Twilight Hankerings

by Ronald Kelly

From the ""Webster’s Dictionary defines the word “appetite” a) any of the instinctive desires necessary to keep up organic life; the desire to eat, or b) an inherent craving; an insatiable appetite for nourishmentOf course, there are other terms for appetite as well. Craving, coveting, hunger, lust, gluttony, ravenousness, want, yearning, and passion, just to name a few. South of the Mason-Dixon Line, we call it a “hankering”. Southern folks possess a hankering for a lot of gravy & biscuits, sweet tea, pecan pie and homemade ice cream. If you’re hanging at the honky-tonk and downing your twelfth beer, you might get a powerful hankering for a hellacious fight or some late-night loving (although most Southern wives refuse to accommodate their men in that area if they stagger home all liquored up).When thinking of appetite, two supernatural beings come instantly to the minds of horror fiction readers; vampires and werewolves. I’ve explored both in larger bodies of work – my novels, Blood Kin and Undertaker’s Moon (Moon of the Werewolf) – and, in a more limited way, several short stories. Those tales of the blood-sucking undead and the beastly lycanthrope are featured here in this collection. Since it is also dedicated to “things that go bite in the night” these stories also explore other creatures with equally voracious appetites, from man-eating caterpillars to backwoods succubi to monstrous things that lie patiently in wait by the side of the road.So, if you hear something scratching at your front door or lurking in the shadows of your darkened bedroom following the reading of this collection, don’t blame me. It’s just the dark things that run rampant between dusk and dawn, looking for a little midnight snack."

Genres: Horror, Short Stories

75 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 19, 2011

About the author

Ronald Kelly was born and raised in the hills and hollows of Middle Tennessee. He became interested in horror as a child, watching the local "Creature Feature" on Saturday nights and "The Big Show"---a Nashville-based TV show that presented every old monster movie ever made ---in the afternoons after school. In high school, his interest turned to horror literature and he read such writers as Poe, Lovecraft, Matheson, and King. He originally had dreams of becoming a comic book artist and created many of his own superheroes. But during his junior year, the writing bug bit him and he focused his attention on penning short stories and full-length novels. To date, he has had thirteen novels and twelve short fiction collections published. In 2021, his extreme horror collection, THE ESSENTIAL SICK STUFF, won a Splatterpunk Award for Best Collection.

He currently lives in Brush Creek, Tennessee with his wife, young'uns, and an ultra-hyper Jack Russel named Toby.

Reviews

[Latasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

""Webster’s Dictionary defines the word “appetite” as:
a) any of the instinctive desires necessary to keep up organic life; specifically: the desire to eat, or b) an inherent craving; an insatiable appetite for nourishment

Of course, there are other terms for appetite as well. Craving, coveting, hunger, lust, gluttony, ravenousness, want, yearning, and passion, just to name a few. South of the Mason-Dixon Line, we call it a “hankering”.

Yes, we sure do. This is part of the introduction to this collection. The stories feature a thing that has an appetite, a hunger. Sometimes werewolves, sometimes vampires. One story made me think of E.F. Benson's Caterpillars. There's even a retelling of a classic fairy tale in here! Oh, Sordid Shame was really good. The Thing at the Side of the Road was fun and terrifying. I first heard about The Boxcar in Ronald's outstanding coming of age story, Fear. It was nice to revisit that location again. I loved each of these stories, regardless of who or what the monster was. My favorite story from this collection is Whorehouse Hollow. This is a great bunch of stories and a must read for fans of monsters, southern horror and Ronald Kelly.

I listened to the audiobook. It's read by J.C. Hayes. He did a great job. 5 stars for him!

[Wade Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first time reading anything from Ronald Kelly. A little about me first regarding my horror preferences. I love monster stories and this collection of shorts is exactly that. At 75 pages it's a brisk read but I sure as shit had a lot of fun with the majority of the stories he's included in this collection. I feel this was a great place to start with Kelly and I will be reading more from him. The football team story the roadkill story and the bounty hunter story were all my favorites. I'm not naming the titles of the stories be abuse some give away what they're about.

[timj26 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of creature terror
From Werewolf’s to witches this has them all
Well narrated and perfect for old school horror fans
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review

[Perfectly Imperfect]

I think it is a crime to simply copy other stories from other books (albeit of the same author) and compile and make a book with new title. Most stories can be read from "Midnight Grinding and Other Twilight Terrors".

[Roger Leonhardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great writer!