hosts a gateway from Hell, and literal monsters pour out, spending Halloween night wreaking havoc. Must be difficult on one's conscience. I'm uncertain whether to feel sympathetic for the protagonist or not, but am leading toward "not." I'm rating this 18+ for language, sexual situations, and events that some readers will consider offensive.
June 1, 2017
Love the premise of this story!
Imagine being approached by a demon and being asked to do something once a year and you will get anything you wish. Would you do it? Well, that is the round about premise of this delightfully nasty short story.
Love it!!
Makes you think....
Imagine being approached by a demon and being asked to do something once a year and you will get anything you wish. Would you do it? Well, that is the round about premise of this delightfully nasty short story.
Love it!!
Makes you think....
April 23, 2018
“The Gatekeeper” is a short but powerful read. It is a first-person account of one man’s deal with the devil and the ensuing horrors that become a part of him.
Kevin Kennedy does an excellent job with this story. His character perspective is consistent and well presented. The story itself is both clever and graphic, leaving as much to the imagination as it blatantly gives to the reader. Hmm… that statement is both truthful and understated. The story stops just short of being full on extreme horror, and I say that because he certainly could have gone more graphic and clearly chose not to. It nevertheless has appeal for readers on both sides of the line.
I found “The Gatekeeper” both sad and horrific in turns, with the touch of dark humor that only comes from first person stories. Highly recommend to the horror connoisseur.
Kevin Kennedy does an excellent job with this story. His character perspective is consistent and well presented. The story itself is both clever and graphic, leaving as much to the imagination as it blatantly gives to the reader. Hmm… that statement is both truthful and understated. The story stops just short of being full on extreme horror, and I say that because he certainly could have gone more graphic and clearly chose not to. It nevertheless has appeal for readers on both sides of the line.
I found “The Gatekeeper” both sad and horrific in turns, with the touch of dark humor that only comes from first person stories. Highly recommend to the horror connoisseur.
May 7, 2018
This was a fun and quick read. As a fan of Halloween, and what horror fan isn't, I found this story a cool twist on the monsters that come out on devils night.
October 1, 2017
A perfect, creepy read for Halloween. Being a short read it's hard to talk much about the plot without giving too much away. I will just say that this Gatekeeper gig can be pretty awesome... if you're willing to live with the consequences. Written in a relatable, self-deprecating voice, I will never see trap-doors the same way again.
I won this Kindle Short in a giveaway organized by Booklover Catlady Publicity. Thank you so much!
I won this Kindle Short in a giveaway organized by Booklover Catlady Publicity. Thank you so much!
August 21, 2017
The Devil needs a Gatekeeper but at what price?
A twisted, naughty little tale. The writing was good although it did feel a little rushed but a good short story.
I won this in a Facebook competition.
A twisted, naughty little tale. The writing was good although it did feel a little rushed but a good short story.
I won this in a Facebook competition.
May 26, 2017
This is my first introduction to Kennedy's work and a great introduction it is! A well written story.
I will definitely be reading more of Kennedy's works!
I will definitely be reading more of Kennedy's works!
May 31, 2017
Short and not so sweet
A really different look at being a Gatekeeper for one of Hell's portals. It has its rewards but......This is a good short story with a Halloween twist.
A really different look at being a Gatekeeper for one of Hell's portals. It has its rewards but......This is a good short story with a Halloween twist.
August 22, 2018
What would you do if asked to be the gatekeeper to Hell? What would you ask for in return? That's the premise of this fun short story, 'The Gatekeeper' by Kevin J. Kennedy, when a man is asked to open the gates of Hell once a year, and gets a wish granted in exchange for his service.
When the main character meets a stranger and is offered the job, there's a fantastic line: "I may not be a detective but he certainly wouldn't have needed a passport to get into Hell."
I liked the concept, and it was well written, but I would have liked it to go on longer. An expansion into a novella may have served the story better.
When the main character meets a stranger and is offered the job, there's a fantastic line: "I may not be a detective but he certainly wouldn't have needed a passport to get into Hell."
I liked the concept, and it was well written, but I would have liked it to go on longer. An expansion into a novella may have served the story better.
February 11, 2019
3.5/5
This was a nice freebie I snagged on Amazon this past weekend. It's only 1o or so pages so was a very quick read.
It followed our main character as they were chosen to watch the gates of hell for one evening each year. It went into enjoyable detail about the creatures he watches come and go, as well as the emotional and psychological toll this position creates.
My gripe with it was it's too short. This would make a really enjoyable full length, so ultimately I was left wanting more.
This was a nice freebie I snagged on Amazon this past weekend. It's only 1o or so pages so was a very quick read.
It followed our main character as they were chosen to watch the gates of hell for one evening each year. It went into enjoyable detail about the creatures he watches come and go, as well as the emotional and psychological toll this position creates.
My gripe with it was it's too short. This would make a really enjoyable full length, so ultimately I was left wanting more.
March 4, 2018
A good short story, but nothing memorable.
January 21, 2018
The Gatekeeper by Kevin J. Kennedy is an awesome short story filled with humor, darkness, and the paranormal! I would have happily read an entire book based on this short!
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
I really enjoyed this short story! Like I said above, I would have happily read an entire book based on this short, but as a short story, it was perfect! I was totally captivated the whole way through and I was quite sad when it ended, simply because I didn't want to let it go just yet.
The humor made me chuckle more than once and I really enjoyed watching the storyline play out! When the creatures began coming out of the gate, I was so excited to see what was next!
My favorite passages:
They call me the 'the Gatekeeper'. Well, no, they don't - not really. No one does. I'm the only one who calls myself 'the Gatekeeper' but it has a nice ring to it, don't you think?
I was stinking drunk. I was sitting in my local bar, a bar that only people like me drank in. People who had sunk to the bottom. The dirt had dirt on it, the chairs were broken, the beer was flat and the barmaid had a face that looked like a melted-rubbery-Freddy mask, but the drink was cheap.
I'm not sure if it was the devil himself that offered me the job or one of his minions, but he certainly had the typical devil getup. Red as fuck, two big horns and cloven feet. I may not be a detective but he certainly wouldn't have needed a passport to get into Hell.
The devil guy had called it a gate but it looked nothing like a gate, it was obviously a trap door. I know what you are thinking: I call myself the Gatekeeper. I thought about that but the Trap Door Keeper just doesn't have the same je ne sais quoi.
My final thoughts:
I'd highly recommend this to fans of the paranormal as long as you don't mind a very brief sex scene.
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
I really enjoyed this short story! Like I said above, I would have happily read an entire book based on this short, but as a short story, it was perfect! I was totally captivated the whole way through and I was quite sad when it ended, simply because I didn't want to let it go just yet.
The humor made me chuckle more than once and I really enjoyed watching the storyline play out! When the creatures began coming out of the gate, I was so excited to see what was next!
My favorite passages:
They call me the 'the Gatekeeper'. Well, no, they don't - not really. No one does. I'm the only one who calls myself 'the Gatekeeper' but it has a nice ring to it, don't you think?
I was stinking drunk. I was sitting in my local bar, a bar that only people like me drank in. People who had sunk to the bottom. The dirt had dirt on it, the chairs were broken, the beer was flat and the barmaid had a face that looked like a melted-rubbery-Freddy mask, but the drink was cheap.
I'm not sure if it was the devil himself that offered me the job or one of his minions, but he certainly had the typical devil getup. Red as fuck, two big horns and cloven feet. I may not be a detective but he certainly wouldn't have needed a passport to get into Hell.
The devil guy had called it a gate but it looked nothing like a gate, it was obviously a trap door. I know what you are thinking: I call myself the Gatekeeper. I thought about that but the Trap Door Keeper just doesn't have the same je ne sais quoi.
My final thoughts:
I'd highly recommend this to fans of the paranormal as long as you don't mind a very brief sex scene.
September 15, 2017
There are some short stories that are okay as is, this is not one of them. Kevin Kennedy's short story The Gatekeeper should be molded into a novella or even a full blown novel. It has the right amount of twist and turns to get your inner dark side satisfied.
Throughout this read, I kept making up scenarios on what I would do if it were me in the shoes of The Gatekeeper, needless to say, none of them lived up to what Kennedy came up with.
I absolutely loved this. Well Done and well crafted.
*i was given a copy of this short story in exchange of an honest review*
Throughout this read, I kept making up scenarios on what I would do if it were me in the shoes of The Gatekeeper, needless to say, none of them lived up to what Kennedy came up with.
I absolutely loved this. Well Done and well crafted.
*i was given a copy of this short story in exchange of an honest review*
December 19, 2017
Wicked good short read!
January 16, 2018
Entertaining short story, interesting storyline and decent writing. Very quick, but a good little read.
February 12, 2019
Interesting but one-note story about making a deal with the devil. I'll echo other reviewers I've read who said it would be nice to see this fleshed out into a more substantial narrative. It's an interesting idea, and could use some further exploration.
February 16, 2019
This is a really great short story about a deal with the devil. It's different, gets a little wild, and is very imaginative. Great quick read!
March 26, 2019
So cool
Such a cool story about
Someone with the power to open pretty much the gates of hell on Halloween. Such a cool story I loved it!!!!!
Such a cool story about
Someone with the power to open pretty much the gates of hell on Halloween. Such a cool story I loved it!!!!!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews