Horrors! 365 Scary Stories – A Full Year of Horror
4/29/2017 – 5/12/2017
The horror short-short isn’t easy to master, but more than 100 of the genre’s critically acclaimed authors & hottest up-&-comers have taken a stab at it in Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, an anthology that contains a short tale for every day of the year. Steve Rasnic Tem, Wm F. Nolan, Tom Piccirilli, Yvonne Navarro, Peter Atkins, Brian Hodge, Martin Mundt & 166 others give you short, sharp shocks.
If you missed the first post you can find it here.
This week’s post will be a little longer as I’m covering two weeks since last week was Lilyn’s awesome post for Cinco de Mayo.
So settle in, buckle up and hang on for the ride!
Future Shock – John B. Rosenman
Synopsis:
After going to sleep in 2003 Stevenson awakens to a brand new world. A world of rocket cars and anti-gravity. It can be tough being a vampire. Especially when he decides to snack on the wrong person.
Review:
Funny and ironic and most certainly a Public Service Announcement for safe snacking.
The Garage – Del Stone Jr. and C.M. Terry
Synopsis:
Parker’s newly purchased house comes with a garage full of junk that he thinks will make him a fortune. His friend Samuelson isn’t so sure. Especially since the garage seems to have more doors and rooms than is humanly possible. Then there’s the wall, blocked by a fall of rocks. And something alive behind it.
Review:
Interesting with an unseen monster theme. Which left intentionally vague works very well. I won’t tell you what I pictured. You’ll have to read it yourself to see what you see. And if you do, let me know!
Gators in the Sewers – Tina L. Jens
Synopsis:
While eating her soup Phoebe finds a baby alligator. Her first reaction is that she’s mad. But as she continues to eat her soup he doesn’t go away. Knowing her landlord doesn’t allow pets she decides to resort to the approved method of urban alligator disposal.
Review:
Ok, I don’t like Phoebe. How could you flush an adorable baby alligator down the toilet? It’s so mean. I would have kept him. And if the landlord complains? Well, baby alligators need their nutrition.
Gentleman’s Agreement – Judith Post
Synopsis:
Carl is a housebreaker. Tempted by tales of Elijah Fryburg’s great eccentricities and even greater wealth he breaks in. But Elijah is no ordinary banker and his loans are not repaid with money.
Review:
I really liked it. Carl was intelligent, Elijah was scary and all in all it’s a good creepy story. The only thing I can’t figure out is if Elijah was a demon, the Devil, or a djinn.
Ghost Story – Kevin Shadle
Synopsis:
Julie gets called for a very strange baby-sitting call. The two older children insist on telling their ‘Ghost Story’ while the youngest pleads with Julie to protect him from ‘the man’.
Review:
Had kind of an interesting twist at the end but it wasn’t really clear what exactly was happening.
Ghost Writer – Lisa Morton
Synopsis:
Tom, a failing author who’s wife has left after the money ran out, buys a fax machine at an estate sale. Pretty soon it starts behaving strangely, faxing out page after page of an almost perfect story. It’s his – with only two clauses, also printed from the fax machine. One, he must share credit and two, he must share some money with the widow from whom he bought the fax machine. But Tom doesn’t want to share and soon finds out that you don’t piss off your ‘Ghost Writer’.
Review:
I liked it and it was very Tales from the Darkside in the just desserts it dishes out. It also reminded me (very slightly) of Stephen King’s ‘Word Processor of the Gods’.
Given by the Sun – S. May Amarinth
Synopsis:
Mithridates VI in 65 B.C. was a paranoid ruler. Who wouldn’t be? Assassinations were common. Hearing of a liquid in a remote area said to preserve life and protect the drinker he sent his army for it. Drinking most of it himself he learns a very hard lesson that the ability to die can sometimes be a gift.
Review:
It has a fairy tale feel to it while also drawing on real history which makes for an interesting mix. It’s not a very original tale but done well here.
Glimpses – John B. Rosenman
Synopsis:
While walking on the beach one day while Greg’s fiancee, Alice, sunbathes he stumbles into a glimpse of a terrible future. Hoping it’s just a passing figment of his imagination he walks back, hoping to see something different. The scene is basically the same only the details have changed. Trying to save Alice from a grim future for the two of them they leave the beach, only to be blindsided by the fact that they have no future together.
Review:
A very good story with a nice twist at the end. Trying to change the horrific visions only reinforces the fact that the future can’t be changed.
Going Home! – William Marden
Synopsis:
Marilyn, in search of her birth mother, finds a couple that knows all about her and her birth mother. She sets out to find her, only to find out that she’s been deceived and the ‘friends of the family’ aren’t very friendly at all.
Review:
A good story but it’s unclear what exactly they want Marilyn’s baby for. Are they a cult or just psychotic. I guess it doesn’t really matter since the real point is that her birth mother gave her up to protect her and Marilyn belatedly realizes that she had a mother all along.
Golden Dreams – Rob Wojtasiewicz
Synopsis:
A young man in search of riches camps for the night in the remains of a bunkhouse that was the scene of a terrible fire years ago. Hoping to glean information from their dreams he makes a fire but when it burns low he goes searching for wood. The smell of smoke and meat cooking lead him back. The dead get very hungry.
Review:
A good tale with a great build-up to the end.
Good Morning, It’s Me! – John Maclay
Synopsis:
A familiar morning ritual is reassuring for a woman who’s luck with men has not been good. This time she wants it so badly to be him. But in the end…Good morning, it’s not me!
Review:
A somewhat creepy story but I’m curious. Is what she sees before leaving real or the personification of the monster he has become.
Good Dog – Donald R. Burleson
Synopsis:
A lonely old woman has nothing but a dog for company. Just because the dog isn’t exactly a dog anymore is beside the point.
Review:
Loved this story. And hated it. But only because it’s very sad. I kind of want to reach into the pages and hug the little old woman. Who cares if she’s a little crazy? Great story.
Good-bye to Singer Swann – Kay Reynolds
Synopsis:
A shark of a rock agent reneges on his promise to provide a tombstone for a former artist – Singer Swann. When his daughter comes asking about it he snaps and tries to run her and her friend down. However, a good artist protects his family and fans. And gets a very unique tombstone.
Review:
I really liked it. For some reason I’m a sucker for protective ghosts.
Gorgon – Brian Hodge
Synopsis:
Greg returns for a high school reunion and is confronted by a teacher who molested and threatened him in high school. She asks a question about Venus and when he doesn’t respond he has to ask himself what the price of failing is. In mythology it’s usually death.
Review:
The story was good but revolting.
Favorites of the Weeks:
Since today I’m covering two weeks I think it’s allowable to choose more than one. I loved Future Shock because it had an ironic twist to it. I also loved Gentleman’s Agreement because it was pretty creepy. Glimpses was very good on a more emotional level and Good Dog was sad and a little gross.
Join me next Friday for another great week of horror!
Horrors! is available for purchase on Kobo | Thriftbooks | Barnes & Noble | Amazon
GracieKat was the first co-host of Sci-Fi & Scary, Lilyn’s partner-in-crime, and sub-head of the Coolthulhu Crew. She reviews horror books, movies, and games for the site. She also does a weekly Focus on the Frightful feature, and is the site list-maker. She is also in control of the Sci-Fi & Scary podcast which will relaunch soon.
Gracie is also a member of the Ladies of Horror Fiction crew.
Thanks! It’s got great stories that are nice little short ones to dip into.
I need this collection in my life. LOL You’ve shared some really good ones this time.