Nightfall: A Collection of Dark Tales

by Griffin Hayes

Take a journey into a terrifying world where the shadows have teeth and the creaky footsteps behind you may be the last sound you hear. Seven stories guaranteed to have you looking over your shoulder and sleeping with the lights on. A town cursed to die every hundred years and the two unlikely men determined to stop it. A sweet little boy hell bent on destroying the world. A man travels back in time to save his family from a sadistic killer, only to find himself trapped in an insane asylum. A young boy discovers that his new neighbors may not be entirely human. And more... NIGHTFALL Bird of Prey (novella) Fatherland (short story) The Second Coming (short story) The Bearer (flash fiction) The Grip (short story) The Neighbors (novella) Last Call (short story) Also Background info on the origin and ideas behind each story.

162 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 19, 2013

Reviews

[Grammar*Kitten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collections of short stories don't usually work for me. I'm not that fond of short stories on their own, never mind collections of them loitering together like gangs of teenagers that I have no wish to engage with.

If you feel as I do, perhaps Nightfall is the collection of stories to change your mind about short stories. It certainly did mine.

Griffin Hayes is a master of developing stories and characters to the perfect extent within a word limit. Most stories usually leave me with 'how, why, WHAT?' but these stories just left me with more 'Wow' than 'how'.

I love horror. I've loved everything I've ever read by Hayes. But these really are a treat - and an absolute bargain all banded together in this brilliant little book. All of the stories explore twisted little corners of the author's mind and are exectued in a way that really showcases the author's talents as a writer. This mixture of old and new stories is a chilling and thought provoking recipe for goosebumps and leaving the light on at night.

A few words of wisdom for you horror lovers out there:

Shadows cast across the sun will chill you to the core.

You will never leave a spare key outside your house again.

Nor will you ever look at a small boy and his toy soldiers in the same way again.

Be careful how you treat the unassuming man who approaches you for your number.

Madness can take a hold of any mind; even the mindless.

You never know who's living next door, or the secrets they might be hiding... in the basement.

And just remember... Blood Clots can be deadly.

[Aurora · Rating 3 out of 5]

The variety of stories shows a creative mind and was interesting in itself. Unfortunately, the writing flow is pretty jerky and gets irritating pretty quickly. It's often very difficult to tell who is doing what where because not enough clarity is given in between one action verb to the next.