Spooky Tales & Scary Things

by Harry Carpenter

Journey again into a short story collection full of the bizarre, macabre, and strange. Spooky Tales & Scary Things is a collection of short stories on topics ranging from death to dreams.
Enter a world of warning labels gone wrong, rustlers getting their comeuppance, passionate devotion, and bizarre behavior that must be seen to be believed.
No Label is a story about what the world would be like if leadership failed us, forcing us to live in a world without warning. Ballad of Ransack Jones is a western cowboy ballad about a no-good rustler who gets what's coming to him. Dearest Agatha is a tale of one man's devotion to the love of his life. Leaf Blower delves into the mockery of one man's bizarre behavior, that is, until seeing is believing. The Room is an adventure into one man's psyche as he tries to determine where he is and why he cannot move.
These and many more stories await you within the pages of Spooky Tales & Scary Things 3!

134 pages, Paperback

Published September 12, 2023

About the author

Harry Carpenter is an author born in Baltimore, Maryland. Sometimes they call that "Bawlmer," where he's from. He's a huge fan of video games, 80s movies and 90s Rock. Some of his favorites are playing Mortal Kombat and Doom, and watching Ghostbusters and Big Trouble in Little China while listening to Smashing Pumpkins and Chevelle. When he's not wasting time playing Xbox, he's writing some wild horror, science fiction and thriller stories. Some of his short stories have won awards! Harry is a huge fan of putting himself as the main characters in most of his books, most noticeably in FUBAR, with the protagonist mirroring his thoughts and feelings while in the United States Army, which took him all around the world.

Harry now lives in Baltimore with his wife and cats.

Reviews

[J.A. Barrios · Rating 5 out of 5]

Might be the best Spooky Tales of the series!

This installment was jammed packed with stories unlike anything before, although at times I did wish some of the stories were longer, there is still something to be said about keeping it short and sweet. There were a handful of stories that especially stuck out to me, like, The Shed, Dearest Agatha, and Leaf Blower, but my top pick from the whole selection would easily be "The Monster on the Cover." I connected with that story on a deeper level and it made me reflect on my own trauma and the weight I carry every day.
Huge applause to that one!

[Sawney Hatton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun collection of bite-sized freaky tales. Many of them gave me Roald Dahl short story vibes, with shades of Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King. As with most collections, I enjoyed some stories more than others. The standouts for me were "Warning: No Label", "Dearest Agatha", and "Boxes". The supplementary chapters explaining the inspiration/origins of each story I found unnecessary, but YMMV. Overall, this is an entertaining, imaginative, fast-paced read.