What do you think?
Rate this book
Shades: Eight Tales of Terror
Here there be ghosts...
Within these pages lurks a cast of phantoms who have returned from the grave with a vengeance. You will find no friendly ghosts here, just eight deathly horrors with their own personal bones to pick with the living. These are the ghosts of our nightmares. Whether driven by madness, vengeance, pain, bloody evil, or primordial rage...they are all specters that are as dangerous as they are frightening. So get comfortable, get that night light ready, and find out who survives and who doesn't in this anthology of the baleful dead. Stories within include...
Death and White Satin - A young bride-to-be unearths the wrong wedding dress and discovers that horror and madness can echo down through the decades.
An Echo of Blood and Mirrors - A young man is surprised in the boy's bathroom by the head cheerleader. But things quickly take a turn for the worse as he discovers she's on the run from a triple murderer who has been dead for over a century.
Dance of the Ancients - Three lawmen search for a missing state trooper on a hill doomed to disappear under the rising waters of a new lake. Fearing the worst, they find something even worse than they feared.
A Memory of Me - A night spent in a forgotten graveyard lands three college boys in a situation that none of their classes have prepared them for.
Legacy of Flies - A young woman discovers she is the heir of a vast family fortune. But she also finds her inheritance comes with a ghoulish legacy that may very well be the death of her.
Storm Chase - A hurricane approaches and Bernie March's wife is standing down the hill beside the tractor he needs to bring in ahead of the storm...exactly where he buried her three years earlier.
A Singularity of Purpose - A callous young punk discovers that returning from the dead isn't just the prerogative of humans when he finds himself in one last desperate race with the dog he tormented in life.
A Long, Cold Forever of a Night - On a humid July night, a middle-aged couple find themselves alone in a deserted rural intersection...with the deadly phantom of a high school classmate who died in an ice storm decades earlier.
Within these pages lurks a cast of phantoms who have returned from the grave with a vengeance. You will find no friendly ghosts here, just eight deathly horrors with their own personal bones to pick with the living. These are the ghosts of our nightmares. Whether driven by madness, vengeance, pain, bloody evil, or primordial rage...they are all specters that are as dangerous as they are frightening. So get comfortable, get that night light ready, and find out who survives and who doesn't in this anthology of the baleful dead. Stories within include...
Death and White Satin - A young bride-to-be unearths the wrong wedding dress and discovers that horror and madness can echo down through the decades.
An Echo of Blood and Mirrors - A young man is surprised in the boy's bathroom by the head cheerleader. But things quickly take a turn for the worse as he discovers she's on the run from a triple murderer who has been dead for over a century.
Dance of the Ancients - Three lawmen search for a missing state trooper on a hill doomed to disappear under the rising waters of a new lake. Fearing the worst, they find something even worse than they feared.
A Memory of Me - A night spent in a forgotten graveyard lands three college boys in a situation that none of their classes have prepared them for.
Legacy of Flies - A young woman discovers she is the heir of a vast family fortune. But she also finds her inheritance comes with a ghoulish legacy that may very well be the death of her.
Storm Chase - A hurricane approaches and Bernie March's wife is standing down the hill beside the tractor he needs to bring in ahead of the storm...exactly where he buried her three years earlier.
A Singularity of Purpose - A callous young punk discovers that returning from the dead isn't just the prerogative of humans when he finds himself in one last desperate race with the dog he tormented in life.
A Long, Cold Forever of a Night - On a humid July night, a middle-aged couple find themselves alone in a deserted rural intersection...with the deadly phantom of a high school classmate who died in an ice storm decades earlier.
234 pages, Paperback
First published February 8, 2012
28 people are currently reading
133 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 19, 2018
When you take a horror book for reading, somehow you wish for a ghost but most of the times the stories end up with mere illusions, psychological problems or activities of serial killers. Many times I found myself to be disappointed because there was no ghost in the story!
Thankfully, D. Nathan Hilliard also felt the same and wrote eight fantastic tales of terror with actual ghost in it!
Even though I did not enjoy the first few stories, soon I caught myself heavily indulged in the book and loving it thoroughly. A brilliant book indeed.
Thankfully, D. Nathan Hilliard also felt the same and wrote eight fantastic tales of terror with actual ghost in it!
Even though I did not enjoy the first few stories, soon I caught myself heavily indulged in the book and loving it thoroughly. A brilliant book indeed.
December 28, 2019
Awesome elements of being pulled into this author's well written book!😍BUY THIS BOOK NOW !
HERE IS ONE AMAZING STORYLINE AND INTRIGUING BUNCH OF INTERESTING SCARY, AMAZING STAGES OF CHARACTERS BROUGHT TO LIFE! BUY THIS BOOK NOW!😍
HERE IS ONE AMAZING STORYLINE AND INTRIGUING BUNCH OF INTERESTING SCARY, AMAZING STAGES OF CHARACTERS BROUGHT TO LIFE! BUY THIS BOOK NOW!😍
June 29, 2022
A series of short stories about ghosts. No zombies, vampires, ghouls or other nasties, this is a love letter to the ghost story. D. Nathan Hillard is one of the most consistent horror writers out there and I've yet to read anything by him which I've not enjoyed. This is another strong offering with no weak stories, though as with all short story collections there'll always be those I didn't quite like as much as others, but none I didn't enjoy.
February 11, 2018
Scary
This book definitely hit the mark. I does evoke the old-time ghost stories. The last one made me cry. So hopeful, though.
This book definitely hit the mark. I does evoke the old-time ghost stories. The last one made me cry. So hopeful, though.
March 8, 2013
Author D. Nathan Hilliard has a knack for knowing what readers want. I have read two of his previous books (the reviews of which died, unfortunately, when my blog crashed at the end of December), and let me tell you: they do not disappoint. The same can be said for SHADES, a collection of unique and terrifying ghost stories.
SHADES is one of those books that you’ll read over and over again, simply because the tales are that enjoyable. The stories are unique and filled with thrills and chills. I would even wager that several sleepless nights are on the horizon for a few of you after reading this one.
As with his previous novels, Hilliard’s writing style continues to impress with its simplistic yet efficient form. There are many writers in the market today that distract me with their way of writing, however Hilliard is not one of them. This allows for a deep immersion into each story and heightens the enjoyment factor exponentially.
Every story in SHADES is excellent, which prohibits me from selecting a favorite. I would have to say that “A Singularity of Purpose” is one of the higher notable ones for me because of the subject matter. I grew up on a rural road and the scenario described within the story is a very familiar one to me. Not to mention the concept of an animal ghost is, to be blunt, simply brilliant.
I also greatly enjoyed “A Memory of Me” as well. The idea behind this story is vastly original and breathes new life into the ghost-story genre. I have to say that this is one of the more chilling ideas in the book as well.
SHADES is a huge win for me and I highly recommend this to anyone who wants insomnia. This anthology is available now, so snatch up your copy today. You will be greatly entertained, although your bed will probably miss you for a few nights...
SHADES is one of those books that you’ll read over and over again, simply because the tales are that enjoyable. The stories are unique and filled with thrills and chills. I would even wager that several sleepless nights are on the horizon for a few of you after reading this one.
As with his previous novels, Hilliard’s writing style continues to impress with its simplistic yet efficient form. There are many writers in the market today that distract me with their way of writing, however Hilliard is not one of them. This allows for a deep immersion into each story and heightens the enjoyment factor exponentially.
Every story in SHADES is excellent, which prohibits me from selecting a favorite. I would have to say that “A Singularity of Purpose” is one of the higher notable ones for me because of the subject matter. I grew up on a rural road and the scenario described within the story is a very familiar one to me. Not to mention the concept of an animal ghost is, to be blunt, simply brilliant.
I also greatly enjoyed “A Memory of Me” as well. The idea behind this story is vastly original and breathes new life into the ghost-story genre. I have to say that this is one of the more chilling ideas in the book as well.
SHADES is a huge win for me and I highly recommend this to anyone who wants insomnia. This anthology is available now, so snatch up your copy today. You will be greatly entertained, although your bed will probably miss you for a few nights...
November 28, 2014
I haven’t read or heard about any good ghost stories in awhile (Not even during Halloween)
Look for a good book to fill that finite void, I came across D. Nathan Hillard’s Shades: Eight Tale of Terror.
The cover is what really caught my eyes. (What could be more spooking than the face of a pale white innocent twofaced beauty, which lacked any emotion… whatsoever.
As I was reading the book, I couldn’t help but get up from my seat and cuddle up (BITE ME HATERS) in my pillow top, blue sheet cover bed.
I continued reading on.
My favorite was the short story, “A Long, Cold Forever of a Night”(covered).
It starts off with high school sweethearts as they’re strolling along a rural road with their lonesome at the dead of the night.
Carol is a tough and brave cookie. She’s also the more humorous of the two. Mike is the more serious and safe type that seems avoidant of danger (should it rear it’s ugly head).
They’re just strolling casually, exchange verbal blows left and right (like couples do).
Being the tougher of the two, Carol seems to have the upper hand of the two, when all of a sudden, she notices a stray figure, appearing and disappearing by the flicker of a streetlight.
The story carries on, and we take a step back in time to a story about the road that is just up ahead where the light flickers.
Not wanting to spoil too much and go into details, the figure is none other than an old classmate of theirs that Carol used to sit next too- Melissa.
By the end of the story, I was left heart struck and teary eyed.
I don’t really want to say much more, but I can confidently say, when time comes to “Are You Afraid of the Dark” story telling time, I’m definitely pulling up, and references from this book.
After all, Shades of terror is packed full of 8 of them.
Looking forward to more works from this author.
Look for a good book to fill that finite void, I came across D. Nathan Hillard’s Shades: Eight Tale of Terror.
The cover is what really caught my eyes. (What could be more spooking than the face of a pale white innocent twofaced beauty, which lacked any emotion… whatsoever.
As I was reading the book, I couldn’t help but get up from my seat and cuddle up (BITE ME HATERS) in my pillow top, blue sheet cover bed.
I continued reading on.
My favorite was the short story, “A Long, Cold Forever of a Night”(covered).
It starts off with high school sweethearts as they’re strolling along a rural road with their lonesome at the dead of the night.
Carol is a tough and brave cookie. She’s also the more humorous of the two. Mike is the more serious and safe type that seems avoidant of danger (should it rear it’s ugly head).
They’re just strolling casually, exchange verbal blows left and right (like couples do).
Being the tougher of the two, Carol seems to have the upper hand of the two, when all of a sudden, she notices a stray figure, appearing and disappearing by the flicker of a streetlight.
The story carries on, and we take a step back in time to a story about the road that is just up ahead where the light flickers.
Not wanting to spoil too much and go into details, the figure is none other than an old classmate of theirs that Carol used to sit next too- Melissa.
By the end of the story, I was left heart struck and teary eyed.
I don’t really want to say much more, but I can confidently say, when time comes to “Are You Afraid of the Dark” story telling time, I’m definitely pulling up, and references from this book.
After all, Shades of terror is packed full of 8 of them.
Looking forward to more works from this author.
November 29, 2013
When I was a kid I loved a book called “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark”- it was full of rotten limbs and howling corpses and ghosts that did a lot more than rattle chains in the attic. The stories were creepy and surreal and so much fun to read. Shades: Eight Tales of Terror is exactly like that book, but for grown-ups. And I loved it.
In the author notes, D. Nathan Hilliard laments the death of the good old fashioned ghost story. To fill the void he presents his scary stories in this eight story collection. He gives you haunted wedding dresses, a haunted highway, a Wendigo (a flesh munching ghost that also appeared in the Scary Stories series) and lots more. In my favorite, “Legacy of Flies”, a girl agrees to be haunted in order to lay claim to a $140 million dollar fortune.
Well written and showcasing a range of voices and characters, this book should not be missed if you are a fan of horror or ghost stories.
In the author notes, D. Nathan Hilliard laments the death of the good old fashioned ghost story. To fill the void he presents his scary stories in this eight story collection. He gives you haunted wedding dresses, a haunted highway, a Wendigo (a flesh munching ghost that also appeared in the Scary Stories series) and lots more. In my favorite, “Legacy of Flies”, a girl agrees to be haunted in order to lay claim to a $140 million dollar fortune.
Well written and showcasing a range of voices and characters, this book should not be missed if you are a fan of horror or ghost stories.
August 21, 2014
Loved this book. Each story was different. The girl on the front cover, is the ghost in the last story. I really appreciate that the author took it upon himself to find a subject, ghosts, that were not as popular as the current apocalyptic zombies, vampires, werewolves, faeries, romances were at the time. I'd tell you which was my favorite, but I honestly cannot pick just one. This is not hard core, bloody horror, but it's the build ups that creep up on you in most stories.
April 27, 2014
Great scary read
Great scary read
remember sitting around a campfire telling ghost stories and the tension in the air was thicker than the smoke from the fire?Well all that's missing here is the campfire because these are great stories that deserve their place around your next campfire,goosebumps and all.
Great scary read
remember sitting around a campfire telling ghost stories and the tension in the air was thicker than the smoke from the fire?Well all that's missing here is the campfire because these are great stories that deserve their place around your next campfire,goosebumps and all.
September 25, 2014
New favorite!!!!!
best book I have read in a long time. did it's job scaring the crap out of me. I was talking totally surprised as that never happens. good mix of scary and interesting. I liked that it was a rollercoaster ride with ups and downs without leaving me hanging.
best book I have read in a long time. did it's job scaring the crap out of me. I was talking totally surprised as that never happens. good mix of scary and interesting. I liked that it was a rollercoaster ride with ups and downs without leaving me hanging.
October 18, 2015
Ghosts.. Revenants.. Spooky spirit stories done well.
November 16, 2015
A great collection of creepy, short stories.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews