Kissing Games

by Mark Edwards

“The first time she killed a boy was the happiest moment of her life.”

When two boys accept a dare to spend a night in an abandoned asylum, they have no idea of the terror that awaits…

Hollingby Hospital used to house some of the country’s most notorious psychopaths. Now it stands abandoned and rotting just beyond the woods. Ben and Ollie have agreed to spend a night there. But they are unaware that one of the former inmates has returned to the hospital, roaming the silent corridors at night … and she likes boys. She likes to kiss them.

She likes to kill them.

KISSING GAMES is an original story from the co-author of CATCH YOUR DEATH and KILLING CUPID and the first in an ongoing series of short thrillers, each of which should take around an hour or two to read.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Contemporary, Psychological Thriller

34 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 20, 2012

About the author

Mark Edwards writes psychological thrillers in which scary things happen to ordinary people.

He loves hearing from readers and always responds. Mark can be contacted in the following ways:
Email: mark@markedwardsauthor.com
Twitter @mredwards
Facebook/Instagram: @markedwardsauthor

You can download a free box set of 'Short Sharp Shockers' by visiting www.markedwardsauthor.com/free

Mark has sold over 5 million books since his first solo novel, The Magpies, was published in 2013 and has topped the bestseller lists numerous times. His other novels include Follow You Home, Here To Stay and The Psychopath Next Door. He has also published six books co-authored with Louise Voss. His next novel, The Wasp Trap, will be published in the UK/Australia in July 2025 and the US/Canada in September 2025.

Mark lives in the West Midlands, England, with his wife, their three children, two cats and a golden retriever.

Reviews

[Sandra]

Short-story about two boys who, on a dare, spend a night in an old, abandoned asylum. This was an okay read, the mood and atmosphere of the asylum was spooky. But most of the characters in the book were unpleasant and I didn’t like the ending. I’ve enjoyed the novels I have read by Mark Edwards much more.

[Louise Wilson]

Two young boys have been dared to spend the night in an old abandoned asylum. Holingby Hospital used to have some of the countries most notorious psychopaths. Now it's just a shell, rotting away in the woods.

What an eerie quick read this book is. There is also a WTF moment!! I usually read these short stories when I go,to bed as they are just long enough to finish before I fall asleep. I'm glad I read this one during the day as I think I would have had nightmares after finishing it!

[Matt]

Edwards offers a short, yet chilling, look into his mind with this quick read. Ben and Ollie are tired of their lives and the lack of excitement they bring. On a dare, they agree to sneak out at night and explore a decrepit building in the woods, formerly used as an asylum. Loaded up with supplies, they make the trek, unaware that one of the former residents, Alice Johnson, still frequents her old home, still plagued by her need to seek revenge young boys. Her form of revenge includes killing boys and stealing a kiss from their cold lips. As Ben and Ollie arrive, things take a definite turn for the worse. Hot on their trail is Ben's mom, Lydia, who's roused herself from a drunken stupor and remembers Alice from her own childhood. Can Lydia save Ben from the clutches of Alice's embrace or is this all a twisted sort of game, destined to play out. A great quick read to pass the time, showing Edwards less than savoury side.

Always a fan of Mark Edwards and his ideas, especially as he strings them together in a little thrill and horror. While this was not as scary or as spine-chilling as some of his other pieces, it does provide a glimpse into his inner Stephen King and the horrors that reside within his thought processes. Highly entertaining and a great way to pass an hour.

Kudos, Mr. Edwards for this short story to tide me over. Always happy to see your fans are recognised for their loyalty.

Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

[Jamie ♡♡ submits to books ♡♡]

☆☆☆ 3.5 The Taste Of Kiss Stars ☆☆☆



This book is short, haunting and a quick gruesome shot of WOW.

This is my first book by Mark Edwards and I was pleased. If you like a dose of ewww....this will get you.

Ben and Ollie are 12 year old best friends. They sneak out one night to journey into an abandoned mental hospital.



They have no idea they are trespassing on the sacred ground of Alice Johnson. A convicted killer of two boys when she was young.

Their young minded curiosity lures them right into the Alice ' s evil hands.



She can still taste the boy's kiss. As sweet as she remembers. His lips, the same lips that spat abuse and insults, are inside her now, in her belly. He begged and screamed as she pushed the stake up inside him. He begged until language was beyond him.

Ollie and Ben's lives will never be the same.

PS.... I only wish this book would have longer.

[Jülie ☼♄ ]

This was not really to my liking, a bit too over the top.
It's only a short story so I won't go into detail as others may like it, but too much for me.
I gave it three stars because the writing is not at fault, I just didn't care much for the content.

[Jennifer Turner (JensPageTurners)]

Real quick little short-story but packs a punch.

Definitely has some potential flaws but if you read it for what it is and don't ask questions, it's a great little read.

TBH...I needed something to boost my challenge so I had more of a buffer. But this one has been in my TBR (as well as Edwards' other novels) for far too long.

[Zoe Kindle Queen]

Enjoyed this quick read - Ben & Ollie sneak out in the night to spend the night in a derelict asylum. Both have heard tales of the ghost of “old Harvey” who kills young boys may still be roaming the corridors. Only one of them will make it out alive.

[LucyLui]

Kissing Games by Mark Edwards

Title - Kissing Games

Author - Mark Edwards

Published - Aug '12

Publisher - Indi IQ.com

Pages - 80

Price- Kindle - £0.99

ASIN - B0090RXE34

Two young boys accepted a dare to spend the night in an old abandoned asylum, the only problem is they have no idea what awaits them. Hollingby Hospital used to house some of the countries worst psychopaths, now its abandoned and rotting away. 

One of its former residents, a murderer of young boys has returned and is roaming the corridors at night. Now Ben and Ollie are spending the night there.

This is another one of Edwards short stories and yet again I find myself wishing it was a full novel. This was by far one of his best short stories, I couldn't put it down. It certainly packed a punch in its short content. A fantastic read. Praise to Edwards once again. 

Rating -  Five out of Five Stars

Would I Read Again? -  Yes

Would I Recommend? - Yes

Would I read other books by the same author? - Yes

Reviews for this book can be found on:

Amazon under Lu's Reviews

Goodreads,

Net Galley (If a NetGalley Book)

My Blogs at http://www.readingbeyondobsession.co.uk/

www.lusreviewsblog.wordpress.com

SmashWords (LusReviews)

Barns & Noble (Lus-Reviews)

Links to this review can be found at:

Twitter: @lusreviews

Facebook: @lusreviews 

Instagram: lusreviews

[Richard]

Another short story by Mark Edwards. This one is super scary with superstition and real life l, meeting head on in a thrilling and nerve jangling conclusion to this terrifying tale.

A brief novella - we have two young boys venturing out, because of a dare, to spend the night in an old asylum. Loved the interaction between these best mates and the varying degrees of fear they mask to appear more grown up; if they can succeed they will have taken a rite of passage into adulthood.

Well told, with messages about bullying, adult relationship impacting on children's lives and the povety of caring for the criminally insane.
Needless to say and as already mentioned, it all kicks off and there is a lifechanging experience not anticipated in the former mental hospital. I could hear the screams, I nearly cursed when the torch flickered off and fear gripped my heart.

[Sarah]

Short and gruesome. I like Mark Edwards' novels, and I needed something short to count as a "one-sitting read", otherwise I probably wouldn't have bothered with this, but it was good for how short it was, if you don't mind something grisly.

[Anya]

Nahhh.... I was somewhere around three stars. A little bored, a little intrested. But that ending was just some more bahh... not really something I would recommend. Sorry, some of Mark Edwards full novels are really good...

[Val Robson]

A great little short read. Glad I read it over lunch and not on my own late at night!

[Katherine Lara]

Wow! Really good! That ending though...
Story should have been longer.

[Debbie]

What an absolutely horrific story!!!!

This was a scary story! It was so perfect because every young boy has made this dare of his friends.
The girl was a perfectly scary description of witches that lurk in the back of your mind, in the dark, where you don't even think of bringing her out for fear she might be real!! Just the perfect length scary story!!. I loved it!!

[Jenel Kaminski]

So much in a short read! I could have kept reading, but great ending as well. I wish I could read a whole book of just short stories like these. It takes talent to get your reader's to know the characters, make the background, create the scene, and get hooked all in such a short amount of words! Please never stop writing Mark Edwards!!

[Bryony]

Scary

I found this book terrifiying! At least it's short story and I don't think I'll read it again. Good work!

[Christine Staeven]

This is quite an interesting piece. It is quite an interesting read that many who enjoy horror genre will like.

This is a story told from a few perspectives. Two boys out on a dare to spend night in an abandoned building. There is all sort of lore involved to build tension (and perhaps to throw suspicion off in a couple directions) . The two boys are Ben and Ollie and their part is told from Ben's POV. There is the woman's tale from her POV and Ben's mom gets a bit of POV time too. The writer has a grasp of POV switches and they flow seamlessly. The jumping from POV to another does NOT distract nor confuse. They build and move forward at good story pace. The woman used to live in the abandoned building for her reasons from her past and has returned (or never really left) and she and the boys happen to cross paths. The lore of the woods is less fearsome than this woman and her ideas /actions. You will have to read to know what happens as I won't give spoil. I will say this is very dark and there is some pretty graphic gore that people not accustomed to horror genre may be put off by. Is not so to me, but I include the information for others to make informed decision related to such.

This was fairly well edited - though there is one glaring inconsistency that author should fix : Ben looks back at house after exit and sees he left bedroom light on - then later, his mum needs to turn on his light when she goes to check on him. I did not reduce any stars for such - but is error that should be corrected. It was also somewhat distracting to read the varied font types throughout. It is like two different word processors (writers?) were used to tell the various POVs and the whole document was not converted to one font type prior to downloading. Again, I did not reduce rating for such - but should be fixed.

Recommend author and story for any who don't mind gore and pretty graphic details and like horror genre.

Christine

[Charlotte Bradshaw]

It has to be one of his spookiest pieces of writing. I think reading it on kindle app wasn't great, and it wasn't always clear when it was jumping from different scenes.

Overall I did like it. But I would hope to hear more about the characters in future books as I feel this wasn't long enough to give the full story what it deserves, but I always love stories about creepy asylums.

I also want to know how it ended as it is left intentionally unclear. Again maybe he was leaving it like this to leave himself options of further books if the reviews evidence we want it? Let's demand more!

Thanks for another interesting read Mark!

[April Taylor]

I'm a Mark Edwards fan, but this was really disappointing. The story idea had a lot of promise. Unfortunately, the execution was very underwhelming and also filled with distracting typos.

Be aware that this short story is much shorter than most people would probably expect. The entire book is 80 pages, but the story ends at the 40% mark. Yes, that's right; the extended preview of The Magpies is more than half of this eBook.

I recommend putting your money into a different Mark Edwards book. The Magpies and Follow You Home provide a much better bang for your buck.

[StinaStaffymum]

Wow! That was just a little bit creepy! Read it on the train this morning which was perfect for my hour long journey.

I won't say too much as it is a short story one can read in an hour themselves, but the premise sounded intriguing. However I have to say I do prefer his novels though this was a spine-tingling read none-the-less with a bit of a shock ending. You do kind of want to read of the fallout and aftermath but then I guess that takes away from the shock factor.

A nice chilling quick read.

[Richard Kettlewood]

RA

Kissing Games is an excellent short story/ mini novella. The two perspectives of boys being boys and fearful mother being fearful mother are done really well. The reader feels immersed and involved. A poetic turn of phrase at times adding to the quality of story telling. Short but very very sweet! And sour, of course. Even though brief there was sufficient back story to lend depth and empathy to the characters and what they experience. Horror writing of a high and gripping standard indeed!

[Qui2]

I thought the Kissing games story was good and creepy. Definitely could be extended into a good book. However, it was supershort, and then over 50% of the book was an “extended excerpt” Of the magpies, which I had already read. The magpies was a fantastic book, but it was weird the way they put this together. I’m hoping for a full book version of the kissing games. I love his writing, and the way that he can make more regular life kinds of things really creepy.

[Rosanne Nutland]

Too short!

Okay I know this is a short story, but ah it was too short. I love Mark’s work and I think there is more to come from this chilling taster?

Two young boys dare each other to go into a derelict asylum and without giving too much away it is pretty gruesome descriptions of what’s going on.

There is definitely a back story here that could really capture an audience and I sincerely hope Mark acts upon this and writes more!

[Charlotte Jones]

Such a disappointment. Had such promise and interesting idea but it simply stopped short, as if deadline was due and had to finish it there. Job done. Also, not impressed that only 40% was story and rest was prologue for next book. I already have Magpies but wouldn't have bought it on the basis of that short story.

[Kelly Lou McFall]

I read this as part of a box set of 4 short stories by mark edwards… the other 3 are not listed on good reads but are called:

Consenting adults
Guardian angel
Wish you dead

All of which are awesome! I flew through them unable to put them down 😍 I recommend diving in to anyone be prepared for kissing games to turn your stomach though it was by far the most chilling of the 4 x

[michelle mclennan]

Terrifying

This short story is terrifying for a mother of a child of their age, but that's what mark Edwards does best, he takes a normal thing and turns it into your worst nightmare.

[Jan]

Mark Edwards is fantastic at plotting twists and turns, but he usually does it more in the thriller genre; this was most definitely horror. And what great horror it was. The characters are deftly drawn despite the relatively short length, and the denouement is, simply, terrifying.

[Beth Roger aka Katiebella_Reads]

Child abuse trigger warning!!

Short story only about 40pg. The rest if from the magpie book. This story is about an abused girl who grows up to abuse and kill boys. Horror story to the extreme. Wish I hadn't read

[Mrs V]

A short read thankfully.

I've read a few enjoyable books from this author but this is not one of them. Thankfully it was a short read but alas not short enough.

I only read Kissing Games; there is a preview of another book, The Magpies, which I skipped as I was so disappointed

[David]

A greatly captivating, extremely short read. I enjoyed the whole plot/story line, but I was extremely disappointed with the unexpected and abrupt ending.

If I can take one thing away from reading this book, it would be to; Think before you act.