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Tales of the Weak & the Wounded
The sound of shuffling footsteps across the old cell floor...
A soft voice like a strange tune echoing along the empty corridors...
Dim lights in the windows of the abandoned asylum...
Discarded case files that flip open to reveal the dreams of broken minds...
Welcome to a place where the boundaries of fact and fiction meet.
Acclaimed author Gary McMahon raids the archives of a notorious derelict mental asylum called the Daleside Institute to bring you stories of madness, horror and emotional trauma. In locations as diverse as suburban Germany, the London Underground, an Italian seaside resort and the inhospitable polar icecap, you will meet damaged people with broken lives. Here are terrifying accounts of love, hate, death and madness...
These are the Tales of the Weak and the Wounded
"If you love short stories, this is a must book for your collection. If you haven't read anything by Mr. McMahon this is a great place to start. One of the better collections of short stories I've read and I give it my highest recommendation, I will definitely be keeping my eyes out for more from Gary McMahon." - Famous Monsters of Filmland
"This is a great collection of stories and an excellent showcase for the highly talented Gary McMahon. There are enough images in here to haunt your dreams for months to come but there's also depth here, strong ideas and commentary. The best horror holds up a mirror to society, is grounded in reality and Tales of The Weak and The Wounded is an exemplar of this." - Dark Musings
A soft voice like a strange tune echoing along the empty corridors...
Dim lights in the windows of the abandoned asylum...
Discarded case files that flip open to reveal the dreams of broken minds...
Welcome to a place where the boundaries of fact and fiction meet.
Acclaimed author Gary McMahon raids the archives of a notorious derelict mental asylum called the Daleside Institute to bring you stories of madness, horror and emotional trauma. In locations as diverse as suburban Germany, the London Underground, an Italian seaside resort and the inhospitable polar icecap, you will meet damaged people with broken lives. Here are terrifying accounts of love, hate, death and madness...
These are the Tales of the Weak and the Wounded
"If you love short stories, this is a must book for your collection. If you haven't read anything by Mr. McMahon this is a great place to start. One of the better collections of short stories I've read and I give it my highest recommendation, I will definitely be keeping my eyes out for more from Gary McMahon." - Famous Monsters of Filmland
"This is a great collection of stories and an excellent showcase for the highly talented Gary McMahon. There are enough images in here to haunt your dreams for months to come but there's also depth here, strong ideas and commentary. The best horror holds up a mirror to society, is grounded in reality and Tales of The Weak and The Wounded is an exemplar of this." - Dark Musings
- GenresHorrorShort Stories
230 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
About the author
Gary McMahon
182 books111 followersGary McMahon lives, works and writes in West Yorkshire but posseses a New York state of mind. He shares his life with a wife, a son, and the nagging stories that won’t give him any peace until he writes them.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 9, 2024
Gary McMahon is a new favorite of mine, and also, this book gets its title inspiration from one of my all time favorite horror movies, Session 9. So this was an automatic buy. And it absolutely lived up to my hopes for it.
Favorites include:
Bone Bag - The creatures were genuinely creepy in this story about a man running a youth hostel when the mysterious monsters show up.
Those Damned Kids - Has a tagline which quotes another one of my favorite movies, Lamberto Bava's Demons. In this story, creatures disguised as children move through neighborhoods bringing decay and death, turning the neighborhoods into blighted locations. This one has a twist that brings a very popular classic monster into it. I loved the ending.
Strange Scenes from an Unfinished Film - Loved loved loved this. A man buys a copy of a short film by a mysterious, deceased director. While watching the movie, he begins to realize he's become a part of it. This one had a really interesting creature as well.
Cages - A man has a one night stand with Jessie, a painter of disturbing paintings, including the title one which was described vividly enough that I longed for it to be real. The secrets of that painting will come to haunt our main character.
The Happy Place - A man visiting his ex-girlfriend and her sister at their villa in Italy discovers the ruins of a boys home where the children had been abused (many horrifyingly given Chelsea grins). He also hooks up with his ex's sister and generally behaves like a douche, while being tormented by dreams of the mistreated boys.
Survivor Guilt - A man whose wife died in an explosion on the London tube searches the city at night for the "Bakerloo Angel," an apparent good Samaritan that video footage recorded seeming to comfort the dying. Of course, this is horror, so things aren't what they appear at first.
These were my favorites, but there wasn't a weak one in the whole collection. I also enjoyed the Session 9-like wrap around of a man investigating the files of a closed former institution. Highly recommend this and personally can't wait to read more of McMahon's work.
Favorites include:
Bone Bag - The creatures were genuinely creepy in this story about a man running a youth hostel when the mysterious monsters show up.
Those Damned Kids - Has a tagline which quotes another one of my favorite movies, Lamberto Bava's Demons. In this story, creatures disguised as children move through neighborhoods bringing decay and death, turning the neighborhoods into blighted locations. This one has a twist that brings a very popular classic monster into it. I loved the ending.
Strange Scenes from an Unfinished Film - Loved loved loved this. A man buys a copy of a short film by a mysterious, deceased director. While watching the movie, he begins to realize he's become a part of it. This one had a really interesting creature as well.
Cages - A man has a one night stand with Jessie, a painter of disturbing paintings, including the title one which was described vividly enough that I longed for it to be real. The secrets of that painting will come to haunt our main character.
The Happy Place - A man visiting his ex-girlfriend and her sister at their villa in Italy discovers the ruins of a boys home where the children had been abused (many horrifyingly given Chelsea grins). He also hooks up with his ex's sister and generally behaves like a douche, while being tormented by dreams of the mistreated boys.
Survivor Guilt - A man whose wife died in an explosion on the London tube searches the city at night for the "Bakerloo Angel," an apparent good Samaritan that video footage recorded seeming to comfort the dying. Of course, this is horror, so things aren't what they appear at first.
These were my favorites, but there wasn't a weak one in the whole collection. I also enjoyed the Session 9-like wrap around of a man investigating the files of a closed former institution. Highly recommend this and personally can't wait to read more of McMahon's work.
October 15, 2017
Is is a great collection of short stories, featuring people that are damaged in one way or another. There people that have lost children or spouses, people disaffected and alienated from those around them. The author skilfully ties in the things they experience with the things from which they are suffering. All the stories are very well-done, excellent reads. I really enjoyed this collection, whereas for me collections are usually hit and miss.
March 23, 2012
Reminiscent of the stories of Algernon Blackwood, Ambierce Bierce, and Arthur Machen, these seventeen disquieting short stories are woven inside the framework of a mental institution’s case histories. Tales of the Weak and Wounded involves ordinary people discovering that this dimension is surrounded by others more dangerous, encircling and overlapping and occasionally bleeding through into our own mundane one. The protagonists may have their quirks and problems but those are nothing compared to what they face once they reach the point where worlds intersect and discover that even the most harmless event may free the madness lurking in all of us.
The writing is clear and precise and with a definitely poetic flow…such as, “torn plastic dust sheers hung like drying skins from the ceiling”…”a sense of sorrow trickled slowly into me like water spilled on porous stone”…evoking images even as they also instill a sense of terror.
Disturbing, and going to send a frisson of dread down the spine, these stories are entertaining and definitely for the lover of horror tales, but I wouldn’t recommend them for past-midnight reading…especially if you’re alone…perhaps even if you aren’t. You just might find yourself starting at innocent sounds and looking askance at your companions.
Tales of the Weak and Wounded is available from Dark Regions Press, www.darkregions.com
This novel was provided by the publisher and no remuneration was involved in the writing of this review.
The writing is clear and precise and with a definitely poetic flow…such as, “torn plastic dust sheers hung like drying skins from the ceiling”…”a sense of sorrow trickled slowly into me like water spilled on porous stone”…evoking images even as they also instill a sense of terror.
Disturbing, and going to send a frisson of dread down the spine, these stories are entertaining and definitely for the lover of horror tales, but I wouldn’t recommend them for past-midnight reading…especially if you’re alone…perhaps even if you aren’t. You just might find yourself starting at innocent sounds and looking askance at your companions.
Tales of the Weak and Wounded is available from Dark Regions Press, www.darkregions.com
This novel was provided by the publisher and no remuneration was involved in the writing of this review.
January 15, 2013
What could I possibly say about Gary McMahon that hasn't been said already? The man is surely the master of the bleak horror story. I swear he just keeps getting better and better.
February 22, 2013
Holy crap. Absolutely amazing.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews