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Departures
"Wildly imaginative, boundary-obliterating dark fiction"
— Shawn Macomber, Decibel Magazine
A new homeowner finds a large, inexplicable egg behind a door...
A traveler seeks a bizarre creature from folklore...
An abused spouse takes matters into their own hands...
A stranger tempts passersby with a mystery in the trunk of his car...
A man discovers a cemetery walled off from the rest of town...
A family finds out what the vacation of a lifetime really entails...
And a sleep aid wakes up.
These are just some of the strange tales within, as Scott Cole returns with a new collection featuring his unique brand of unusual horror stories.
"No other living author writes the uncanny and the weird as compellingly as Scott Cole. His new collection, Departures, is a deftly written tightrope act balancing between moments of quiet gentleness and the chillingly absurd."
— Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes
— Shawn Macomber, Decibel Magazine
A new homeowner finds a large, inexplicable egg behind a door...
A traveler seeks a bizarre creature from folklore...
An abused spouse takes matters into their own hands...
A stranger tempts passersby with a mystery in the trunk of his car...
A man discovers a cemetery walled off from the rest of town...
A family finds out what the vacation of a lifetime really entails...
And a sleep aid wakes up.
These are just some of the strange tales within, as Scott Cole returns with a new collection featuring his unique brand of unusual horror stories.
"No other living author writes the uncanny and the weird as compellingly as Scott Cole. His new collection, Departures, is a deftly written tightrope act balancing between moments of quiet gentleness and the chillingly absurd."
— Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes
- GenresHorrorShort Stories
115 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 8, 2022
47 people want to read
About the author
Scott Cole
38 books54 followersScott Cole is the author of Crazytimes, Triple Axe, and SuperGhost, as well as two collections of short fiction, Departures and Slices. He is also an artist and graphic designer. He lives in Philadelphia. Find him on social media, behind you in the mirror, or at 13visions.com.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 23, 2022
This was a very fine set of 10 stories. "Egg House" (a mysterious egg within a house), "Greetings from Trammel Beach" (A beach like Hotel California), "Cold Hands" (sinister), "The Trunk" (okay, had expected more here), "Gourds" (one of the very best, different Halloween), "Clown Noses" (brilliant satire on the masks in covid times, a highlight), "Only Bad People" (a bad man is confronted with his past on a cemetery), "The Penanggalan" (local monsters can be the most dangerous), "Can't See the Forest" (transformation of a man), "The Noise Machine" (reminded me on Kafka). Melancholic, focused mostly on loners or outsiders the author comes up with very unusual horror stuff and well written prose. Really recommended!
August 31, 2022
Scott Cole has a gleefully dark imagination and his books are always a wild time. This collection of short stories has a lot of body horror which always gets my attention. I don’t know why I like the gross stuff but sometimes, after a too long day, it’s just what one needs.
I liked all of the stories so I may just write a little blurb about each one. We’ll see what spills out here . . .
Egg House
Things start off super weird when a new homeowner finds a giant egg lurking behind a door. They briefly consider moving it but after musing about its mama coming back for it if touched, they decide to leave it alone. But then it starts to stink up the place and things just get stranger from there. This reads like a very bizarre dream.
Greetings From Trammel Beach
A happy family of four vacations at a beautiful beach and everything is perfect. Too perfect, if you ask me. 😹 But of course it doesn’t stay that way! This was icky and eerie. Loved it.
Cold Hands
Never cringe when your wife’s hands are too cold and also don’t be a dick when all she does is cater and pander to your needs. A rude dude learns that lesson the hard way. As he deserves! Ha, this was fun.
The Trunk
If some weirdo beckons you to look inside his trunk and you are nosy and dumb enough to look, as I might be, well, whatever befalls you is totally on you! This was such a strange one.
Gourds
Ooof, this one was some cringy fun. Marshall’s wife brings home some gourds to get into the fall spirit and they instantly bother him, even invading his sleep. Yikes, after reading this story I’m not so sure I want to bring gourds into my house next month.
Only Bad People
A man relocates to a new town hoping to leave his old life behind and is drawn to a walled-off cemetery where he hears whispers that “only bad people are buried there”. Sometimes a guy gets exactly what he deserves, at least in fiction, and I love to see it 🤷
Clown Noses
A dude figures out an ingenious way to make some bucks as the sheeple fall in line. This one was wild.
The Penanggalan
A man on holiday to Malaysia becomes entranced, disgusted, and perhaps attracted to the legend of the Penanggalan after he spies her in a book. I mean, she sounds sort of sexy until maybe you bump into her for real. I’d like to learn more about this creature - in a book, of course.
Can’t See the Forest
A guy spies a spot between his shoulder blades but he’s unable to get a good look at it because he doesn’t do yoga (people, seriously, DO your stretches, you won’t be sorry!). He contorts himself but it’s really hard to see it. Don’t worry though, he eventually sees it and all of its little buddies. This was some truly bizarre body/eco-horror and you won’t ever hear me complaining about that!
The Noise Machine
A man tries to help his neighbor out when he learns he’s having trouble sleeping but what he doesn’t realize is that his neighbor is the obsessive type and things soon escalate. This is why it’s probably best to ignore your neighbors.
If you like weirdly dark short stories, I’m certain you’ll find a few things here that’ll make you very happy.
I liked all of the stories so I may just write a little blurb about each one. We’ll see what spills out here . . .
Egg House
Things start off super weird when a new homeowner finds a giant egg lurking behind a door. They briefly consider moving it but after musing about its mama coming back for it if touched, they decide to leave it alone. But then it starts to stink up the place and things just get stranger from there. This reads like a very bizarre dream.
Greetings From Trammel Beach
A happy family of four vacations at a beautiful beach and everything is perfect. Too perfect, if you ask me. 😹 But of course it doesn’t stay that way! This was icky and eerie. Loved it.
Cold Hands
Never cringe when your wife’s hands are too cold and also don’t be a dick when all she does is cater and pander to your needs. A rude dude learns that lesson the hard way. As he deserves! Ha, this was fun.
The Trunk
If some weirdo beckons you to look inside his trunk and you are nosy and dumb enough to look, as I might be, well, whatever befalls you is totally on you! This was such a strange one.
Gourds
Ooof, this one was some cringy fun. Marshall’s wife brings home some gourds to get into the fall spirit and they instantly bother him, even invading his sleep. Yikes, after reading this story I’m not so sure I want to bring gourds into my house next month.
Only Bad People
A man relocates to a new town hoping to leave his old life behind and is drawn to a walled-off cemetery where he hears whispers that “only bad people are buried there”. Sometimes a guy gets exactly what he deserves, at least in fiction, and I love to see it 🤷
Clown Noses
A dude figures out an ingenious way to make some bucks as the sheeple fall in line. This one was wild.
The Penanggalan
A man on holiday to Malaysia becomes entranced, disgusted, and perhaps attracted to the legend of the Penanggalan after he spies her in a book. I mean, she sounds sort of sexy until maybe you bump into her for real. I’d like to learn more about this creature - in a book, of course.
Can’t See the Forest
A guy spies a spot between his shoulder blades but he’s unable to get a good look at it because he doesn’t do yoga (people, seriously, DO your stretches, you won’t be sorry!). He contorts himself but it’s really hard to see it. Don’t worry though, he eventually sees it and all of its little buddies. This was some truly bizarre body/eco-horror and you won’t ever hear me complaining about that!
The Noise Machine
A man tries to help his neighbor out when he learns he’s having trouble sleeping but what he doesn’t realize is that his neighbor is the obsessive type and things soon escalate. This is why it’s probably best to ignore your neighbors.
If you like weirdly dark short stories, I’m certain you’ll find a few things here that’ll make you very happy.
July 14, 2022
What a ride! Scott Cole has become someone whose stories I just can't wait to read. Learning about this new book through a surprise announcement had me feeling like it was my birthday. And I am thrilled to say all these stories pulled through! I had an absolute blast with these unique and weird tales. It blows my mind how Cole can create such mind-bending, fun, and totally entertaining stories one after the other, but the proof is right here in this collection and his backlog of works, too. My favorites are "Egg House," "The Trunk," "Clown Noses," "The Penanggalan," and "The Noise Machine," but I promise you there is not a dull story here. You just won't find it - and I will fight whoever does! Only playing. But this is a stacked collection and one you definitely shouldn't miss out on. Cole's presence on the pages is such a treat for readers, horror enthusiasts, and lovers of fun, weird shit!
September 23, 2022
3.5 stars
An interesting collection of horror and speculative short stories. Cole certainly has some unique ideas here and the collection is a mixture of weird, unsettling and sinister with a bit of dark humour for good measure. I thought all of the stories were good but my favourite two were Only Bad People and The Penanggalan. Worth checking out!
I received a copy from the author.
An interesting collection of horror and speculative short stories. Cole certainly has some unique ideas here and the collection is a mixture of weird, unsettling and sinister with a bit of dark humour for good measure. I thought all of the stories were good but my favourite two were Only Bad People and The Penanggalan. Worth checking out!
I received a copy from the author.
August 1, 2022
3.5 stars rounded up to 4
I really enjoyed Cole’s. CRAZYTIMES that I read last year so was very excited for his short story collection. Now, we all know I have a love/hate relationship with collections/anthologies so getting a 4-5 stars is rare AF. 3.5 to this collection which had hits and misses for me. I will now give eggs a second glance and I’m very worried about my moles 😱. I will never look into a mystery trunk again because sometimes layers do NOT need to be explored!
Coke has a knack for writing crazy horror stories that really do pluck at my black and red heart strings. I’m excited to read more of his work for sure. Thank you Scott for this gifted read!!
I really enjoyed Cole’s. CRAZYTIMES that I read last year so was very excited for his short story collection. Now, we all know I have a love/hate relationship with collections/anthologies so getting a 4-5 stars is rare AF. 3.5 to this collection which had hits and misses for me. I will now give eggs a second glance and I’m very worried about my moles 😱. I will never look into a mystery trunk again because sometimes layers do NOT need to be explored!
Coke has a knack for writing crazy horror stories that really do pluck at my black and red heart strings. I’m excited to read more of his work for sure. Thank you Scott for this gifted read!!
December 5, 2022
**Review originally published in SCREAM Magazine**
It’s exciting to read a story and have no idea where you’re going or where you’ll end up. A story that hooks you in and keeps you guessing with its twists and turns, that populates its prose with believable characters and places them in increasingly outlandish scenarios. I’m pleased to say that Scott Cole’s latest collection Departures is full of exactly these types of stories.
The collection opens with “Egg House”, a story about a man who buys a new house and discovers a giant egg hiding behind the bathroom door. The egg looks and smells strange, but the real horror kicks in when it finally cracks open and reveals its mind-bending interior. This story sets the tone for the unique and imaginative storytelling that Cole does so well.
Each of the ten stories here fall under the brand of dark fiction, but they are nicely varied in their plots and horror influences. “Cold Hands” reads like early gothic fiction and tells of an abused spouse who takes matters into his own hands. “The Trunk” is like something Roald Dahl might have written, with its mysterious stranger offering a deceptively simple challenge. “The Noise Machine” has a blend of terror and sci-fi that feels like its from Bradbury or Ellison. And “Only Bad People”' comes across as a modern day version of the stories Poe and M.R. James used to write.
Some stories, like “Clown Noses” and “The Noise Machine”, are deeply unsettling without resorting to abundant gore. Other stories, such as “Gourds” and “Can’t See the Forest”, revel in their body horror trappings and gross out moments. “The Penanggalan” features a creature from Malaysian folklore and reads almost like travel writing. Regardless of the type of horror, all the stories here are a lot of fun!
Scott Cole writes with a clear and engaging voice, and there’s often an undercurrent of dark humor running throughout. I like that each story focuses on ordinary people who, usually through no fault of their own, find themselves in bizarre and unfortunate situations. With its boundless creativity and variety of frights, Departures is an easy recommendation for those who like their horror with a side of surrealism.
It’s exciting to read a story and have no idea where you’re going or where you’ll end up. A story that hooks you in and keeps you guessing with its twists and turns, that populates its prose with believable characters and places them in increasingly outlandish scenarios. I’m pleased to say that Scott Cole’s latest collection Departures is full of exactly these types of stories.
The collection opens with “Egg House”, a story about a man who buys a new house and discovers a giant egg hiding behind the bathroom door. The egg looks and smells strange, but the real horror kicks in when it finally cracks open and reveals its mind-bending interior. This story sets the tone for the unique and imaginative storytelling that Cole does so well.
Each of the ten stories here fall under the brand of dark fiction, but they are nicely varied in their plots and horror influences. “Cold Hands” reads like early gothic fiction and tells of an abused spouse who takes matters into his own hands. “The Trunk” is like something Roald Dahl might have written, with its mysterious stranger offering a deceptively simple challenge. “The Noise Machine” has a blend of terror and sci-fi that feels like its from Bradbury or Ellison. And “Only Bad People”' comes across as a modern day version of the stories Poe and M.R. James used to write.
Some stories, like “Clown Noses” and “The Noise Machine”, are deeply unsettling without resorting to abundant gore. Other stories, such as “Gourds” and “Can’t See the Forest”, revel in their body horror trappings and gross out moments. “The Penanggalan” features a creature from Malaysian folklore and reads almost like travel writing. Regardless of the type of horror, all the stories here are a lot of fun!
Scott Cole writes with a clear and engaging voice, and there’s often an undercurrent of dark humor running throughout. I like that each story focuses on ordinary people who, usually through no fault of their own, find themselves in bizarre and unfortunate situations. With its boundless creativity and variety of frights, Departures is an easy recommendation for those who like their horror with a side of surrealism.
August 13, 2022
This is a phenomenal collection of stories. Every one is at least an 8/10. There's a crazy amount of originality here too. And also, I'll say there are a few of the craziest stories/ideas I've ever seen for short fiction in here, but it all works so well because Cole is a great writer and he can easily get you invested in a story within the first paragraph or so. Highly highly recommend to anyone that likes horror shorts
August 5, 2022
Loved this collection. I got the great weird mysterious uncertainty vibes you get in the best of the Twilight Zone, though with a more bizarre twist here. I read it in a day, and enjoyed every story. They're quick, pack a punch, and leave you wanting more. So much fun!
August 1, 2022
This was a fun little collection of 10 short stories ranging from strange and cosmic to monsters and body horror!
Here are some of my favorites:
𝙀𝙜𝙜 𝙃𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 -a guy abruptly gets booted from his rental property and is forced to move into a new house. Initially not having the time or motivation to clean the house when he first moves in, he one day decides it’s time to tidy up, and in the process finds a strange egg nestled behind a door in his bedroom. What hatches from the egg is even stranger…
-this one has some cool nesting doll vibes and I definitely wasn’t expecting this to go the way it did 😃.
—-
𝙂𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙡 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝-A family of 4 takes a vacation to a new to them beach and end up staying longer than they anticipated…
-yikes! This is a nightmare no one would want to get stuck in 🫣.
—-
𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨-This one involves a married couple with a strained relationship, and a husband who complains about how cold his wife hands are.
-This one brings to mind the saying ‘cold hands, warm heart’ but maybe in a more sinister way 😁. I really enjoyed the visual and sensory details in this one 🙌
—-
𝙊𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝘽𝙖𝙙 𝙋𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 -Johnny keeps hearing a voice saying “𝙾𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚋𝚊𝚍 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎.” After moving to a new town to escape his past mistakes, he comes across a graveyard that seems to have no actual entrance. Curious, he keeps looking and when he finally finds his way in, he comes face to face with his past, a past that has come back to haunt him.
-I love these type of stories. Bad people that can’t escape their bad decisions
—-
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙣- A married couple finds a last minute vacation deal and takes a chance to go on the vacation of their dreams. With nothing to read, the husband picks up an in flight booklet titled ‘A Field Guide to Supernatural Entities in Southeast Asia,’ that is full of ghosts and monsters, from legends to folklore. Upon searching the booklet, he stumbles upon an illustration of a beautiful otherworldly woman and is instantly obsessed. What he didn’t expect, was to actually meet this surreal beauty up close and personal.
-what a fantastic character this is 🤩. I wanted more of the Penanggalan 🙌
—-
𝘾𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩- Sidney notices a weird growth on his back that starts off small and ends up getting completely out of control.
-I am a sucker for body so this one was right up my alley 🙌
Thank you to the author for sharing this collection with me! 🖤🖤🖤
Here are some of my favorites:
𝙀𝙜𝙜 𝙃𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 -a guy abruptly gets booted from his rental property and is forced to move into a new house. Initially not having the time or motivation to clean the house when he first moves in, he one day decides it’s time to tidy up, and in the process finds a strange egg nestled behind a door in his bedroom. What hatches from the egg is even stranger…
-this one has some cool nesting doll vibes and I definitely wasn’t expecting this to go the way it did 😃.
—-
𝙂𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙡 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝-A family of 4 takes a vacation to a new to them beach and end up staying longer than they anticipated…
-yikes! This is a nightmare no one would want to get stuck in 🫣.
—-
𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨-This one involves a married couple with a strained relationship, and a husband who complains about how cold his wife hands are.
-This one brings to mind the saying ‘cold hands, warm heart’ but maybe in a more sinister way 😁. I really enjoyed the visual and sensory details in this one 🙌
—-
𝙊𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝘽𝙖𝙙 𝙋𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 -Johnny keeps hearing a voice saying “𝙾𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚋𝚊𝚍 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎.” After moving to a new town to escape his past mistakes, he comes across a graveyard that seems to have no actual entrance. Curious, he keeps looking and when he finally finds his way in, he comes face to face with his past, a past that has come back to haunt him.
-I love these type of stories. Bad people that can’t escape their bad decisions
—-
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙚𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙣- A married couple finds a last minute vacation deal and takes a chance to go on the vacation of their dreams. With nothing to read, the husband picks up an in flight booklet titled ‘A Field Guide to Supernatural Entities in Southeast Asia,’ that is full of ghosts and monsters, from legends to folklore. Upon searching the booklet, he stumbles upon an illustration of a beautiful otherworldly woman and is instantly obsessed. What he didn’t expect, was to actually meet this surreal beauty up close and personal.
-what a fantastic character this is 🤩. I wanted more of the Penanggalan 🙌
—-
𝘾𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩- Sidney notices a weird growth on his back that starts off small and ends up getting completely out of control.
-I am a sucker for body so this one was right up my alley 🙌
Thank you to the author for sharing this collection with me! 🖤🖤🖤
February 24, 2023
This one is really fun! Lots of good stories that were the right mix of gross and scary. Disease and unfortunate skin happenings are major themes in this one. After reading this quick collection, you’ll definitely need a shower or two. Just hope and pray your skin still feels the same after.
July 1, 2025
6/10
March 27, 2025
A fine collection, but I didn't really connect with any of the stories(not that it's a requirement to enjoy). Most of them felt fleshed out enough to stand on their own, but a few suffered from the short length and would greatly benefit from another 50-75 pages. There is a good variety of horror represented, so I think most will find something to their liking.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews