Dead Voices

by Abigail McDaniels

Don't talk to the stranger standing on the shore. Don't look at the old man beckoning from the lake. Don't stop for the lost woman wandering the streets. Don't listen to the scratching at your window at night. And don't answer the phone.

Genres: Horror

252 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1994

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Dead Voices by Abigail McDaniels gets a lot of unfair criticism mainly for being so short. A mere 252 pages doesn't necessarily leave a lot of time to develop setting, character, plot etc. Most people want this to be a short story instead. Overall though I think the basic story works really well. A family moves to a new town which literally is a new town after it was relocated leaving the original town at the bottom of a newly man made lake. Creepy phone calls start happening and ghostly visitations occur until the story is resolved. The resolution is fairly predictable and the basic story will remind you of part of an well known 80s horror movie, but it achieves some creepy imagery but again I wanted more. It could have gone on longer and had more scenes of strange visitors. That being said, I personally found it enjoyable. Maybe I just like the occasional story of revenge from beyond the grave.

[Yunie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly it took me over a year to finish this book. I was so excited to find a copy because I know it's one that's harder to get a hold of.

What I loved was that it was set in Louisiana (call me biased), and to me there's not enough Louisiana horror. So the prospect of bayou zombies really drew me in! However, I was sorely disappointed. The story was so much of a slow burn, it just slogged on.

The concept of people receiving the telephone calls from the dead (or undead) was neat. And I enjoyed the descriptions of the lake where the old town lay. But otherwise it all was just so...boring.
I can appreciate build up, but even by the time I got halfway through the book, nothing of note or big happened. Had the pacing been better, the ending might have been more satisfactory.
McDaniels' writing style isn't bad. Her dialogue was appropriately written and I appreciated she didn't try to overdo a Southern accent for the characters. It's just the story beats and pacing that really sucked.

The best part about this book is the cover art.
That all being said, I will keep my physical copy for the sole purpose of having it in my collection.
I do plan on reading Abigail McDaniels' Uprising so maybe that one will be at least more enjoyable.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why was this allowed to be a novel and not a short story? It would have been a great short story, but in this format- too many words, not enough plot. Boring.

[Stacy Simpson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m pretty sure I either read this book already or maybe started it and didn’t finish. It was ok I guess the only horror aspect of the book is the dead making phone calls.

Mostly the story just evolved around a corrupt pastor who did not do his job and left the cemetery at the old site and only moved the headstones not the actual bodies.

Was it scary? Not at all. If you like mystery then you may enjoy this book but it became rapidly apparent to me at least what exactly was going on.