What The Fuck Was That?

by Bridgett Nelson

Bridgett Nelson, the two-time Splatterpunk Award-nominated author of the hugely popular A Bouquet of Viscera , has three deranged stories to tell that all you freaks are sure to love!

In “Getaway,” four college friends go on a beach house vacation in an Outer Banks town. The allure is that it’s off-season and the town is completely deserted...so why is there a loud knock on the door in the middle of the night?

In “Scars,” a famous author holds a contest to have characters named after his biggest fans. But after the book is published, the fans begin to die in the same way as their characters...

In “ Belong ,” Briony has dealt with an obsessed stalker her entire life. Just when she thinks he’s finally gone, all hell breaks loose…and Briony is no longer the only victim.

So enjoy! But if you share this book with the normal people in your life, be prepared to hear “What the fuck was that?”

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Splatterpunk, Anthologies, Fiction, Adult

158 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2023

About the author

Once an operating room registered nurse, Bridgett Nelson so enjoyed playing with human organs, she decided to turn her macabre interest into a horror writing career. She loves bubble baths (because nothing says spooooky writer like lemon-scented bubbles), hates not knowing what’s swimming in the water with her, lives for Halloween season (but loathes chainsaw-wielding dudes in haunted houses), adores her West Virginia University Mountaineers, is very pro-Oxford comma, and thinks bananas are absolutely disgusting.

Described as 'Splatterpunk with a heartbeat,' her first novel, Karma, has received stellar reviews from readers, while her debut collection, A Bouquet of Viscera, is a two-time Splatterpunk Award winner, recognized both for the collection itself and its standout story, "Jinx."

Deadgirl, the novelization of the cult classic film, is available from Encyclopocalypse Publications and includes forewords from the film's actors, Noah Segan and Shiloh Fernandez, a Q&A from screenwriter, Trent Haaga, and a fan fiction piece from noted horror author, Jeff Strand.

Her latest collection, Embracing the Profane, includes fifteen extreme stories and won 'Best Collection' at the Haunted Minds Book Club Awards Ceremony on December 31, 2025. S

Bridgett also penned Poisoned Pink, What the Fuck Was That?, Sweet, Sour, & Spicy, and Red Inside, an 'Elite 8' finalist in the 2025 Books of Horror Indie Brawl.

Her work has appeared in multiple anthologies, including the iconic Deathrealm Spirits, Duncan Ralston's Tales from Ghostland, Crystal Lake's Hotel Macabre, Edward Lee's Erotic Horror for Horny Housewives, The Rack, Splatterpunk's Basement of Horror, October Screams, American Cannibal, and the legendary Splatterpunk Zine.

When Edward Lee read her story "Giggly," available in the Poisoned Pink collection, he said to her: "Giggly kicked my ass. Outstanding job! I need therapy now."

Bridgett is mom to Parker and Autumn, three pugs, a Saint Bernard, a ball python, and a Dumeril's boa.

She is a 2022 Michael Knost WINGS award nominee, won second-place in the '22 Gross-Out contest at KillerCon in Austin, Texas, and third-place in the ’23 Gross-Out contest.

She's a freelance editor. Audiobook proofer. Bookworm. Dog lover. Tarantula whisperer. Bra avoider. ENJF. Amaretto Sour obsessor. She/her.

Bridgett currently lives in Duluth, Minnesota, with Bram Stoker Award-winning author, Jeff Strand, their ball python daughter, Indie Hellspawn McFangy Serenity Strand, and their Dumeril's boa son, Floyd Bernard Bodhi Snugglebunny Strand.

She is hard at work on her second novel, as well as a collaborative novel with a very funny writer.

Visit her website at www.bridgettnelson.com.

Reviews

[Mort · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full review at The Mort Report:
https://www.uncomfortablydark.com/the...

A determiner. A conjunction. A pronoun. An adverb.

There, that answer should just about cover it.

Oh, you want to be more specific, do you?

Well, “that” just happened to be three very well written, very brutal and very fucked up stories…the kind of quality you would expect from a top notch author.

Need I say more?

5 Stars!

[Geoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three very good horror tales

[Ga.selle (Semi-hiatus) Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Trevor’s smile reminded her of those sharks: toothy, predatory, and full of hunger.' 🦈🩸

[Kevin Lintner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this trio of stories. I'll give a short spoiler free synopsis of each below,

Getaway - Four lifelong friends gather at a beach house for some fun that turns into a nightmarish house of horrors as some unexpected guests leave unpleasant surprises around the house.

Scars - A serial killer hold a city is their grip as they ruthless murder seemingly random victims leaving Mardi's Gras babies behind in their reproductive organs.

Belong - (My personal favorite) A young woman is terrorized by her childhood best friend who feels jilted because as her popularity grew his waned more and more.

All three stories are extremely well written with Belong being the stand out story of the group. It's dark, brooding, and sinister and will have you saying "SHUT UP" along with the main character at a crucial point in the story.

I highly recommend this read and it's free on Kindle Unlimited. I enjoyed it so much I'm about to buy a copy to show my appreciation to the author, Check it out!

[Callie Towne · Rating 5 out of 5]

3 gripping stories

Absolutely in love with the way that this author managed to grab your attention in each of these 3 short stories! The character development was fantastic and managed to tell a full blown novel in just a few pages. My personal favorite was Scars, but honestly hard to rate these against each other as they are all 3 different and amazing how n their own way. The twists and turns throughout the book were great! 10/10! Now, onto the next!

[Christina Haymaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don’t read these alone!

These stories are terrifying, twisted, and thought provoking. I was going to use Vanilla Ice metaphors and talk about that concert in Marietta but I literally can’t even form coherent thoughts. These stories are amazing and the book definitely earned the title!

[Hunter Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tasty trio of delicious horror. I could not put it down. I'm now a Bridgett Nelson fan for life!

[Amanda Ohnmeiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was awesome as expected! It’s my new favorite Bridgett book! Bridgett writes short stories SO well! Developing great characters and having twisted plots in such a small amount of pages..just wow! She is why I now love short stories! Grab one book and have such an array of characters, villains, winds and twists between stories is refreshing to me.

I loved each story. The first story Getaway was about a group of friends who go to the Outer Banks to enjoy some quality time together and man did it go wrong. This one felt like an awesome slasher film and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Scars was really cool. I loved how the victims suffered their death as described in a book within the book and then, the reader is trying to figure out who did it?! This gives props to Midsummer’s Dream! It takes talent to be able to do that! I really loved this one.

Belong was super good and creepy. This guy was obsessed with beautiful Briony and I’ll just leave it like that. The characters were both lovable and hate-able! I was so anxious trying to figure out what was going to happen!

Another job well done Bridgett! Thank you for adding what sparked the stories again (I love reading them!) and thank you for for being so awesome. I love reading your work and will continue being a number one fan! But, not in a creepy way or where I get killed off in real life. But, you’re welcome to in fiction 😅😂🤣

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three short stories that will throw you a curve ball at every ending! Damn.. I don't know which one is my favorite! So I'm not going to choose! But let me tell you, I won't be renting any vacation homes or Air B&B's for awhile, or ever... and be careful when you enter a contest for an author to use your name in their upcoming book! Bwahahahahah. Stalker much? You don't want this creepy, greasy haired, bad breath, stinky, chubby, "Mama's boy" dude falling in love with you and beware when that love is not requited! Loving everything written by Bridgett! Thrilled (literally) that I picked up this little diddy... you will be too!

[Stefanie Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love short stories! And this amazing book by an amazing author is just that: 3 short stories in one.

A slasher, a mystery who-done-it and a dark stalker story. All with perfect endings.

And I do need to mention the cover!!! The cover!! ♥️

[Darrell Grizzle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three very disturbing, very well-written stories from the new queen of splatterpunk. “Getaway” is about dark family secrets and a beach house vacation gone horribly wrong; “Scars” is a police procedural mixed with horror; and “Belong” is a nightmarish tale about a friend turned stalker. I’d be hard pressed to choose a favorite among the three. They all have intriguing plots, well-developed characters, and a writing style that makes you care about what happens to those characters, even when they turn out to be heinous villains. With a wonderful cover by Lynne Hansen that combines nightmare with whimsy. I’m looking forward to reading more by Bridgett Nelson!

[Kate Victoria RescueandReading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bridgett does it again! This is the second collection I’ve read that she’s written, and all three stories were winners!

Yes, these tales are extreme at times; Bridgett channels the raw brutality and wickedness of humanity into her stories. Here there be monsters, and they can be hiding as your coworker, neighbour, friend, or even loved one.

Be prepared for unexpected twists, evil tales set in wild vistas, and everyday people fighting to survive the nightmares they’ve become tangled in.

[Ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an absolute blast to read! Picked it up and finished it this afternoon. If you are looking for some fun, fast paced, gory short stories, I recommend picking up What the Fuck was That by @bnelsonauthor . I had a ball reading through these!

[Ali O · Rating 5 out of 5]

What the Fuck was That? By Bridgett Nelson
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
A fantastic collection of 3 short horror stories!!
I loved all 3 of them! They are gripping, exciting, thrilling and creepy!!
I like to pick my favorites in collections, but I couldn’t choose! They are all amazing and unique!
This author knows how to tell awesome stories that suck you in!
I listened to the audio and the narrator did a great job!!
*I recommend this fun and fast read!!*

[The Bookish B¡tch · Rating 5 out of 5]

What the Fuck was That? is a short story collection consisting of three deliciously deranged tales that will capture your attention until the very end.

Getaway is every vacationer's nightmare come true. Four friends book an off-season stay at a beach house in the Outer Banks that turns into a fight for their lives.

In Scars, an author holds a contest for his fans to have an opportunity to be a character in his next novel. When the book is finally published, the contestants each die off, one by one, in the same manner as their characters. Don't worry...this is not a spoiler!

Belong is the story of a friendship that turns into obsession. When Briony least expects it, her stalker has returned, but she refuses to be a victim any longer.

I was supposed to wait for the physical copy of this book to arrive for my weekend beach trip. That did not happen. The synopsis lured me in, and who can resist a gorgeous cover like that? This collection was so refreshing in the sense that it wasn't just gore and violence for the shock effect. The stories were told so well, and the character development was great. Be warned, this is a bit more on the extreme/splatterpunk side if you are coming from psych thrillers or cozy horror. Please check trigger warnings before you begin this fantastic collection.

[Ren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first read of Bridgett Nelson's work and I will definitely be on the lookout for more!

3 distinctly different short stories that I ramped through in a day.

Getaway - 4 friends go to an airbnb, which turns out to have been a terrible idea.
Scars - An author names characters in his book after competition winners, then they begin to die in the same way.
Belong - Briony deals with a stalker.

Given that they are short stories, there's not too much you can really say without giving anything away. Each one feel self-contained, and are easy to follow. They get to the action quickly and have a couple of fun twists along the way.

I will say that all 3 of these stories deal with rape/sexual assault in some way, so I would be aware of that before jumping in.

Overall, a quick little read. Little bit gory, little bit unsettling, little bit weird. I'd recommend it as a good slump-buster!

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

In just 3 short stories, Bridgett Nelson proves she belongs in the upper realms of authors in the splatterpunk/horror genre. This is my first forray into her work and it won't be the last. 'Getaway' tells the classic home invasion story with a twist at the end you don't see coming. 'Scars' makes you weary of ever entering into the "Comment on Facebook to get your name in my next book" prize. I've seen so many of these giveaways in groups that you start wondering what writers truly feel about their readers. (LOL. I kid). 'Belong' finishes off the book with a friendship (from birth) gone seriously bad. All 3 of these stories are very well written and the book is a quick read. As much as I enjoyed the short stories, I'd still love to see Bridgett show her true potential in a full novel sometime in the near future.

[Spooky Little Book Nerd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good slasher! Bridgett Nelson didn’t hold back! There were parts of this that gave me goosebumps…especially the last story because stalkers freak me out the most. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and all the different stories. It was amazing how much was packed into each one. They were all terrifying. Can’t wait to read everything else by this author!

[Brandy Brusseau · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories were amazing! Three fun stories that I couldn’t put down and kept me gripping the edge of my seat. My favorite was “Belong”.

[Books Yada Yada · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bridgett Nelson's 'What the Fuck Was That' takes us down a dark, labyrinthine path through the sinister realms of the human imagination. This chilling collection of short stories lays bare the fragility of our reality, and the monsters that lurk just out of sight. Each tale, a tightly woven thread of suspense and horror, keeps the reader spellbound and questioning their very perceptions.

Nelson's prose is deft and lyrical, guiding us through landscapes of dread with an expert hand. The narratives unravel with a poetic precision, revealing shocking truths and macabre beauty in equal measure. Her characters are hauntingly real, their plights resonant with the deepest fears and longings of the human condition.

With a masterful balance of terror and tenderness, Nelson creates a literary experience that lingers long. 'What the Fuck Was That' is a haunting journey into the dark heart of the human psyche, one that will leave readers breathless and yearning for more.

[Karla Samano · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Brittani Button · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely 💯 loved these stories! My only complaint is I wanted more!! Bridgett is truly a horror writer that doesn't hold back.

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Review*
What The Fuck Was That? By Bridgett Nelson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What The Fuck Was That? Is a novella that consists of 3 different short stories:

"Getaway" follows a group of college friends who take an off season trip to Outer Banks with disastrous results

"Scars" follows a detective trying to solve the case of people being killed on the same way as characters in a book.

"Belong" follows a girl who has to deal with a stalker for most of her life.


This was a great little collection of stories! My favorite was 'Belong' as its premise was wild and I truly could feel the fear that our main chapter felt. It had a perfect length and I love how it was layed out and used the evidence between sections. I loved the twists in 'Scars' and it had an ending that I did not see coming. I would have loved for it to be longer as well, I feel like a lot could have been done with it if given more length, regardless, I really liked it.
The reason this got 4 stars and not 5 is because 'Getaway' fell short for me. As a story based on the strangers I expected a little more, not content wise but in length. My biggest issue is that 'Getaway' could have easily been much longer and due to how short it was, it fell a little flat.

📚 Here's my favorite quote from this collection:
"Kelly, what in the name of God is this freaky music? It sounds like Minnie Mouse got high, decided to start playing the harp, and then forgot how to speak English,”

#bookreview #horror #bridgettnelson #whatthefuckwasthat

[Michael Toft Adelholm (michael_learns_to_review) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another slamdunk from Nelson..! Keep them coming - will devour them all.

[Christopher Mesloh · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun read! Three twisted stories packed into this gem. It hits the ground running in the first novelette, Getaway. Set in a beach house (what could possibly go wrong?) that ramps up the WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING right through the epilogue. The middle story is a who dunnit, which I’m not usually a fan of, but Ms. Nelson pulls it off beautifully. The last tale was my favorite. It doesn’t hide the dread right from the beginning. It just keeps building all the way to the end until you’re on the edge of your seat, flipping pages as fast as you can! I will definitely be checking out more of her work. Solid 4⭐️

[Clark Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Bridgett Nelson and her writing. I really do. But that title! When someone asks me, “What books has Bridgett Nelson written that you have read?” How do I answer? “A Bouquet of Viscera”. Check. “Sweet, Sour, and Spicy”. Check. And “What the…” “What the…” Granted, my mother died several years ago. But if she was still alive, hearing me name this book would kill her.

The stories contained in this book are very good, if not excellent. And I have heard that old adage (who hasn’t?) “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

But that title!

[Shahna (VanquishingVolumes) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick Reads

For some reason unbeknownst to me, I am apparently on a short story kick. Luckily for me, that led me to go trolling through my beloved Books of Horror Facebook group for suggestions. As soon as I saw a post from this author with the cover art, I knew I had to check this out. And I am so glad I did!

3 stories of obsession and murder escalating to their ultimate conclusions, this was a great and fast paced read that I would recommend for horror fans.

[N.J. Gallegos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bridgett doesn't disappoint! The book is split into three stories. The first involves a friend group who rent a house in the Outer Banks in the off season and get way more than they bargain for. The second story involves an investigation into mysterious murders all linked to readers who won a contest to have their names included in an author's story. Nice twist. The third was my favorite; boy meets girl, boy stalks the shit out of girl. Bad things.

As always, engaging story and great gore!

[Christina Newby · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely amazing stories!

What was not to love? Being someone that has been to Outter Banks to stay I won’t lie it did mess with me some. No really in a hurry to go back soon lol. What was not to love? Every store kept you on the edge and absolutely nothing I would have predicted to play out. Will be buying the physical copies to keep. Absolutely brilliant!

[CC LovesBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this was a fun one 4.25/5
I couldn’t put it down and stayed up all night to read it!
The first story gave me the Stranger vibes (which was the inspiration)which is honestly one of my biggest fears!
Definitely made me uncomfortable
The crime story was pretty crazy.
The stalker story was great loved the added crime reports nice touch.

They were fun stories would definitely recommend!