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Sweet Dreams
It could only be seen in the dead of night. The satanic glow swirled above the old railroad tracks, pulsating with evil, flickering with the light of hell itself. And it drew the young people of Good Hope to its shimmering core like moths to a flame...
The eerie change in the slumbering Missouri town could only be seen by one child. Innocent ten-year-old Heather sensed the chill of darkness in her schoolmates' vacant stares, the evil festering in their hearts. But no one listened to her terrified screams. No one believed the nightmare was true. And now it was Heather's turn to feed the hungry spirit--with her very soul.
The eerie change in the slumbering Missouri town could only be seen by one child. Innocent ten-year-old Heather sensed the chill of darkness in her schoolmates' vacant stares, the evil festering in their hearts. But no one listened to her terrified screams. No one believed the nightmare was true. And now it was Heather's turn to feed the hungry spirit--with her very soul.
- GenresHorror
397 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1985
22 people are currently reading
248 people want to read
About the author
William W. Johnstone
1,041 books1,392 followersWilliam W. Johnstone is the #1 bestselling Western writer in America and the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of hundreds of books, with over 50 million copies sold. Born in southern Missouri, he was raised with strong moral and family values by his minister father, and tutored by his schoolteacher mother. He left school at fifteen to work in a carnival and then as a deputy sheriff before serving in the army. He went on to become known as "the Greatest Western writer of the 21st Century." Visit him online at WilliamJohnstone.net.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 28, 2023
The very prolific Johnstone, known best for his many westerns and adventure stories, also penned more than a few horror novels for Zebra in the 80s, including this one. I have only read a few of his horror novels (and none of his westerns), but it seems like he always tried to throw as many horror tropes as possible at the wall hoping some would stick and morph into a good story. Sweet Dreams starts off in a gonzo fashion and just never lets up! Our two main characters, Heather and Marc, recently moved to a small town in Missouri as both their parents relocated there for work. They are in the 'gifted' class at school, although school is almost over. The first page of the novel, however, has some ancient power or something emerging from the bonds that held it for years and you know it is up to no good...
While Sweet Dreams does have a plot, based on the old trope of a classic supernatural evil reemerging in a small town, Johnstone does not even try to build suspense. His goal apparently, is to shock the reader again and again with little set pieces featuring all kinds of mayhem, violence, rape among other things as the story moves along. I can never tell if he is trying for serious scares or simply shock and awe in his horror novels, but I lean toward the latter.
In some ways, this was a great trashy read and we are treated to all kinds of gore, sex (although much of this is 'demon' rape and worse), cheesy one-liners and rather stereotyped characters all coming to terms with the unimaginable. Tough, rational cops, an old Indian medicine man spouting ancient lore when not plastered, the classic small town doctor with an awful marriage but a 'friendly' nurse on the side... Johnstone manages to pack everything but the kitchen sink in here!
On the other hand, I prefer my horror to be at least a little creepy and this had me laughing more often than being creeped out. Johnstone does remind me a bit of Edward Lee, but Lee typically has a more advanced plot. If you are in the mood for hundreds of pages of mayhem loosely following a story line, go for this for sure! Definitely a must for Johnstone fans however. I have no idea how the title relates to the story, nor the cover art, but so be it. 3 sweet stars.
While Sweet Dreams does have a plot, based on the old trope of a classic supernatural evil reemerging in a small town, Johnstone does not even try to build suspense. His goal apparently, is to shock the reader again and again with little set pieces featuring all kinds of mayhem, violence, rape among other things as the story moves along. I can never tell if he is trying for serious scares or simply shock and awe in his horror novels, but I lean toward the latter.
In some ways, this was a great trashy read and we are treated to all kinds of gore, sex (although much of this is 'demon' rape and worse), cheesy one-liners and rather stereotyped characters all coming to terms with the unimaginable. Tough, rational cops, an old Indian medicine man spouting ancient lore when not plastered, the classic small town doctor with an awful marriage but a 'friendly' nurse on the side... Johnstone manages to pack everything but the kitchen sink in here!
On the other hand, I prefer my horror to be at least a little creepy and this had me laughing more often than being creeped out. Johnstone does remind me a bit of Edward Lee, but Lee typically has a more advanced plot. If you are in the mood for hundreds of pages of mayhem loosely following a story line, go for this for sure! Definitely a must for Johnstone fans however. I have no idea how the title relates to the story, nor the cover art, but so be it. 3 sweet stars.
January 8, 2015
Ok. This book was completely gory, perverse, and disturbing. But, that's what I remember of him. It had a lot of characters, some that I liked more than others. The story line was confusing. He started with a light, to a manitou, to a house that had a disturbing history, yet we never completely understand the role of it and how it connected to the characters. The flesh wall was kinda neat. I wouldn't recommend this to ppl who are squeamish or can't handle a lot of rape (there was a lot and incest too). It was definitely left open for a sequel but I hear a lot of his novels were. I don't think one was ever written. It was entertaining and probably pulpy too, but that's why I like 80s horror. Overall, not too bad.
September 12, 2011
I remember this book from when I was in Jr. High. Cheesy as all hell but a very scary and disturbing read for a 13-year-old girl! If I recall it had some pretty sickening material that goes far and beyond that what most people consider the horror genre: Ghosts raping people, random consensual and non-consensual sex, violence, an evil spirit/god/satan that was making people see crap they feared that wasn't real. Also whenever this one character tried to leave town they'd forget what they were doing right after they crossed the border and head back into the nightmare. One of the scenes I recall most vividly is of a school-teacher being gang-raped by her students who were all worshiping some evil god/Satan who had control of the town, etc. It was really basically a mish-mash of all the stereotypical crap one finds in a horror novel/movie plus one thousand degrees with no real plot or character development and it should rightly be re-classified as a H.D.E.H. A "Highly Disturbing Erotic Horror".
June 25, 2018
William W. Johnstone's handling of rape (particularly of the statutory variety) in the books I've read of his thus far (Sandman and now Sweet Dreams) brings to mind one of my favorite tweets:
"My 'Not involved in human trafficking' T-shirt has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my shirt."
All the good guys in Johnstone's books express revulsion at women and children being raped and are always quick to condemn it........but there suuuure is a LOT of it in these books.....
Anyway, this one's a definite step down from Sandman, but it's not without merit either. Johnstone focuses less on over-the-top action and gore and doubles down on the erotica, and boy is it delightfully painful (read: "She opened her legs and pulled him to her, one hand gripping his hot stiffness and guiding him into her hot softness"). There's way more rape too, described in graphic (and awkward) detail. If you're a woman of any age and you wander into a Johnstone novel, God be with you.
Somewhere around page 200, the story actually becomes quite a bit of fun as the grotesque gore makes a grand appearance, there's some very silly and very fun time-warp stuff, plus a whole heaping of ridiculous haunted house shenanigans. Everything before page 200, however, is fairly middling and only recommended for those who don't mind quite a bit of sexual assault (and the constant, lingering threat of the 10-year-old protagonist being raped) in their horror novels.
I've only read two of his novels, but I'm fascinated with Johnstone. There's no structure to this story in the slightest, he reuses descriptions ad nauseum (take a swig every time someone's eyes are described as "dead"), and it's obvious he's making everything up as he goes along - adding new characters and new villains at the drop of hat, forgetting about the old story set-ups and antagonists, then ultimately bringing the story to a conclusion that's almost an anti-pay-off after everything that's been built up. He's extremely pro-police ("Bob Vanderhorn looked at Larry, sudden fear in his wise cop's eyes") and very religious (as far as I could tell, all the good guys are good Christians and the bad guys are not), but his books are filled with shamelessly lewd sexuality and depraved gore and violence that put most other horror authors to shame. He really is the literary equivalent to Lloyd Kaufman and late-eighties/early-nineties Roger Corman.
But you know what they say: writing a book is cheaper than therapy.
"My 'Not involved in human trafficking' T-shirt has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my shirt."
All the good guys in Johnstone's books express revulsion at women and children being raped and are always quick to condemn it........but there suuuure is a LOT of it in these books.....
Anyway, this one's a definite step down from Sandman, but it's not without merit either. Johnstone focuses less on over-the-top action and gore and doubles down on the erotica, and boy is it delightfully painful (read: "She opened her legs and pulled him to her, one hand gripping his hot stiffness and guiding him into her hot softness"). There's way more rape too, described in graphic (and awkward) detail. If you're a woman of any age and you wander into a Johnstone novel, God be with you.
Somewhere around page 200, the story actually becomes quite a bit of fun as the grotesque gore makes a grand appearance, there's some very silly and very fun time-warp stuff, plus a whole heaping of ridiculous haunted house shenanigans. Everything before page 200, however, is fairly middling and only recommended for those who don't mind quite a bit of sexual assault (and the constant, lingering threat of the 10-year-old protagonist being raped) in their horror novels.
I've only read two of his novels, but I'm fascinated with Johnstone. There's no structure to this story in the slightest, he reuses descriptions ad nauseum (take a swig every time someone's eyes are described as "dead"), and it's obvious he's making everything up as he goes along - adding new characters and new villains at the drop of hat, forgetting about the old story set-ups and antagonists, then ultimately bringing the story to a conclusion that's almost an anti-pay-off after everything that's been built up. He's extremely pro-police ("Bob Vanderhorn looked at Larry, sudden fear in his wise cop's eyes") and very religious (as far as I could tell, all the good guys are good Christians and the bad guys are not), but his books are filled with shamelessly lewd sexuality and depraved gore and violence that put most other horror authors to shame. He really is the literary equivalent to Lloyd Kaufman and late-eighties/early-nineties Roger Corman.
But you know what they say: writing a book is cheaper than therapy.
July 11, 2021
Sweet Dreams is the literary equivalent of Troll 2. Seriously. The writing in this book was so terrible that I can't help but believe William Johnstone intended it that way. It's so ridiculous and stupid and poorly written that you can't help but laugh. It's obvious that the author KNEW how bad it was and didn't take himself too seriously. (At least I truly, truly hope that was the case.) If you're into horror that's so bad it's good you might get something out of this. I dig that kind of thing and the experience was still a painful one for me to finish.
March 2, 2023
A mysterious light emitting, people who have seen the light have lost the ability to communicate, pregnant women have birthed child with 666 in their skulls. The old railway track has a dark history. Kids in the area started to have a look of death from their eyes. A look of hostility, perfect kids showing signs of depression, fear, loss of appetite. A archaeological site has a hideously deformed massive head creature with pointed teeth comes out like it had just been born. It will take a women's blood, absorbing it, giving the light its fuel, reincarnated. Dolls and teddy bears come to life, a toy soldier shoots in a girls pillow just missing her. A creature grows stronger with his massive dick. The people will go on a rape fest. Depravity, murder, severed dicks, two children with the help of some adults try to fight a Manitou that is causing suffering. Another bloody bonkers from Johnstone and not in a good way. My least favourite from his zebra collection works.
June 16, 2018
I have a history with this book. I first read it years ago when I was barely a teenager. It was probably the first "mature" novel I had ever read and I remember enjoying it at the time. Truth be told, I should not have been reading it at the age that I did; I was too young for this material.
This book is loaded with sex and violence, a lot of of it is rape and a lot of the violence is gruesome stuff. The language is also very harsh.
The story isn't exactly original. Basically you have this small sleepy town in Missouri where everyone knows each other. There's this eerie light that's been seen by many for years and yet no one really knows what it is. There is also an archaeological dig site in the area. Long story short, the light houses a malevolent Native American figure that has been waiting to be reborn, and according to a character in the book is "insane" and "has been without women for a very long time." This creature, known as a Manitou basically takes over the people of the town. . .except for that special few that are not affected(of course). The Manitou puts everyone under its influence and turns them into shells of themselves. A nurturing mother suddenly becomes a sexual deviant who encourages her husband to rape another woman(in her words, "Hurt her, Jack.") while she watches(visibly aroused), for example.
The two main characters in the book are a gifted boy and girl who began to notice odd things going on. They begin to notice a change in their once wholesome parents; suddenly their parents become hostile towards them and say crude things and even go as far as to have orgies at night while they are in bed. The kids are special(well, of course they are!) They are surrounded by a small group of adults - one being an Indian who claims to be a witch doctor who just happens to know everything.
As stated, there is a fair amount of rape in this book, so you've been warned.
The book reads like a cheesy straight-to-video horror movie and as violent and explicit as it is, I found myself laughing out loud; it's squarely in the so-bad-it's-good category. As a child reading this, I didn't find it funny, but years later, reading this with a more mature mind, I see just how amateurish this one is, and a lot of it came across as unintentional comedy.
I was both repulsed and entertained. . . .mostly entertained.
This book is loaded with sex and violence, a lot of of it is rape and a lot of the violence is gruesome stuff. The language is also very harsh.
The story isn't exactly original. Basically you have this small sleepy town in Missouri where everyone knows each other. There's this eerie light that's been seen by many for years and yet no one really knows what it is. There is also an archaeological dig site in the area. Long story short, the light houses a malevolent Native American figure that has been waiting to be reborn, and according to a character in the book is "insane" and "has been without women for a very long time." This creature, known as a Manitou basically takes over the people of the town. . .except for that special few that are not affected(of course). The Manitou puts everyone under its influence and turns them into shells of themselves. A nurturing mother suddenly becomes a sexual deviant who encourages her husband to rape another woman(in her words, "Hurt her, Jack.") while she watches(visibly aroused), for example.
The two main characters in the book are a gifted boy and girl who began to notice odd things going on. They begin to notice a change in their once wholesome parents; suddenly their parents become hostile towards them and say crude things and even go as far as to have orgies at night while they are in bed. The kids are special(well, of course they are!) They are surrounded by a small group of adults - one being an Indian who claims to be a witch doctor who just happens to know everything.
As stated, there is a fair amount of rape in this book, so you've been warned.
The book reads like a cheesy straight-to-video horror movie and as violent and explicit as it is, I found myself laughing out loud; it's squarely in the so-bad-it's-good category. As a child reading this, I didn't find it funny, but years later, reading this with a more mature mind, I see just how amateurish this one is, and a lot of it came across as unintentional comedy.
I was both repulsed and entertained. . . .mostly entertained.
November 18, 2024
William W Johnstone wrote basically the same novel over and over and over throughout the horror boom of the 1980s, with a variation on his basic plot here and there. These novels always concern a small town that is possessed by the devil and from there, while very similar, the novels will go off in various tangents, usually very insane and entertaining tangents. While this novel followed his basic format, I found it less entertaining than usual. There is a whole time travel section that I found groaningly dull. This novel seemed even more scatter shot than his usual fare.
That said there are still several scenes that are ridiculously entertaining and disgusting. Johnstone gets some points for ramping the violence up to absurdly gory heights. A lesser effort from a normally reliable schlocky fun provider.
That said there are still several scenes that are ridiculously entertaining and disgusting. Johnstone gets some points for ramping the violence up to absurdly gory heights. A lesser effort from a normally reliable schlocky fun provider.
October 10, 2019
I just discovered that this is the messed up horror novel I read in junior high that was far too adult for me at the time. Full of gratuitous sex and rape, this has trigger warning written all over it, despite the fact that it features a child and stuffed bear on the cover.
Read
October 4, 2016Fun trashy read that didn't ultimately hold my attention.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews