Tag Archives: Horror

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A Christmas Haunting at Point No Point

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This is another author that I have never read before and it seems to have become a theme during Christmas that I find new authors that I like. This is said to be a stand-alone novel but I think that even though it can be read without having read the previous books it still might be a good idea to read them to lend more context to the story. Reference is made to situations and people from previous books which can make it hard to understand what is happening sometimes. This was a really good ghost story with subtle but very interesting and well-thought-out imagery.

Steven’s brother and his family are coming for a visit during the holidays after years of staying away. To make things more comfortable for his brother he decides to rent a location for their vacation that will be neutral and hopefully help everyone enjoy themselves. Steven settles on Point No Point, the oldest lighthouse in the region, which offers the lighthouse keepers’ house as their vacation spot. The family finds their holiday turning into a nightmare as they start to notice changes in each other and try to figure out the haunted secrets of Point No Point things take a turn for the worse.

This was a very enjoyable story that had me from beginning to end as I tried to figure out what was going on along with them. The characters were fantastic and the scenery was what you would expect from the Pacific Northwest right down to the weather. It gave me great visuals. The slow build was perfect and added to the atmosphere that was being built within the house.

I would definitely recommend this book.

My rating: ✮✮✮✮

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Mark’s Merry Mayhem

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Because this is a short story collection I generally rate each story separately and then do an average. With that said, I give this 3.71 stars and have rounded it up to 4 for the sake of their system. I fell in love with the Zombie Fallout books after the first one that was given to me by my sister and have been enthralled ever since. This gives you plenty of the folks from the novels getting into general mayhem.

2 stars, ‘Fucking Pepperoni Pizza’. Michael decides to have a couple of slices of pepperoni pizza knowing that it does not agree with him. When it wakes him up in the night he starts to feel that something is not right. Then he sees something that he hopes is a pepperoni dream.

3.5 stars, ‘Mike in Trouble Again’. Tracy wants Mike to keep his promise to clean out the garage and he tries to get out of it. When he finally starts the work he manages to fall, hit his head, and end up in some alternate universe. Somehow he pulls BT with him and they are being stalked.

4 stars, ‘Michael’s Haunted Adventure’. Mike is asked to conduct a tour of a haunted location because of his own weird experiences with the paranormal. The Paranormal Examining Society has set up a tour of a haunted penitentiary and he is doing it for almost nothing. Turns out things are a lot more spooky than he planned for.

2.5 stars, ‘Through My Baby’s Eyes’. Mercury Jones was born to teenage parents who were forced into marriage. His father stayed around long enough to give him the bizarre name and then took off for parts unknown. His mother found solace in heroin and abandoned her son in that way. Raised by his grandparents he grew into a good young man but suffers from multiple ailments because of his fathers’ many vices. He has tried to live well for a long time and finally, it all catches up to him.

4 stars, ‘Mayan Prophesy’. Michael is trapped with Travis, Tracy, Henry, and Rylie (their bulldogs) in their home on Christmas Eve. The zombies come out of the woods and find their way into the basement where they start to make their way into the house proper. Mike does not have the time he did before and things look a lot more grim.

5 stars, ‘A Visit From That Bitch Eliza’. Okay, this is a poem set to a very familiar Christmas one. You will enjoy it.

5 stars, ‘Henry’s Story’. That bulldog who always seems to be in the right place at the right time gets his own little aside. He does what he does best, takes care of his human.

Most of the stories do not have a Christmas theme but there are two which do. I had been going for a Christmas novel but this still worked fine for me because I do love to deal with Michael Talbot and his penchant for trouble. You get Michael at his snarky best in pretty much each story not to mention BT who is always entertaining in his weird friendship with Mike. I think anyone who enjoys Zombie Fallout or any Mark Tufo novel will be happy with these tales.

My rating: 💫💫💫💫

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Crane

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This was one of those books that it took me a while to get into. I liked the idea of the book and after reading the blurb I was prepared to totally like it but it did not click right away. I think it partially had to do with the main character, I had a hard time warming up to her. She was actually rather dull at the beginning though I had decided I liked her by the time we were getting to the end. The fact that the story was two-pronged both helped and hurt me. I understood that it was a matter of telling the story of Ichabod Crane as well as bringing it into the present it was not bad and I liked the way that his story was handled, the present just didn’t flow as well. I also liked that Washington Irving and Rip Van Winkle were prominent parts of his story.

Ichabod Crane and his friends go to Sleepy Hollow where he has been retained as the Schoolmaster. After the war, they are all just wanting to find work and live out their lives as peacefully as possible. But they have come to the wrong place to find that peace because Sleepy Hollow is under a curse that seems to be pulling them in. Ichabod has fallen in love with a girl who has been promised to another. Rip is making a reputation for himself under Ichabod’s name and Irving is just being himself. When the Horseman rides and seems to be coming for his beloved Ichabod makes the ultimate sacrifice.

Ireland Crane is looking to make a fresh start in Sleepy Hollow after a bad breakup that has left her mistrustful of men. She has no idea that bearing her name in that town is not the best of ideas. She comes there as a guidance counselor to the local High School and proceeds to fall into the role it seems she was always meant to play. When the Horseman seems to reappear and she becomes a prime suspect things could not seem worse. Then she finds a squatter in her basement who turns out to be Rip Van Winkle and he tells her that she is cursed.

With bodies dropping and no knowledge of why or how she seems to be involved Ireland must try to believe something so fantastic it could only be a movie. But to break the curse she will help someone she has never believed existed.

The story is a good one but it took a while for me to connect, this does not mean it would be the same for anyone else. Once it gets going well the story takes on a life of its own and draws you in. I am debating on reading the remaining books in the series but may just see where things go after she takes charge.

I would recommend it to anyone who likes the retelling of old myths and legends.

My rating: 🌟🌟🌟

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The Haunted Forest Tour

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This is the first thing I have ever read by this author and it was a nice introduction to his work. It was not something I was immediately drawn into but it did not take long for me to see that I was going to enjoy it. The characters actually made this whole story for me because I liked them almost from the start and was rooting for my favorites to get out alive. Which is pretty foolish when you have a story that you know is going to have a high body count. You get some standard monsters and some not-so-standard monsters, the main thing is that they are some evil monsters.

Four years ago a forest popped up in the middle of the New Mexico desert on the outskirts of Cromay, a small town that was taken unaware. There were not a lot of survivors that day but those who got out told tales of creatures that made the skin crawl. It didn’t take long for someone to come along and see the possibilities and so the Haunted Forest Tours began.

Christopher Brummit was having a very bad day but then he gets a call from his mother, Mindy, telling him that she has gotten tickets for the Halloween Haunted Forest tour for the two of them. He is excited and does not give his problems any further thought. When they arrive they go through the presentation and finally board a tram that will take them into the heart of the forest instead of the usual trip on the outskirts. What they find inside that forest will be with them forever if they can manage to make it out with mind and body intact.

There is quite a bit of action to find in this story. Some might find it gory, and it does have a bit of gore but nothing too excessive. While I liked the end I think that it was anticlimactic in a lot of ways, it just seemed to be very abrupt. This was a well-paced, roller coaster ride through a monster-filled territory that will thrill most and scare some. I would recommend this to anyone who likes horror with some light comic relief!

My rating: 💫💫💫💫

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12:07: The Sleeping

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I have never read anything by this author before and found that I do like them, though this book could have been a little shorter. While I appreciate the attention to detail from character development to the nuance of the plot, it could have been toned down to make the thriller aspects a bit more thrilling. The supernatural was well represented as were the religious aspects but I never felt any true sense of urgency while reading. That’s not to say that I did not enjoy it because I did, it just never fully engulfed me.

Sleeping collects the Unwanted, a child not created/born from want. They are the guardians of the underworld who feed on tormented souls. When they enter our world they are the ones who haunt those they believe belong in Hell. The Sleeping is relentless and employs whatever means are needed to obtain the souls of those they have laid claim to.

James has seen The Sleeping since he was five years old and has been fighting them since that time. They continue coming for him and he hides as best he can from them, but the things he does keep him firmly on their radar.

No real action to speak of, not scary, just not. As I have said it has a decent story with some characters that will make you hate them or love them but you will feel something about them. I just wish there had been more going on besides all the explaining about what this is and what that is. But someone will enjoy it.

My Rating: 🌠🌠🌠

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Mercy House

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This is another of those authors that I am reading for the first time. One major peeve about this book is that it seems to have more pages than are needed for the narrative, though this is of course only my opinion. You get to know some characters better than others and I feel that the ones you get so much information on are the wrong ones. I wanted more about the couple who show up on such a crazy day as they walk. I was also not really sure about where this was taking place, it seemed to be both isolated and not isolated, never sure of which. Much of the action occurs in the first ten chapters with the remaining being filler with spots of activity.

There is never any explanation as to what happens to the residents or why. That seems like an important omission to me, monster, environmental or alien. I found only one error and that is the mistake in the name of the doctor on a couple of occasions.

Mercy House is a state-of-the-art retirement home that appears perfect on the surface. The truth however is far from this ideal picture shown to prospective residents and their families. These people get to see the lively residents who reside on the first and second floors but not those who cannot speak for themselves. Don and Nikki Laurel are on their way to drop Don’s mother, Harriet, off at Mercy House something she highly resents. When they arrive things seem great but as they make their tour and settle in to enjoy dinner, changes are brewing among those in attendance.

This was not very scary in and of itself. If you are afraid of old people or afraid of what they might do if given the chance then this could be terrifying. This did make me want to try some other work by this author and see what he has to offer. Do recommend.

My rating: 🌠🌠🌠

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Some Will Not Sleep

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Some Will Not Sleep: Selected Horrors by Adam Nevill

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


After reading all the stories and giving each an individual rating I have averaged it out to 2.41 stars for this book. Some of the stories were better than others which is always the case when reading any type of anthology or short story collection. The problem for me was that I did not really find any that I felt truly could be called horror, at least by my standards of the genre. There were some creepy moments in say “Where Angels Come In” or “Mother’s Milk” both of which I liked and a few others. Then you have the ones that I could not figure out why they were even included here like “To Forget and Be Forgotten” which I could not even describe after reading because it did nothing for me or “Florrie” which pretty much gave me the whole story in the first two paragraphs so that I had it figured out right there.

I still want to read something else written by this author since this was my introduction to them. The characters and locales were fine. I could feel for them in a lot of instances and so the writing was not a problem. I would recommend this because though it did not scare or really give me chills that might not be the case for others.



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The Curse of the House on Cypress Lane #0

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The Curse of The House on Cypress Lane: Book 0- The Beginning by James Hunt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The book didn’t grab me right out of the gate but it got more and more interesting as I got to know the characters and their situation better. While the buildup is slow, it is not exactly subtle. You can pretty much all the connections immediately. This particular book is a novella that purports to be the beginning of things but that is inaccurate because what has been going on obviously began much further in the past than this. But it would have been nice to get some of that background about the house and the people who set things in motion. I have never read this author before and maybe just need to see what his process is for developing stories since everyone’s is slightly different.

The house at the end of Cypress Lane is large and with a history that is entwined with the town of Ocoee, Louisiana. The Cooley family becomes entangled in that history and must fight to stay alive in a situation, not of their making. Owen Cooley has been out of work for the past 6 months with no opportunities in sight. When he is offered a job after a phone interview which would mean a drastic relocation of his family he jumps at the chance without even trying to get any information about the place he is going. This is one of those times when if it’s too good to be true, then you should look behind the curtain. He should have looked for his family’s sake.

This did intrigue me enough to make me want to continue reading about this house and its inhabitants. It did not scare me but it does have an atmosphere of darkness that worked for me. I would recommend it to those who want a horror read with potential.



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If you ever wanted to know what fear and desperation looked like, Owen would tell you to go down to the local unemployment center and look in the eyes of the men and women waiting in line to speak with a clerk. Beyond the bouncing legs, fidgeting fingers, and long exhales riddled with anxiety, you’ll find the worst combination of fear, anger, and hate swirling around their souls. Anger for failing, fear for failing again, and a hate for everything that put them in their situation.

The Curse of the House on Cypress Lane By: James Hunt
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A House By The Sea

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A House by the Sea by Ambrose Ibsen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book rates 3.75 stars from me. I liked some parts and really liked other parts while there were still other parts that I did not like at all. The lead-in is slow and it took me a while to get into the story fully. The characters were just what you would expect from those in the horror genre, stereotypes without a good fleshing out. You have the overwrought and hysterical mother, the unbelieving sarcastic father, the angst-ridden teenager who hides her knowledge, and finally the young and impressionable child who is led astray. Now that is not to say that it is a bad thing but it does make it hard to enjoy sometimes when you know what to expect.

The land on which Winthrop House sits has been shunned since before the settlers came to the area. The natives did not build or go to the area because it was said to be inhabited by some type of creature. When the house was eventually built on the land it was shunned by all the locals and bought by an out-of-town family who knew nothing of its history. Things did not get better with tenants and when they died it was left empty for years.

When Jack Ripley makes it big with a best-selling novel he wants to keep a promise to his wife, she wanted a house by the sea. They think Winthrop’s house is the perfect place for their family to settle and grow. For a few weeks, it is, then things start to happen that dampen his wife’s love of the house. When things start to escalate even Jack has to take notice and decide whether he wants the house more than to have his family safe.

This was not super scary but had some moments that caught me by surprise. This was the first book I have read by this author and while it gave me mixed feelings I want to explore other books they have written, including the second book about this house. The ending is what made it for me. I would recommend this to anyone who likes ghost stories or haunted house stories.



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“Abigail entered the room, leaving the door open behind her, and sat down at the foot of Amy’s bed. “I don’t like this,” she said with a sigh. “You don’t like what?” “Aunty Becca is here,” explained the girl. Amy shrugged. “Yeah? So, what? You love it when Becca comes to visit. She’s a lot of fun.” Abigail tugged at her bubblegum-colored pajama top and shook her head. “No, it’s not good. The man with the doggie-face doesn’t like her being here.” She looked up at her sister narrowly. “At least, that’s what Frankie says. He says that, if auntie Becca is here, we may not be able to play anymore.”
― Ambrose Ibsen, A House by the Sea

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Dark Harvest

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Dark Harvest by Edward Gehlert

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I did like the story but could not really decide whether to go with a 3 or 4 star. That may seem a bit wishy-washy but it hit some of my good feelings and some of my bad ones as far as how things were done. I wanted a horror story and what I got was a bible story more or less. I actually avoid stories about the rapture because it is not what I consider to be entertaining.

What I liked was that the characters were each very well fleshed out. You got to know their background and what made them the way they are before they came into contact with each other. The locales were also very well described so that you could picture them clearly. The overall tone of the story is nicely done and keeps you wanting to move forward as you discover new things about what is going on.

What bugged me were the transitions during paragraphs, you can be reading about one thing and the next sentence will be about something completely different or another character. It was sometimes confusing. I was also not happy about the fact that I had to add words while reading because sometimes they were simply missing from the sentence. I was also not thrilled with the bible verse headings for each chapter, though I could deal with that. But the word overhaul used by mistake for overalls, as in bib overalls, did bug me from the time it was first said to the last writing.

Sean Tyler learns a painful lesson at the tender age of 6 years old when his life is changed in a violent and bloody way. The weather has gone crazy and natural disasters are happening around the world leaving destruction in their path. Then a mysterious malady strikes which places children and some adults as well as the elderly into a coma-like state. When they come out of it things go from bad to horrible for those left behind.

I admit it pulled me in completely even with the things that made me a little crazy. The creatures are truly nightmarish and made me want to stay awake to avoid any chance of dreaming about them. I have to read the next book now because I need to know what happens to everyone I have gotten to know.

Of course, I recommend it!



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