Soon: Four Chilling Tales

by Abby Goldsmith, James Maxey, Rebecca Roland

Ghosts, cannibals, perverts, freaks... they might be in your neighborhood. Even under your own roof. They're definitely in this collection of four tales of contemporary horror by acclaimed authors James Maxey, Abby Goldsmith, Rebecca Roland, and Sarah Kelderman. Learn what horrors lurk just beyond your field of vision... horrors that will reveal themselves... Soon. "Joe's Spider Farm" -- Joe runs the Spider Farm, a trailer park populated by retired carnival freaks. Good people, once you get past their frightening exteriors. One day, a former circus geek shows up, seeking refuge. Can a dark-hearted man whose only talent is biting the heads off chickens fit in among the kind souls on the Spider Farm? Or will the geek transform the peaceful paradise into the freaks' private hell? "Handicapped" -- A suburban cul-de-sac is full of 'For Sale' signs, because neighbors fear the deformed recluse. But now a real estate agent has vanished, and her husband is about to learn that not all deformities are birth defects. "Shadow Man" -- Visits to a child psychologist ought to help young Pablo get over his trauma-induced nightmares. No one trusts a child who says his nightmares are real. "Pretty Doll" -- She yearns for a girl who will play with her, because it's been such a long time, and she's so pretty. Look, there's blood pouring from the cuts on her arms.

78 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2013

About the author

My reviews are honest. Yep, I'm one of the zillions of dastardly authors on Goodreads (my Torth series begins with MAJORITY), but I do read 65+ books per year. I particularly love space opera, epic fantasy, progression fantasy, thoughtful sci-fi, psychological thrillers, and harrowing nonfiction.

Reviews

[Maxine (Booklover Catlady) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating a book like this is very difficult. There were four short horror stories within this one, all from different authors, all quite different from each other.

I think the best way to review this book is based on each story, a brief review and score of each, then an overall score at the end.

Joe's Spider Farm - 2/5

This short story was about a bizarre bunch of characters, a freak show of sorts. Whilst it had some weird visual elements and strange characters, it did not have a scare factor for me at all, not in the slightest.

Handicapped - 4/5

This was by far the best and scariest story of them all, very well written too. A man visits a house looking for someone he knows and encounters a strangely deformed inhabitant and her brother, equally as horrific. Evil lurks behind closed doors. The imagery, the writing and the characters in this were very good. This is an author with huge potential.

Shadow Man - 2/5

This short story had potential at the start, I was hoping it was going to be super creepy, but it just feel short of being that in the end. It was an okay read but I did not get the scare factor from this one.

Pretty Doll - 1/5

Pretty Doll I found very disjointed and choppy. It was not an enjoyable read, it needed polish and work in my opinion. This one was not even on the scary or creepy scale. Just bland, a story that did not stand out.

So...

One very strong story of the four, two that were okay and one that I disliked, sadly I will have to rate this book overall a two, it was "okay" but I have read much better and more horrific short horror stories in recent weeks.

I would only be keen to read more by Abby Goldsmith, who penned "Handicapped" which I really liked and felt was much stronger than the other short stories, I see her talent in the great illustrations within also. The others for me are forgettable.

I received a copy of this book direct from the author(s) in exchange for a fair and honest review, my thanks for the opportunity.

[Vidya · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are four well-written stories that I think horror fans will enjoy a lot. I am not a horror fan (I think I've gained some tolerance for horror in recent years, but not quite enough to enjoy pure horror), and I think some parts of these stories were a little much for me, but there are still aspects I can appreciate.

The characters are diverse, interesting, and included incredibly creepy villains. The stories themselves showed a lot of variety and creativity, and strike me as the sort of thing I see in snippets of classic horror movies (cause, well, I tend to avoid the movies themselves). So, if you do like horror, I'd recommend this as a good read.

[Abby Goldsmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are you looking for something scary and short to read? This ebook collection features short horror stories by four authors, including me.

In "Handicapped," a real estate agent searching for his missing wife will find a unique horror inside the house that's For Sale.

I also did the interior illustrations.