Available from Amazon.com,Amazon.co.uk, and Black Bed Sheet Books 4 out of 5 stars 17-year-old Penny is on the run from something — herself. Suffering from ghoulish nightmares (and perhaps waking nightmares / hallucinations), she agrees to a temporary job managing a Fright House in California during the Halloween season. Tory Jackson is the director of Paranormal SceneContinue reading “Review: Fright House by Fred Wiehe”
Tag Archives: peril
Another Review: Les Femmes Grotesques by Victoria Dalpe
3.5 stars out of 5 Available from CLASH books, Amazon.co.uk, and Amazon.com This modern, feminist, short Gothic horror fiction collection will bring you out in goose-bumps. A CREAK IN THE FLOOR, A SLANT OF LIGHT – There were some quirky details that put me in mind of Holly Black’s work. The tale had a delightfully gory legend about three girlsContinue reading “Another Review: Les Femmes Grotesques by Victoria Dalpe”
Dracula’s Guests (curated by Dr. Chris McAuley)
Available from HellBound Books, Amazon.co.uk, and Amazon.com 4 out of 5 stars This collection of vampire horror tales in celebration of Dracula’s 125th birthday will sate your bloodthirst. These are the stories that stood out for me: Dracula in Recovery – Michael Zemecki: I loved this darkly humorous story featuring all the characters from the original Dracula inContinue reading “Dracula’s Guests (curated by Dr. Chris McAuley)”
Final Part of The Dark Rider and Who Was Morgan Le Fey?
“The summer evening passed in a slow, bad dream for Warren. He suspected it was like pushing through the heavy sludge of a nightmare for all of them. Gran had been the one to help Iain into a standing position and support him into the kitchen, where she let him collapse into a chair. WarrenContinue reading “Final Part of The Dark Rider and Who Was Morgan Le Fey?”
The Dark Rider part 16, Arthurian myth, and Thomas Malory
“George strode behind Mr. Peterson’s desk and broke open the drawers, riffling through them and pocketing a couple of items. He moved around the benches, calm and methodical, turning on the gas taps one by one. “Ready?” he said. “But… what…?” “Office now, yes? Let’s take a peek at those filing cabinets.” He shut theContinue reading “The Dark Rider part 16, Arthurian myth, and Thomas Malory”
The Dark Rider part 11 (excerpt)
Warren peeked out. Men in armour, some helmeted, others not, sat in lines along two tables large enough to fill the hall. They were eating and drinking and some were obviously drunk. The only one who looked bored was a masked man lounging in a separate chair against one wall. The chair was covered inContinue reading “The Dark Rider part 11 (excerpt)”
Part 10 of the Dark Rider (excerpt)
“The night was warm, though not as warm as it had been in Warren’s bedroom. The way they followed narrowed, more sand and dust and debris encroaching on the track, until suddenly the dunes fell away to reveal a dried-out moat. On the other side of it, a couple of lights shone in a dark,Continue reading “Part 10 of the Dark Rider (excerpt)”
Part 9 of The Dark Rider (excerpt)
A huge, round rock stood in the middle of the lawn, shaped like the grinding stones used in old flour mills, except this was carved. There were letters around its edge. Warren stared, ringing silence filling his ears. He called out for his father, asking what the stone was for, but there was no answer.Continue reading “Part 9 of The Dark Rider (excerpt)”
The Dark Rider part 7 (excerpt) and some good news…
“The storm rumbled on throughout the night until it was directly over the farm, coughing and bellowing and sending vibrations through the furniture. It had pelted with rain hard enough to sound like lead pellets being shot at a tin roof and hail fell in the early hours. All the family were heavy-eyed and irritable,Continue reading “The Dark Rider part 7 (excerpt) and some good news…”
The Dark Rider: Snow, Time, Bones Part 6 (excerpt)
“I know he’s here. He’s bound to have come after us. Where is he?” Warren understood. “He’s the school guidance counsellor now. But what are you going to do? You can’t harm him.” “I can try, look you. He has a blimmin’ body, and bodies have nerve endings!” “YouContinue reading “The Dark Rider: Snow, Time, Bones Part 6 (excerpt)”
The Dark Rider Part 5 (excerpt)
At last, as Warren was busy talking to Lyons at the gate, Ulfeus came. Ulfeus was a heavyset man with jowls and fair hair. His eyelashes were long and faint. He breathed hard when he walked. “I’ve come to offer King Ythr’s hand in marriage to the Lady Egrayne, on his behalf,” he wheezed. HisContinue reading “The Dark Rider Part 5 (excerpt)”
The Dark Rider Part 4 (excerpt)
The kitchens were devoid of people awake. A couple of servant-boys lay huddled in blankets near the long fireplace. Not wanting to disturb them, he crept around a large cauldron and hunched in its shadow, wishing he had asked the Duke for something warmer to wear when he had the chance. Warren dozed, woke andContinue reading “The Dark Rider Part 4 (excerpt)”
The Dark Rider: Part 3 (excerpt)
Silence stretched between the man and the boy, punctuated by the sounds of people shouting and moving in the courtyard below. “Are you afraid?” Gorla asked conversationally. “Of what?” “Of pain. Injury. Death.” “Isn’t everybody?” “True. What of the Dark Rider? Does he instil fear in you?” “How can I be afraid of something whenContinue reading “The Dark Rider: Part 3 (excerpt)”
The Dark Rider Part II (Excerpt)
They sat on a grey rock at the side of the path for her to regain her breath. Warren placed the palms of his hands on the cool stone, and as he did so, the air blew cooler and harsher. Leaves skirled above them, red and brown and dry. The sky shone grey. He loweredContinue reading “The Dark Rider Part II (Excerpt)”
All About the Muryans
The Muryans are an ancient race of beings who came into existence shortly after the birth of Noran’s world (the Empire of Dal-Rhiatah). They first lived in the planet-wide, sentient forest named Panko – before Homo sapiens began – and they had a symbiotic relationship with the plants and trees, and later on, withContinue reading “All About the Muryans”
WHO AND WHAT IS ULFRYD SPIRN?
A minor character in “A Dark Heritage: The Nighthunter” who goes on an almost fairytale-style quest and meets an unfortunate end. An apprentice to a travelling merchant, Ulfryd is fourteen years old and having an affair with a girl at an inn when an old song people are singing in the marketplace enters his head,Continue reading “WHO AND WHAT IS ULFRYD SPIRN?”
Who and What is Uncle Edwyn?
Noran Cadwallader‘s Uncle Edwyn is a best friend, benevolent authority figure, and mentor to the boy from birth until age six, when something very unfortunate happens to the old man. He and his wife, Noran’s Aunt Adyah, keep a small farm on the outskirts of Little Beddin, amongst the hills. Aunt Adyah is a practical,Continue reading “Who and What is Uncle Edwyn?”
All About The Kendra
On the continent of Thosea, where magic and the use / teaching of it is still legal, there stands an old, ruined abbey on the banks of the river Eridan. This river is a mysterious remnant of something that poured out of the constellations, and its waters burn like acid, possibly because of its trueContinue reading “All About The Kendra”
All About the Griny-Plinth
These anthropomorphic beings first came to me in a dream. They were eccentric and fascinating, yet dangerous in a concentrated, stubborn, hive-mind sort of way, and they were galloping after me upon tiny, prehistoric horses, trying to catch me. They looked like the Leptictidiums from the non-fiction TV series “Walking with Beasts” – like kangarooContinue reading “All About the Griny-Plinth”
All About the Nephisiati
Throughout the lands of Ossyan, Thosea, and Dal-Rhiatah, stories and myths of the Nephisiati echo down the generations. No one has clapped eyes on them and lived to tell the tale, save for a select few who lost their minds and were institutionalised as a result. In some legends, they look like hideous monsters withContinue reading “All About the Nephisiati”
All About the Selki
Selki are a half-legendary, half-prehistorical terror of the oceans. They are rarely seen, but there are tales of them aplenty among travelling merchants, smugglers, pirates, and other people who make a living on the high seas. There is always someone who returns from sailing with a missing hand or leg who swears it was bittenContinue reading “All About the Selki”
All About The Cetians
The Cetians are an ancient humanoid race that lives in the extreme depths of the White Ocean. Their city is encased inside a gigantic, magical air-bubble, as they mostly breathe oxygenated air. However, they did evolve with gills as well as lungs, although their gills can’t function so well. Their underwater appearance is frightening, theirContinue reading “All About The Cetians”
All About The Forysrhacos
This gigantic and ancient bird is the stuff of myth, prehistory, and legend. Humans from Earth would likely recognise it as The Phoenix, a bird that lays its egg in a nest of flames and is then reborn from the ashes. However, The Forysrhacos (known as “The Foe” in old texts found in the underseaContinue reading “All About The Forysrhacos”
Nightwalks 