What do you think?
Rate this book
Free Candy: A Horror Story Collection
“You know what’s wrong with the world today? People just don’t like clowns anymore…”
Free Candy is a collection of 8 terrifying and strange stories from the fiendish mind of author Dylan Collins Dunbar.
Follow the tired worker drone looking for something new to break up his daily monotony as he once again gets assigned a 117. An elderly clown combing the streets of a southern Ohio town looking for one last job before he calls it quits. What seems like a simple game of chess between two friends has an unsuspected outcome. A group of fanatical friends trying to save America by trolling the internet get more than they bargained for when the tables turn. A veteran recounts his experience in a Vietnam-era zombie encounter. An evangelical loses her grip on reality as her life comes crashing down around her when a mysterious guest shows up at the door. A young couple moves into their new home at 2250 Seminole Street only to awaken an ancient evil when one of them discovers a forgotten painting. Finally, follow Greg and his cat as they navigate through a modern-day apocalypse uncovering stories from the past as they go.
From the classic battles of good and evil to zombie outbreaks, Free Candy will twist your brain and leave you wanting more.
About the
Dylan Collins Dunbar is a professional touring musician from Detroit, Michigan who has shared the stage with, or directly supported artists like Chris Stapleton, Patti Smith, Elle King, and many more. Since 2015, he has toured the United States with his wife, Jennifer, performing their original music in close to all 50 states. Through recovery from alcoholism, he discovered he had a passion for writing. In 2023, he figured it was time to embark on a new creative endeavor. As a result of sobriety, he now gets to explore the dark places of his mind in a positive way.
Free Candy is a collection of 8 terrifying and strange stories from the fiendish mind of author Dylan Collins Dunbar.
Follow the tired worker drone looking for something new to break up his daily monotony as he once again gets assigned a 117. An elderly clown combing the streets of a southern Ohio town looking for one last job before he calls it quits. What seems like a simple game of chess between two friends has an unsuspected outcome. A group of fanatical friends trying to save America by trolling the internet get more than they bargained for when the tables turn. A veteran recounts his experience in a Vietnam-era zombie encounter. An evangelical loses her grip on reality as her life comes crashing down around her when a mysterious guest shows up at the door. A young couple moves into their new home at 2250 Seminole Street only to awaken an ancient evil when one of them discovers a forgotten painting. Finally, follow Greg and his cat as they navigate through a modern-day apocalypse uncovering stories from the past as they go.
From the classic battles of good and evil to zombie outbreaks, Free Candy will twist your brain and leave you wanting more.
About the
Dylan Collins Dunbar is a professional touring musician from Detroit, Michigan who has shared the stage with, or directly supported artists like Chris Stapleton, Patti Smith, Elle King, and many more. Since 2015, he has toured the United States with his wife, Jennifer, performing their original music in close to all 50 states. Through recovery from alcoholism, he discovered he had a passion for writing. In 2023, he figured it was time to embark on a new creative endeavor. As a result of sobriety, he now gets to explore the dark places of his mind in a positive way.
- GenresHorror
161 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2024
20 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Dylan Collins Dunbar
3 books9 followersDylan Collins Dunbar is a professional touring musician from Detroit, Michigan who has shared the stage with, or directly supported artists like Chris Stapleton, Patti Smith, Elle King, and many more. Since 2015, he has toured the United States with his wife, Jennifer, performing their original music in close to all 50 states. Through recovery from alcoholism, he discovered he had a passion for writing. In 2023, he figured it was time to embark on a new creative endeavor. As a result of sobriety, he now gets to explore the dark places of his mind in a positive way.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 6, 2024
Dylan Collins Dunbar's debut collection, 'Free Candy,' takes its title from one of the eight stories it contains. They're all brimming with dark humor, smart dialogue, and creative ideas hooking you from the very first lines. My favorites stories were the two interlinked ones, the "Applesauce" story and the closing tale, "Golden Handcuffs." They're essentially zombie stories, one set in Vietnam during the war, when the zombie-inducing virus is discovered, the other taking place today, when the virus breaks in Austin and the world ends. The discovery story is hectic, detailed, confidently told and engrossingly narrated. The world-ending story is far funnier, with some great insights about working in corporate. It's also the longer story by far, and really enjoyable. The title story, "Free Candy," about a disgruntled old clown, I found a bit predictable, though no less entertaining for that. Special mention should be made of the author's writing skills: it's rare to find such an assured and well-grounded writing voice in a debut collection. Recommended!
May 6, 2024
Dylan Collins Dunbar's debut collection, 'Free Candy,' takes its title from one of the eight stories it contains. They're all brimming with dark humor, smart dialogue, and creative ideas hooking you from the very first lines. My favorites stories were the two interlinked ones, the "Applesauce" story and the closing tale, "Golden Handcuffs." They're essentially zombie stories, one set in Vietnam during the war, when the zombie-inducing virus is discovered, the other taking place today, when the virus breaks in Austin and the world ends. The discovery story is hectic, detailed, confidently told and engrossingly narrated. The world-ending story is far funnier, with some great insights about working in corporate. It's also the longer story by far, and really enjoyable. The title story, "Free Candy," about a disgruntled old clown, I found a bit predictable, though no less entertaining for that. Special mention should be made of the author's writing skills: it's rare to find such an assured and well-grounded writing voice in a debut collection. Recommended!
August 28, 2024
Any fans of the old Night Gallery TV series will instantly fall into place reading Dunbars Free Candy, short vignettes of old school horror with great character development. When you recognize a character from real life its easier to grasp the terror of these stories.
September 21, 2024
DNF.
Some of the story ideas (the ones that I made it through) were interesting but the writing itself just isn’t that great. Not very engaging.
Some of the story ideas (the ones that I made it through) were interesting but the writing itself just isn’t that great. Not very engaging.
March 3, 2025
He should have had someone besides himself do the editing. There are clunky and incomplete sentences, misspelled or misused words, and unnecessary embellishment. I did like some of the stories, though. Would read more of his stuff.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews