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Broken: Stories of Damaged Psyches
PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE. PARANOIA. SUPERNATURAL HORROR. THE PARANORMAL. BRAIN-BENDING STRESS.This is a collection of five horror/suspense stories by Weldon Burge,
SIZZLE -- A philandering doctor meets a hill man who wants the "sizzle" cut out of his brain
ANOTHER HIGHWAY FATALITY -- A college girl, driving alone late at night during a heavy storm, is stalked by a car with a missing headlight
WHITE HELL, WISCONSIN -- A snow plow driver, plowing back roads in rural Wisconsin during a blizzard, fights for his life against elusive assailants
PERMANENT DETENTION -- A stressed-out teenager believes his History teacher is actually one of the living dead
BLUE EYE BURN -- A Vietnam veteran is haunted by a terrifying incident involving a young Vietnamese girl
The author follows each tale with a description of its development and history -- the story behind each story. "In a world where writing might be enjoyable but not always surprising, Burge accomplishes both. This compilation is highly recommended for anyone who loves short stories, horror on any level, or just plain great writing. -- Sydney Leigh, author of Baby's Breath
SIZZLE -- A philandering doctor meets a hill man who wants the "sizzle" cut out of his brain
ANOTHER HIGHWAY FATALITY -- A college girl, driving alone late at night during a heavy storm, is stalked by a car with a missing headlight
WHITE HELL, WISCONSIN -- A snow plow driver, plowing back roads in rural Wisconsin during a blizzard, fights for his life against elusive assailants
PERMANENT DETENTION -- A stressed-out teenager believes his History teacher is actually one of the living dead
BLUE EYE BURN -- A Vietnam veteran is haunted by a terrifying incident involving a young Vietnamese girl
The author follows each tale with a description of its development and history -- the story behind each story. "In a world where writing might be enjoyable but not always surprising, Burge accomplishes both. This compilation is highly recommended for anyone who loves short stories, horror on any level, or just plain great writing. -- Sydney Leigh, author of Baby's Breath
64 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 4, 2013
6 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
About the author
Weldon Burge
42 books64 followersWeldon Burge, a native of Delaware, is the author of the Ezekiel Marrs thriller series published by Smart Rhino Publications. HARVESTER OF SORROW is the first novel in the series. Weldon is also a freelance writer and publisher. His fiction has appeared in many publications, including various magazines and anthologies (Crimeucopia, The Best of the Horror Society 2013, Pellucid Lunacy: An Anthology of Psychological Horror, Ghosts and Demons, just to name a few). His stories have also been adapted for podcast presentation by Drabblecast. He was a frequent writer for Suspense Magazine, often writing author interviews.
In 2012, Weldon and his wife, Cindy, founded Smart Rhino Publications, an indie publishing company focusing primarily on horror and suspense/thriller books. To date, the company has published 17 books, primarily anthologies.
You can sign up to receive his e-letter at https://landing.mailerlite.com/webfor...
In 2012, Weldon and his wife, Cindy, founded Smart Rhino Publications, an indie publishing company focusing primarily on horror and suspense/thriller books. To date, the company has published 17 books, primarily anthologies.
You can sign up to receive his e-letter at https://landing.mailerlite.com/webfor...
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 2, 2019
I really liked this selection of bizarre and disturbing stories. 'Highway Fatality' shows that a good Samaritan can easily have his last good moment. 'White Hell Wisconsin' shows a strange game against a snow plow driver, 'Permanent Detention' brings back some horrors in school. What I especially liked was the short information after each story by the author when it was published and some background on the writing. Well written, good plotted, nasty twists... highly recommended!
November 21, 2023
Titulo: Broken: Stories of Damaged Psyches
Autor: Weldon Burge
Motivo de lectura: Letras Macabras (Isla Macabra 2023)
Lectura / Relectura: Lectura
Mi edicion: Electronico
Puntuacion: 2/5
Esta antologia incluye cinco relatos, es la primera vez que leo al autor y en general me decepciono. Quisiera mencionar algo que siento que perjudica un poco a la antologia, al final de cada cuento hay una nota por parte del autor, y como algunos cuentos terminan de manera muy brusca, se siente rarisimo leer esos comentarios.
Sizzle: siento que el autor construyo una posible teoria conspitrativa sobre la esquizofrenia. El misterio de un cerebro crepitante y sus consecuencias fatales. 3.5/5
Another highway fatality: un inicio interesante, pero el desenlace no fue de mi agrado, quedan cabos sueltos. 2/5
White hell, Wisconsin: basicamente unos malcriados psicopatas que no quieren ir a la escuela, en serio? 2/5
Permanent detention: body horror y una premisa muy buena, pero el propio autor arruino este cuento con ese desenlace, una verdadera pena. 2/5
Blue eye burn:un cuento que aborda la tematica de vietnam y en palabras del autor "queria escribir un relato sobre los veteranos y como ellos recordaban a los niños", basicamente un soldado que Esta es la manera en que Weldon Burge pretende homenajear a los veteranos? 1/5
Autor: Weldon Burge
Motivo de lectura: Letras Macabras (Isla Macabra 2023)
Lectura / Relectura: Lectura
Mi edicion: Electronico
Puntuacion: 2/5
Esta antologia incluye cinco relatos, es la primera vez que leo al autor y en general me decepciono. Quisiera mencionar algo que siento que perjudica un poco a la antologia, al final de cada cuento hay una nota por parte del autor, y como algunos cuentos terminan de manera muy brusca, se siente rarisimo leer esos comentarios.
Sizzle: siento que el autor construyo una posible teoria conspitrativa sobre la esquizofrenia. El misterio de un cerebro crepitante y sus consecuencias fatales. 3.5/5
Another highway fatality: un inicio interesante, pero el desenlace no fue de mi agrado, quedan cabos sueltos. 2/5
White hell, Wisconsin: basicamente unos malcriados psicopatas que no quieren ir a la escuela, en serio? 2/5
Permanent detention: body horror y una premisa muy buena, pero el propio autor arruino este cuento con ese desenlace, una verdadera pena. 2/5
Blue eye burn:un cuento que aborda la tematica de vietnam y en palabras del autor "queria escribir un relato sobre los veteranos y como ellos recordaban a los niños", basicamente un soldado que Esta es la manera en que Weldon Burge pretende homenajear a los veteranos? 1/5
March 9, 2013
Weldon Burge’s collection of short stories all share a similar theme. Each captures a broken (hence the title) and damaged mind struggling to cope with the horrors of the world. Each story reflects upon the consequences of what happens when that broken psyche can no longer hang on to the thin grip of reality and slips into the abyss.
The stories explore a wide range of mentally disturbed characters and their horrific decisions and choices. In “White Hell, Wisconsin,” we meet a deranged killer who takes advantage of a blizzard to brutally murder. “Sizzle” is a classic sci-fi/ horror “the voices made me do it” narrative. “Blue Eye Burn” is a disturbing look at the aftermath of Vietnam. Burge looks at the long-term impact that killing children had upon the soldiers through the eyes of a single vet and a single child. My personal favorites were “Permanent Detention” and “Another Highway Fatality.” “Detention” looks at the pressure cooker of high school from the point of view of a boy on the edge. “Fatality” explores the same theme, the pressure cooker of a violent society, through the eyes of a crime victim. The stories here have their violent edges, but none resort to gore/ splatter just for the sake of it. Instead each takes reader down a nightmarish descent of madness to the final, horrific conclusion. The stories leave the readers asking questions about society, violence, madness, and how or if any of the stories could have ended differently. They are tales from the insanity of real life. Each of the characters could be the person next to you at the bus stop or in the cubicle across the corridor.
The collection is not long. It is designed, from what I guess, as an introduction to Burge’s writing. It serves that purpose quite well and more.
Originally published at Horror Novel Reviews
The stories explore a wide range of mentally disturbed characters and their horrific decisions and choices. In “White Hell, Wisconsin,” we meet a deranged killer who takes advantage of a blizzard to brutally murder. “Sizzle” is a classic sci-fi/ horror “the voices made me do it” narrative. “Blue Eye Burn” is a disturbing look at the aftermath of Vietnam. Burge looks at the long-term impact that killing children had upon the soldiers through the eyes of a single vet and a single child. My personal favorites were “Permanent Detention” and “Another Highway Fatality.” “Detention” looks at the pressure cooker of high school from the point of view of a boy on the edge. “Fatality” explores the same theme, the pressure cooker of a violent society, through the eyes of a crime victim. The stories here have their violent edges, but none resort to gore/ splatter just for the sake of it. Instead each takes reader down a nightmarish descent of madness to the final, horrific conclusion. The stories leave the readers asking questions about society, violence, madness, and how or if any of the stories could have ended differently. They are tales from the insanity of real life. Each of the characters could be the person next to you at the bus stop or in the cubicle across the corridor.
The collection is not long. It is designed, from what I guess, as an introduction to Burge’s writing. It serves that purpose quite well and more.
Originally published at Horror Novel Reviews
March 22, 2013
Fast paced and frenetic. These stories are quick, and pack a wallop. I would have liked to have read some more, but it was a short anthology. Definetely will be looking up more of the authors material.
October 20, 2014
All in all I found this collection very entertaining. My thoughts on each of the 5 stories are listed below.
SIZZLE --A philandering doctor meets a hill man who wants the "sizzle" cut out of his brain.
Thoroughly enjoyed this story. I really liked that the MC has a completely different feeling about the sizzle in his brain than his patient did. Interesting to think about how different people would react under similar circumstances; try to fight it? Or let it give you an excuse to do all the horrible things you’ve only ever thought about.
ANOTHER HIGHWAY FATALITY --A college girl, driving alone late at night during a heavy storm, is stalked by a car with a missing headlight.
The psychological aspects of this story were awesome! I’m pretty sure we’ve all know people like the MC in this story. A much more twisted version of paranoia mixed in with some hypochondria type fears. Also makes you a little wary to think about pulling over to help someone on the side of the road when you don’t know if they’re nuts or not.
WHITE HELL, WISCONSIN --A snow plow driver, plowing back roads in rural Wisconsin during a blizzard, fights for his life against elusive assailants.
This one was a bit too fanciful for me to find realistic enough to enjoy. I thought there was merit in the guys in white snow suits killing people on the road during the snow and blizzards, but I didn’t really buy the reason for the violence, just seems a little too far-fetched.
There’s also a mention of something sounding like bees in this story which entirely did not make sense at all and only confused me. Maybe I read the passage wrong.
PERMANENT DETENTION --A stressed-out teenager believes his History teacher is actually one of the living dead.
This one was way out there but oh so amusing. What would you do if you thought your teacher was a high functioning zombie?
BLUE EYE BURN --A Vietnam veteran is haunted by a terrifying incident involving a young Vietnamese girl.
This was definitely not a twisted and weird story like the others, but more about redemption and learning to forgive yourself. I love that the story revolved around a War Vet, it was very touching and reminded me of a lot of things I’ve heard different people in my family talk about who were involved in different times of war.
SIZZLE --A philandering doctor meets a hill man who wants the "sizzle" cut out of his brain.
Thoroughly enjoyed this story. I really liked that the MC has a completely different feeling about the sizzle in his brain than his patient did. Interesting to think about how different people would react under similar circumstances; try to fight it? Or let it give you an excuse to do all the horrible things you’ve only ever thought about.
ANOTHER HIGHWAY FATALITY --A college girl, driving alone late at night during a heavy storm, is stalked by a car with a missing headlight.
The psychological aspects of this story were awesome! I’m pretty sure we’ve all know people like the MC in this story. A much more twisted version of paranoia mixed in with some hypochondria type fears. Also makes you a little wary to think about pulling over to help someone on the side of the road when you don’t know if they’re nuts or not.
WHITE HELL, WISCONSIN --A snow plow driver, plowing back roads in rural Wisconsin during a blizzard, fights for his life against elusive assailants.
This one was a bit too fanciful for me to find realistic enough to enjoy. I thought there was merit in the guys in white snow suits killing people on the road during the snow and blizzards, but I didn’t really buy the reason for the violence, just seems a little too far-fetched.
There’s also a mention of something sounding like bees in this story which entirely did not make sense at all and only confused me. Maybe I read the passage wrong.
PERMANENT DETENTION --A stressed-out teenager believes his History teacher is actually one of the living dead.
This one was way out there but oh so amusing. What would you do if you thought your teacher was a high functioning zombie?
BLUE EYE BURN --A Vietnam veteran is haunted by a terrifying incident involving a young Vietnamese girl.
This was definitely not a twisted and weird story like the others, but more about redemption and learning to forgive yourself. I love that the story revolved around a War Vet, it was very touching and reminded me of a lot of things I’ve heard different people in my family talk about who were involved in different times of war.
July 13, 2013
This collection of short stories from Weldon Burge was exceptional. Besides his fine-tuned voice and sharp writing, the stories are all suspenseful, scary, and unique, despite the common thread of the theme. His ability to create visuals and evoke emotions with few words is amazing. There's nothing unnecessary in Burge's stories... the prose is whittled down and crystal clear, allowing the reader to take the journey, however afraid you might be of where it will lead, without getting hung up on extraneous details or verbosity.
Burge takes you to the places he visits in these stories -- to hear the "growl of the blizzard" in White Hell, Wisconsin; to a doctor's office where a West Virginian's "sun-baked, saurian skin suggested greater antiquity"; to a 1971 recon mission in the Quang Tri province where "pilots must have misjudged the wind, for much of the incendiary jelly splattered on the tiny cluster of huts" and "The screaming began"; to a classroom in Delaware where a young boy steals a glimpse at his teacher to witness an insect dwelling on his face: "It pulled itself from his mouth, perched momentarily on his lower lip, then zigzagged across his left cheek and disappeared into his ear."
Burge's stories are truly reminiscent of the favorite shows of his youth that he credits and more. In a world where writing might be enjoyable but not always surprising, Burge accomplishes both. This compilation is highly recommended for anyone who loves short stories, horror on any level, or just plain great writing.
Burge takes you to the places he visits in these stories -- to hear the "growl of the blizzard" in White Hell, Wisconsin; to a doctor's office where a West Virginian's "sun-baked, saurian skin suggested greater antiquity"; to a 1971 recon mission in the Quang Tri province where "pilots must have misjudged the wind, for much of the incendiary jelly splattered on the tiny cluster of huts" and "The screaming began"; to a classroom in Delaware where a young boy steals a glimpse at his teacher to witness an insect dwelling on his face: "It pulled itself from his mouth, perched momentarily on his lower lip, then zigzagged across his left cheek and disappeared into his ear."
Burge's stories are truly reminiscent of the favorite shows of his youth that he credits and more. In a world where writing might be enjoyable but not always surprising, Burge accomplishes both. This compilation is highly recommended for anyone who loves short stories, horror on any level, or just plain great writing.
November 5, 2014
I found this short story anthology in my kindle cloud reader when going through the books I'd picked up for free and decided on a whim to read it as I'd heard of the author before and the cover picture was pretty awesome. I guess at the end I can say I was pretty impressed with the assortment of stories, but I did wonder if perhaps there would be a theme of the stories and their subject matter and I can say at the end that there didn't really seem to be one. It was a fairly short read but the stories were entertaining and there was enough variety in the action and scenes to keep everything fresh. My favorite would probably be Blue Eye Burn, and least favorite White Hell, Wisconsin but because the writing was mostly level throughout none of the stories really seemed like outliers. It made a great series of little distractions and I have to say that I enjoyed it quite a bit.
January 15, 2016
This is a collection of five horror or thriller type of stories. The author illustrates through his writing a world where weird events occur and the imperfect minds of people try to make sense of it all. My favorites are Sizzle and Permanent Detention (I don't mind a little grossness).
October 12, 2013
All 5 short stories were enjoyable reads. I will be reading more books by this author. Loved the cover art as well!
July 23, 2014
Another book that I provided cover art for, which, I've just read for the second time, very enjoyable short stories that leave you thinking, great work Weldon.
April 13, 2020
Collection of Good Dark Psychological Stories
A collection of five stories with the dark side of the human psyche as central themes.
All five stories were diverse even though they all had the same central theme in one way or another: Mental instability/torment.
Recommend if you want a quick memorable read if you are into this kind of fiction.
A collection of five stories with the dark side of the human psyche as central themes.
All five stories were diverse even though they all had the same central theme in one way or another: Mental instability/torment.
Recommend if you want a quick memorable read if you are into this kind of fiction.
October 21, 2025
This collection of horror gives me the creepy factor I've been missing. Thank you!
October 3, 2014
This is a collection of five short stories. The first two are psychological horror stories. The third is an action story with a lot of suspense. Next, we have a zombie story, or is it? It is all wrapped up with a haunting ghost story .
Sizzle shows us that those voices in our head just can't be ignored.
Another Highway Fatality takes concern and caution into terror and phobia when a woman is stalked on the way home.
White Hell, Wisconsin answers the question of who would want to stop snow plow drivers from clearing the roads.
Permanent Detention has a young man trying to deal with a horrible teacher so his grades won't suffer.
Finally, we have Blue Eye Burn, where a veteran is haunted by the ghost of a Vietnamese child that he met while serving there.
These aren't your gore filled horror stories that are so common anymore. They do have spooky moments, but they also have humor and heart to them. They should easily appeal to readers that believe a horror story can be more than a crazed monster ripping people into pieces. In fact, I believe they don't even need to be called horror stories. Instead, they should just be called good stories.
Sizzle shows us that those voices in our head just can't be ignored.
Another Highway Fatality takes concern and caution into terror and phobia when a woman is stalked on the way home.
White Hell, Wisconsin answers the question of who would want to stop snow plow drivers from clearing the roads.
Permanent Detention has a young man trying to deal with a horrible teacher so his grades won't suffer.
Finally, we have Blue Eye Burn, where a veteran is haunted by the ghost of a Vietnamese child that he met while serving there.
These aren't your gore filled horror stories that are so common anymore. They do have spooky moments, but they also have humor and heart to them. They should easily appeal to readers that believe a horror story can be more than a crazed monster ripping people into pieces. In fact, I believe they don't even need to be called horror stories. Instead, they should just be called good stories.
February 3, 2017
These stories are exactly like those I’ve seen on Tales from the Crypt or Twilight Zone, which is where the author got the inspiration.
From a doctor with a “sizzle” to shut his wife up for good to a high school kid dreading spending any more time with his gruesome history teacher, these stories are delightfully scary and full of irony.
Loved them!
From a doctor with a “sizzle” to shut his wife up for good to a high school kid dreading spending any more time with his gruesome history teacher, these stories are delightfully scary and full of irony.
Loved them!
January 18, 2015
For a free book (free as in free beer), it was entertaining!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews