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The Wrong
It starts out with one thing, easily mistaken. Something that looks wrong, but it isn't, is it? No one else notices so it must be me, right?
But it keeps happening. It keeps getting worse. I'm seeing things go wrong everywhere. At work. Out with friends. At home. During sex.
Soon, I can't hide it anymore. No one else sees what I see. But things aren't right. No, not by a long shot.
Everything looks wrong. But it isn't, is it? No one else notices, so it must be me, right?
Is that right?
Or is that Wrong?
But it keeps happening. It keeps getting worse. I'm seeing things go wrong everywhere. At work. Out with friends. At home. During sex.
Soon, I can't hide it anymore. No one else sees what I see. But things aren't right. No, not by a long shot.
Everything looks wrong. But it isn't, is it? No one else notices, so it must be me, right?
Is that right?
Or is that Wrong?
- GenresHorror
40 pages, Paperback
First published August 22, 2013
23 people want to read
About the author
Tobin Elliott
22 books167 followersTobin was destined for horror. This became obvious when, in the span of two weeks, he built a working model of a guillotine out of popsicle sticks and a razor blade — which his Grade Five teacher didn't seem to appreciate as much as he did — and he also learned to tie a noose and proudly hung one from their apartment balcony — which his mother and the superintendent didn't seem to appreciate as much as he did.
Eventually, he learned to focus the horror into stories. His friends and neighbours likely appreciated the lesser PDH (Public Displays of Horror).
Besides writing ugly stories about bad people doing horrible things, Tobin also
- taught Creative Writing at both Durham College and Trent University (Oshawa Campus) for two decades
- was a founding board member of the Writers' Community of Simcoe County (WCSC)
- was a member of the Writers' Community of Durham Region (WCDR)
- for five crazy years, took part in the annual Muskoka Novel Marathon, a three-day writing marathon to raise money for adult literacy programs in the Simcoe/Muskoka region.
Tobin has been lucky enough to see quite a few works published in the past decade or so...
- his first published work, a horror novella called Vanishing Hope, was through Burning Effigy Press
- Stealing Corey was a semi-finalist in the Whispered Words contest and was published in the subsequent Whispered Words anthology, published by Piquant Press
- the third novella-length installment of the Sam Truman Mysteries, Soft Kiss Hard Death, was published by Abattoir Press
- this, along with the first two novellas, were later collected into the The Sam Truman Mysteries Omnibus Volume 1
- his novella, The Wrong was the final book published by Burning Effigy before they went into extended hibernation (Tobin tends to have that effect on people and publishers)
- Prison Break was published in the Nancy Kilpatrick-edited anthology, Expiration Date, published by Edge SF & Fantasy Publishing, and was singled out by Ellen Datlow in The Best Horror of the Year Volume Eight as one of the standout stories
- Fight or Flight was published in Purgatorium: The Element of Horror anthology, by ID Press
- Nightingale was published in Allucinor: The Element of Romance anthology, by ID Press
- The Riff was published in Nefariam: The Element of Crime anthology, by ID Press
- Horse Guts Horse Guts was published in Released: A Horror Anthology, by No Bad Books Press
- Giving Up The Ghost was published in Doors of Darkness, by Terrorcore Publishing
- possibly his weirdest bit of writing, "EGR 181: Cyclopean Architecture" was published in Nafallen University 2022-2023 Course Catalog, by Madness Heart Press
Since COVID-19 pressed the great pause button, Tobin managed to complete his six-book APHOTIC horror series (which he's delighted to be able to call a "hexalogy") and are being released at two-month intervals.
The Six Books of the Aphotic
- Bad Blood
- Out For Blood
- Blood Loss
- Blood Pact
- Blood Relations
- Flesh and Blood
Tobin has been married for 33 years, and has one son and one daughter, and one relatively brainless dog. He's retired from a large Canadian telecom company where he was a Communications Specialist.
Tobin counts embarrassing his wife and kids, pointing out the stupidities of others, being dumb to kind animals and killing plants among his hobbies.
Finally, Tobin loves feedback, either positive or negative, on his writing. You can find all his links here
Eventually, he learned to focus the horror into stories. His friends and neighbours likely appreciated the lesser PDH (Public Displays of Horror).
Besides writing ugly stories about bad people doing horrible things, Tobin also
- taught Creative Writing at both Durham College and Trent University (Oshawa Campus) for two decades
- was a founding board member of the Writers' Community of Simcoe County (WCSC)
- was a member of the Writers' Community of Durham Region (WCDR)
- for five crazy years, took part in the annual Muskoka Novel Marathon, a three-day writing marathon to raise money for adult literacy programs in the Simcoe/Muskoka region.
Tobin has been lucky enough to see quite a few works published in the past decade or so...
- his first published work, a horror novella called Vanishing Hope, was through Burning Effigy Press
- Stealing Corey was a semi-finalist in the Whispered Words contest and was published in the subsequent Whispered Words anthology, published by Piquant Press
- the third novella-length installment of the Sam Truman Mysteries, Soft Kiss Hard Death, was published by Abattoir Press
- this, along with the first two novellas, were later collected into the The Sam Truman Mysteries Omnibus Volume 1
- his novella, The Wrong was the final book published by Burning Effigy before they went into extended hibernation (Tobin tends to have that effect on people and publishers)
- Prison Break was published in the Nancy Kilpatrick-edited anthology, Expiration Date, published by Edge SF & Fantasy Publishing, and was singled out by Ellen Datlow in The Best Horror of the Year Volume Eight as one of the standout stories
- Fight or Flight was published in Purgatorium: The Element of Horror anthology, by ID Press
- Nightingale was published in Allucinor: The Element of Romance anthology, by ID Press
- The Riff was published in Nefariam: The Element of Crime anthology, by ID Press
- Horse Guts Horse Guts was published in Released: A Horror Anthology, by No Bad Books Press
- Giving Up The Ghost was published in Doors of Darkness, by Terrorcore Publishing
- possibly his weirdest bit of writing, "EGR 181: Cyclopean Architecture" was published in Nafallen University 2022-2023 Course Catalog, by Madness Heart Press
Since COVID-19 pressed the great pause button, Tobin managed to complete his six-book APHOTIC horror series (which he's delighted to be able to call a "hexalogy") and are being released at two-month intervals.
The Six Books of the Aphotic
- Bad Blood
- Out For Blood
- Blood Loss
- Blood Pact
- Blood Relations
- Flesh and Blood
Tobin has been married for 33 years, and has one son and one daughter, and one relatively brainless dog. He's retired from a large Canadian telecom company where he was a Communications Specialist.
Tobin counts embarrassing his wife and kids, pointing out the stupidities of others, being dumb to kind animals and killing plants among his hobbies.
Finally, Tobin loves feedback, either positive or negative, on his writing. You can find all his links here
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 19, 2017
Thank you to the author for this short story in exchange for an honest review.
There are very few things that scare me as much as the thought of losing my mind. Insanity, dementia, amnesia, alzheimer's disease...it just terrifies me.
This short story explores the idea that one day everything is totally normal and the next day, it's not. It's wrong.
But what if everything went wrong in such a subtle, agonizing way, you couldn't even verbalize or pinpoint *what* exactly was 'off'.
I think the most impressive thing about this story is Tobin Elliott's knack for dialogue. This is the way real people talk. The family relationships felt very authentic; especially the marriage.
The main character was someone I would instantly be friends with. I loved his inner mind chat, his sarcasm and quick wit.
It was hard to watch as events unfolded and this character was squeezed through a horrifying ordeal. I wanted desperately for him to have some relief but Elliott didn't have that in the cards and instead, I painfully read as the screw was tightened and tightened.
I can't wait for more from Elliott. Truly a master craftsman of the strange and unusual mixed with heaping doses of what scares me. I'm a fan.
There are very few things that scare me as much as the thought of losing my mind. Insanity, dementia, amnesia, alzheimer's disease...it just terrifies me.
This short story explores the idea that one day everything is totally normal and the next day, it's not. It's wrong.
But what if everything went wrong in such a subtle, agonizing way, you couldn't even verbalize or pinpoint *what* exactly was 'off'.
I think the most impressive thing about this story is Tobin Elliott's knack for dialogue. This is the way real people talk. The family relationships felt very authentic; especially the marriage.
The main character was someone I would instantly be friends with. I loved his inner mind chat, his sarcasm and quick wit.
It was hard to watch as events unfolded and this character was squeezed through a horrifying ordeal. I wanted desperately for him to have some relief but Elliott didn't have that in the cards and instead, I painfully read as the screw was tightened and tightened.
I can't wait for more from Elliott. Truly a master craftsman of the strange and unusual mixed with heaping doses of what scares me. I'm a fan.
January 12, 2014
The Wrong is one of those books that suck you in with the casual prose and the flow of words. It is populated by vibrant and believable characters, and the narrator is genuine. He has a family, a job, a normal life. Then something is wrong. Then another. And another. Until everything is wrong. The turmoil that ensues is heartbreaking and realistic.
One aspect of this book that I enjoyed is the ultimate mystery of the plot (which I am trying not to give away). There are many different ways to interpret the ending, and everything that I can come up with is frightful. No matter how you look at it, you shouldn't want to be the protagonist.
I highly recommend this book and Tobin Elliott, the author
One aspect of this book that I enjoyed is the ultimate mystery of the plot (which I am trying not to give away). There are many different ways to interpret the ending, and everything that I can come up with is frightful. No matter how you look at it, you shouldn't want to be the protagonist.
I highly recommend this book and Tobin Elliott, the author
October 8, 2024
3.5 rounded up.
I wasn't offered this book in exchange for an honest review, but the book was given to me for free as I'm a huge fan of Tobin and an honest review is certaintly anticpates from me.
I will say, believe it or not, I am only familiar with Lovecrafts writing in theory and from Tobin's writing, so, perhaps, my love for his take of descents into madness could be pure ignorance so keep that in mind.
Having said that, I really enjoyed this read.
Tobin did a really good job of breathing life into Rob. He felt real and relatable, like someone you know. Before things start to go Wrong, Rob also has a plethora of relatable issues which I feel really add to to your connection to him (and, god damn, don't him and I think exactly the same on public transit).
Painting memorable and relatable characters is, in my opinion, Tobin's strongest skill as a writer, so no surprise there. What was fresh and new for me was the disgusting little paintings he was able to create in my mind.
Yes, Tobin has disgusted me many of times, but the narrative and the direction of the story added new avenues for him to go apeshit; and he did.
Drinking from the tap is going to be difficult for a bit and I am going to have to take a pause before every utensil I grab this week (to name a few of the things I'll be thinking about due to this book).
This book suffers in two areas.
One: It's too short. I feel the narrative would have greatly benefited from being a little expansion on his familial relationships and his relationships with coworkers to make that descent even more impactful
Two: Robs voice felt a little disjointed, as at some points I wasn't sure if he was telling me or telling himself.
These two critiques are small and more me trying to find some sort of feedback with a constructive element to it because I do enjoy his writing wholeheartedly.
If you're looking for a fun, quick read - I would recommend this. It was a perfect start to my spooky season mentality for sure. On the flipside, I think he's re-releasing this and I would be utterly surprised if he didn't at least touch on my "issues" at least a little bit.
Either way, I'm stoked to have the last copy of this book in my collection.
I wasn't offered this book in exchange for an honest review, but the book was given to me for free as I'm a huge fan of Tobin and an honest review is certaintly anticpates from me.
I will say, believe it or not, I am only familiar with Lovecrafts writing in theory and from Tobin's writing, so, perhaps, my love for his take of descents into madness could be pure ignorance so keep that in mind.
Having said that, I really enjoyed this read.
Tobin did a really good job of breathing life into Rob. He felt real and relatable, like someone you know. Before things start to go Wrong, Rob also has a plethora of relatable issues which I feel really add to to your connection to him (and, god damn, don't him and I think exactly the same on public transit).
Painting memorable and relatable characters is, in my opinion, Tobin's strongest skill as a writer, so no surprise there. What was fresh and new for me was the disgusting little paintings he was able to create in my mind.
Yes, Tobin has disgusted me many of times, but the narrative and the direction of the story added new avenues for him to go apeshit; and he did.
Drinking from the tap is going to be difficult for a bit and I am going to have to take a pause before every utensil I grab this week (to name a few of the things I'll be thinking about due to this book).
This book suffers in two areas.
One: It's too short. I feel the narrative would have greatly benefited from being a little expansion on his familial relationships and his relationships with coworkers to make that descent even more impactful
Two: Robs voice felt a little disjointed, as at some points I wasn't sure if he was telling me or telling himself.
These two critiques are small and more me trying to find some sort of feedback with a constructive element to it because I do enjoy his writing wholeheartedly.
If you're looking for a fun, quick read - I would recommend this. It was a perfect start to my spooky season mentality for sure. On the flipside, I think he's re-releasing this and I would be utterly surprised if he didn't at least touch on my "issues" at least a little bit.
Either way, I'm stoked to have the last copy of this book in my collection.
November 26, 2013
The voice felt like it was in a battle, personal diary verses blog. I'd like to see the transition smoothed out a bit more. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the horror elements. The diary voice made the horror believable. An extended version of the novel could put a modern twist on an old point of view.
September 7, 2017
And I thought I wrote twisted psyche well... twisted. Tobin turns the normal world on its ear and drags us to a hell that would have Dante thinking his Inferno was merely a bonfire.
I now think twice before reaching for my cutlery. Thanks a lot, Tobin.
Was it real or was it Memorex?
I now think twice before reaching for my cutlery. Thanks a lot, Tobin.
Was it real or was it Memorex?
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews