Fourbodings: A Quartet of Uneasy Tales

by Peter Crowther (Editor /Introduction), Simon Clark (Contributor), Tim Lebbon (Contributor)

A collection of four brand new novellas of terror by British superstars Simon Clark, Tim Lebbon, Terry Lamsley, and Mark Morris.

"Langthwaite Road" by Simon Clark
A blacktop notorious for fatalities, runs out to Langthwaite, an ancient market town long ago inundated by ocean and now lying on the seabed. Leo Carter presides over the road and during the hours of darkness he watches things infinitely stranger than vehicles pass along its blood-soaked surface.

"So Long Gerry" by Terry Lamsley
It was the flat of his dreams, or so it seemed, but when he realized the place had not been properly vacated, he began to have second thoughts. And his neighbours were giving him trouble. The rabidly dysfunctional family across the landing were bad enough but the people downstairs were worse. Much worse. Then an old friend came to look the place over, and they discovered the dead girls.

"In The Garden, Where Belladonna Grows" by Tim Lebbon
A dark nightmare of solitude and rejection, pride and guilt, love found and lost. An apocalyptic vision from one woman's damaged mind, this allegorical tale is for anyone who has ever felt alone.

"Stumps" by Mark Morris
The beautiful old house in the country offered a fresh start for Colin and Bridget Morgan, and their two children. But what are the strange wooden structures protruding from the garden soil, smooth and polished, like the tips of giant fingers? Why does Colin become so afraid of them? And what dark secret is concealed in the nearby woods? Sometimes the past has a nasty habit of catching up with you...

Genres: Horror

348 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Peter Crowther, born in 1949, is a journalist, anthologist, and the author of many short stories and novels. He is the co-founder of PS Publishing and the editor of Postscripts.

Reviews

[Redrighthand · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Langthwaite Road" by Simon Clark ****

"So Long Gerry" by Terry Lamsley ****

"In The Garden, Where Belladonna Grows" by Tim Lebbon *

"Stumps" by Mark Morris **

[Sharon Bidwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like one of those old films that put together a quartet of spooky tales, this book promises a dip into the same chills and thrills territory, though I’m unsure whether it fully delivers. There’s poor old Gerry who finds an apartment best left unrented; Vic, who can’t leave his friend Paul, to rest, but questions the accident that killed him on a dangerous road; Mary, who’s lived in the wilderness too long, her story leading us to question what’s most poisonous — the belladonna that grows or the man she once knew; and Bridget and Colin, who may have moved to a house with a dark secret. All leave the reader a little disorientated, questioning what is and isn’t there, but the stories also feel somewhat disjointed and incomplete, even though I imagine that’s intentional.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of the four stories, there was one I really liked best, and a second that was not too bad. I thought each story started out well, but then seemed to lose its way heading toward there respective endings.