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The Eclective: The Haunted Collection
Empty Vessel by M. Edward McNally: Captain Wil has command of his own ship, the respect of his crew, and his wife is expecting their first child. But at sea, the winds always become calm just before the storm breaks.
The Smell of Death by Tara West: Maggie's unusual powers bring new threats to her already troubled childhood.
Safe by Emma Jameson: In Victorian London, a grave robber makes a nice living off the dead, until he opens the wrong crypt.
Soulfully Sweet by Shéa MacLeod: As if helping the living isn’t enough of a pain in her divine hindquarters, Branwen (former goddess of love and beauty) is stuck helping the dead on All Hallow’s Eve.
May I Go Play? by Heather Marie Adkins: Micah inherits a southern mansion where ancestors long dead relive their violent deaths. And now, they want company...
Blehdward, the Vampire who Couldn't Sparkle by Pj Jones: Blehdward desperately wants to fit in with the cool vamps. If only he could learn how to sparkle.
Franscesca by Alan Nayes: Break a promise to a feiticeira and you will live to regret it.
Soul Eaters by R.G. Porter: Kaitlyn never believed in the existence of other worlds. Now she's in the middle of one where humans aren't the hunters but the hunted.
The Eclective is a group of authors dedicated to the premise that The Story is The Thing, and classifications of genre are mostly a matter for bookshelves. While the following stories share a "Haunting" theme, they might variously be filed as Horror, Paranormal, Fantasy, YA, etc., or anything else. Our idea is that the story itself is more important than whatever label somebody feels like giving it, and by bringing our work together in collections like this one, we hope readers may find a story they might like. Even if it is not in "their" genre.
The Smell of Death by Tara West: Maggie's unusual powers bring new threats to her already troubled childhood.
Safe by Emma Jameson: In Victorian London, a grave robber makes a nice living off the dead, until he opens the wrong crypt.
Soulfully Sweet by Shéa MacLeod: As if helping the living isn’t enough of a pain in her divine hindquarters, Branwen (former goddess of love and beauty) is stuck helping the dead on All Hallow’s Eve.
May I Go Play? by Heather Marie Adkins: Micah inherits a southern mansion where ancestors long dead relive their violent deaths. And now, they want company...
Blehdward, the Vampire who Couldn't Sparkle by Pj Jones: Blehdward desperately wants to fit in with the cool vamps. If only he could learn how to sparkle.
Franscesca by Alan Nayes: Break a promise to a feiticeira and you will live to regret it.
Soul Eaters by R.G. Porter: Kaitlyn never believed in the existence of other worlds. Now she's in the middle of one where humans aren't the hunters but the hunted.
The Eclective is a group of authors dedicated to the premise that The Story is The Thing, and classifications of genre are mostly a matter for bookshelves. While the following stories share a "Haunting" theme, they might variously be filed as Horror, Paranormal, Fantasy, YA, etc., or anything else. Our idea is that the story itself is more important than whatever label somebody feels like giving it, and by bringing our work together in collections like this one, we hope readers may find a story they might like. Even if it is not in "their" genre.
128 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 24, 2012
58 people are currently reading
396 people want to read
About the author
Alan Nayes
25 books379 followersAlan Nayes is the author of numerous novels and short stories. He resides in Southern California.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 9, 2014
Unless you are brand spanking new to the world of scary stories, you will find nothing particularly original or surprising in this collection. Tepid fare for a horror aficionado. They weren't terrible, just unremarkable.
August 28, 2017
Pretty good horror/fantasy stories., August 28, 2017
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Eclective: The Haunted Collection (Kindle Edition)
This is a collection of eight short horror stories which, in the Kindle edition, have links to other works by the authors. As with most short story collections, I enjoyed some more than others. Most of the stories have science fantasy elements n addition to the horror. None of the stories are bad and some are excellent examples of the genre. I particularly liked Safe, a tale of Victorian grave robbers and Soul Eaters, featuring an unplanned trip to...somewhere else.
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Eclective: The Haunted Collection (Kindle Edition)
This is a collection of eight short horror stories which, in the Kindle edition, have links to other works by the authors. As with most short story collections, I enjoyed some more than others. Most of the stories have science fantasy elements n addition to the horror. None of the stories are bad and some are excellent examples of the genre. I particularly liked Safe, a tale of Victorian grave robbers and Soul Eaters, featuring an unplanned trip to...somewhere else.
November 5, 2012
I did write a review of this collection, but my Internet connection threw a wobbler when I clicked save so I lost it. Can't face writing it again. What I will say quickly is that this is a gripping collection of stories. It certainly held me tight in its embrace from the first story to the very last. Good stuff!
October 31, 2012
The first couple stories were a little slow. I loved "May I Go Play?" and totally would have read an entire book based on the story. I WANT TO KNOW MORE!!!! Loved Cupcake Goddess. They were all really good stories!!
June 8, 2024
A collection of short stories and to be honest they are below average and overall just not my cup of tea! Not much to see here!
August 23, 2013
This is a collection of spooky short stories by eight authors. The first story is "Empty Vessel" by M. Edward McNally. It is a short story about a ship stumbling upon a ghost ship and what happens afterwards. It was a well written plot, but not really my cup of tea. That doesn't make it a bad story.
The second story is "The Smell of Death" by Tara West. This story revolves around a little girl with a special gift. Because of this gift, her and her mother have trouble finding a permanent home. The story starts with the mother meeting a potential employee and continues with events happening in the house at that time. My only complaint with this book is the story could really evolve into a novella or even a novel. While the short story has its beginning, climax, and end, I would have really loved to see this in a much longer version. All in all, it's still a well written story and enjoyable read.
Next is "Safe" by Emma Jameson. This is another one that really wasn't my cup of tea, but others would probably find it enjoyable. It centers around a young boy who makes his living robbing graves. Like the previous two stories, it is well written and has a beginning, climax, and ending.
What follows is "Cupcake Goddess: Soulfully Sweet" by Shea MacLeod. It is a short story about the Goddess Brandwen and her constant stalking by a ghost. Even though it is a short story, I enjoyed it.
"May I go Play?" by Heather Marie Adkins is next. As with the previous short stories, it is well written with a well thought out plot. This is another one I can see as a novella or full novel. Another enjoyable read.
"Blehdward, the Vampire Who Couldn't Sparkle" by P.J. Jones, is a tongue-in-cheek stab at the sparkly vampires of "Twilight" fame. The main character doesn't sparkle and is an outcast from the ones who do. At the end of the story, we learn what is behind the sparkle. A cute read.
"Franscesca" by Alan Nayes is a short story set in Brazil in 1928. It revolves around a female witch doctor. She fall in love with a sculptor who cheats on her. What follows is Franscesca's revenge along with tying her soul to a block of blue granite stone. This short story gives a little background into the novel "Girl Blue" by the same author. This short story has me interested in reading the novel.
The last story in this collection is "Souleaters" by RG Porter. While out shopping, Kaitlyn is sucked into another dimension through a fountain. She connects with other humans in this dimension and they look to find a way out. The ending had a surprise twist which I loved.
All in all, this was a nice little collection of short stories that has introduced me to new authors I will consider following. What I loved the most about this collection were the little blurbs about the authors at the end of each short story. They were wacky and funny. If nothing else, this book is worth the read, just for those!
The second story is "The Smell of Death" by Tara West. This story revolves around a little girl with a special gift. Because of this gift, her and her mother have trouble finding a permanent home. The story starts with the mother meeting a potential employee and continues with events happening in the house at that time. My only complaint with this book is the story could really evolve into a novella or even a novel. While the short story has its beginning, climax, and end, I would have really loved to see this in a much longer version. All in all, it's still a well written story and enjoyable read.
Next is "Safe" by Emma Jameson. This is another one that really wasn't my cup of tea, but others would probably find it enjoyable. It centers around a young boy who makes his living robbing graves. Like the previous two stories, it is well written and has a beginning, climax, and ending.
What follows is "Cupcake Goddess: Soulfully Sweet" by Shea MacLeod. It is a short story about the Goddess Brandwen and her constant stalking by a ghost. Even though it is a short story, I enjoyed it.
"May I go Play?" by Heather Marie Adkins is next. As with the previous short stories, it is well written with a well thought out plot. This is another one I can see as a novella or full novel. Another enjoyable read.
"Blehdward, the Vampire Who Couldn't Sparkle" by P.J. Jones, is a tongue-in-cheek stab at the sparkly vampires of "Twilight" fame. The main character doesn't sparkle and is an outcast from the ones who do. At the end of the story, we learn what is behind the sparkle. A cute read.
"Franscesca" by Alan Nayes is a short story set in Brazil in 1928. It revolves around a female witch doctor. She fall in love with a sculptor who cheats on her. What follows is Franscesca's revenge along with tying her soul to a block of blue granite stone. This short story gives a little background into the novel "Girl Blue" by the same author. This short story has me interested in reading the novel.
The last story in this collection is "Souleaters" by RG Porter. While out shopping, Kaitlyn is sucked into another dimension through a fountain. She connects with other humans in this dimension and they look to find a way out. The ending had a surprise twist which I loved.
All in all, this was a nice little collection of short stories that has introduced me to new authors I will consider following. What I loved the most about this collection were the little blurbs about the authors at the end of each short story. They were wacky and funny. If nothing else, this book is worth the read, just for those!
March 2, 2014
Empty Vessel - 5 stars - very good, gripping story on the high seas. The captain is a very sympathetic character but he is unfortunately cursed from the start.
The Smell of Death - 1 star - I have no idea what was going on. I got easily confused with the characters, and had to go back and read over the last passage to see who was who. Then, it ended abruptly without any resolution! Of course, I have no idea if anything WAS going on, so maybe no resolution was needed?
Safe - 5 stars - Told from the point of view of a grave robber his cockney narration really drew me in, and kept my attention. It seems to be a simple story of his nightly life, but there is something waiting to even frighten a young grave robber. This horrific twist got me in the throat. A very great read.
Cupcake Goddess: Soulfully Sweet - 3 Stars - This is cute, but there isn't enough story to give one any solid idea as to who the characters are.
May I Go Play? - 4 stars for the beginning, 1 star for the ending - a typical story of an evil haunted house, and the tragedy of the poor family that inherits it. The story drew you in, introduced the main characters, and I grew to like them. The ending was like a written sledgehammer it happened so abruptly, and quickly. I wasn't scared, or even appalled. I was sort of puzzled about what happened, and whether or not it did, and so I went back to re-read the whirlwind event. Then I was sort of, "oh! Well, that's it then, isn't it?"
The ending was not written with the finesse of the majority of the story, and I felt denied because of that. Maybe if this had been a novel instead of a short story the author would have had room to produce a true, thrilling scare. As it was, I shrugged (literally), and continued.
Blehdward, The Vampire Who Couldn't Sparkle - 0 Stars - The author would have held my interest better if she had just written, "I hate Twilight."
Francesca - 2 stars - The story is atmospheric but it just felt like a vehicle for vengeance and gore. I really did not care too much for the story.
Soul Eater - 5 stars - The best is definitely the last. Very well written, and the characters are engaging. I would like to read more.
As a collection I am giving this 3 stars for two reasons: Some of the stories were just... ugh! Bad. The other reason is that between each story is the link to a longer novel by the author. In the Kindle version it is a link directly to Amazon. I don't mind marketing, but this collection was marketed as short stories NOT some short stories AND links to books without even an excerpt.
The Smell of Death - 1 star - I have no idea what was going on. I got easily confused with the characters, and had to go back and read over the last passage to see who was who. Then, it ended abruptly without any resolution! Of course, I have no idea if anything WAS going on, so maybe no resolution was needed?
Safe - 5 stars - Told from the point of view of a grave robber his cockney narration really drew me in, and kept my attention. It seems to be a simple story of his nightly life, but there is something waiting to even frighten a young grave robber. This horrific twist got me in the throat. A very great read.
Cupcake Goddess: Soulfully Sweet - 3 Stars - This is cute, but there isn't enough story to give one any solid idea as to who the characters are.
May I Go Play? - 4 stars for the beginning, 1 star for the ending - a typical story of an evil haunted house, and the tragedy of the poor family that inherits it. The story drew you in, introduced the main characters, and I grew to like them. The ending was like a written sledgehammer it happened so abruptly, and quickly. I wasn't scared, or even appalled. I was sort of puzzled about what happened, and whether or not it did, and so I went back to re-read the whirlwind event. Then I was sort of, "oh! Well, that's it then, isn't it?"
The ending was not written with the finesse of the majority of the story, and I felt denied because of that. Maybe if this had been a novel instead of a short story the author would have had room to produce a true, thrilling scare. As it was, I shrugged (literally), and continued.
Blehdward, The Vampire Who Couldn't Sparkle - 0 Stars - The author would have held my interest better if she had just written, "I hate Twilight."
Francesca - 2 stars - The story is atmospheric but it just felt like a vehicle for vengeance and gore. I really did not care too much for the story.
Soul Eater - 5 stars - The best is definitely the last. Very well written, and the characters are engaging. I would like to read more.
As a collection I am giving this 3 stars for two reasons: Some of the stories were just... ugh! Bad. The other reason is that between each story is the link to a longer novel by the author. In the Kindle version it is a link directly to Amazon. I don't mind marketing, but this collection was marketed as short stories NOT some short stories AND links to books without even an excerpt.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 20, 2014
50/50
I averaged the ratings of each story to come with the collection's rating: 3-stars. Then, I added a star for effort - the stories are complete, well-written, and edited.
I loved a couple of the stories - so much that I stopped reading to look up the authors and wound up snagging a couple other free collections offered by The Eclective.
The downside is that those stories I loved were balanced by stories I didn't care for - not unusual for a collection of short stories. Since this was a freebie on Amazon, I don't feel like I wasted my time.
I averaged the ratings of each story to come with the collection's rating: 3-stars. Then, I added a star for effort - the stories are complete, well-written, and edited.
I loved a couple of the stories - so much that I stopped reading to look up the authors and wound up snagging a couple other free collections offered by The Eclective.
The downside is that those stories I loved were balanced by stories I didn't care for - not unusual for a collection of short stories. Since this was a freebie on Amazon, I don't feel like I wasted my time.
December 27, 2016
This was an interesting collection of supernatural stories, each unique and different from the others in the collection. I can't say I loved every one of them, but most were well-written and engaging. Some were amusing, particularly the one from PJ Jones, and some were dead-serious and downright scary. Overall, I think the collection is worth reading and a great opportunity to sample the works of a variety of authors.
September 24, 2015
This collection of stories about the supernatural is a mixed bag really. I liked Empty Vessel, Safe and May I Go Play? but didn't connect with some of the others such as Blehdward or Soulfully Sweet. Would have given 2.5 stars if possible. It was worth reading as it was free for Kindle but wouldn't re-read.
October 27, 2014
I expected he stories to be much scarier than they are. Some of the ad for hours seem to be quite humorous, like the vampire who worries because he doesn't sparkle. The Soul Eaters was rather sad, but I think it was among my favorites from this book. I also enjoyed ice blue. All of the stories were well written and enjoyable in one way or another, even if they weren't truly scary.
February 3, 2016
This is not the book you should read right before bed, like I did. This collection of creepy, funny, and scary short stories ranged from OK to fantastic. I loved the ghost stories the best. They were well written and gave me chills. None of the stories in this book were bad, which can happen when you have these sort of collections.
July 25, 2013
Great collection of shorts, showcasing a wide variety of authors/ styles. I found more than one author I want to read more of this way, and it was great to read a story while waiting in line at the bank and such!
July 10, 2014
I enjoyed the very English short story by Emma Jameson about a Grave robber. The use of the English language was charming and the subject matter was quite interesting! It involved me immensely for a short story. :-)
September 21, 2013
Quick read. Different from other paranormal books. Just a collection of short stories about hauntings and such.
Meh!
Meh!
Want to read
October 2, 2013Safe by Emma Jameson: In Victorian London, a grave robber makes a nice living off the dead, until he opens the wrong crypt.
May 6, 2015
Some of those short stories would probably make for excellent novels as well. Love them
October 1, 2016
Surrounded by Strange
A collection of strange stories that will have you guessing. Some are more twisted than others but will have you shaking your head.
A collection of strange stories that will have you guessing. Some are more twisted than others but will have you shaking your head.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews