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The Reigns of Terror: Magic
A knife forged from blood wreaks havoc across the centuries, imbuing whoever holds it with insatiable bloodlust.
Bored with single life, a man begs his friend to bring him along to the wildest party around. But, can he pass the tests required to gain entry?
A group of women get their fortunes told at a bachelorette party. Will they listen to the warnings, or discover what dangers the tarot cards warned them of?
Working in retail sucks. It sucks even more when your coworkers bully you and you have no friends. One young man decides to get revenge on his psychopath coworker, any way he can.
Magic mystifies and horrifies in these four short stories, sure to keep you up at night and haunt your dreams. The Reigns of Terror is a multi-volume collection of horror shorts, each exploring a different theme. Magic is the fifth volume, and others include the themes of Family, The Woods, Ghosts, and Demons. Find them all on Jack Reigns author page. The Reigns of Terror can be read in any order, so choose your favorite horror and dive in.
Bored with single life, a man begs his friend to bring him along to the wildest party around. But, can he pass the tests required to gain entry?
A group of women get their fortunes told at a bachelorette party. Will they listen to the warnings, or discover what dangers the tarot cards warned them of?
Working in retail sucks. It sucks even more when your coworkers bully you and you have no friends. One young man decides to get revenge on his psychopath coworker, any way he can.
Magic mystifies and horrifies in these four short stories, sure to keep you up at night and haunt your dreams. The Reigns of Terror is a multi-volume collection of horror shorts, each exploring a different theme. Magic is the fifth volume, and others include the themes of Family, The Woods, Ghosts, and Demons. Find them all on Jack Reigns author page. The Reigns of Terror can be read in any order, so choose your favorite horror and dive in.
93 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 4, 2024
13 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 9, 2026
A Good Book
This book is good. It is filled with great stories. The stories are not necessarily scary, but they are all very interesting. Jack Reigns is a great storyteller. The book is so good that I only took three hours to read it. Read this book.
Four stars.💫💫💫💫
This book is good. It is filled with great stories. The stories are not necessarily scary, but they are all very interesting. Jack Reigns is a great storyteller. The book is so good that I only took three hours to read it. Read this book.
Four stars.💫💫💫💫
May 22, 2024
Jack Reigns’ fifth installment of his The Reigns of Terror series of short stories contains four terrifying tales: Blood Iron, Bacchanal, The Tower, and Retail Revenge. Since the book consists of four unrelated storylines, I saw it best to review them individually.
Blood Iron:
This short story follows the voyage of a cursed blade made from iron extracted from the blood of murder victims. I have to give kudos for such an original and cool idea. This is the shortest and perhaps the weakest of the four stories, but that’s certainly not to say I didn’t enjoy it. It’s just a different type of burn than the rest. The plot is very linear, and I’d say it reads more like a macabre campfire tale. While it’s a good introduction to the author’s writing (aside from the actual introduction at the beginning of the book), the story definitely stands apart from the other three in its narrative style, granting some diversity to the anthology.
Bacchanal:
I had to look up the definition of bacchanal. After discovering it meant “an occasion of wild and drunken revelry,” I agreed it was an apt name for the story. This tale follows Dion after he’s invited to an exclusive and clandestine affair by his coworker Peter. This story, for me, was reminiscent of Midsommar, with some otherworldly influences. Bacchanal goes from 0 to 60 partway through the story, and you will be drastically unprepared for the twists and turns ahead. I felt like I was in a fever dream toward the end of this story, and I have to say, I enjoyed this tale the most out of the lot.
The Tower:
This story follows the members of a bachelorette party who receive a grim warning from a tarot-card reader. Overall, the plot may seem a bit basic on a macro level, but the addition of the tarot cards really fleshes this story out. I went back and reread this story, and I was better able to parse out the clues left by Jack Reigns. I originally read this story in a bustling cafeteria, so it didn’t receive 100% of my focus, but upon the second read in a quiet room, I enjoyed it much more.
Retail Revenge:
The title of this story reminds me of a retro 80s horror film, and in a way, so does the subject matter. It’s a classic tale of a misfit attempting to enact revenge on a bully with a horrifying twist. This was my second favorite of the stories in this collection. It had a fresh take on the dark arts, relatable dialogue, and unique characters. While the horror was a bit of a slow burn, there was enough drama to sustain the plot until the climax.
Final Thoughts:
My initial reaction to reading Jack Reigns’ The Reigns of Terror Volume Five: Magic is that I like his writing style. It’s very clear and concise, and there’s little room for confusion. Many authors are so focused on delivering flowery prose that you can lose the plot, especially with horror, but Reigns’ writing is impactful and direct. This is especially useful when writing short stories.
The common theme in these stories is the element of magic. However, that’s where the similarities end. Each story offers a new and refreshing narrative without recycled or hackneyed plot devices. I definitely recommend reading The Reigns of Terror Volume Five: Magic for horror fans, if not just for the Bacchanal short story. That tale was the true standout for me.
Blood Iron:
This short story follows the voyage of a cursed blade made from iron extracted from the blood of murder victims. I have to give kudos for such an original and cool idea. This is the shortest and perhaps the weakest of the four stories, but that’s certainly not to say I didn’t enjoy it. It’s just a different type of burn than the rest. The plot is very linear, and I’d say it reads more like a macabre campfire tale. While it’s a good introduction to the author’s writing (aside from the actual introduction at the beginning of the book), the story definitely stands apart from the other three in its narrative style, granting some diversity to the anthology.
Bacchanal:
I had to look up the definition of bacchanal. After discovering it meant “an occasion of wild and drunken revelry,” I agreed it was an apt name for the story. This tale follows Dion after he’s invited to an exclusive and clandestine affair by his coworker Peter. This story, for me, was reminiscent of Midsommar, with some otherworldly influences. Bacchanal goes from 0 to 60 partway through the story, and you will be drastically unprepared for the twists and turns ahead. I felt like I was in a fever dream toward the end of this story, and I have to say, I enjoyed this tale the most out of the lot.
The Tower:
This story follows the members of a bachelorette party who receive a grim warning from a tarot-card reader. Overall, the plot may seem a bit basic on a macro level, but the addition of the tarot cards really fleshes this story out. I went back and reread this story, and I was better able to parse out the clues left by Jack Reigns. I originally read this story in a bustling cafeteria, so it didn’t receive 100% of my focus, but upon the second read in a quiet room, I enjoyed it much more.
Retail Revenge:
The title of this story reminds me of a retro 80s horror film, and in a way, so does the subject matter. It’s a classic tale of a misfit attempting to enact revenge on a bully with a horrifying twist. This was my second favorite of the stories in this collection. It had a fresh take on the dark arts, relatable dialogue, and unique characters. While the horror was a bit of a slow burn, there was enough drama to sustain the plot until the climax.
Final Thoughts:
My initial reaction to reading Jack Reigns’ The Reigns of Terror Volume Five: Magic is that I like his writing style. It’s very clear and concise, and there’s little room for confusion. Many authors are so focused on delivering flowery prose that you can lose the plot, especially with horror, but Reigns’ writing is impactful and direct. This is especially useful when writing short stories.
The common theme in these stories is the element of magic. However, that’s where the similarities end. Each story offers a new and refreshing narrative without recycled or hackneyed plot devices. I definitely recommend reading The Reigns of Terror Volume Five: Magic for horror fans, if not just for the Bacchanal short story. That tale was the true standout for me.
June 17, 2024
A quick and fun read. The stories vary from an ancient magical blade that influences people in bloody ways to a grotesque and wild party (the story that made me gag reading it). Creative and horrific. One thing that could make it better would be if there was more room for development (characters, tension, etc.) but overall I liked it.
August 7, 2024
I enjoyed these suspense/horror short stories. I'd definitely like to read other collections from this series!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews