A deeply creepy short story/coloring book about a girl who wakes up in the hospital to find she needs a face transplant and is encouraged by her doctoA deeply creepy short story/coloring book about a girl who wakes up in the hospital to find she needs a face transplant and is encouraged by her doctor to lucid dream to look for a new face.
Desa's dreamscape is a beautiful and terrifying place-- think Christmasland mixed with Willy Wonka and a heavy dose of acid. Reading and coloring this while listening to the curated playlist that goes with it was such a trip! I felt like I was high, when I wasn't. Before I knew it hours had gone by and I had colored a mermaid's tail and that was all.
Highly recommended if you're looking for a creepy experience to lose yourself in....more
**spoiler alert** The first 400 pages of this book flew by! I was engrossed in the strange world of Winterview and the Scooby-Doo (minus the dog) cast**spoiler alert** The first 400 pages of this book flew by! I was engrossed in the strange world of Winterview and the Scooby-Doo (minus the dog) cast of characters: * Scarlett, a former popular horror booktuber * her brother Tommy, a former MLB player who now works at a Chinese restaurant * Tommy's girlfriend and Scarlett's bff Hannah, a moody wealthy lady grieving the late death of her mother * Jackson, the head of police's son who works as a bartender and is hopelessly in love with Scarlett.
And there's more!
Together they all are intrigued when a gigantic gothic mansion literally falls from the sky and drops into their quiet town making people behave erratically and die. Sounds like quite the setup right?
A year later a mysterious corporation steps in, claims control of the house, and holds a Willy Wonka-style contest for town residents to go inside. Of course Scarlett and her friends are among the chosen! This is where I got really excited to see wtf was going on inside this twisted Lovecraftian mansion and also where things fell apart for me. As the group explores the house things are described in either exquisite detail or hardly at all. One minute there's insane tentacled creatures emerging from voids out for blood and the next page they are just chilling and talking about the weather.
It's not often I read a book that leaves me with more questions than answers, but this one did. There's still so much of the mystery that I don't understand and so many things left dangling, characters introduced and then never mentioned again, spooky things I wanted explained and also... you can't just tease a romance the whole book and then end it without a kiss scene! ...more
The perfect collection of stories to read when there's a pandemic happening and you can't go anywhere because Worst Laid Plans will have you thinking The perfect collection of stories to read when there's a pandemic happening and you can't go anywhere because Worst Laid Plans will have you thinking no plans is the way to go.
I really enjoyed this collection! All the typical summer vacations are covered (road trip, theme park, exotic location, convention...) and each story had a thrilling twist. There's something for everyone here: gore, grossness, dark humor and even a little smut!
My favorite stories involved a creepy folklore creature, possible aliens and crocodiles. Definitely enough creepiness to keep me thinking about things and happy to staycation this year!
Also, it was nice to see a well balanced group of authors included AKA not just a bunch of white men....more
This book started off atmospheric and creepy and then just got straight up weird and annoying. I got up to 70% before deciding to set this aside.
It's This book started off atmospheric and creepy and then just got straight up weird and annoying. I got up to 70% before deciding to set this aside.
It's not a thriller or a horror, but more of a suspense/drama with some light supernatural cliché elements. As a former Wiccan the witch and Wiccan parts were super frustrating to read. I know this is fiction, but geeeez way to completely not research anything and stick to misconceptions.
There's a heavy dose of fat phobia throughout the whole book around one character that wasn't necessary and was just gross. This dude also goes on for pages about women's nipples and it added nothing to the story....more
I expected this to be a haunted house story about the horrors found in a hoarder's house in the South. THE TWISTED ONES isn't a haunted house story thI expected this to be a haunted house story about the horrors found in a hoarder's house in the South. THE TWISTED ONES isn't a haunted house story though, it's more of a faerie tale twisted with local lore and told by a fantastic narrator and her faithful coonhound companion.
I particularly loved how much the protagonist Mouse loves her dog, Bongo. She's constantly worried about him and finds her strength to protect and be brave in front of him and as a dog person myself that won me over. For instance this passage where she's contemplating feeding Bongo a ham sandwich and then just gives in and does it:
"He was delighted to have another meal. I should probably have objected, but really, I was about to drag him to God nowhere, so it seemed like a stupid time to argue about eating people food.
There was mayonnaise on the sandwich. Maybe when we met the holler people, Bongo's gas would knock them out."
If you also are obsessed with your dog and enjoy a good spooky faerie story THE TWISTED ONES is a fun time!...more
"He looked up at me with bloody lips. "You were here first, and I have grown used to the taste of you now. You let me in, and here I am, forever yours"He looked up at me with bloody lips. "You were here first, and I have grown used to the taste of you now. You let me in, and here I am, forever yours till the end."
They struck me, those words: I let him in. They haunted me for years. How could I possibly have let him in? I couldn't recall ever having done anything like that.
Was it because I was wrong? Was that what allowed him to slip inside?"
You Let Me In promised to be dark, disturbing and thrilling and it did not disappoint.
First off, faeries play a major part in this story and they are the twisted evil ones I grew up hearing about and love-- no Disney magical fae here!
You've got Cassie Tipp, bestselling infamous novelist who suddenly goes missing and her estate cannot be passed on to her heirs without them following her strange instructions that tell them to read a manuscript of hers for a password. Said manuscript is this book and it tells the bizarre story of her life and what really happened to her husband (who was mysteriously found totally disemboweled and in pieces), and explains her father and brother's deaths. It's one heck of a story and I was enraptured with reading about Cassie and her imaginary friend/scary fairy man.
The reader is told both sides of the story: faeries or no faeries and left to decide WTF really happened and I was super into that.
I only wish I knew going in the supernatural aspect of the story was faeries, so I'm including that in my review. I love dark fairy stuff that's not on the fantasy spectrum and if you do too you'll enjoy this.
I'd also recommend The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher if you liked You Let Me In....more
"You learn how to be loved without any proof. Seventeen years and I'm still getting that part wrong"
I don't usually read Young Adult books, but when "You learn how to be loved without any proof. Seventeen years and I'm still getting that part wrong"
I don't usually read Young Adult books, but when I do it's Horror and it's Rory Power.
Burn Our Bodies Down was intense. There's an awkward and abusive mother and daughter relationship at the heart of the novel and it resonated with me. There's a mystery that slowly unraveled and then just burns out in the end.
I'm still putting my thoughts together, but this was an interesting read that I'd recommend, but perhaps have something light to read after because this one is heavy....more
Oooph. I laughed and I cried reading about the zombie apocalypse in Seattle.
The story is told through the eyes of S.T. a sassy Crow as he tries to prOooph. I laughed and I cried reading about the zombie apocalypse in Seattle.
The story is told through the eyes of S.T. a sassy Crow as he tries to process what is happening. He's been rejected by his own kind and prefers the company of humans, but now that they are all turning into weird zombie things he's decided to set out with his friend Dennis and see what's going on. Dennis is a bloodhound. Together, they become the heroes we need and set about uniting other animals to rescue the trapped "domestics" AKA house pets.
Throughout the story, there's short chapters from other animals points of view around the world as they all try to make sense of the plague destroying humankind.
Hollow Kingdom is hilarious, heartbreaking and utterly original. This was my second time reading it and I loved it just as much as the first time. Just be sure to read it with an animal close by and some Cheetos, because you'll need some snuggles and comfort food to get through this....more
It took me a while to get into and I didn't really connect with any of the characters. In fact I kind of hated them all. Stella This book was so weird!
It took me a while to get into and I didn't really connect with any of the characters. In fact I kind of hated them all. Stella comes across as a real snob and Jack comes across as a stereotypical "Oh poor me" poor boy, but something made me keep reading.
The story took on some X-Men-like elements that I wasn't anticipating but enjoyed. However, it dragged on for a little long I found myself flipping ahead just to get to the parts with Jack and Stella. an intriguing read overall but something about it just didn't feel quite right for me I feel like it'd be a lot better of a TV series. ...more
**spoiler alert** Skinwrapper packs a ton of action into its 74 pages and things happen so quickly that I wasn't aware what was going on. Basically sp**spoiler alert** Skinwrapper packs a ton of action into its 74 pages and things happen so quickly that I wasn't aware what was going on. Basically space pirates with Cancer take over a big cargo ship and everyone is scared on being skinned alive.
There wasn't enough of people bring skinned alive and grafted onto others though to keep me interested. Instead, the story follows a teenager in hiding to survive who pees herself and uh then she's brave?!
I don't know man, this was a weird little book. Not enough gore for a bloody creepy title and confusion abound because the high techy stuff is flung around and I had no idea what was happening.
A strong beginning that pulled me in and kept me interested...until it was less about the treatment and more about the doctor himself.
The second half A strong beginning that pulled me in and kept me interested...until it was less about the treatment and more about the doctor himself.
The second half got real weird! Slowly I descended into madness until I felt like it was a sure thing that I had lost my mind and was just reading the same five pages over and over trying to decipher them.
Brian Kirk has a gift. He's very skilled at messing with your head. I'm just not sure if I like it or not. I was confused about the drugs and the visions and never got the clarity I wanted.
We Are Monsters started strong, floundered a bit in the too long middle and ended bizarrely. I'll keep reading what Kirk writes, but this one wasn't for me....more
THE GOD GAME is a coming-of-age SciFi mixed with light fantasy that reads kinda like a YA novel. Basically, a group of nerdy teenagers in high schoolTHE GOD GAME is a coming-of-age SciFi mixed with light fantasy that reads kinda like a YA novel. Basically, a group of nerdy teenagers in high school who are in computer club start playing this video game (on their phones and computers) with an artificial intelligence that claims to be God. It's a role-playing style game where there's mythical creatures and challenges and you can play as a team with your friends. If you play well, you're rewarded with cash money, power over your friends and enemies and more control in the game. If you play poorly, you lose the ability to find your friends and are embarrassed. Oh, and it's said if you die in the God Game you die IRL too! Who doesn't want money, power and mysterious gifts?! I would definitely be playing this game if it existed...for about two weeks and then I'd get bored and delete it like I do with every other game...more
The Chill drew me in right from the first page and picked up suspense quickly! I was expecting more of a nature horror element instead of a supernaturThe Chill drew me in right from the first page and picked up suspense quickly! I was expecting more of a nature horror element instead of a supernatural style horror however I still enjoyed the story. The characters relationships felt real and I enjoyed the way they got to grow. The town in the Catskills that hosts The Chill (AKA the big water reservoir+ dam) was described wonderfully and seemed completely real to me. Reading this I felt like I have been transported --like I have gone there. This made the story a little more chilling than usual.
Basically, simplified, this is a story of people overlooking little things and trying to sanitize history one family holds one and passes down a legacy of their own history. It's also a ghost story and a story about the power of water.
I'd recommend it to those looking for something not scary in the typical sense, but those who like reading about small towns and what happens when they are almost forgotten....more
I was so happy to be part of this #nightwormsbookparty for SERVED COLD because I had never read any Alan Baxter before and was looking for something I was so happy to be part of this #nightwormsbookparty for SERVED COLD because I had never read any Alan Baxter before and was looking for something new and fresh to me. SERVED COLD is a collection of sixteen horror stories with a weird fantasy twist. They are all incredibly well written and all go in directions you wouldn't expect. My favorite of the bunch was Exquisite, a story about a thief who discovers something horrifying that will have him never look at people the same way again! It's one of the goriest stories in the bunch and I loved it! I also really enjoyed reading about The Gangle Man...a different type of Slenderman in How Father Bryant Saw the Light.
Revenge is a common theme in these tales and the writing is so good and paced out that most stories read like fully fleshed out novels!
Not every story is gory though. There's sweetness hidden in a few stories like The Goodbye Message that will break your heart. Alan Baxter has range!! I definitely am going to seek out more from him because if he can work this magic in stories a few pages long I can't wait to read what he does with a whole novel! ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars for this horror that hits you in the gut! ...more
The story follows Marianne who goes to the private, women's refuge known as Skein Island to try to understand why years SKEIN ISLAND was fascinating!!
The story follows Marianne who goes to the private, women's refuge known as Skein Island to try to understand why years ago her mother left her to go there and never returned. Only she finds much more than she bargained for; an old lady, a statue (that may be an ancient and powerful Greek Goddess) and a scary story!
She heads off the island retreat after being assaulted at her library job, leaving behind her confused husband. She doesn't understand that "when things happen to [her] they also happen to [him]. Maybe, not in exactly the same way, but they do happen."
By the time I got to Part Three of the story, I felt like the book could have ended and I would have been happy and satisfied with my takeaway of it, but instead, it kept going and got even more complex! Skein Island may just be for women, but what happens there affects men everywhere.
Men all around the world are playing with colored cubes in backroom bar games. Red is for men who are heroes, Blue for villains, Yellow for sidekicks to the heroes and Green for wise men. All men can be sorted into those categories. Marianne's husband is a Red and she isn't into it. She doesn't want to be the victim in his story or the prize at the end, but is it possible to escape if it's her fate?
If this review doesn't make much sense that's because I'm still wrapping my head around the whole thing, but I loved it and will be thinking about SKEIN ISLAND for a long time!
If you've read THE BEAUTY and thought it was weird, just wait because SKEIN ISLAND is even weirder and more wonderful....more
This book pulled me in slowly and before I knew it I was halfway through and fully invested in this swamp of outcasts.
The writing is lush and utterly This book pulled me in slowly and before I knew it I was halfway through and fully invested in this swamp of outcasts.
The writing is lush and utterly descriptive; you hear the water sloshing and feel the heat from the Bayou. The characters are real and fascinating...a group of broken people just trying to get by as they plot their next move and end up caught in drug trade that turns sinister.
I fell in love with one character in particular and was worried beyond belief on what would happen to them. Thankful to report the ending is both mysterious and soothing.
The Boatman's Daughter will kick you in the heart and mess with your head. It's a wonderful book that I don't know how to categorize...Horror with heart and a touch of fantasy.
I went into this book having no clue what to think, given this premise: a man who is made of scars doing evil things and a group of misfit men in a daI went into this book having no clue what to think, given this premise: a man who is made of scars doing evil things and a group of misfit men in a dark Old West style parable? With a reverse werewolf? Oooookay.
However, I trust Sadie (@mother.horror), so the fact that she loved this and I loved John Boden's writing with Chad Lutzke meant I was willing to give WALK THE DARKNESS DOWN a shot. I'm very much glad I did!
I'm not usually a Western fan, but that style really suited this particular story and John Boden is an extraordinary writer.
As one of his characters says:
"words [are] traps. You say too many and they'll scatter on the ground around you and trip you up, snarl your legs and lives."
Boden crafts this weird western folktale with just the right words and somehow made this slim little book (it's only just over 150 pages) pack a huge punch in the gut. I'm usually a fast reader who gets bored easily and I found myself reading WALK THE DARKNESS DOWN as slowly as I could just to take it all in and digest it. Any moment that I was worried of getting bored, something interesting would happen, like suddenly a reverse werewolf appears. The fact a lot of the places in the story and characters were named after other Indie horror authors was a fun bonus.
Levi (possibly the most grotesque character I've ever read about) is slowly making his way around destroying small towns, killing everyone that crosses his path, and consuming them one way or another. He's a massive murderous man who daydreams about choking out the Sun. He's trailed by Jones, a man bent on avenging his mother's death, Keaton, an angry loner with a heart of gold, and Jubal, an orphan teenager who knows more than he lets on and sweetly carries his younger sisters around in a sling. The way Boden describes everything in this unsettling story is enough to make you have a physical reaction--I found myself shuddering and cringing with disgust at some of the things this motley crew runs into.
Wisdom appears on almost every page; this one line, said when enemies turn into friends, is going to stick with me for a long time:
"Grief is a hungry fuel. And it will devour anything to keep burning"
five stars for this masterpiece
Please give it a read because it deserves all the love and doesn't fit into any one genre....more
When I saw the cover of The Possession of Natalie Glasgow I was hoping there would be a lion in the story and there's a lion alright! And not in any wWhen I saw the cover of The Possession of Natalie Glasgow I was hoping there would be a lion in the story and there's a lion alright! And not in any way or place you'd expect....more
I stayed in bed too late this morning finishing this book even as my kitten screamed at me and my dogs grumbled for food because I had to finish it anI stayed in bed too late this morning finishing this book even as my kitten screamed at me and my dogs grumbled for food because I had to finish it and see how it ended and who, if anyone, would survive. The Only Good Indians is the new realistic horror we need right now. An #ownvoices story of American Indian men in the Blackfeet tribe who made a choice ten years ago during an elk hunt gone wrong that comes back to haunt them. The characters are real, the gore is visceral and the end had me holding my breath until the last page. Pre-order this now and block out May 19th on your calendar because you want this book! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars for this one! One of the best books I've read this year! I'm going to be thinking about this one for a while. It's more than just a gory almost slasher horror book. It's extremely relevant as I live in a town where the police shot an unarmed Native man to death and have yet to charge the officer because ya know, police suck and prejudice is real.
Each man who took part in the illegal elk hunt is trying to make his way through life being the best Indian he can be even while constantly thinking about all the things he's down that make him A Bad Indian. The elk hunt incident being one of the worst. The way Stephen Graham Jones weaved the story along with bits of Native culture and history was fascinating and I found myself nodding along far too many times to parts of each man's life. About a 1/3rd of the way through the book switches narratives and takes a weird turn that had me screaming WTF IS GOING ON?!!! and after I caught up and realized what was happening and who was talking I loved it and really fell into the story, Super unique and different from anything I've ever read and I was so worried about the ending, but pleased with how it all closed down.
I even appreciated and enjoyed the acknowledgments where he thanks his dog for being the best....more
I expected this to be a haunted house story about the horrors found in a hoarder's house in the South. THE TWISTED ONES isn't a haunted house story thI expected this to be a haunted house story about the horrors found in a hoarder's house in the South. THE TWISTED ONES isn't a haunted house story though; it's more of a faerie tale twisted with local lore and told by a fantastic narrator and her faithful coonhound companion.
I particularly loved how much the protagonist Mouse loves her dog, Bongo. She's constantly worried about him and finds her strength to protect and be brave infront of him and as a dog person myself that won me over. For instance this passage where she's contemplating feeding Bongo a ham sandwich and then just gives in and does it:
"He was delighted to have another meal. I should probably have objected, but really, I was about to drag him to God nowhere, so it seemed like a stupid time to argue about eating people food.
There was mayonnaise on the sandwich. Maybe when we met the holler people, Bongo's gas would knock them out."
This book hurt my heart with it's realness, but also made me laugh out loud.
The storytelling is unique and unusual, but it works so well once you getThis book hurt my heart with it's realness, but also made me laugh out loud.
The storytelling is unique and unusual, but it works so well once you get into it. You feel for the characters and if you're me you know people like these characters and it makes everything hit a bit harder.
Don't take this book too seriously though.
Would recommend for those not weak of heart. Very NSFW with it's imagery and language, but holy mothertrucking sharkweek did I love it.
4.5 stars just because the ending was off for the rest of the book....more
"What was her life worth, really, when she thought about it? A full set of teeth? Maybe, after this, he would stop. Maybe, after this, it would be e"What was her life worth, really, when she thought about it? A full set of teeth? Maybe, after this, he would stop. Maybe, after this, it would be enough." ...more
This book was one of the weirdest things I've read in a long time!
Part horror noir, part science-fiction all mixed in with hard-boiled crime and LovecThis book was one of the weirdest things I've read in a long time!
Part horror noir, part science-fiction all mixed in with hard-boiled crime and Lovecraftian monsters. I loved the writing style; you get the dark gritty mood right away and I felt gross after reading a few chapters in. There's plenty of gore and splattering blood to keep readers interested and cop drama that I didn't care for, but worked with the story.
If' you're looking for a dark crime drama that takes place in 1910 and don't mind gore this is the book for you.
Stretch that imagination and let it run wild into the underground alien delights of The City....more
This was a weird and gory collection of six strange stories and I really enjoyed it.
My favorite story was Skullpocket It was cute and quirky and I lovThis was a weird and gory collection of six strange stories and I really enjoyed it.
My favorite story was Skullpocket It was cute and quirky and I loved the The idea of baby ghouls going out in the world and going to the circus. Give me more of this mysterious Maggot please.
The Visible Filth aka Wounds is clearly the star of the collection and equally as disturbing, unsettling and horrifying as the movie.
What I liked the best was how the first story and the last story, though vastly different, were tied together in the same world.
If you like weird dark horror you'll love this!...more
"This has always been one of the best coasts to bathe from. A few dangerous currents, but if you know where they are you're all right. Then suddenly t"This has always been one of the best coasts to bathe from. A few dangerous currents, but if you know where they are you're all right. Then suddenly there're all these horrific claw prints appearing, plus people disappearing right, left and centre."
It's only just starting," Cliff observed, and shook his head. "Something ... a freak of nature maybe, but whatever it is, this is only the beginning."
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