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Thirteen Shadows: Ghost Stories
A collection of thirteen ghost stories from Horror Writers Association member Aaron Polson. Some spirits are vengeful, others mere memories which destroy the lives of the living. Includes "The Ox-Cart Man", winner of the 2008 Whispering Spirits Flash Fiction contest, "The Sub-Basement", "Empty Vessels", and more. The stories range in length from flash fiction to 5,000 words.
"The imagery is dark, but unique, and [the main character's] past is revealed carefully without stunting the pace of the story..." - a review of "Empty Vessels" from Tangent Online
About the Aaron’s stories have been reprinted in The Best of Every Day Fiction 2009 and 2010, listed as a recommended read by Tangent Online, received honorable mention in the storySouth Million Writers Award and Ellen Datlow’s Best Horror of the Year. He currently lives in Lawrence, KS with his wife, two children, and a tattooed rabbit.
*newly edited to correct a few inconsistencies*
"The imagery is dark, but unique, and [the main character's] past is revealed carefully without stunting the pace of the story..." - a review of "Empty Vessels" from Tangent Online
About the Aaron’s stories have been reprinted in The Best of Every Day Fiction 2009 and 2010, listed as a recommended read by Tangent Online, received honorable mention in the storySouth Million Writers Award and Ellen Datlow’s Best Horror of the Year. He currently lives in Lawrence, KS with his wife, two children, and a tattooed rabbit.
*newly edited to correct a few inconsistencies*
94 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 19, 2011
3 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
Aaron Polson
82 books77 followersAaron Polson currently lives in Lawrence, Kansas with his wife, two sons, and a tattooed rabbit. His stories have featured magic goldfish, monstrous beetles, and a book of lullabies for baby vampires. His work has seen print in Shock Totem, Blood Lite II, and Monstrous with several new stories forthcoming in Shimmer, Space and Time, and other publications. The Saints are Dead, a collection of weird fiction, magical realism, and the kitchen sink, is due from Aqueous Press in 2011. "
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 30, 2011
This is a short story collection featuring ghosts and many variations thereof. I didn't like all of the stories (I never like them ALL) but I did like most of them. The ones I liked the best were:
The Ox-Cart Man: an awesome piece of short fiction.
Special collections: You may want to rethink getting that tattoo!
Junk-Watch out for those old refrigerators!
Little Fingers-Playgrounds can also be dangerous.
Uncle Bobby-Maybe being a sex machine isn't that great?
The Sub-Basement-My favorite story in the collection. Why do people always go down into the basement? Especially when their child says they spoke to Grandpa there, even though Grandpa has been gone for 25 years?
Daddy's Touch-Beetles! Ewww! That's all I'm giving away on this one.
Aunt Tessie's Burden-You won't look at little glass jars the same way ever again.
All in all, I found this to be a great collection. There were very few typos or formatting issues. I'm looking forward to more offerings from this author, both on his own and in future issues of:Introducing Penny Dreadnought, Insidious Indoctrination Engine of the Abominable Gentlemen
The Ox-Cart Man: an awesome piece of short fiction.
Special collections: You may want to rethink getting that tattoo!
Junk-Watch out for those old refrigerators!
Little Fingers-Playgrounds can also be dangerous.
Uncle Bobby-Maybe being a sex machine isn't that great?
The Sub-Basement-My favorite story in the collection. Why do people always go down into the basement? Especially when their child says they spoke to Grandpa there, even though Grandpa has been gone for 25 years?
Daddy's Touch-Beetles! Ewww! That's all I'm giving away on this one.
Aunt Tessie's Burden-You won't look at little glass jars the same way ever again.
All in all, I found this to be a great collection. There were very few typos or formatting issues. I'm looking forward to more offerings from this author, both on his own and in future issues of:Introducing Penny Dreadnought, Insidious Indoctrination Engine of the Abominable Gentlemen
June 10, 2011
Thirteen Shadows: Ghost Stories by Aaron Polson was downright fun and scary all at the same time. While I devoured and loved all of them, my favorites were:
Pieces of Lisa: Lisa and her friends play "The Game" in the basement. When Lisa is "it" she doesn't return upstairs and disappears. Her friends are now older and have started loosing limbs. Who's next? and What really happened to Lisa? You'll need to read to find out.
Little Fingers: People are disappearing in the new playground built in town, but where are they going? It is said that people have seen little fingers come up from the ground pulling people down into the depths.
The Sub-Basement: This one is right out of your childhood nightmares. Don't go into the basement because once you release one person, you are left alone with no way out until someone finds you.
Aunt Tessie's Burden: What would you do if you were left with empty jars as your inheritance? The instructions are to deliver them to those who are about to die. The jars contain their most precious memories.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Pieces of Lisa: Lisa and her friends play "The Game" in the basement. When Lisa is "it" she doesn't return upstairs and disappears. Her friends are now older and have started loosing limbs. Who's next? and What really happened to Lisa? You'll need to read to find out.
Little Fingers: People are disappearing in the new playground built in town, but where are they going? It is said that people have seen little fingers come up from the ground pulling people down into the depths.
The Sub-Basement: This one is right out of your childhood nightmares. Don't go into the basement because once you release one person, you are left alone with no way out until someone finds you.
Aunt Tessie's Burden: What would you do if you were left with empty jars as your inheritance? The instructions are to deliver them to those who are about to die. The jars contain their most precious memories.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
July 1, 2011
(fiction, short stories, 2.5/5 stars) Thank you to the author for giving me this e-book.
I love a good, scary story, and some of the storylines in this book are deliciously creepy. The author has talent, no doubt. One of the stories contains a really, really good reason for not getting a tattoo. Pay attention if you are contemplating your first one.
Some of the stories seemed a little simplistic for me, some a little too predictable. Perhaps part of that is due to the short story format or only because of my reading tastes. They didn't make me double-check the locks on the doors or pull the covers over my head. Still, they were fun, entertaining stories, nice to dip into a few pages before going to sleep and dreaming of monsters.
I love a good, scary story, and some of the storylines in this book are deliciously creepy. The author has talent, no doubt. One of the stories contains a really, really good reason for not getting a tattoo. Pay attention if you are contemplating your first one.
Some of the stories seemed a little simplistic for me, some a little too predictable. Perhaps part of that is due to the short story format or only because of my reading tastes. They didn't make me double-check the locks on the doors or pull the covers over my head. Still, they were fun, entertaining stories, nice to dip into a few pages before going to sleep and dreaming of monsters.
October 28, 2021
Like any short story collection, some great stories, some good and some just ok. I loved Pieces of Lisa and Little Fingers. Worth looking into for those two stories if nothing else
June 15, 2011
This book took me back to a time when I was a kid. When we all use to hide under the covers from the boogyman, listen for the monster under the bed, or in our closets. When you would gather with your family on a camping trip, or just spend the night outside with your sister or brother camping in the back yard and telling ghost stories trying to scare each other more. It's a fond and fun memory and so this book is a fond and fun read. Definately neat to know and hear some of the old and some of the new ghost stories.
I suggest getting a copy and reading it if nothing but for nostalgia and the fun memories of nights and youth past. Who knows maybe you really could be reading about yourself. kidding. But it's a blast to give yourself that little bit of a scare.
I suggest getting a copy and reading it if nothing but for nostalgia and the fun memories of nights and youth past. Who knows maybe you really could be reading about yourself. kidding. But it's a blast to give yourself that little bit of a scare.
November 16, 2011
Um, a refrigerator possessed by the ghost of a child whose death is completely unexplained? And it attacks people? There are some great ideas in this book, but they're so underdeveloped, for the most part, that they come off like an eighth grader's last minute creative writing assignment. I stuck it out though, and it was worth the kindle price, which was either free or 99 cents. Not terrible.
February 5, 2017
Thirteen different ghost and scary stories in one book. Some are interesting, some are not. Whenever personification is used it is magically done! Some of the best I have seen. Not much else to say. Worth a read, though none are really scary or disturbing.
October 30, 2011
Good thing it was a free book. Read 3 stories.. not bad but, they just didnt have that scare or thrill or chill factor.
So not really going to waste further time to finish.
~R
So not really going to waste further time to finish.
~R
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews