What do you think?
Rate this book
Midnight Grinding
Midnight Grinding
by Ronald Kelly
It's dark. Crickets chirp in the black of night, accompanied by the lonesome
call of a whippoorwill. On the front porch of a ramshackle house, pale
moonlight reveals two forms in rocking chairs, facing one another. Just you
and the storyteller.
You are uneasy at first, a little nervous, but for what reason? After all,
they are only tall tales and folklore passed down from generation to
generation. Just a bunch of ghost stories and strange yarns conjured up for
your entertainment. Or are they? Perhaps, in some dreadful way, they are
based more in fact, than in fiction.
You sit there in silence for a long moment. You contemplate making an excuse
and taking your leave. But it is too late. In hushed tones, the storyteller
begins. The crickets grow disturbingly quiet and the whippoorwill is
replaced by the far away howling of a dog. Or something vaguely and
sinisterly similar.
Then the storytelling session begins. And the darkness about you grows even
darker.
The children of an itinerant farm family are secretly terrorized by a
deranged handyman with a fetish for stone-honed steel and a deadly question
upon his whiskered lips.
A Southern gentleman discovers that his demure and delicate wife suffers
from a horrible physical ailment that originates not from without, but
within.
An infamous and dangerous gator reigns fear and death upon the dark swamps
of Black Bayou and, for one unfortunate Cajun, turns its underwater lair
into a watery Hell!
Two Atlanta homicide detectives discover that a recent rash of cold-blooded
murders and the grisly trophies collected from the victims lead to a
horror born of cold winds and insanity.
A popular rockabilly star shares the secret of his sudden rise to fame and
the awful price he has paid to attain success.
A prodigal son returns to his hometown to find that nothing has changed or
has it, due to some hidden and forgotten evil from centuries past?
An eager fan of horror films travels cross-country in search of his favorite
scream queen, only to find that some infatuations should be left unexplored.
And there are other tales, just as dark and disturbing. Tales that roll off
the storyteller's tongue like a smooth and subtle poison dragging you
downward, further downward into the shadowy depths of a dark and disturbing
imagination.
In his first short story collection, Ronald Kelly spins an array of unsavory
tales that could only beat in the dark heart of Dixie.
Come, have a seat on the ol' front porch and experience the blackness and
depravity that lies, hidden but alive, amid the kudzu and magnolias south of
the Mason-Dixon Line.
by Ronald Kelly
It's dark. Crickets chirp in the black of night, accompanied by the lonesome
call of a whippoorwill. On the front porch of a ramshackle house, pale
moonlight reveals two forms in rocking chairs, facing one another. Just you
and the storyteller.
You are uneasy at first, a little nervous, but for what reason? After all,
they are only tall tales and folklore passed down from generation to
generation. Just a bunch of ghost stories and strange yarns conjured up for
your entertainment. Or are they? Perhaps, in some dreadful way, they are
based more in fact, than in fiction.
You sit there in silence for a long moment. You contemplate making an excuse
and taking your leave. But it is too late. In hushed tones, the storyteller
begins. The crickets grow disturbingly quiet and the whippoorwill is
replaced by the far away howling of a dog. Or something vaguely and
sinisterly similar.
Then the storytelling session begins. And the darkness about you grows even
darker.
The children of an itinerant farm family are secretly terrorized by a
deranged handyman with a fetish for stone-honed steel and a deadly question
upon his whiskered lips.
A Southern gentleman discovers that his demure and delicate wife suffers
from a horrible physical ailment that originates not from without, but
within.
An infamous and dangerous gator reigns fear and death upon the dark swamps
of Black Bayou and, for one unfortunate Cajun, turns its underwater lair
into a watery Hell!
Two Atlanta homicide detectives discover that a recent rash of cold-blooded
murders and the grisly trophies collected from the victims lead to a
horror born of cold winds and insanity.
A popular rockabilly star shares the secret of his sudden rise to fame and
the awful price he has paid to attain success.
A prodigal son returns to his hometown to find that nothing has changed or
has it, due to some hidden and forgotten evil from centuries past?
An eager fan of horror films travels cross-country in search of his favorite
scream queen, only to find that some infatuations should be left unexplored.
And there are other tales, just as dark and disturbing. Tales that roll off
the storyteller's tongue like a smooth and subtle poison dragging you
downward, further downward into the shadowy depths of a dark and disturbing
imagination.
In his first short story collection, Ronald Kelly spins an array of unsavory
tales that could only beat in the dark heart of Dixie.
Come, have a seat on the ol' front porch and experience the blackness and
depravity that lies, hidden but alive, amid the kudzu and magnolias south of
the Mason-Dixon Line.
- GenresHorrorCollections
381 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2009
About the author
Ronald Kelly
113 books417 followersRonald Kelly was born and raised in the hills and hollows of Middle Tennessee. He became interested in horror as a child, watching the local "Creature Feature" on Saturday nights and "The Big Show"---a Nashville-based TV show that presented every old monster movie ever made ---in the afternoons after school. In high school, his interest turned to horror literature and he read such writers as Poe, Lovecraft, Matheson, and King. He originally had dreams of becoming a comic book artist and created many of his own superheroes. But during his junior year, the writing bug bit him and he focused his attention on penning short stories and full-length novels. To date, he has had thirteen novels and twelve short fiction collections published. In 2021, his extreme horror collection, THE ESSENTIAL SICK STUFF, won a Splatterpunk Award for Best Collection.
He currently lives in Brush Creek, Tennessee with his wife, young'uns, and an ultra-hyper Jack Russel named Toby.
He currently lives in Brush Creek, Tennessee with his wife, young'uns, and an ultra-hyper Jack Russel named Toby.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 21, 2014
Fantastic collection of good Southern-sytle horror. Many of the individual stories rated 5 stars, in my opinion. An overall, fantastic collection!
September 23, 2013
I made it about halfway through this collection. The stories read like the author grew up on old EC horror comics...and then never read anything else. Broadly-drawn characters, predictable developments, and a cute twist at the end. All they need is a crypt keeper, or some other such host.
But there was something else that was bugging me about the stories, something I couldn't put my finger on. Eventually I came to an introduction where Kelly states that he doesn't believe in evolution. Ah, there it is. I had been detecting the air of righteousness. I remembered an earlier introduction where the author says that whenever he sees a snake, all he sees is "treachery and evil."
Yep, he's a looney.
Unless you don't mind reading such cheesy stories in prose form, and can tolerate the ignorance, I don't recommend this.
But there was something else that was bugging me about the stories, something I couldn't put my finger on. Eventually I came to an introduction where Kelly states that he doesn't believe in evolution. Ah, there it is. I had been detecting the air of righteousness. I remembered an earlier introduction where the author says that whenever he sees a snake, all he sees is "treachery and evil."
Yep, he's a looney.
Unless you don't mind reading such cheesy stories in prose form, and can tolerate the ignorance, I don't recommend this.
February 25, 2009
This signed limited edition of short stories by Ronald Kelly, released in February of 2009, is the July 2008 Cemetery Dance Bookclub selection.
There are thirty-two short stories in this collection and I cannot think of a single one I did not like. A lot of them read like the dated pulp horror that they are. Most of these stories have shown up in magazines like Cemetery Dance, After Hours, and Deathrealm. I like that sort of thing; hell, I write that sort of thing myself. Each one runs between ten and twenty pages and has a simple story arc that is easy to follow.
I wish Ronald had mixed it up some with longer pieces of fiction even if it cut the total story count down some. Perhaps in Twilight Terrors Too?
There are thirty-two short stories in this collection and I cannot think of a single one I did not like. A lot of them read like the dated pulp horror that they are. Most of these stories have shown up in magazines like Cemetery Dance, After Hours, and Deathrealm. I like that sort of thing; hell, I write that sort of thing myself. Each one runs between ten and twenty pages and has a simple story arc that is easy to follow.
I wish Ronald had mixed it up some with longer pieces of fiction even if it cut the total story count down some. Perhaps in Twilight Terrors Too?
September 27, 2011
Storytelling is either a lost art, or is perilously near extinction, as evident from the large no. of popular/acclaimed authors, who keep on displaying their skills by producing highly sophisticated and yet thoroughly boring & rather pointless stories. In the face of this, Ronald Kelly's return to writing (after a decade-long hiatus) is a news that deserves to be welcomed with fan parade and crackers. I had not read anything written by Mr. Kelly (thanks to my near absolute aversion for novels, unless they are written by Preston-Child, or sometimes [incredibly!] Matthew Reilly) before coming across this collection and getting hold of it from Cemetery Dance, and now I can hardly console myself with respect to the fact that he has not written any more short stories except those in this book. This regret is more prominent because the stories in this collection are examples of good old-fashioned story-telling. They are short, compact to the point of brusqueness, low on characterisation, but pack tremendous punch in their lean & mean tales of ghosts, monsters (human & inhuman) and fear in all its shape. Every person with even a fragment of childhood memory would be able to find the echoes of some of the most horrifying stories that he/she had heard from the grand parents or uncles hiding under the blankets in the stories of this collection, albeit in a much darker and formidable shape. These are genuine scary tales written with no pretensions about trying to be something else. And take it from me, once you have read these stories, the "South" with all its majesty, horrors, religious feelings, and unique collection of monsters & men, would captivate you. I am NOT trying to compare Mr. Kelly with that mountain of a "Southern" author Manly Wade Wellman, but he has his own place in this genre, and he has his own stories to tell. Highly recommended.
July 26, 2021
If you love Southern horror, you'll love Midnight Grinding. Kelly's collection is packed with dark and disturbing horror tales, all but one taking place in the spooky South. There's not a single misfire in the whole bunch.
"Breakfast Serial" starts the collection off strong with the story of a wandering serial killer. "Yea, Though I Drive" reminds me of one of the best Masters of Horror episodes. "The Cistern" tells of a homecoming one man will soon regret. "The Dark Tribe" is one of the most legitimately chilling stories here, along with closer "Midnight Grinding" (which is based in fact). "The Winds Within" is a haunting mystery, as two detectives try to catch a brutal killer knocking off tenants in a rundown Atlanta apartment building. "Oh, Sordid Shame!" is set in the waning days of the Civil War, while "Bookmarks" takes places in a grim near future. "Depravity Road," the sole story not set in the south, concerns a fateful drive and a house full of frightening finds in Plainfield, Wisconsin.
These are just some of many worthwhile stories in this book. Kelly is a true Tennessee treasure, and I recommend this one to all Southern gothic fans.
Warning: Multiple stories contain animal death. I always feel like I should warn people, because animal death in stories always upsets me, although this collection is absolutely still worth reading.
"Breakfast Serial" starts the collection off strong with the story of a wandering serial killer. "Yea, Though I Drive" reminds me of one of the best Masters of Horror episodes. "The Cistern" tells of a homecoming one man will soon regret. "The Dark Tribe" is one of the most legitimately chilling stories here, along with closer "Midnight Grinding" (which is based in fact). "The Winds Within" is a haunting mystery, as two detectives try to catch a brutal killer knocking off tenants in a rundown Atlanta apartment building. "Oh, Sordid Shame!" is set in the waning days of the Civil War, while "Bookmarks" takes places in a grim near future. "Depravity Road," the sole story not set in the south, concerns a fateful drive and a house full of frightening finds in Plainfield, Wisconsin.
These are just some of many worthwhile stories in this book. Kelly is a true Tennessee treasure, and I recommend this one to all Southern gothic fans.
Warning: Multiple stories contain animal death. I always feel like I should warn people, because animal death in stories always upsets me, although this collection is absolutely still worth reading.
Read
June 26, 2009I don't generally expect or want to learn from fiction. Overall: good. Distinct Southern flavor, which is unusual in horror. Nice for a change. Horror should be shocking, but the biggest shock came outside the stories, in the intro to one, in which Kelly said he'd gotten religion and therefore no longer believed in evolution. Only later, due to other intros and his afterword, was I sure that he was serious. Anne Rice stopped writing horror after a renewal of her religious feelings. Interesting.
February 24, 2012
I give this a good solid 3.5 stars. The stories were pretty good with some being downright creepy. Pretty good read considering I picked it without having ever heard of the author before and on a whim.
May 28, 2010
Fantastic collection of short stories by Ronald Kelly. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews