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The Trees Have Eyes: Horror Stories From The Forest
If someone screams in the forest and no one is around, will they regret ever making a sound?
Stepping into the forest, you're surrounded by the natural grandeur of a world which has no need of you. The silence is so heavy that you can hear your blood thundering through your veins. The stir of dry leaves in the darkness could be your friend finding his way back, but it sounds more like a primordial monster stalking its prey. And the lights between the trees? And the haunting songs which lure you ever deeper?
It's time to admit that you aren't afraid of being alone in the woods. You're afraid of not being alone.
Journey through the minds of 22 horror authors who have teamed up to reveal the most terrifying aspects of the forest. Over 400 pages of original supernatural and psychological horror stories ghosts, demons, serial-killers, true stories and unsolved mysteries, unique monsters, classic myths and legends, and above all else, a profound respect for the terror hidden within the mysterious trees.
Stepping into the forest, you're surrounded by the natural grandeur of a world which has no need of you. The silence is so heavy that you can hear your blood thundering through your veins. The stir of dry leaves in the darkness could be your friend finding his way back, but it sounds more like a primordial monster stalking its prey. And the lights between the trees? And the haunting songs which lure you ever deeper?
It's time to admit that you aren't afraid of being alone in the woods. You're afraid of not being alone.
Journey through the minds of 22 horror authors who have teamed up to reveal the most terrifying aspects of the forest. Over 400 pages of original supernatural and psychological horror stories ghosts, demons, serial-killers, true stories and unsolved mysteries, unique monsters, classic myths and legends, and above all else, a profound respect for the terror hidden within the mysterious trees.
538 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 9, 2018
284 people are currently reading
338 people want to read
About the author
Tobias Wade
51 books210 followersFormer neuroscience researcher, born again horror writer. During my studies, it struck me as odd that I could learn so much about why humans behave without understanding the intricacies of human nature. It occurred to me that I learned more about the depths of human experience from reading Dostoyevsky than I ever had from my text books, and I was inspired to write.
Download my horror collection for free and see all my publications at:
TobiasWade.Com
Download my horror collection for free and see all my publications at:
TobiasWade.Com
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
August 22, 2018
I find this excellenet collection of horror stories really surprised me, it was alot better then i expected scary wise and I would really recomend it to enyone who enjoys horror stories. The lenght of each story was great for my part as i often read on my commute to work of almost always finnished a story right before I got there, as a person who hates to leave off in the middle this was great.
March 25, 2019
This is a 3.5 star read.
An eclectic mix of short stories of the weird, eerie and, at times, horrifying persuasion, all with a theme of forests/nature. As is common with such a collection it was a little uneven in quality and, even as a connoisseur of short stories, I found the book too long and wieldy. It could quite easily be divided into two volumes making it a far easier readable anthology.
There were SO many stories but my favourite's were:
World's Oldest Tree
Crosses In The Field
Scarecrow
Rain
The Little Man
Uncle Howard's Canyon
Ahanu's Story
The Devil's Cauldron
The Elevator In The Woods
Seeker
An enjoyable read for short story and horror lovers, it will definitely leave you wary of going out into the woods.
I received a free ecopy of this novel directly from the author. I have voluntarily chosen to review the book and the gifting in no way influences my review/ rating, which reflects my honest opinion.
An eclectic mix of short stories of the weird, eerie and, at times, horrifying persuasion, all with a theme of forests/nature. As is common with such a collection it was a little uneven in quality and, even as a connoisseur of short stories, I found the book too long and wieldy. It could quite easily be divided into two volumes making it a far easier readable anthology.
There were SO many stories but my favourite's were:
World's Oldest Tree
Crosses In The Field
Scarecrow
Rain
The Little Man
Uncle Howard's Canyon
Ahanu's Story
The Devil's Cauldron
The Elevator In The Woods
Seeker
An enjoyable read for short story and horror lovers, it will definitely leave you wary of going out into the woods.
I received a free ecopy of this novel directly from the author. I have voluntarily chosen to review the book and the gifting in no way influences my review/ rating, which reflects my honest opinion.
July 1, 2018
Excellent selection of horror stories. Some very scary and others mild. Didn’t take me long to read, had me gripped to the very end.
June 19, 2018
It was a decent horror read. Most of the stories were connected to the forest or at the very least, some form of wilderness. Some were truly nightmarish, but there were a few that were actually quite tame and even a few that didn't make a whole lot of sense.
August 23, 2018
I read this as part of the nosleep podcast book club! Spoilers below!
This book was hit and miss for me. Some of the stories were great, some were okay, and others weren't to my liking. I liked how long it was, and how most of the stories managed to vary despite a common topic that can be hard to make your own. I'll start my review with the positive aspects and the stories I liked:
The first one I truly liked was "I Remember Fireflies" by JP Carver. This was a good slow burn horror that gives you the heebie-jeebies more than the OMGs, if that makes sense. I liked the narrator's point of view, and how the narrator may be choosing not to remember what happened to her best friend, despite it being clear enough that she probably killed him.
The next one I liked was "Project Erebus" by J. Speziale. This is a very straight forward type of horror that lets your know from the get go that it's going to be scary, and I loved the detail in how the monster takes pieces of it's victims. Specifically, the quote "It wasn't the shot that frightened me the most, or the explosion of gore that painted the walls behind him. What horrified me the most was the massive, jet black, three fingered hand that pulled Walsh's lifeless corpse back into the cave, just before the blast door was slammed shut. I will never forget the sound of his tearing flesh." Eek!
One of my favorites out of the entire collection, which is saying something because this is a bigger collection, is "Sister", again by J. Speziale. I love it when I'm genuinely surprised by the ending of a story, because it's hard for me to be surprised by story endings anymore since I read so much. I can usually pick up pretty early what's happening. The fact that 1) I didn't know it was the narrator's sister that was the woman covered in black rot, and 2) I had no idea the Uncle was the one who had taken her and killed her. That's such a common trope, but it was executed very well.
My other favorite was "The Little Man" by Gemma Amor. I heard this the first time on The Nosleep Podcast, narrated by Erika Sanderson, and holy moly I forgot how much I loved this story until I re-read it here. Ellie telling the story makes me feel like I could memorize the story and tell it to scare people who even haven't read this book. I love the writing, the plot is relatively simple and still spooky, and Ellie feels like a relatable and reliable narrator, despite the murder. 11/10.
A couple of other good mentions were "What Lurks in Nightfall Forest" by Tara A. Devlin (aaaaaaaaaaaaaa nope. Doppelgangers freak me out!) and "Bottomless Pit" by Blair Daniels (again, aaaaaaaaaa factor for MISSING EYES).
Now...for the not so great parts. The book itself was a little slow to get into, and I almost stopped because I was losing hope that there were good stories there. Luckily my opinion turned around later.
The first story, "Bill Owens III" by David Clark, was very slow building and I honestly didn't finish this one because it was too slow for me to get into.
The next one I didn't really like was "Isolation Cabin" by H.G. Gravy. This one felt...a little pointless to me? Maybe it's just not my cup of tea, but the idea of a person being haunted by things that aren't their fault feels overdone to me, and in order for me to like it, I need to be surprised or horrified, and I wasn't either.
The next one is more of a "WTF?" and it's only a quote. What on earth does "Like a needle in an elephant" mean, Tobias?! ("World's Oldest Tree" by Tobias Wade).
The last one I didn't like was "California Dreaming" by J.D. McGregor. I didn't like the narrator at all. I didn't know if that was the point, or if I just didn't connect with the narrator like the author intended. I generally didn't like the story, because it seemed kind of obvious that the people who gave them the water had something shady up their sleeves. Never take water from strangers in the middle of the desert. On top of everything, I took issue with the fact that he let his girlfriend die. If he was so in love with her, and wanted to fight to save her, and had her in his grasp, why did he just swim away and blame it on his natural instincts? It didn't make sense to me. If my partner was in danger, I would die trying to save them.
Overall, I liked the book and would read it again if I was in the mood to read certain stories again. I would recommend it to friends who like horror anthologies, but honestly I would just write a list of my favorites and let them read the others if they want.
This book was hit and miss for me. Some of the stories were great, some were okay, and others weren't to my liking. I liked how long it was, and how most of the stories managed to vary despite a common topic that can be hard to make your own. I'll start my review with the positive aspects and the stories I liked:
The first one I truly liked was "I Remember Fireflies" by JP Carver. This was a good slow burn horror that gives you the heebie-jeebies more than the OMGs, if that makes sense. I liked the narrator's point of view, and how the narrator may be choosing not to remember what happened to her best friend, despite it being clear enough that she probably killed him.
The next one I liked was "Project Erebus" by J. Speziale. This is a very straight forward type of horror that lets your know from the get go that it's going to be scary, and I loved the detail in how the monster takes pieces of it's victims. Specifically, the quote "It wasn't the shot that frightened me the most, or the explosion of gore that painted the walls behind him. What horrified me the most was the massive, jet black, three fingered hand that pulled Walsh's lifeless corpse back into the cave, just before the blast door was slammed shut. I will never forget the sound of his tearing flesh." Eek!
One of my favorites out of the entire collection, which is saying something because this is a bigger collection, is "Sister", again by J. Speziale. I love it when I'm genuinely surprised by the ending of a story, because it's hard for me to be surprised by story endings anymore since I read so much. I can usually pick up pretty early what's happening. The fact that 1) I didn't know it was the narrator's sister that was the woman covered in black rot, and 2) I had no idea the Uncle was the one who had taken her and killed her. That's such a common trope, but it was executed very well.
My other favorite was "The Little Man" by Gemma Amor. I heard this the first time on The Nosleep Podcast, narrated by Erika Sanderson, and holy moly I forgot how much I loved this story until I re-read it here. Ellie telling the story makes me feel like I could memorize the story and tell it to scare people who even haven't read this book. I love the writing, the plot is relatively simple and still spooky, and Ellie feels like a relatable and reliable narrator, despite the murder. 11/10.
A couple of other good mentions were "What Lurks in Nightfall Forest" by Tara A. Devlin (aaaaaaaaaaaaaa nope. Doppelgangers freak me out!) and "Bottomless Pit" by Blair Daniels (again, aaaaaaaaaa factor for MISSING EYES).
Now...for the not so great parts. The book itself was a little slow to get into, and I almost stopped because I was losing hope that there were good stories there. Luckily my opinion turned around later.
The first story, "Bill Owens III" by David Clark, was very slow building and I honestly didn't finish this one because it was too slow for me to get into.
The next one I didn't really like was "Isolation Cabin" by H.G. Gravy. This one felt...a little pointless to me? Maybe it's just not my cup of tea, but the idea of a person being haunted by things that aren't their fault feels overdone to me, and in order for me to like it, I need to be surprised or horrified, and I wasn't either.
The next one is more of a "WTF?" and it's only a quote. What on earth does "Like a needle in an elephant" mean, Tobias?! ("World's Oldest Tree" by Tobias Wade).
The last one I didn't like was "California Dreaming" by J.D. McGregor. I didn't like the narrator at all. I didn't know if that was the point, or if I just didn't connect with the narrator like the author intended. I generally didn't like the story, because it seemed kind of obvious that the people who gave them the water had something shady up their sleeves. Never take water from strangers in the middle of the desert. On top of everything, I took issue with the fact that he let his girlfriend die. If he was so in love with her, and wanted to fight to save her, and had her in his grasp, why did he just swim away and blame it on his natural instincts? It didn't make sense to me. If my partner was in danger, I would die trying to save them.
Overall, I liked the book and would read it again if I was in the mood to read certain stories again. I would recommend it to friends who like horror anthologies, but honestly I would just write a list of my favorites and let them read the others if they want.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 16, 2019
I received an advanced reader digital copy from the author's website for an honest review
Like with all anthologies there will always be stronger stories and weak stories. I found myself really kind of wondering when I was going to get to the end of the book at one point because a lot of the stories just seemed to drag on even though they were fairly short. The overall theme of the book was stories dealing with the woods or the unknown. The forest, like the ocean, has always held a fascination with what could be hiding between the trees or could be stalking us while we sleep soundly in our tents. Which is and can be a fun topic and idea to explore. In this anthology, however, I felt like it was just dragging on. While each story was unique and had interesting twists and turns, I felt like there were only maybe three to four stories really worth it in this book. There are 44 different stories in this book and I can only recall those three or four that I enjoyed and remembered. It might be that all of them while exploring the same topic of the woods or the unknown, were so varying that it didn't hold my attention or kept me as interested as I could have been. Some stories too were a little unnecessarily gory. While I am perfectly fine with gore in my horror both visual and read when it just goes on and on describing every little detail it loses me. While I love exploring new authors this way, this one was a little bit of a miss for me.
2.5 Stars
Like with all anthologies there will always be stronger stories and weak stories. I found myself really kind of wondering when I was going to get to the end of the book at one point because a lot of the stories just seemed to drag on even though they were fairly short. The overall theme of the book was stories dealing with the woods or the unknown. The forest, like the ocean, has always held a fascination with what could be hiding between the trees or could be stalking us while we sleep soundly in our tents. Which is and can be a fun topic and idea to explore. In this anthology, however, I felt like it was just dragging on. While each story was unique and had interesting twists and turns, I felt like there were only maybe three to four stories really worth it in this book. There are 44 different stories in this book and I can only recall those three or four that I enjoyed and remembered. It might be that all of them while exploring the same topic of the woods or the unknown, were so varying that it didn't hold my attention or kept me as interested as I could have been. Some stories too were a little unnecessarily gory. While I am perfectly fine with gore in my horror both visual and read when it just goes on and on describing every little detail it loses me. While I love exploring new authors this way, this one was a little bit of a miss for me.
2.5 Stars
October 12, 2023
These were generally fun, but hit-or-miss. Some of the stories really needed an editor. The very last one in the book, Lucie and Snaggletooth, was probably my favorite. You could feel what was coming, but still a pretty shocking tale.
July 7, 2018
Read this review and more on my blog at [Roxie Writes].
‘The Trees Have Eyes: Horror Stories from the Forest’ by Various Authors
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
Finished on July 2, 2018
GIVEN A FREE COPY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW
FREE on Kindle Unlimited | $2.99 on Kindle | $17.99 in Paperback
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
If someone screams in the forest and no one is around, will they regret ever making a sound?
Stepping into the forest, you're surrounded by the natural grandeur of a world which has no need of you. The silence is so heavy that you can hear your blood thundering through your veins. The stir of dry leaves in the darkness could be your friend finding his way back, but it sounds more like a primordial monster stalking its prey. And the lights between the trees? And the haunting songs which lure you ever deeper?
It's time to admit that you aren't afraid of being alone in the woods. You're afraid of not being alone.
Journey through the minds of 22 horror authors who have teamed up to reveal the most terrifying aspects of the forest. Over 400 pages of original supernatural and psychological horror stories include: ghosts, demons, serial-killers, true stories and unsolved mysteries, unique monsters, classic myths and legends, and above all else, a profound respect for the terror hidden within the mysterious trees.
MY REVIEW:
I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This collection includes stories by the following authors:
David Clark, H.G. Gravy, Tobias Wade, JP Carver, Patrick McGrail, JD McGregor, J. Speziale, Tara A. Devlin, Blair Daniels, Gemma Amor, Grant Hilton, Kyle Harrison, P. Oxford, Jazzmin Moysey-Forrestall, Kelly Childress, Alanna Roberston-Webb, Candice Azalea Greene, AJ Horvath, Dustin Chisam, Adrian J. Johnson, Nick Botic, and William Stuart.
This collection was a 3.5 for me. I enjoyed most of the stories, but there were too many mistakes in the manuscript for me to overlook. There were tense problems, grammar errors, and even some misspellings/inconsistencies with character names. Perhaps these things are improved in a newer version, but they bothered me enough for this book to not quite make a 5-star rating.
The stories themselves contain a good mixture of themes, more than enough to keep the reader satisfied. I’d heard of several of the authors in this collection before, and none of them disappointed me. I’m confident that if you’re a fan of horror, you’ll find something to enjoy in this collection.
I wish I saw more of these themed collections. I really liked the concept of a collection of creepy stories about the forest. The forest is, in itself, a scary place under the wrong circumstances just as these stories show. Some of them are fantastical and others more realistic. They certainly make you question whether or not to take that summer camping trip!
‘The Trees Have Eyes: Horror Stories from the Forest’ by Various Authors
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
Finished on July 2, 2018
GIVEN A FREE COPY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW
FREE on Kindle Unlimited | $2.99 on Kindle | $17.99 in Paperback
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
If someone screams in the forest and no one is around, will they regret ever making a sound?
Stepping into the forest, you're surrounded by the natural grandeur of a world which has no need of you. The silence is so heavy that you can hear your blood thundering through your veins. The stir of dry leaves in the darkness could be your friend finding his way back, but it sounds more like a primordial monster stalking its prey. And the lights between the trees? And the haunting songs which lure you ever deeper?
It's time to admit that you aren't afraid of being alone in the woods. You're afraid of not being alone.
Journey through the minds of 22 horror authors who have teamed up to reveal the most terrifying aspects of the forest. Over 400 pages of original supernatural and psychological horror stories include: ghosts, demons, serial-killers, true stories and unsolved mysteries, unique monsters, classic myths and legends, and above all else, a profound respect for the terror hidden within the mysterious trees.
MY REVIEW:
I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This collection includes stories by the following authors:
David Clark, H.G. Gravy, Tobias Wade, JP Carver, Patrick McGrail, JD McGregor, J. Speziale, Tara A. Devlin, Blair Daniels, Gemma Amor, Grant Hilton, Kyle Harrison, P. Oxford, Jazzmin Moysey-Forrestall, Kelly Childress, Alanna Roberston-Webb, Candice Azalea Greene, AJ Horvath, Dustin Chisam, Adrian J. Johnson, Nick Botic, and William Stuart.
This collection was a 3.5 for me. I enjoyed most of the stories, but there were too many mistakes in the manuscript for me to overlook. There were tense problems, grammar errors, and even some misspellings/inconsistencies with character names. Perhaps these things are improved in a newer version, but they bothered me enough for this book to not quite make a 5-star rating.
The stories themselves contain a good mixture of themes, more than enough to keep the reader satisfied. I’d heard of several of the authors in this collection before, and none of them disappointed me. I’m confident that if you’re a fan of horror, you’ll find something to enjoy in this collection.
I wish I saw more of these themed collections. I really liked the concept of a collection of creepy stories about the forest. The forest is, in itself, a scary place under the wrong circumstances just as these stories show. Some of them are fantastical and others more realistic. They certainly make you question whether or not to take that summer camping trip!
December 24, 2018
While I don't think you're likely to find a story in here that will give you nightmares, there's some wonderful stuff in this compilation: gorgeous descriptive writing, and some concepts that are pretty unsettling.
My one real complaint is how poor the editing is. Typos and formatting errors abound, and at points random words are used that make no sense. (My guess is the original work was written on a phone and autocorrect changed words, but these sorts of things should have been caught as the compilation was coming together.) A simple spellcheck would have done wonders to improve the quality.
My one real complaint is how poor the editing is. Typos and formatting errors abound, and at points random words are used that make no sense. (My guess is the original work was written on a phone and autocorrect changed words, but these sorts of things should have been caught as the compilation was coming together.) A simple spellcheck would have done wonders to improve the quality.
August 5, 2018
aHorror Stories From the Forest
Unfortunately, I read this entire book hoping for a really good juicy horror story that would keep me awake at night, hiding under the covers, afraid to turn off the light, afraid to let any of my append-
ages hang off the bed for fear of some unknown monster grabbing them, and hoping for the story that would stick with me and I might want to retell later. Sadly, I found none of these., just mediocre stories mostly about people camping or getting scared or attacked. (marylane)
Unfortunately, I read this entire book hoping for a really good juicy horror story that would keep me awake at night, hiding under the covers, afraid to turn off the light, afraid to let any of my append-
ages hang off the bed for fear of some unknown monster grabbing them, and hoping for the story that would stick with me and I might want to retell later. Sadly, I found none of these., just mediocre stories mostly about people camping or getting scared or attacked. (marylane)
August 4, 2018
Quite a treat
A generous collection of horror stories. Some stories could pass for psychological thrillers. The storylines were unique and enjoyable. Incorporating mythology, the supernatural and plain old insanity. I recommend this book to horror fans looking for something different with a little twist to it. Available on kindle unlimited, I hope they have more books like this one.
A generous collection of horror stories. Some stories could pass for psychological thrillers. The storylines were unique and enjoyable. Incorporating mythology, the supernatural and plain old insanity. I recommend this book to horror fans looking for something different with a little twist to it. Available on kindle unlimited, I hope they have more books like this one.
August 10, 2018
Easy 4.5 stars for this collection of scary stories
None of these stories are too complicated or cruel and it was great fun reading for an hour or two (or maybe a little more) before sleeping.
Absolutely enjoyable stories starting with camp stories similar to ones I remember frightening my younger brothers with. Don't miss this fun collection!
None of these stories are too complicated or cruel and it was great fun reading for an hour or two (or maybe a little more) before sleeping.
Absolutely enjoyable stories starting with camp stories similar to ones I remember frightening my younger brothers with. Don't miss this fun collection!
July 7, 2019
I really don't know what to say; some of the stories were great, but it was like finding pearls in gravel. I think I might have expected too much of the "concept". Still I give it 3 stars because when it's good, it's really damn good. Also there are many stories, so you get something for your money. =)
August 26, 2020
A great collection of short stories by various authors. It's interesting to see how diverse these stories are, yet all with the underlying Forest theme.
Some of the stories: Scarecrow; Don't Stop on Route 33; The Wall in Grandpa's Backyard; Camp Credence; The Last Bus; The Devil's Cauldron; Seeker and Lucie & Snaggletooth, this reader found especially disturbing. Happy reading. Annemarie
Some of the stories: Scarecrow; Don't Stop on Route 33; The Wall in Grandpa's Backyard; Camp Credence; The Last Bus; The Devil's Cauldron; Seeker and Lucie & Snaggletooth, this reader found especially disturbing. Happy reading. Annemarie
February 6, 2019
This was a freebie Kindle book. I'm interested in stories that explore how forests and woods can affect us.
Most of these pieces were little vignettes, like stories told over a campfire, rather than complete stories. That means they were good for dipping into whenever you needed to read something undemanding. Most of the horror is on the level of "and she got out and there was a HOOK handing from her door handle!!!!!!11!!1!" variety. But that's not necessarily bad. Some are genuinely creepy.
A good book for filling up bits and bobs of time.
Most of these pieces were little vignettes, like stories told over a campfire, rather than complete stories. That means they were good for dipping into whenever you needed to read something undemanding. Most of the horror is on the level of "and she got out and there was a HOOK handing from her door handle!!!!!!11!!1!" variety. But that's not necessarily bad. Some are genuinely creepy.
A good book for filling up bits and bobs of time.
September 15, 2018
Exciting short stories
All of the stories were full of twist and turns. It didn't take long to get through this book. Then I was saddened cause there was no more.
All of the stories were full of twist and turns. It didn't take long to get through this book. Then I was saddened cause there was no more.
October 5, 2018
Very, very good content. However, the book needs better editing for typos.
October 22, 2018
These stories were more miss than hit. And the book seemed interminable.
November 27, 2018
This is a good collection of horror stories, taking place in and around the woods. 44 stories in all. Some are better than others, of course, but all in all a good selection. Recommended.
December 4, 2018
Achei a qualidade dos contos bem irregular. Alguns foram muito bons, mas outros foram mal escritos. Também fiquei incomodado com a quantidade de erros de diagramação e revisão.
January 10, 2019
Really great book, all the authors really delivered. I became fan of Tobias and Blair with this book. I love anything scary and reading this I wasn't disappointed.
April 28, 2019
An amateurish collection of forest-themed horror in dire need of a copy editor. This endless juvenile slog was only redeemed by work from Gemma Amor and William Stuart.
October 26, 2019
Several stories have editing mistakes (Or could have used some editing) but overall it's pretty good! Enjoyable stories
January 1, 2024
When we’re reading, often we are in secure places and not must suffer of the actors in the books are suffering. Sometimes I’m tending to say, that reading books satisfies my unconscious sadism, in which I’m meaning that I only had to read the book—that I rather have better than many of the people in the book.
When reading this book, it was the same. A collection of short stories that gave me a chill touch of horror for each one I was reading.
The Trees Have Eyes—a collection of stories about trees and woods that still are black, places where real evils still are lurking—about people’s frisson that sent me shivers down the spine.
When reading this book, it was the same. A collection of short stories that gave me a chill touch of horror for each one I was reading.
The Trees Have Eyes—a collection of stories about trees and woods that still are black, places where real evils still are lurking—about people’s frisson that sent me shivers down the spine.
July 2, 2022
I really, really, really wanted to give this book a five-star review, and so I will start by saying one disclaimer. The stories in this book that are good are really, really good. There are many that I will be revisiting time and time again either because the storytelling, imagery, or concepts have stuck with me and gotten under my skin. The stories written by Blair Daniels, Tara A. Devlin, and P. Oxford deserve special mention here. Every single story by all three of these authors was one that I enjoyed whole-heartedly and will be re-reading again.
I also truly love the concept of this book. Forests are a great setting in horror and have been used to great effect in visual works of fiction (such as Twin Peaks or Marble Hornets), so I was very excited to see a selection of stories in such a great setting.
However, I am disappointed to say that about half of the stories in this book are truly bad. Most of these have great concepts and ideas, and maybe even decent storytelling, but grammar that makes them nearly unreadable. There were several that I had trouble finishing for no other reason than that the grammar was too hard to parse. In one story, "Camp Credence", two characters (a teacher and a camp counsellor) start being referred to by each other's names and back. When errors this blatant fill a story it ceases to matter how good the idea is because the reader will inevitably be frustrated to hell and back. I don't think most of these were written by bad writers; I think all of these writers had interesting stories to tell. I do, however, think that some of the authors in this book are inexperienced in writing, make silly mistakes, and deserve to have been given better editing so that their tales could shine to the reader. I understand that this publisher is dedicated to putting works out there by less-experienced storytellers, and I love that project and idea. However, publishing these stories as-is makes these authors look very bad, even if they do have a lot of good ideas, and so the lack of proper editing is unfair for the readers and the authors alike.
That being said, I do recommend reading the good stories in this book. Usually, it's fairly easy to tell which ones are good or bad by the grammar and spelling fairly early on, so if you start encountering consistent errors I recommend skipping the story and moving on to the next one. Like I said, the good stories here are really, really good and deserve to be appreciated. Just make sure you're aware that you're paying for only around half of the works in the book's length.
BEST IN THE BOOK, in my opinion, are:
-Bill Owens III
-World's Oldest Tree
-Crosses in the Field
-Scarecrow
-Rain
-Children of the Forest
-Blizzard Warning
-Police Suspect Foul Play
-The Siren and the Hound
-The Sunset Doorway
-The Devil's Cauldron
-Don't Go Swimming in Long Lake
Weakest in the book, in my opinion, are:
-Faces in the Woods (great concept, good writing, poor execution)
-Tongue's Bondage
-California Dreaming (and let me just note, this story does not take place in the forest at all, makes very little sense, has a fairly sexist portrayal of women [a line about being under 22 making a woman more valuable], and some racist tropes. I don't think this one should have been included at all, and even if you're reading the weaker stories you should still skip this. It's really bad).
-Camp Credence
-Outback Oblivion
-The Elevator in the Woods
Of course, you might agree or disagree with me. I do recommend checking the book out for yourself.
I also truly love the concept of this book. Forests are a great setting in horror and have been used to great effect in visual works of fiction (such as Twin Peaks or Marble Hornets), so I was very excited to see a selection of stories in such a great setting.
However, I am disappointed to say that about half of the stories in this book are truly bad. Most of these have great concepts and ideas, and maybe even decent storytelling, but grammar that makes them nearly unreadable. There were several that I had trouble finishing for no other reason than that the grammar was too hard to parse. In one story, "Camp Credence", two characters (a teacher and a camp counsellor) start being referred to by each other's names and back. When errors this blatant fill a story it ceases to matter how good the idea is because the reader will inevitably be frustrated to hell and back. I don't think most of these were written by bad writers; I think all of these writers had interesting stories to tell. I do, however, think that some of the authors in this book are inexperienced in writing, make silly mistakes, and deserve to have been given better editing so that their tales could shine to the reader. I understand that this publisher is dedicated to putting works out there by less-experienced storytellers, and I love that project and idea. However, publishing these stories as-is makes these authors look very bad, even if they do have a lot of good ideas, and so the lack of proper editing is unfair for the readers and the authors alike.
That being said, I do recommend reading the good stories in this book. Usually, it's fairly easy to tell which ones are good or bad by the grammar and spelling fairly early on, so if you start encountering consistent errors I recommend skipping the story and moving on to the next one. Like I said, the good stories here are really, really good and deserve to be appreciated. Just make sure you're aware that you're paying for only around half of the works in the book's length.
BEST IN THE BOOK, in my opinion, are:
-Bill Owens III
-World's Oldest Tree
-Crosses in the Field
-Scarecrow
-Rain
-Children of the Forest
-Blizzard Warning
-Police Suspect Foul Play
-The Siren and the Hound
-The Sunset Doorway
-The Devil's Cauldron
-Don't Go Swimming in Long Lake
Weakest in the book, in my opinion, are:
-Faces in the Woods (great concept, good writing, poor execution)
-Tongue's Bondage
-California Dreaming (and let me just note, this story does not take place in the forest at all, makes very little sense, has a fairly sexist portrayal of women [a line about being under 22 making a woman more valuable], and some racist tropes. I don't think this one should have been included at all, and even if you're reading the weaker stories you should still skip this. It's really bad).
-Camp Credence
-Outback Oblivion
-The Elevator in the Woods
Of course, you might agree or disagree with me. I do recommend checking the book out for yourself.
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