Butterscotch: A Raventree Hollow Story

by Ryan Hoyt

A short story chapbook

Have another piece.
It won't hurt you.
Promise.

When the Kauer family moves in to an old home, they find the previous owner left a hutch full of candy dishes. A sack of butterscotch candies is discovered in an unlikely place.

Odd visits from the neighbors and a trio of aggressive cats leave the Kauers terrified. Something is not right with this place and the things that were left behind.

"Butterscotch" is a standalone short story set in the town of Raventree Hollow, the setting of the novel of the same name.

Genres: Horror, Novella

68 pages, Paperback

Published August 9, 2023

About the author

Ryan Hoyt is a San Francisco Bay Area native currently residing near Sacramento, CA. His love for creepy and fantastic stories was nurtured early on by his mother, who let him watch the TV miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s It at six years old.

Since 2021, Ryan has published several fantasy and horror books through his publisher, Machete & Quill Press. Sign up for his newsletter at MacheteAndQuill.com to get exclusive news and more!

Reviews

[Milt Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short story related to Ryan Hoyt's "A Machete & Quill Horror" line of small town supernatural horror, with his novel "Raventree Hollow" being the first volume in the series. This story, "Butterscotch," can be read on its own and is set many years after the events in the novel. It starts quite sweetly, with some nice family scenes, with a couple of smart kids and their caring parents, a happy family moving to Raventree Hollow. In their new house, they stuble upon asome candy dishes left by the previous owner, who lived in a time when dentists had no trouble allowing children to eat as much candy as they liked. And indeed, along with those dishes, there's a sack of butterscotch candies, hidden rather carefully. Once discovered, the creepiness sets in: neighbors start frequenting the house, a crowd of people appear outside, all drawn to the candies. What will the family do? Well, the ending is surprising but also hilarious (for me). A lovely story!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining though short and somewhat silly. The last line got me!

[Glenda Starr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cozy horror

This reminded me of an episode of Tales from the Crypt or Eerie Indiana. A little campy, but with a nostalgic charm. A family relocates to a fixer-upper and finds themselves plagued by unwanted company. There were creepy elements with the overbearing neighbors and zoinked out residents. The ending was clever. Now excuse me as I go buy some hard candies to fully immerse myself in the nostalgia.

[Horror Haus Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! It was a quick little read that honestly gave me Goosebumps vibes. It was light hearted with the right amount of weirdness.

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delighted to be back in Raventree Hollow!

A really fun chapbook, reminiscent of Tales of the Unexpected. Short, snappy, witty and engaging.

Just one more candy can’t hurt anyone!

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is nothing I love more than a scary story set in a small town where weird things are happening. This short story(?) novella(?) was very well written, right down to the butthole cats and their little attitudes. Looking forward to reading not only more about Raventree Hollow, but more from this author.

[Joan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, Ryan Hoyt

This is a side story to Raventree. A new family moves into a Victorian style home and find some butterscotch hard candy unbeknownst to the family, the town folk start acting weirder then normal. Read to find out why.

This reads as a complete story.

[Dez Nemec · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking for a quick little punch to the gut? Well here it is.

Now for a trip to the neighbor's. I'm craving some candy...

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed! Will read more!