What do you think?
Rate this book
Buried Secrets
Max and his wife, Megan, just moved into their new home. It's a charming Victorian, that did not come with the typical Victorian price tag. Sure, it needed some paint thrown on here and there, but soon--with a baby on the way--it would be the perfect home for their family.
Things quickly begin to change, though. They hear things at night, and even feel things crawling in their sheets. But that's not the worst of it. There's a foul smell in the air sometimes, and something even fouler in the basement.
Something smells, licks, and lingers in the walls and down in the basement. When the power goes out, Max goes into the basement to find the breaker, and what he finds, is something much worse.
*Can the young couple survive this horrible fate? Or... are some secrets just too damned evil to be kept buried alive?*
Things quickly begin to change, though. They hear things at night, and even feel things crawling in their sheets. But that's not the worst of it. There's a foul smell in the air sometimes, and something even fouler in the basement.
Something smells, licks, and lingers in the walls and down in the basement. When the power goes out, Max goes into the basement to find the breaker, and what he finds, is something much worse.
*Can the young couple survive this horrible fate? Or... are some secrets just too damned evil to be kept buried alive?*
- GenresHorrorShort Stories
22 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 3, 2014
1 person is currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Gary Cecil
6 books2 followersGary Cecil writes short stories and novels--mostly in the horror genre--with the support of his loving girlfriend, Sarah, and dog, Millie. He is currently in the revision process of his first novel, and is also hard at work on his second.
Gary has worked as a 911 Operator, and has held other various jobs. His greatest memory taking 911 calls was when a man on a back-country road, at one in the morning, called 911 and said, "The baby came out." It was a heart-wrenching experience, which ended in a man becoming a father, and Gary becoming a seasoned 911 Operator.
Gary has worked as a 911 Operator, and has held other various jobs. His greatest memory taking 911 calls was when a man on a back-country road, at one in the morning, called 911 and said, "The baby came out." It was a heart-wrenching experience, which ended in a man becoming a father, and Gary becoming a seasoned 911 Operator.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 30, 2014
(short story)
A few months ago (October of 2013 to be exact), I became very unhappy with short stories, especially ones that claimed to be horror. Maybe I'm just desensitized to this sort of thing after all these years of watching and reading horror, but I just don't find a great majority of them scary. I feel like it's false advertising when, in the book description, it says things like "spine-tingling horror tale" or claims it is the scariest thing you'll ever read. I actually almost gave up altogether - and had a long list of authors to blame it on. But, thankfully, I came across three authors who really know what they're doing when it comes to scary short stories (the Light Brothers and Rayne Hall - and now I can add in Edward Lorn as well).
When the chance to r2r this story came up, I read the book description and was very excited. Not only did it use that "spine-tingling horror tale" line (I still have hope that one day that will be true), but it talked about being a combination of "horror and humor" - and at 22 pages, why would I not pick that up and give it a try?
It had a few creepy moments, I'll give it that. The rat thing, yeah, so not cool. The "Wait! What?" moment - the unexpected bit you get at the end of short stories right before it ends - it had that and I was a little shocked. And uh ... well ... um ... yeah ... that's about it. I didn't laugh once. The book description talks about the basement, which gave him this whole other world to play with down there (I mean, basements are scary, just like attics are), but it fell short on all that.
To be honest, the author has a good idea here - and if he punched it up, gave some more descriptions and cut out that sex and washing her hair nonsense, which would have left more room for creepy/scary stuff, this could have been a good story. I really hope he fixes it up and, if he does, I would be more than willing to read it again and update my review.
Note: I was given a copy of this story in exchange for my honest review.
A few months ago (October of 2013 to be exact), I became very unhappy with short stories, especially ones that claimed to be horror. Maybe I'm just desensitized to this sort of thing after all these years of watching and reading horror, but I just don't find a great majority of them scary. I feel like it's false advertising when, in the book description, it says things like "spine-tingling horror tale" or claims it is the scariest thing you'll ever read. I actually almost gave up altogether - and had a long list of authors to blame it on. But, thankfully, I came across three authors who really know what they're doing when it comes to scary short stories (the Light Brothers and Rayne Hall - and now I can add in Edward Lorn as well).
When the chance to r2r this story came up, I read the book description and was very excited. Not only did it use that "spine-tingling horror tale" line (I still have hope that one day that will be true), but it talked about being a combination of "horror and humor" - and at 22 pages, why would I not pick that up and give it a try?
It had a few creepy moments, I'll give it that. The rat thing, yeah, so not cool. The "Wait! What?" moment - the unexpected bit you get at the end of short stories right before it ends - it had that and I was a little shocked. And uh ... well ... um ... yeah ... that's about it. I didn't laugh once. The book description talks about the basement, which gave him this whole other world to play with down there (I mean, basements are scary, just like attics are), but it fell short on all that.
To be honest, the author has a good idea here - and if he punched it up, gave some more descriptions and cut out that sex and washing her hair nonsense, which would have left more room for creepy/scary stuff, this could have been a good story. I really hope he fixes it up and, if he does, I would be more than willing to read it again and update my review.
Note: I was given a copy of this story in exchange for my honest review.
March 1, 2014
this was a good short story. I loved the cover and the ending of the story
January 11, 2014
I'm giving this story only three ( and a half) stars because it's incomplete! This new author has a great story concept and a really good beginning. If I were his editor, I'd suggest a little more depth of character development, and more use of sensory description. I think these would draw his readers even deeper into the action.
In closing, thank you, Gary, for giving me a chance to experience the evolution of a new writer. I'm certainly going to be looking forward to more of your work!
In closing, thank you, Gary, for giving me a chance to experience the evolution of a new writer. I'm certainly going to be looking forward to more of your work!
January 26, 2014
Book Review originally published here: http://www.iheartreading.net/reviews/...
Buried Secrets had potential, but the execution is flawed, and overall, the story is pretty ‘meh’. There’s an introduction at the start, “About Buried Secrets” which intends to give us some back story, but which serves to almost immediately deny the reader any fear they might’ve felt while reading.
The story is fairly typical, a little unoriginal. Couple moves into new home (which is actually a very old home), weird stuff starts to happen, and instead of acting like any normal person would, they still continue to live in the house, and pretend nothing is happening for a while. Why Hollywood and authors tend to think that if someone crawled on your sheets at night, you wouldn’t freak out and get the hell out of there, is beyond me. But apparently that’s not the way this works. Ignorance is bliss.
The story is written in a weird font, like it was written with an old typewriter. At least that’s how it looks on my .pdf. Didn’t like it all, but okay, I’m willing to look beyond that.
The dialogue is awkward and stiff, and there’s not enough detail about any of the characters to truly care about them. Instead of saying “can’t” and “it’s”, the author tends to say “cannot” and “it has”. Even in dialogue. This sounded unnecessarily stiff and formal. Examples:
“I cannot wait for Kevin to enjoy it, too.”
“It has been the longest day, babe.”
I have the feeling this story is the author’s first attempt to write a story. It’s not all bad. The plot could be interesting, but the writing needs a lot of work. There’s a reason why they say you shouldn’t publish your first book or story, no matter how good you think it is. I’m not sure the author hired an editor, but if he did, that editor should’ve told him the book needed work.
The characters are flat. They have no personality. Even in short stories, you should at least make us care about the characters. The story jumps from point a to b without much explanation. Some scenes are irrelevant, others that should be relevant, are simply skipped.
Overall, I’d lie if I say I enjoyed the story. It had potential, but misses every ball. With a good editor, another round of revisions, and some polishing, it could become interesting though.
Buried Secrets had potential, but the execution is flawed, and overall, the story is pretty ‘meh’. There’s an introduction at the start, “About Buried Secrets” which intends to give us some back story, but which serves to almost immediately deny the reader any fear they might’ve felt while reading.
The story is fairly typical, a little unoriginal. Couple moves into new home (which is actually a very old home), weird stuff starts to happen, and instead of acting like any normal person would, they still continue to live in the house, and pretend nothing is happening for a while. Why Hollywood and authors tend to think that if someone crawled on your sheets at night, you wouldn’t freak out and get the hell out of there, is beyond me. But apparently that’s not the way this works. Ignorance is bliss.
The story is written in a weird font, like it was written with an old typewriter. At least that’s how it looks on my .pdf. Didn’t like it all, but okay, I’m willing to look beyond that.
The dialogue is awkward and stiff, and there’s not enough detail about any of the characters to truly care about them. Instead of saying “can’t” and “it’s”, the author tends to say “cannot” and “it has”. Even in dialogue. This sounded unnecessarily stiff and formal. Examples:
“I cannot wait for Kevin to enjoy it, too.”
“It has been the longest day, babe.”
I have the feeling this story is the author’s first attempt to write a story. It’s not all bad. The plot could be interesting, but the writing needs a lot of work. There’s a reason why they say you shouldn’t publish your first book or story, no matter how good you think it is. I’m not sure the author hired an editor, but if he did, that editor should’ve told him the book needed work.
The characters are flat. They have no personality. Even in short stories, you should at least make us care about the characters. The story jumps from point a to b without much explanation. Some scenes are irrelevant, others that should be relevant, are simply skipped.
Overall, I’d lie if I say I enjoyed the story. It had potential, but misses every ball. With a good editor, another round of revisions, and some polishing, it could become interesting though.
Read
January 15, 2014I think this might have been more interesting without the short introduction, which tells you a bit about the story first. Best just to plunge in. It begins as a fairly typical “couple buys a new house cheaply and scary things happen story.” I sometimes wondered why the characters did what they did. It’s a quick, easy read, though it could have benefitted from more tension building. The story ended a bit abruptly, but with one of those “gotcha” endings. I was probably more intrigued by the untold story behind the story than by the story itself. There are some extraneous commas that need to be edited out.
January 14, 2014
Overall, a good first published short story.
It had the right amount of creepiness in its descriptions of, well, I won't spoil it, but of the parts that were spooky. The more normal aspects would have benefitted from more description though.
I also would have liked to have learned more about the main characters, especially some details explaining why they made some of their more questionable decisions.
But as I wrote in the beginning, a good start, and I look forward to more of this author's work.
FYI, I received a free copy of this book.
It had the right amount of creepiness in its descriptions of, well, I won't spoil it, but of the parts that were spooky. The more normal aspects would have benefitted from more description though.
I also would have liked to have learned more about the main characters, especially some details explaining why they made some of their more questionable decisions.
But as I wrote in the beginning, a good start, and I look forward to more of this author's work.
FYI, I received a free copy of this book.
April 21, 2016
So here's the thing ... at some point I stopped reading short stories. Not consciously, it just sort of happened.
Buried Secrets made me realize that this was a mistake.
While the story was a bit spartan, and there wasn't a lot of build up, by the end of the twenty-two pages I was worried I wouldn't sleep again.
I'm still avoiding my basement.
It's short and creepy. A good choice when you want to get wigged out and don't have a lot of time.
Buried Secrets made me realize that this was a mistake.
While the story was a bit spartan, and there wasn't a lot of build up, by the end of the twenty-two pages I was worried I wouldn't sleep again.
I'm still avoiding my basement.
It's short and creepy. A good choice when you want to get wigged out and don't have a lot of time.
January 20, 2014
The cover is stunning and deserves a star of its own.
The story would have been much better without the introduction which serves as a blurb for the story and lessened the impact of the story. Without the intro the story would pack more of a punch!
The story however is a predictable one and due to its length lacks some depth, this is normal for a short story. The end had a nice little twist to it redeeming the story greatly.
WaAr
The story would have been much better without the introduction which serves as a blurb for the story and lessened the impact of the story. Without the intro the story would pack more of a punch!
The story however is a predictable one and due to its length lacks some depth, this is normal for a short story. The end had a nice little twist to it redeeming the story greatly.
WaAr
January 22, 2014
In all honesty the brief introduction was the best part of this very short story. There was nothing particularly scary about it, and nothing that stands out about it other than the strangely apathetic attitude the characters show towards the unexpected discovery of rats in their bed.
I received a complimentary copy for review
I received a complimentary copy for review
February 9, 2014
I received a free download of this from Story Cartel. Thank you!
I felt that this story was ok. I liked what I read, but it was too short, and too open-ended, even for a short story. It seemed more like a movie trailer, or maybe a first-chapter teaser for a novel.
I hope the author will take the ideas started in this story and develop them into a longer work. I think it has good potential.
I felt that this story was ok. I liked what I read, but it was too short, and too open-ended, even for a short story. It seemed more like a movie trailer, or maybe a first-chapter teaser for a novel.
I hope the author will take the ideas started in this story and develop them into a longer work. I think it has good potential.
February 5, 2014
First off, a disclaimer; the author provided me with a free copy of the book.
I liked the story, and the premise was interesting. However, it felt more like a summary than a story in it's own right. It could benefit from better pacing and more buildup to events. I would like to see a followup story where the events are expanded upon.
I liked the story, and the premise was interesting. However, it felt more like a summary than a story in it's own right. It could benefit from better pacing and more buildup to events. I would like to see a followup story where the events are expanded upon.
February 7, 2014
Lovely horror short story! It kept my attention from start to the end and gave me some goose bumps.
This is an easy reading story of a young couple that recently moved in a new house that hides strange secrets and creatures. There are some creepy moments and mysteries to discover.
Would like to read more about this young couple and their experiences!
This is an easy reading story of a young couple that recently moved in a new house that hides strange secrets and creatures. There are some creepy moments and mysteries to discover.
Would like to read more about this young couple and their experiences!
February 18, 2014
A nice quick little read that will make your skin crawl. The problem with the story is that there were a few small parts that were not even needed for the story. The good part of the story was the twist ending, and unexpected peep hole scare. All in all, not a bad short story. A little editing could have made it much better. This one had the potential to be 4 or 5 stars, but didn't quite make it.
January 9, 2014
Shameful self-plug: IT'S AWESOME!
August 6, 2016
Taut, scary, exciting--with some unexpected heart-stopping denouements. I anticipate this author's first novel--he has a grasp on "how to frighten."
August 5, 2016
Paid way too much money for a very short story. This reads like a first draft with no editing. Disappointed, do not recommend.
February 15, 2014
There is a lot of potential for a novel in this short story. So creepy. It's well worth downloading. .
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews