One hundred and thirteen short horror stories from the US and the UK in a monster 500 page anthology, including the terrifying story 'THE MAGIC'.
The controversial first story in this collection, which critics have tried to ban, is perhaps the scariest short story ever written. At just two pages long, it is a story which literally dares you to take part in it. Are you brave enough to accept the challenge? It will take you five minutes, you must be alone when you attempt it, and you must do exactly as it tells you.
The usual suspects of ghosts, vampires, werewolves and mad men all feature in the excellent 'Thirteen', and it also offers so much more. The stories within represent the cutting-edge of new horror and are testimony to the imagination and talent of the horror genre's emerging stars.
Download it now and make yourself uncomfortable...
This was a real mixed bag of stories ranging from a few pages to half-a-page long. Some of them are true short stories and some of them are almost like horror jokes, a brief set-up and a punchline. Some are really good and some are dreadful but on balance the collection was really enjoyable. The stories were under-edited and ragged but most of them had a freshness that is sometimes lacking from more professional anthologies. It does feel amateur, but there's something quite companionable about sitting in the writer's circle and listening to what everyone has brought with them.
I particularly enjoyed the stories by Lee Betteridge, the one by Bonnie J Glover, and the one by Brian Showers.
I will say that the book needed much more of a final edit, if only for grammar. There were hardly any pages that didn't have some spelling or grammatical mistake peppered in. Given that these stories were apparently originally published in magazine form, I can't see why there wasn't time to go through them with just a bit more care.