Dread: 22 Tales of Terror

by Kevin Bachar

A child died in an avalanche, and she won’t leave me alone.

A woman plagued by blood-draining mosquitoes on the Alaskan tundra figures out a horrific way to scratch her unending itching.

There’s something outside my tent…and I think it’s hungry.

A collector of rare tropical fish, receives a new species that is both fascinating and terrifying.

DREAD - Thousands of people have gone missing out in the wild and here is a collection of tales that offer up some horrifying reasons why. Emmy-award-winning National Geographic cinematographer Kevin Bachar has swum with sharks, climbed the peaks of mountains, and explored the darkest of forests. In DREAD, he weaves together terrifying true stories from his real-life adventures with twisted fiction from the depths of his frightening imagination. Flip open the pages to indulge in the dark side of nature— haunted forests, tree demons, monstrous snakes, and a search-and-rescue team terrorized by the ghosts of those they couldn’t save.

Read... if you dare.

Genres: Horror

289 pages, Paperback

First published October 19, 2023

About the author

Kevin Bachar is a national EMMY award-winning natural history documentary filmmaker and WGA writer. The elevated horror film he wrote - The Inhabitant - https://www.lionsgate.com/movies/the-...? - was released through Lionsgate and is available on most streaming services.

If you’ve watched National Geographic, PBS, or The Discovery Channel over the years you’ve seen his work. He’s the idiot in the water filming sharks or crawling into caves to photograph vampire bats. You can see Kevin at work filming sharks here - https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2703407897/...

The natural world has always captured his imagination and the supernatural world inspires his stories. Through his journeys, he’s interviewed scientists who’ve enlightened him, heard folk tales that have frightened him, and seen quite a few things that have challenged his skeptical mind.

His collection of short stories that weaves together the natural world and the supernatural world entitled, DREAD, is available on Amazon. He's currently working on his second collection entitled - CREEP.

Complimenting his writing, Kevin has lectured and given presentations at prestigious institutions such as Rutgers University, American University, and the Rubin Museum of Art.
To keep up to date with Kevin's movies, documentaries, and books -
www.kevinbachar.com
https://twitter.com/KevinPangolin
https://www.instagram.com/kevinbachar/
https://www.tiktok.com/@kevinbachar?l...
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjEKM_m...
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1423190/

Reviews

[Irene Well Worth A Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angry spirits, swarms of bugs, strange lights that lead people astray, Bigfoot, and more are featured in these 22 new tales of Dread. Most take place in wild and dangerous outdoor settings because like they say, write what you know, and the author certainly has lots of experience with such places.

Some of the stories were too short for my taste but that is just my own preference. I love short horror stories but I tend to avoid flash fiction.

It was the longer stories that gave me chills, and I enjoyed all of them starting from the opening lines of The Peak of Fear in which a search and rescue team is haunted by a mistake. There was more than the icy temperatures in this one that gave me the shivers!
Another of my many favorites was Forest For The Trees. I love a woodsy setting, probably due to my own complete lack of a sense of direction. I always get an uneasy feeling from these kinds of stories because I live vicariously through the characters from the safety of my cozy chair knowing full well that if it were me I would be the one lost and never seen again.
Working Like A Dog was another of my favorites. While not a scary story there are some supernatural aspects to this tale of a New England grave digger and his best pal, a loyal dog named Rex.
I also loved The Starter, which is about a man with a struggling pizza restaurant. If you've ever wondered how to make the perfect crust at home like your favorite pizzeria does you can find an alarming secret here.
Branching Out was the final and creepiest of the stories, in which a grumpy old man who just wants some peace and quiet on his own property, goes a little overboard and pays a horrific price. All the stories were good but those are the ones that I am still thinking about that will be cemented in my memories for quite a while.

If you like dark fiction this collection is for you.


My thanks to Kevin Bachar

[Laura Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

You recognize a true storyteller when they can write short fiction that gives so much in so few words. Kevin is one of those. He’s taken his experiences with the natural world and written some unnatural horror stories.

Among my favorites is the telling of his first hand encounter with a sasquatch. I love that big, hairy cryptid. The author truly creeped me out and I’ll think about his encounter before setting foot in the woods again. Heck, I’ll never take nature for granted after some of these stories.

Whether super short or a bit longer, all of these had something going for them. I enjoyed the diversity and the lingering affect this collection had on me. I say to the author, bring me more. For you fans of horror, I suspect you’ll enjoy these as much as I did.

I received a complimentary copy. My review is voluntarily given.

[Susan Vrabel-Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Finished it in about thirty six hours. The selection of creepy stories is excellent.
I've not read anything by Kevin Bachar before, but I'm going to be looking for his books in the future. He definitely has a way with words, several of the stories made me really cringe!
These were my favorite tales, in no particular order:

Plum Island: was suspenseful and very intriguing.
Shade: is my particular favorite. It really made me squirm!
Close Quarters: gave me the willies, the twist at the end is priceless!
Green: original and very weird.
The Howl of the Rock Hound: really suspenseful and downright cringeworthy!
Supernatural: suspenseful and disturbing!
The Starter: I don't think I'm going to be having sourdough bread for quite some time!
Encounters: okay, it's about Bigfoot... but it's very suspenseful and scared the pants off me!
Four and a half solid stars.

I would like to thank Blair Daniels, Kevin Bachar, and BookSprout for the opportunity to read this marvelous author!!!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Joe Ortlieb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the hell out of this collection. All the stories are well written. The bigfoot story is top notch and my absolute favorite of the lot. This is also a collection I could reread down the road.

[Horror Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dread is a stellar collection of horror stories. What makes this anthology really stand out for me was that most of these stories were based on nature gone terribly wrong somehow.

The author has spent a lot of time in nature and (because of his career) seen things in the wild that most will never witness firsthand. And he takes his experiences and turns them up with some truly horrifying scenarios to make this book a must read collection.

I love bugs and insects so I really appreciated the inclusion of insects in a few of the stories. These will freak you out and make your skin crawl. There's a particular story about mosquitos and someone camping that was absolutely terrifying to imagine!

We start the collection with a haunting tale about a little girl killed in an avalanche and the devastating consequences it has on a rescue team.

What will happen when animals decide to take over the planet? It won't end well for humans as we'll see in another story.

There's a very interesting story written as a biographical entry about the author's real life encounter with a Bigfoot! This one is his personal account of the events and, damn, even a nonbeliever will get the chills reading this.

The variety of stories in here is impressive and they all create a fantastic horror anthology that I highly recommend.

[Kelsey O. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a page turning book. A few of the short stories were really good and had a good plot twists. Others were decent/OK. I think I may have misunderstood that the stories were all true, and gathered from the author - who is a National Geographic photographer/cinematographer - from his travels. I do not think most of these were true. First off there are no dates and locations of where they happened. No references to where he picked the stories up from. There is only one story where there are dates, locations, and how he learned of the story. That one was the best story, I was expecting the whole book to be filled with stories such as that.

The book was fairly interesting, therefore a page turner, but I was expecting a different type of book. A book where the author was going to share a plethora of different stories such as the single one he shared towards the end of the book - detailing places, times, people, and what happened.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[deidra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dread: 22 Tales of Terror by Kevin Bachar is an entertaining journey into the macabre. Although i wasn't aware of this going in (i like to read a book cold), the author is an Emmy-winning filmmaker of documentaries for National Geographic, The Discovery Channel and the like. this gave his fiction a sense of authenticity that was very satisfying. my favorites were Cold Hunger and The Hunter. Cold Hunger was an ultra-short piece, coming in at 100 words. these type of stories are notoriously difficult to pull off, yet Bachar executes the maneuver like a seasoned veteran. The Hunger is a chilling walk with a deer hunter who learns what it feels like to become in season.
Dread: 22 Tales of Terror is an amazing horror find that skillfully weaves the reader in it's terrifying web, unable to break free and completely breathless till the final page.
my one bit of criticism is this: the book might've been better served with a more subtle cover art. the uber-graphic in no way prepares the reader for the masterfully detailed and well-done fiction within. Kevin Bachar, your work is excellent and your future is bright. pick cover art more wisely. you can lose potential readers that would otherwise love you.
so...to sum up.
highly recommended.
4 and 1/2 stars out of 5.

[Kyla · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of the stories were funny. I don't think that was the author's intention. But they end abruptly and too soon to really explore the horror. And they end with lines that sound like punchlines.
A few were unique ideas and had potential, like "The Starter" (as in sourdough starter). But they still fall victim to sounding like B action/horror due to the writing style. The stories really fail to build any dramatic tension.
"Encounters", the author's true (presumably ?) story about the early stages of a Bigfoot documentary is miles above the fiction.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for a copy of the book!

Dread 22 is an eclectic mix of genres, mostly horror, but with some humor and thriller as well. I really enjoyed the stories full of monsters, eco-horror, Bigfoot, revenge and bed bugs.

My favorite of the bunch is Working Like A Dog. I’m a huge animal lover and dog person. A small town folk tale about a grave digger named Pete and his constant companion Rex. This one was sad, sweet and a little spooky. I was reading it next to my own constant companion and kept thinking what he would do/think if I wasn’t around anymore. I’d like to think he’d carry on all my good works like Rex in the story.

Lovely read with tales for everyone.

[Robin Knabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories have a human versus nature theme running through them in some manner. They’re so well-written, I felt like I was reading an actual documentary in places. The mixture of fiction with facts builds up the believability factor. Bachar doesn’t beat you over the head with information, though. He gives just enough to keep you grounded in the story, making you wonder if he experienced a few of these things himself. His personal background and perspective have inspired him to create interesting and unique tales about fear and human nature.

For the full, spoiler free review: https://robinknabel.squarespace.com/r...

[Puisan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of this book is very apt for the feeling in the pit of your stomach at the end of each chapter in this book…disturbing and disturbingly full of dread. A very good book filled with short stories (some shorter than expected that leaves the imagination to run wild!) and I can’t seem to put it down until I was done with the entire book. Highly recommended!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Milt Theo · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded to 3. I really wanted to like this, I love the concept of someone going into the natural world, and coming back with uncanny horror tales. Unfortunately, it didn't work for me: I felt the stories to be mere snapshots of longer narratives, ending rather too soon and too ambiguously for my taste.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely some interesting stories in here. Good for a quick read although some I wish were a little longer because they were super captivating but left not on a cliffhanger per say, more so just a wanting to know more details. Would recommend for anyone who enjoyed goosebumps or R.L Stine novels.

[Lizzy Carr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of these stories were okay, but a lot of them felt sort of half finished or unsure of how to end. I thought "Encounters" was the strongest, but a lot of the other ones I just felt meh about. This is worth picking up if you like reddit-style nosleep stories, but don't expect masterpieces.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dread is a must-read for any horror aficionado, providing a thrilling and hair-raising experience that will linger in your thoughts long after you've finished the last story. If you're looking for a collection that will keep you up at night, this is it!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Merja · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a big fan of Blair Daniels' writing on Reddit and this one doesn't disappoint. The stories are nicely portioned for any nosleep-style horror fans.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Crystal Lobetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting short stories. I wished some of the stories were longer just because they were so good. Some ended to soon. You will find enjoyable stories in this book. Give it a try.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Diana Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a quick read as none of the stories were too long. They were all enjoyable and creepy enough to make me uncomfortable without being so terrifying I couldn't sleep after reading them.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Nicole Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great horror book. Was a great read from beginning to end. Was hard to put down. I highly recommend this book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jodie Cary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great 22 Tales of Terror collection. I enjoyed reading each short story.
This was my first time reading this author and thought the stories were written well.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Tammy D · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. A great collection of creepy stories all set with a nature theme. There is something for everyone within the pages of this book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Carolyn Ridlon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very enjoyable. It was suspenseful, scary and downright terrifying at times. The author has a way of writing that flows the stories along nicely. I highly recommend for anyone who enjoys reading short horror stories.

[Zoey Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories are so good! They are unique, well-written, and keep me on the edge of my seat until the very end. I highly recommend this book, you won’t be disappointed!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Harald Nieman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read. The short stories were well written and entertaining. I will keep an eye out for Kevin's next release and will be sure to pick it up.

[Gemma Whitelock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it, an absolute page turner! Looking forward to this author's next collection!

[RabidFairy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great collection! Enjoyed!

[Caitlin Stucky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Some were scary, but it was overall just okay compared to the other horror short stories I have read this year. I would give this author another chance though.

[C.J · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by this author and it's ok. I don't like some of the things that was written in the book about the bible, I'm a Christian and calling the bible a book of lies on 2 different occasions is not appreciated, makes me feel like the author has issues with the word of God. Try to be sensitive to people's beliefs.

I received a complementary copy and my review is voluntary.