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Rot: A Horror Short Story
“Don’t eat too much candy, it’ll rot the teeth right out of your head .” It's it's supposed to be a magical night for kids to dress up, teens to get drunk, and adults to relive their childhood. Instead, Mike Wills finds himself in a fight for his life as the residents of his hometown are turned into crazed monsters, but things are not as they seem...
- GenresHorror
38 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 20, 2023
4 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
About the author
William F. Gray
6 books76 followersWilliam F. Gray is the bestselling author THE DEVIL WITHIN US ALL, a small town horror novel inspired by the evil average people are capable of on an everyday basis. Taking cues from his own experience and the world at large, Gray creates horror that attempts to worm itself into your heart as well as your mind. His self-published debut THE MAN BEHIND THE DOOR tackles themes such as grief, trauma, and addiction through the lens of a ghost story, the main character of which is inspired by his own late father, while his latest effort OUR FATHERS' BURDEN is Appalachian horror that focuses on the stigma that still surrounds mental health issues, especially amongst men.
He currently lives in West Virginia with his wife, son, and daughter while working as a Lead Pharmacy Technician. His hobbies include reading, playing video games with his wife, and playing music.
He currently lives in West Virginia with his wife, son, and daughter while working as a Lead Pharmacy Technician. His hobbies include reading, playing video games with his wife, and playing music.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 11, 2025
2.5 stars. This wasn't a bad concept and the writing was done fairly well. However, it was all put across way, way...way too quickly. No character or plot development and nothing beyond some violence perpetrated by a man under the influence of some narcotic, and it happened to be on Halloween. The lasting impact of several of the characters was barely touched, which seemed to primed for a good showing, and then the story just abruptly ended. It flew by in about 25-30 pages. This needed a lot more time to simmer with the reader and flesh itself out. Again, good premise, but not the best execution. The other thing that really bugged me was how this, being a very short short, was only half the length of the book. The other portion was an excerpt from one of the other author's works, which I didn't see in the Goodreads or Amazon descriptions. That space was really necessary to continue the development of Rot and not just move along to something else. I was really looking for something with a bit more meat to it, and this wasn't it.
May 23, 2024
One Halloween Night...
ROT: A Horror Short Story
by William F. Gray
No spoilers. 4 stars. I'm going to start out saying, be careful which reviews you read because many of them had spoilers. Go into this story blind if you can...
One Halloween Night in the small town of Warrington...
Mike's mother always said: Don't eat too much candy. It'll rot your teeth right out of your head...
That was ten years ago...
Those words of wisdom popped into Mike's mind as he swung an aluminum baseball bat at the crazy man before him...
The man's teeth flew out of his head and onto the asphalt. Over the past few hours, Mike disabled many like this man...
But that only slowed them down...
Mike had met the man somewhere, but he couldn't remember who he was. A child creature wearing a pumpkin mask stood beside the dead man...
Mike swung on him, too...
He wondered if some of the candy was to blame for making everyone go crazy. What brand of Halloween candy turned people into crazed monsters?...
Don't eat too much candy, he thought, it'll rot your brain...
Thanks, Mom...
Mike took off running. He was being chased by a large gang of the creatures...
He ran for the safety of the gated park in the middle of town...
Screams filled the night...
Mike threw his bat over the spiked wrought iron fence, then hoisted himself over. The pursuing creatures collided with the fence...
Soon, the screeching crowd discovered the open gate and shambled into the park after Mike...
Mike thought of the creatures as rotters. They now had him cornered...
Mike stopped running and turned to face the crowd. He wasn't going down without a fight...
It's a shame that this short story wasn't released closer to Halloween because it's perfect to read after taking your kids out trick-or-treating. It's a bite-sized little story for bedtime.
I saw many complaints that it was too short, but it's a good choice after a late evening, and it was a good cautionary tale.
ROT: A Horror Short Story
by William F. Gray
No spoilers. 4 stars. I'm going to start out saying, be careful which reviews you read because many of them had spoilers. Go into this story blind if you can...
One Halloween Night in the small town of Warrington...
Mike's mother always said: Don't eat too much candy. It'll rot your teeth right out of your head...
That was ten years ago...
Those words of wisdom popped into Mike's mind as he swung an aluminum baseball bat at the crazy man before him...
The man's teeth flew out of his head and onto the asphalt. Over the past few hours, Mike disabled many like this man...
But that only slowed them down...
Mike had met the man somewhere, but he couldn't remember who he was. A child creature wearing a pumpkin mask stood beside the dead man...
Mike swung on him, too...
He wondered if some of the candy was to blame for making everyone go crazy. What brand of Halloween candy turned people into crazed monsters?...
Don't eat too much candy, he thought, it'll rot your brain...
Thanks, Mom...
Mike took off running. He was being chased by a large gang of the creatures...
He ran for the safety of the gated park in the middle of town...
Screams filled the night...
Mike threw his bat over the spiked wrought iron fence, then hoisted himself over. The pursuing creatures collided with the fence...
Soon, the screeching crowd discovered the open gate and shambled into the park after Mike...
Mike thought of the creatures as rotters. They now had him cornered...
Mike stopped running and turned to face the crowd. He wasn't going down without a fight...
It's a shame that this short story wasn't released closer to Halloween because it's perfect to read after taking your kids out trick-or-treating. It's a bite-sized little story for bedtime.
I saw many complaints that it was too short, but it's a good choice after a late evening, and it was a good cautionary tale.
October 20, 2023
Super quick Halloween Inspired read that isn't what you think it is. Nice little twist! Also kind of sad. 3
Don't eat the candy ;)
Be back later with a review
Updated review:
Is the Halloween candy turning people into raving lunatics?? Is the MC suffering a serious mental health crisis??
"Rotters. The name popped into his head, like zombies or vampires or even walkers. Rotters. That’s what the fuck all of them are."
Super quick Halloween Inspired read that isn't what you think it is. Nice little twist! Also kind of sad. 3 Perfection addition to your spooky holiday reads!
Don't eat the candy ;)
Be back later with a review
Updated review:
Is the Halloween candy turning people into raving lunatics?? Is the MC suffering a serious mental health crisis??
"Rotters. The name popped into his head, like zombies or vampires or even walkers. Rotters. That’s what the fuck all of them are."
Super quick Halloween Inspired read that isn't what you think it is. Nice little twist! Also kind of sad. 3 Perfection addition to your spooky holiday reads!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 20, 2023
I received a copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Rot by William F. Gray is a short story from the perspective of a guy strung out on something? He sees everyone as some type of undead being when, in actuality, they're regular people. Due to his perception, he ends up committing a heinous crime, and it leaves a lasting impression on an innocent witness.
There was no slow build up, the reader is just thrown into the madness right off the bat. At the end of it all, I don't know exactly what I read. I guess the Rot has set in.
Rot by William F. Gray is a short story from the perspective of a guy strung out on something? He sees everyone as some type of undead being when, in actuality, they're regular people. Due to his perception, he ends up committing a heinous crime, and it leaves a lasting impression on an innocent witness.
There was no slow build up, the reader is just thrown into the madness right off the bat. At the end of it all, I don't know exactly what I read. I guess the Rot has set in.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 28, 2023
“Don’t eat too much candy, it’ll rot the teeth right out of your head.”
Enjoy a short spooky season thriller from the author of “The Devil Within Us All”.
On Halloween tainted candy turns the town into monsters, it’s up to Mike to stop the creatures as they chase him through the streets!
This was such a brief story and I would’ve liked to see it as a longer tale, with more plot & character development. Very intriguing, but there needs to be more!
Enjoy a short spooky season thriller from the author of “The Devil Within Us All”.
On Halloween tainted candy turns the town into monsters, it’s up to Mike to stop the creatures as they chase him through the streets!
This was such a brief story and I would’ve liked to see it as a longer tale, with more plot & character development. Very intriguing, but there needs to be more!
November 7, 2023
For what's its worth, it was a fairly good short story, although given the twist, I would've loved it if the story was a bit longer and more fleshed out.
October 21, 2023
So I grabbed this short story off of the Books of Horror page when the author offered it up for a preview before the October 20th drop date (hey! that's TODAY!) and since I have never read any of his stuff before, I really didn't have any idea what to expect. Sometimes going in blind is best, and I think that is definitely the case here. THERE ARE THINGS I WANT TO TALK ABOUT BUT I CAN'T because I really want everybody else to go in blind too. But I CAN say that I LOVED LOVED LOVED Rot! It's gripping, gritty, visceral, and...unique. It's just a damn good story. I raced through it. And then I went back for the first few chapters of another of his stories previewing what his Patreon fans were getting. Aaaaaaaaand, I joined his Patreon so I could get the rest of the story because it too was a damn good story. Maybe even BETTER than Rot. I don't know. Let's just call it a tie. So the second story is The Snow Globe. It's dark, menacing, disturbing, for reals scary, and...unique. And I STILL only got to read another handful of chapters, and now, because he's doling them out slowly like a sadist, I wait. Impatiently. To find out what the hell is happening.
March 25, 2025
It’s the fucking candy.
After ingesting an illegal and unknown substance, Michael Wills is going on the worst trip of his life. Seeing those around him as Rotters, monsters with dark and soulless eyes bent on violence, he truky believed he was the last normal person around as he began murdering them in cold blood. Hearing the animalistic screams and feeling true terror as they chased him through the streets and into the park, he was oblivious to the lives he was ruining with each swing of the aluminum baseball bat. Confronted originally on the street by paramedic Jacob Danvers, he attacked the man viciously and murdered him in front of his tenyear old son Marcus. Running from the mob, Michael jumped the fence and became entangled in a shoot out with the local police department resulting in his death. Shot twelve times by various officers, the suspect was plain to rest as he continued muttering about the infectious candy and Halloween night. Haired forrber by the acts of violence, many know going forward how dark this holiday would be.
“Don’t eat too much candy, it’ll rot the teeth right out of your head.”
After ingesting an illegal and unknown substance, Michael Wills is going on the worst trip of his life. Seeing those around him as Rotters, monsters with dark and soulless eyes bent on violence, he truky believed he was the last normal person around as he began murdering them in cold blood. Hearing the animalistic screams and feeling true terror as they chased him through the streets and into the park, he was oblivious to the lives he was ruining with each swing of the aluminum baseball bat. Confronted originally on the street by paramedic Jacob Danvers, he attacked the man viciously and murdered him in front of his tenyear old son Marcus. Running from the mob, Michael jumped the fence and became entangled in a shoot out with the local police department resulting in his death. Shot twelve times by various officers, the suspect was plain to rest as he continued muttering about the infectious candy and Halloween night. Haired forrber by the acts of violence, many know going forward how dark this holiday would be.
“Don’t eat too much candy, it’ll rot the teeth right out of your head.”
October 20, 2023
I'll start with the fact that I received this short story in exchange for an honest review.
Rot is absolute nightmare fuel. Told from two realities. And I absolutely mean realities.
To only be a few pages long, its worth the read during October for the spookiest time of year; you won't be disappointed. I'd make this review longer, but with how short the story is, it would just give away the story. I'm curious about this author's other works now.
I give this short horror story 5 of 5 Paws.
Rot is absolute nightmare fuel. Told from two realities. And I absolutely mean realities.
To only be a few pages long, its worth the read during October for the spookiest time of year; you won't be disappointed. I'd make this review longer, but with how short the story is, it would just give away the story. I'm curious about this author's other works now.
I give this short horror story 5 of 5 Paws.
October 20, 2023
This was a highly entertaining read. It was brutal, gory and kept me hanging on every read the whole way through. The characters were beautifully written, so much so that I could picture the scenes of terror unfolding in my brain. I did not see the twist and the ending was perfect. Definitely recommend.
October 23, 2023
This was such a good story. My only complaint is it wasn't long enough. I didn't see that plot twist coming at all. This was my first experience reading anything written by this author, and I will definitely be looking for more. I received this as an ARC, and I am so thankful I did because I may never have read his work otherwise.
October 25, 2023
Set on Halloween this is a very strange story about a guy on a drug fueled rampage. He beats the "rotters" to death and speaks about poisoned candy. Well, Marcus sees his father die. No further explanations, just a chap that went over the edge. It was okay but nothing too extraordinary. Missed some clues and explanations here. Maybe the author should have told his story in a longer novella.
October 19, 2023
This short story Rot was so much more then you could anticipate. It was a quick, fast pace, super fun read. Perfect for Halloween. Decay and decomposer has never been as enjoyable as reading Rot by William F Gray was.
October 20, 2023
This is a nice quick read that escalates quickly perfect for Halloween 🎃. It starts out taking you in one direction and then does a complete 180 and takes you in a different direction. Absolutely loved it. It was perfectly creepy and amazing.
October 22, 2023
The action starts at page one! I was slightly confused as to who was what and what happened. Some crazy scenes… I thought I was seeing the same scene from different peoples perspectives. Felt like I needed more, or maybe I need to read again?
October 25, 2023
Mike finds himself fighting for survival on Halloween night and we get to witness the same chain of events from a couple of different POVs. A short but brilliant read if you want a quick treat this spooky season. And remember, Dont eat too much candy it might rot your teeth.....
October 15, 2023
Short great read !
Did not expect the twist on this one but loved it !!
If your into horror shorts , splatterpunk , a little bit of gore , this books for you !!
Did not expect the twist on this one but loved it !!
If your into horror shorts , splatterpunk , a little bit of gore , this books for you !!
October 20, 2023
This short story starts off in a pretty typical trope, then BAM everything shifts and tbh I was thinking about this story for days after finishing.
October 20, 2023
😁😁I really like this book a few short stories but the writer nailed them all loved it can the next book be longer plz I’d also like a signed copy hahahaha
October 25, 2023
Such a great short story to read just in time for Halloween, I really enjoyed it.
November 9, 2023
I was just getting into this and it ended! What a ride. Too many sweets rots the brain 🧠
November 21, 2023
What a great short story. It was intriguing and flipped the script. Read it and find out how.
January 22, 2024
I really enjoyed this and it's just in time for Halloween. It was written well and played in my mind like a movie. Despite the short-length it had a good plot with an unpredictable twist. I wish there was more to read.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews