They Come From Within: A Collection

by Jason Nickey

We all face different monsters and demons in life. Whether it's a prank gone wrong, a documentary filmmaker discovering a horrible truth, a couple's hidden sex life, or the toughest decision a mother could make; the demons we face are often external influences, but sometimes... they come from within. From Jason Nickey, author of 'Wreckage', 'Jasper And The Appalachian Zombies', and co-author of 'When The Mockingbird Sings' comes a new collection of unsettling stories.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction

188 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 20, 2023

Reviews

[renee w · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️ Another stellar collection from Nickey . I was lucky enough to receive an arc of this collection .

Late Term- Making a really tough decision

Documentary- Making a murder documentary

Self Checkout- when paying it forward goes awry

A Shared Experience- A public bathroom encounter

Polly’s Cracker- A night with a traveling stranger

Danny’s Dilemma - A sleep over reveals secrets at home

Fire Bug- Vigilante justice for a small town

Safe Travels - A vacation gone awry

Prank - When a joke goes way too far for some

Out of all nine stories, every single one was enjoyable . Self check out ,Pollys Cracker, and Danny’s dilemma were my favorites. If you haven’t treated yourself to a Jason Nickey book ….. are you really living ?

[V.Tenaglio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark short stories

Yup, some of these will probably keep me up at night. Some of these short stories could end up waking me up in the early hours sweating.

[Christina Pfeiffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

**Full reviews at uncomfortablydark.com**

Well, Jason does it again! THEY COME FROM WITHIN has nine, NINE, bangers of stories. Let’s get into them.

Late-Term - by far, one of the most thought-provoking short stories I have read in 2023. This will definitely hit harder for parents.

Documentary - Dissociation at its finest. (This is such a clever and inventive spin for a story.)

Self-checkout - Always remember, no good deed goes unpunished.

A Shared Experience - Roadside bathrooms will never be the same after reading this.

Polly’s Cracker - A woman being nosy and jumping to conclusions, a tale as old as time.

Danny’s Dilemma - Things aren’t always what they seem even to a young child.

Firebug - Fire can be cleansing, but sometimes too much.

Safe Travels - When your trip has a few hiccups…

Prank - What’s funny to one person, may end up deadly for another.

My favorites are Late-Term and Prank but they are all amazing. Sometimes, I read collections and there are a few I’m like, meh, obvious filler. But Nickey doesn’t do that. He gives up great in every one of them. An easy HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend. 10/5.

[Danielle Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know I’m super behind on reading this collection, but omg, I loved it. Short story collections typically aren’t my go to’s, but I really do love the ones Jason puts out and they’ve easily become auto-reads for me.

Usually I take each story one by one. But I feel like with this collection in particular, a super long review will take away from how much I truly recommend essentially every horror reader to grab this one and give it a go. This isn’t my typical unhinged vibe. This is a genuinely well rounded book and I need more like it asap. 🤌🏼

I did favor Later-Term, Self-Checkout, and Prank. 🤫 But again, all the stories were really good reads!!! We all face demons in some way or another so be prepared to relate and get in your feels with some of these. 😮‍💨

[Tamra Alger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Multiple short stories. This was a great read. There was nine short stories in this collection and I absolutely loved all but about 3 of them. I am giving this book a 4 star review based on that alone. The stories I loved were really well written, a great story line and amazing progression. The one that weren't my favorite just seemed to lag any plot for me. Maybe those one in particular were just not long enough? With more detail they would have flourished. I'll definitely be checking out more Jason stories for sure. Also, the Pay it Forward story was truly creepy and realistic which makes it scarier.

[theIRL McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

let’s go WV! nice variety of horror concepts, some things brought up rosy memories of twilight zone, self-checkout really sticking with me

[Bookworm With a B · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars for messed up short stories.

This wasn't a great story. The one with the young girlfriend would have been interesting if it was longer, as would the one with the kid. The other stories were just meh. The rest were not great, and not anything I'd want to read again or recommend.

[Kathryn · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing in this collection is okay for the most part but the stories aren’t the most interesting or innovative I’ve ever read. There was a creepy-ish atmosphere in them but overall the stories were just there and weren’t super thrilling. I’ve seen a lot of these ideas and storylines before so it was a bit easy to guess what was going to happen next in a lot of cases.

I will add that the stories dealing with sex felt really off. I didn’t enjoy those at all and feel like the stories would have been better without the sexual aspects.

[Wren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this author has a great talent for thinking up interesting and creepy stories. I also really appreciated that the writing style was simple enough for my exhausted brain to enjoy, but not juvenile.


BUT I do think this collection needed more editing and revision. Lots of typos, awkward phrasing, et cetera. With a little bit more of a clean-up, this author has so much potential.

[Heidi Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish a few of these stories could have been longer. But overall not a bad read.

[Stefanie Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story collection.

[Temple of · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. While I didn't hate it, I didn't love it either. The writing style is complex enough to keep your interest and there are definitely plenty of creepy elements. This is an anthology of short stories and a novelette, so there isn't any major character or world building (which is expected, no big deal).

My only real criticism is the many editorial mistakes that often took me out of the story. However, I also understand this is an indie author who is not afforded the same resources as big house writers.

One story I really liked and found pretty creepy was "Self Checkout". It stuck with me in a way the others did not. Most of the others were disturbing and not really my cup of tea.

Make sure you check trigger warnings for this one...there are a lot! I will read almost anything, even if it makes me uncomfortable...but I had a hard time with a few of these. Some TWs to be aware of: child death, euthanasia, animal death/torture, sexual situations, dismemberment, gore (in general).

Overall, it's not a bad book. If you are into Duncan Ralston, you will probably enjoy this work.

[Alexandra Huffaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

These were all pretty good. Creepy, kinda, spooky, a couple made me laugh in a good way. My favorite stories were Self Checkout, Polly's Cracker (made me audibly gasp), and Prank. Def looking forward to checking out more.

[Angelique Diaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Collection!

First time reading something by this author, it was a great introduction to his work as I enjoyed all of the stories in this collection. Looking forward to reading more from him.

[Edward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stories with great concepts

A good collection of interesting stories with some great concepts and ideas. Think Black Mirror meets Tales From The Crypt and you have the kind of stories you'll find here. Ill be looking out for more from Jason Nickey in the future.

[Rainbeaux Harvest · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually don't research what a book is about before I read it. I usually read books suggested to me or if it's an author I love. Jason Nickey is one of my faves, so I had to give it a go. The stories were short but filling. They'll give you something to talk about at your next office party, LOL!

[William Bitner Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first read of Jason Nickey. I’m happy to say he is one the reasons I love independent authors however. You never really know what you’re going to get, but you hope for, and in most cases, you get something that leaves you in awe.

I find that when I’m reading a new author that collections like this are always the best place to start. In doing so you get a sense of the range and writing style of the author. And I must say, his range and style are something to be marveled at. Found within the covers of this publication you will find 8 short stories and 1 novelette; Late-Term, The Documentary, Self-Checkout, A Shared Experience, Polly’s Cracker, Danny’s Dilemma, Firebug, Safe Travels and Prank are the titles of the spine tingling and heart stopping scenarios you will find yourself enthralled in.

I am so looking forward to my next Jason Nickey read, be it a novella or a short story.

From the back cover: “We all face different monsters and demons in life. Whether it's a prank gone wrong, a documentary filmmaker discovering the horrible truth, a couple's hidden sex life, or the toughest decision a mother could make; the demons we face are often external influences, but sometimes... they come from within.”

[DA · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection!

Eerie, shocking, gruesome and horrifying this collection has it all. All of the stories were captivating but I definitely have my favorites.
The Documentary had a great twist. I could feel something wasn't quite right. My jaw literally dropped at the end
I really loved the way Polly's Cracker was written. Journal entries in stories are something I enjoy a lot. Even though it wasn't all journal entries, it still fulfilled that niche for me.
Firebug is your typical vigilante story, but with a little something extra.
Prank was my ultimate favorite. Th dynamic between all the characters was fully conveyed even though it was a novelette. It takes talent to build great characters in such a short story.
If you're looking to sample Nickey's range of styles I recommend this collection as a great place to start.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes, I have a book that sits on my kindle for months, and when I finally get round to it, I wonder why I took so long!
As is the norm in short story books, I didn't love every single story, but the ones that were good were really good, especially the first three. The horror type is mixed, so you never know what you'll get with each story. Each one is short enough to plough through easy, but the world building in most of them is great. I think my favourite was "Documentary".
I liked the section at the end where the author writes a paragraph about his inspiration and the context that each story was written in.
A great little collection of shorts, great for fans of all types of horror.

[Haley Phann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed these stories. Self Checkout was probably the best in my opinion, definitely freaked me out. My one main critique is that there were a handful of editing issues that weren’t fixed, which obviously that comes down on the editor and not the writer.

*edit*
I originally rated this 4 stars, but after a day of thinking about it I dropped it down to 3. The thing that isn’t really sitting right with me is in the afterword the author has a small blurb about where he got the idea for these stories and with a few of them he pretty much took someone else’s idea.

[Rachal Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jason Nickey just keeps getting better and better. I throughly enjoyed this collection. Each story shows how such a small act can lead to devastating results, simple things such as a one night stand, paying it forward, or using a public restroom can lead to a horrific end, be careful out there, the world is full of monsters and demons.

[Samantha · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wasn't super impressed with these stories. They felt more like bullet points so I unfortunately DNF. I read a few, picking random ones and decided to move on when I didn't care for any. It was a shame because I definitely feel like a couple could have been better if they were fleshed out more instead of someones idea journal.

[Eric Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jason Nickey returns with a new collection of 9 tales of horror and shows off his range in both style and tone. His stories move through the genre, showcasing all the different ways horror can be fun and unsettling. If you haven’t checked out Jason’s work yet, now is the time.

[Z. Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing stories

Once again Jason delivered an incredible collection of short stories. After reading “static and other stories” I knew I had to grab this book. This collection has a little something for every type of horror lover.

[Sheila Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
As with most anthologies some stories were more appealing to me with others.
The last novella was my favorite with the first story being a close second.
There were a couple of others in there that I enjoyed as well and a few that didn’t work for me.

[Abbey Wall · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5: Going into this I didn’t know this book was a collection of short stories so I was a little confused when the 2nd story was starting. Almost DNF’d at that point but so glad I didn’t. These stories were absolutely insane and such a great read for Halloween. Super fun, fast paced read.

[Sarah Rowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love, love, love!! Very reminiscent of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark but these short stories are way more captivating. I cannot stop recommending this. Some of these stories are going to stick with me that's for sure.

[Lydia Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

So spooky! I loved all of these short stories some of them really left me thinking “what the fuck did I just read?!” Perfect read for getting into spooky season.

[Kathryn Benesch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wouldn’t call this horror compared to many I’ve read. Short stories so it went by so quick but none really actually that scary or disturbing.

[Luci · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting short stories! I enjoyed some of them but others weren’t for me