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Hoffman's Creeper and Other Disturbing Tales
A businessman staying in a Scottish manor makes the mistake of deciding to spend the evening in the library. A group of unpopular teenage girls uses witchcraft to pursue their aims. A rich banking tycoon has forgotten his university days when he and his friends dared to imagine a world ruled by social justice and working class ideals. The estranged family of a deceased aristocrat bicker over their inheritance. A botanist’s love for his plants is unnaturally deep-rooted.
“Hoffman’s Creeper and Other Disturbing Tales” is the first short story collection from Cameron Trost. It plunges the reader into a world of mystery, suspense, obsession and greed. From the Scottish highlands and the jagged peaks of the Pyrénées to the streets of Brisbane and the Australian countryside, Cameron Trost provokes the reader by ensnaring recognisable characters in disturbingly plausible situations. His writing seeks to entertain while exploring the absurdities and peculiarities of society and the human mind.
What reviewers say about Hoffman's Creeper and Other Disturbing Tales:
"Cameron Trost employs a kind of failsafe twist designed to rock readers perceptions of what came before. It’s a token technique, one that other writers aspire to but which he seems to have diligently mastered."
- Matthew Tait, dark fiction writer and reviewer for Hellnotes
"Cameron Trost understands the most important thing about writing, something that is often forgotten by rising authors as they struggle to perfect technique and style. The bottom line is: A story should make the reader want to keep reading. It should entice them. The ending should be a tasty morsel of meat dangled before a hungry predator who wants nothing more than to devour it... Rarely do I read a collection of shorts and come away saying that I enjoyed every single story. Hoffman's Creeper is most definitely worth your while!"
- Lindsey Beth Goddard, dark fiction writer and reviewer
"Each tale is written with a clear purpose, to pull you in, tell you a story, then leave you with your thoughts about it after it has finished. If you are a lover of short stories with a bit of a twist then this collection is definitely worth checking out."
- Sharon Syleste, fiction reviewer
"Trost's tale will leave you feeling dirty!" (The Ritual)
- Shane Jiraiya Cummings, dark fiction writer and publisher
"Trost is an emerging talent from Australia, and if this short story is anything to go by he will have a lot to offer the dark fiction genre in years to come. “Hoffman’s Creeper” is reminiscent in many ways of vintage Lovecraft and is written in such a way as to keep you hooked right to the end. This could be a name to watch in the future." (Hoffman's Creeper)
- C.M. Saunders, author and journalist. Review from Morpheus Tales
“Hoffman’s Creeper and Other Disturbing Tales” is the first short story collection from Cameron Trost. It plunges the reader into a world of mystery, suspense, obsession and greed. From the Scottish highlands and the jagged peaks of the Pyrénées to the streets of Brisbane and the Australian countryside, Cameron Trost provokes the reader by ensnaring recognisable characters in disturbingly plausible situations. His writing seeks to entertain while exploring the absurdities and peculiarities of society and the human mind.
What reviewers say about Hoffman's Creeper and Other Disturbing Tales:
"Cameron Trost employs a kind of failsafe twist designed to rock readers perceptions of what came before. It’s a token technique, one that other writers aspire to but which he seems to have diligently mastered."
- Matthew Tait, dark fiction writer and reviewer for Hellnotes
"Cameron Trost understands the most important thing about writing, something that is often forgotten by rising authors as they struggle to perfect technique and style. The bottom line is: A story should make the reader want to keep reading. It should entice them. The ending should be a tasty morsel of meat dangled before a hungry predator who wants nothing more than to devour it... Rarely do I read a collection of shorts and come away saying that I enjoyed every single story. Hoffman's Creeper is most definitely worth your while!"
- Lindsey Beth Goddard, dark fiction writer and reviewer
"Each tale is written with a clear purpose, to pull you in, tell you a story, then leave you with your thoughts about it after it has finished. If you are a lover of short stories with a bit of a twist then this collection is definitely worth checking out."
- Sharon Syleste, fiction reviewer
"Trost's tale will leave you feeling dirty!" (The Ritual)
- Shane Jiraiya Cummings, dark fiction writer and publisher
"Trost is an emerging talent from Australia, and if this short story is anything to go by he will have a lot to offer the dark fiction genre in years to come. “Hoffman’s Creeper” is reminiscent in many ways of vintage Lovecraft and is written in such a way as to keep you hooked right to the end. This could be a name to watch in the future." (Hoffman's Creeper)
- C.M. Saunders, author and journalist. Review from Morpheus Tales
- GenresHorror
307 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
3 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
About the author
Cameron Trost
55 books674 followersCameron Trost is an author of mystery, suspense, post-apocalyptic, and horror fiction best known for his puzzles featuring Oscar Tremont, Investigator of the Strange and Inexplicable. He has written four novels, Dead on the Dolmen, Flicker, The Tunnel Runner, and Letterbox, and three collections, Oscar Tremont, Investigator of the Strange and Inexplicable, Hoffman's Creeper and Other Disturbing Tales, and The Animal Inside. He runs the independent press, Black Beacon Books, and is a member of the Australian Crime Writers Association and The Short Mystery Fiction Society. Originally from Brisbane, Australia, his home is now in southern Brittany, between the rugged coast and treacherous marshland.
I aim to rate every book I finish and I usually leave a short review. I rarely leave one-star or two-star ratings. If I don't like a book, I won't finish or rate it. I'm here to share good reads.
Reviewers: Send me a message if you'd like to receive ebook copies for review.
Authors: If you'd like to suggest I review your book, get in touch via my blog: https://trostlibrary.blogspot.com/p/b...
You can find me on Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, BookBub, TikTok, and other platforms. Complete links here: https://linktr.ee/camerontrost
I aim to rate every book I finish and I usually leave a short review. I rarely leave one-star or two-star ratings. If I don't like a book, I won't finish or rate it. I'm here to share good reads.
Reviewers: Send me a message if you'd like to receive ebook copies for review.
Authors: If you'd like to suggest I review your book, get in touch via my blog: https://trostlibrary.blogspot.com/p/b...
You can find me on Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, BookBub, TikTok, and other platforms. Complete links here: https://linktr.ee/camerontrost
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 13, 2025
23 “disturbing” tales that I have been dipping into to relieve the actual horror of an abysmal history book. This type of tale is generally not my style of story, but I have to admit I have enjoyed the collection, especially the ones that had Brisbane as the location.
Kangaroo Point, has a man standing ready to jump off the cliff, was one that had me thinking.
Cathedral Man and the Rare Twelve Inch made me perish the thought of taking on a homeless man for one of his few worldly possessions. Was that meant to be Ziggy? Maybe not as Ziggy was in Toowong if I recall.
A fun read for me and recommended to those that like their short stories with a twist.
Kangaroo Point, has a man standing ready to jump off the cliff, was one that had me thinking.
Cathedral Man and the Rare Twelve Inch made me perish the thought of taking on a homeless man for one of his few worldly possessions. Was that meant to be Ziggy? Maybe not as Ziggy was in Toowong if I recall.
A fun read for me and recommended to those that like their short stories with a twist.
March 3, 2017
Cameron Trost is an upcoming Australian author cutting his teeth in the horror genre. I picked this one up on recommendation from my fellow reviewer, Sharon Clarke. This anthology of horror is not your typical horror. These are accounts of the scariest monster of all, man and what he's fully capable of. You will find everything from revenge to pure murder and tragedy.
What I liked about this book is how much the stories within reminded me of some of my favorite episodes of Twilight Zone and Tales From the Crypt. He has some tales with a kind of moral of the story ending, while some are just ironic. One of my favorite stories in the book "The Stench". This one is about a man with a really jerky neighbor and how he is finally dealt with. I don't want to give anything away but it has a great ending. The very first story in the anthology is called "Not to be Read" and reminds me a lot of the writing of Edgar Allen Poe. Another great thing about Trost's work is that in every single story I was sure I had predicted the outcome and every single time I was surprised and wrong. I love that.
The only thing I really didn't like about his stories are the fact that they are almost all cut off abruptly without any kind of resolution. In a way this is good because it leaves what happens next up to your imagination. So, it's not really a bad thing as much as it is a preference in writing style. I like to find out what happens next.
I give this one a 5 out of 5. Cameron Trost is a great writer that I would put up there with Edgar Allen Poe and HP Lovecraft. I think that the scariest parts of his books are the things you don't see or know as your imagination can send you to some dark and scary places. His stories are definitely the old fashioned kind to leave you peeking over your shoulder and retelling to your friends in the dark. I highly recommend this book to fans of the horror genre.
What I liked about this book is how much the stories within reminded me of some of my favorite episodes of Twilight Zone and Tales From the Crypt. He has some tales with a kind of moral of the story ending, while some are just ironic. One of my favorite stories in the book "The Stench". This one is about a man with a really jerky neighbor and how he is finally dealt with. I don't want to give anything away but it has a great ending. The very first story in the anthology is called "Not to be Read" and reminds me a lot of the writing of Edgar Allen Poe. Another great thing about Trost's work is that in every single story I was sure I had predicted the outcome and every single time I was surprised and wrong. I love that.
The only thing I really didn't like about his stories are the fact that they are almost all cut off abruptly without any kind of resolution. In a way this is good because it leaves what happens next up to your imagination. So, it's not really a bad thing as much as it is a preference in writing style. I like to find out what happens next.
I give this one a 5 out of 5. Cameron Trost is a great writer that I would put up there with Edgar Allen Poe and HP Lovecraft. I think that the scariest parts of his books are the things you don't see or know as your imagination can send you to some dark and scary places. His stories are definitely the old fashioned kind to leave you peeking over your shoulder and retelling to your friends in the dark. I highly recommend this book to fans of the horror genre.
August 27, 2016
This collection offers a mixed bag of genres - mystery, crime or horror - so you never know what to expect! My favourite stories were 'Not to be read' and 'The Mortenson estate' for their vivid and atmospheric settings.
June 2, 2013
Cameron Trost understands the most important thing about writing, something that is often forgotten by rising authors as they struggle to perfect technique and style. The bottom line is: A story should make the reader want to keep reading. It should entice them. The ending should be a tasty morsel of meat dangled before a hungry predator who wants nothing more than to devour it. Why the intense metaphor, you ask? Because that is what stood out about Hoffman's Creeper and Other Disturbing Tales. The common thread between all these stories was not the characters, the settings, or even the genre... It was simply that they all possessed the same powerful ability to keep you turning the pages.
I could gripe if I wanted to. There were moments when the text wasn't as polished as it could be. Phrases like "all of a sudden" make an appearance too often. Sometimes there is "showing" instead of "telling". That is the only reason I gave this book four stars instead of five. I give an enthusiastic five stars to the ideas behind these engaging tales. Had the author written them five years into the future when he is bound to have an even firmer grasp on language and technique, I'm certain he'd be winning awards. Watch for this guy. Rarely do I read a collection of shorts and come away saying that I enjoyed every single story. Hoffman's Creeper is most definitely worth your while!
I could gripe if I wanted to. There were moments when the text wasn't as polished as it could be. Phrases like "all of a sudden" make an appearance too often. Sometimes there is "showing" instead of "telling". That is the only reason I gave this book four stars instead of five. I give an enthusiastic five stars to the ideas behind these engaging tales. Had the author written them five years into the future when he is bound to have an even firmer grasp on language and technique, I'm certain he'd be winning awards. Watch for this guy. Rarely do I read a collection of shorts and come away saying that I enjoyed every single story. Hoffman's Creeper is most definitely worth your while!
February 17, 2016
There were some terrific ideas in this collection of dark short stories. The writing was well-paced and drew me in quickly, resolving quickly; making for nice, bite-sized tales that could be consumed in one sitting.
At times the writing was a little uneven, with some 'telling' and characterisation that could have been stronger but overall this was an easy read with some stand out stories. Some of my favourites include 'Kangaroo Point', 'The Lakeside Disappearance' and 'The Mortenson Estate'. The author captures real characters and lets them play out their black dramas on the page, giving a disturbing glimpse into the darkest side of human nature.
A great debut collection.
At times the writing was a little uneven, with some 'telling' and characterisation that could have been stronger but overall this was an easy read with some stand out stories. Some of my favourites include 'Kangaroo Point', 'The Lakeside Disappearance' and 'The Mortenson Estate'. The author captures real characters and lets them play out their black dramas on the page, giving a disturbing glimpse into the darkest side of human nature.
A great debut collection.
June 8, 2017
A chilling read with a diverse assortment of stories. All offer a unique glimpse into Trost's imagination, which at times, can make you shudder. Good characterisations and plots and all stories end with a surprising outcome. A recommended collection from one of our local authors. Enjoy!
August 7, 2021
A wonderful mix of stories to keep you entertained and slightly spooked. The collection is a roadmap of Cameron Trost's development as a writer. Some stories worked better than others, but that is to be expected. My favourites were Hoffman's Creeper, Toy Truck, and The Mortensen Estate.
July 12, 2025
2,5 stars
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews