Shocking Sojourns: Anthology of Splatterpunk & Extreme Horror

by Sidney Shiv, Judith Sonnet, R.J. Daly

Shocking Sojourns - Anthology of Splatterpunk & Extreme Horror

No topic is taboo, and no trigger is off limits.

ENTER IF YOU DARE!

Join these authors on a guided tour of mayhem, depravity, and terror...

Featuring Harrison Phillips, K.L. Allister, Thomas Stewart, Chuck Nasty, Shaun Avery, Alex S. Johnson, Sarah DeRosa, R.J. Daly, Sidney Shiv, Chisto Healy, Dan Shrader, J. Rocky Colavito, Tom Folske, and Judith Sonnet.

Genres: Horror

346 pages, Paperback

First published May 7, 2024

Reviews

[Paige Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a BEAST of an anthology and every single one of these authors absolutely killed it with their stories 🔥🤯🙌

This is my first time reviewing each story individually within an anthology, so bear with me 🫣😂

Trotters by Harrison Phillips
Camping trip gone WAY wrong.😬🏕️
Phillips, per usual, immediately had my attention from the moment his story started. He never fails to bring a highly entertain-able read with plenty of action. This particular story had a really nice backstory and overall insight to the abominable creature featured in this short story 😈

Wayside Getaway by K.L. Allister
A bed and breakfast Airbnb stay quickly turns into a hellish nightmare at the hands of the owner, a deceiving old lady named, Gertrude. The occupants are all forced to play her twisted game if they wish to be let free from this house of horrors. Allister’s writing was extremely colorful and absolutely delivered on the gross out factor🤮 he managed to make me a gag in a few particular scenes.

Writing on The Wall by Thomas Stewart
A psychological mindf**k🤯
Thomas always seems to have me in a trance-like state whenever I read any of his stories. His story telling is impeccable and always sticks with me, long after I finish. This short story has a twist you don’t see coming and truly had me at a loss for words.

No Gracious Demise by Chuck Nasty
Serial Killer tale🩸😈
Chuck Nasty always manages to conjure up something sick for us readers. This short story is sure to wow any crime lover. Chuck brings us a catchy thriller loaded with blood and gore with a sharp twist. 🔪

Countdown to Fur-der by Shaun Avery
I haven’t read anything by Shaun until this short story. I really enjoyed it. 😌 It is written well and it had me intrigued by how different it was. Shaun brings a different side to the extreme horror world with his own unique spin on it. I hope to see more from this author in the future! 😈

Puke Graveyard by Alex S. Johnston
Who doesn’t love a good zombie story?! 🧟With the perfect setting in a graveyard nonetheless. Grab the spirit box it’s time to go ghost hunting. 👻Puke Graveyard is a fun and spooky short story leaving readers anxiously awaiting as to what will happen next. Alex did a great job capturing the overall essence of ghost hunting making this a throughly enjoyable read. 👍

The Vicarious Vent by Sarah Derosa
Welcome to Happy’s Hotel where you’re guaranteed to have the stay of the furthest thing from happiness. 🙃This story was WILD. Depraved as hell. 😳 For as short of a story as this was, we got a nice little back story that really gave us an insightful glimpse inside Lance’s overall character. This is my first time reading anything from Sarah and I look forward to see what she puts out next. 😈

The Getaway by RJ Daly
This story started off with a bang and was absolutely insane!💥RJ Daly truly delivered on this brutal, sadistic and twisted tale of terror. 👏Cold blooded killer couple, Garrett and Margo, get caught off guard by their next victims and things turn quickly! This was one hell of a story and was a fast-paced, page turner that never let up.

Fulfillment by Sidney Shiv
“Well, fuck my angel ass! Goddammit”🤣☠️ Sidney brings us a supernatural tale that’s a very cool concept. Light and dark, good and bad. When people die their souls are collected and distributed between heaven and hell. I don’t want to say much more because I don’t want to give anything away. Sidney is a great writer and this story was so creative. He put his own special spin on it, crafting something truly unique that I’ve yet to even come close to other reading comparisons.

Take Good Care of My Babies by Chisto Healy
Chisto never fails to blow my mind with his stories🤯 The man can write his ass off! A woman house sits for her friend’s cats while she is away on a trip. When she shows up to her house she immediately notices that something is off and gets an uneasy feeling of pure dread. This story was absolutely unhinged and off the charts when it comes to splatter comedy. Some of these scenes will live rent free inside my mind for years to come. I laughed and I audibly gasped several times and couldn’t help but say “what in the actual fuck is happening right now.” Chisto is always an instant buy/read for me and this story will have you feeling the same type of way….I can guarantee it. 😁

Backwoods Gothic by Dan Shrader
Dan Shrader is a newer favorite of mine. I knew he’d bring a killer story for this anthology and boy did he DELIVER! 🙌 This story was equally as terrifying as it was revolting 🤮 When HS teens are faced with disposing of a body to escape the law, they find the perfect place to get rid of it and go on with their lives. The rumors of this place turn out to be 100% true and the teens are in for one hell of a ride. Dan continues to put out some of the best stories and I always devour them right up. They’re just that good 🤌

You Mess It Up, You Clean It Up by J. Rocky Colavito
Woahhhh 😳 This was my first read by Rocky and he went hard af with this story. It was absolutely VILE and vicious as hell. The story was fast-paced and the writing was very graphic. This story managed to make me gag more times than I could count 🤢looking forward to seeing more from this author in the future!

The Lost Son of Krypton by Tom Folske
This one was BRUTAL. 😳 Some truly horrific acts in this story… I was so invested though. I was totally rooting for Fred the entire journey on his path of revenge. The writing was insanely descriptive and it didn’t take me long at all to make it through this story. I was hooked from the very beginning. 🙌

Who Fights The Devil When Our Limbs Are Broke by Judith Sonnet
When I saw Judith was the closer for this anthology, I knew it was gonna be SO GOOD and boy was it?! 😱 A nice and short horror story with some religion aspects thrown in. It’s hard to describe this one without giving anything away and I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. Judith is such an amazing writer and I always love what she puts out. This had plenty of action per usual with her stories and her characters are always perfectly fleshed out. 😈✝️

[Danielle Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shocking Sojourns
Anthology of Splatterpunk & Extreme Horror

If you want to skip my review, fine, I know, it’s long lol. But do NOT skip out on checking this book out. Because oh em gee. 🥵

I’m living for all these extreme horror anthologies lately and holy cannoli, this one delivers!!

This anthology is quite different than the ones I’ve been used to lately. The short stories are lengthier than usual, but in a good way!! So this is a big boy!! Fourteen incredible writers with fourteen incredible stories. So saddle up… this is gonna be a long one. 😅 Just bear with me — and I promise, no spoilers!!

Trotters
By Harrison Phillips

“…we don’t f*ck the livestock… the livestock f*cks us!”

Phillips starts this anthology out STRONG with his story. It was wild. 😳 accompanied by an insane plot, there are some real sick and depraved characters in this one. 🫣 I can absolutely see why he such a beloved writer in this community because his attention to detail and writing style is nothing less than incredible. I now have the sudden urge to binge read everything he’s ever written. 🤌🏼

Wayside Getaway
By K.L. Allister

“Gore poured forth like we were at the Splash Zone at SeaWorld…”

To anyone who likes to go to quaint little B&B’s in the middle of nowhere and enjoy a quiet retreat… good luck with all that, because never again after reading this. 🫡 Allister got me all sorts of f*cked up with this depraved story. 👹 That being said, he possesses an incredibly smooth writing style and amazing character development which I don’t see being an easy task for a short story. The kill scenes here were written superbly well too. 😝

Writing on the Wall
By Thomas Stewart

“…the face of a psychopath engraved on an innocent child—the face of wrath.”

Thomas has a writing style that I can always get into and love to read. I feel like he could write any genre and I would genuinely enjoy the hell out of it. Writing on the Wall has a super trippy, psychological, mind f*ck vibe with a twisty ending you won’t see coming. 😵 This story did NOT disappoint and delivered everything from an amazing plot, an eloquent flow, attention to detail and memorable characters. 👏🏼

No Gracious Demise
By Chuck Nasty

“Whether you’re a whore or a drunk PI, if you play too long with wolves, you’re bound to get the fangs.”

Whenever I read something by Chuck, I immediately know it’s gonna get really weird and really f*cked up. 😂 But realistically, that’s exactly what I’m looking for and he never fails to deliver. I’m always guaranteed to gag way more than once with Chuck, and this story was no different. 🤮 The King of StonerGore knocks it out of the park with this depraved little gem. I can never figure out where the stories are going, but I haven’t been disappointed yet. 😉 Definitely a memorable one from the bunch.

Countdown to Fur-Der
By Shaun Avery

“But then she wondered: Was it her body… or the suit? There were those distinctions again.”

Okay, this was my first time reading something by Shaun and I really liked it! It was a genuinely good and unique story and I couldn’t stop reading it. The writing style was really nice and the flow / pace was perfect. 🙌🏼 This one is definitely going to be a stand out for me simply based on how different it is and the way it ended etc — all in a good way of course. I am really looking forward to reading more of Shaun’s work after this, and that my friends, is one of the beauties of anthologies… getting to find new authors that you may not have otherwise. 🤩

Puke Graveyard
By Alex S. Johnson

“Will our deaths reside forever on the dark web as a shining example of splatterpunk for real?”

I adore a well written zombie story, and Johnson provides exactly that… with some nice twists in Puke Graveyard. 🤮🪦 I really enjoyed the attention to detail and his ability to articulate it, it truly allows the reader to immerse themself into visualizing the scenes, which is a love for me! He also did an incredible job with the characters… from their descriptions to their dialogues to their untime demise. I couldn’t stop reading to find out what was going to happen next. 👀 I do feel like this is a tough one to write about only because I’m avoiding spoilers, but I can promise you that this is certainly another memorable one in the bunch. 👏🏼

The Vicarious Vent
By Sarah DeRosa

“In a Freudian way, he’d treasure their maternal and paternal bonds to him just as much as the sexual ones.”

Welp, if I was ever going to consider being in a throuple, this story just killed any chance of that happening. 🤠 Sarah came in hard with this story, and had me gagging right from the start. 🤮 Oh and the depravity. This story is real sick and depraved but written absolutely perfect with a smooth flow and fantastic character development. ✔️ This was my first story by Sarah but certainly won’t be my last. Watch out fellas, this girl has a hell of a lot to offer to the extreme horror community and I cannot wait to see what she comes out with next. 😍

The Getaway
By R.J. Daly

“…something nagged at her guts. This time it wasn’t a lack of drugs. This feeling was different. She hasn’t felt it in years—a sense of unease.”

Holy f*ck. This story was insane. Like right from the beginning I was sitting there saying WTF. 😦 Daly delivered a sickening, depraved story like it was no one’s business. Man is a master at his craft and this story in no way fell short. 🫣 Daly’s smooth writing style makes for a really crisp read and a flow that can’t be touched. There is a huge reason that he’s a fan favorite in this genre and it’s easy to figure out why just based on this short story. This one honestly left me stunned and without words for a bit and no easy feat. The ending was insane.. 10/10 on being impressed AF. 🤌🏼 This one will live rent free in my mind for the foreseeable future. Well done sir. You got me f*cked up. 😅

Fulfillment
By Sidney Shiv

“Jesus tapdancing Christ.”

The fact that Sidney edited this entire thing, and also illustrated both the cover and individual stories, is just further proof of the incredible talent he beholds. 🤩 Not only does Sidney possess the above qualities mentioned, he’s also one hell of a writer and I loved this story.

“Wakey, wakey. Suck my snakey.”

Sidney delivers a supernatural tale that is beyond unique. I have never read anything even close to this and I was hooked from the start. The writing style is that of which I would be bold enough to say is one of my favorites. I found it so easy to follow along and the flow was perfection. 😍 I found myself having a full range of emotions throughout the story, one of which was a couple chuckles, and that’s really something I love sprinkled into these types of stories. 😜

Take Good Care of My Babies
By Chisto Healy

“His severed head floated in toilet water. The skin was severely rotted, and maggots poured from the wounds and flopped into the water.”

I honestly have no words. 😵‍💫 This man is a creative genius. I’ve said it in reviews about Chisto’s work before, and I’ll say it again. He has hands down the hardest stories to review. Why? 🤨 Because I have no idea how to properly describe what I just read and how I could have possibly enjoyed it as much as I did. What i can say is that I will never cat sit for someone… ever... 😹 This story had a couple of the most unhinged scenes I have ever read. 🫣 I said “what the f*ck” more times than I could tally and chuckled more times than I will ever admit. 😅 I don’t like to pick favorites, but the scale is definitely tipping after finishing this one. 🤭

Backwoods Gothic
By Dan Shrader

“This person was peculiar—a half-man with no legs, an oversized belly, and thin, stick-like arms.”

Dan is someone who is quickly becoming a favorite writer for me. He always delivers such a fun plot with unforgettable characters and leaving me wanting more. 😮‍💨 This story thrived at descriptions, so wow, it had me both creeped out and gagging… quite a few times. 🤮 He may be a newcomer on the scene but he is another one you’re going to see quickly rise to the top, and this story further proves why. 🙌🏼

You Mess It Up; You Clean It Up
By J. Rocky Colavito

“Hell, if I know, it looked like something a stoned cartoonist would come up with if you asked them to create something that combined human, animal, and vegetable.”

Okay so this is going to be a limit pusher for some with how depraved it is. 😳 This was my first time reading something by Rocky and I was extremely impressed. It was horrifying and vile and absolutely perverse. The writing style was fantastic and the story’s flow was smoother than a greased up pool boy. 🤌🏼 I wish I had kept a gag count on this one because it would’ve been quite an impressive number. 🤮😅 This is yet another one that will stick out in the bunch!

The Lost Son of Krypton
By Tom Folske

“Fred smooshed his whole body together, like a PB&J sandwich. And like a smooshed PB&J, dark jelly leaked from the sides.”

Okay well… 😅 This one certainly starts off strong with the madness and brutality, and it is done really well! Like, hook you in from the first paragraph and keeps your attention the entire time. This is one of those “don’t interrupt me until I devour the whole thing” type of stories and those are my favorite! 🤌🏼 Folske’s attention to detail and descriptive writing style is quite intoxicating. I was absolutely horrified by what I was reading but severely invested in what would happen next. 🫣

Who Fights the Devil when Our Limbs Are Broke
By Judith Sonnet

“You are innocent. It’s the devil we must punish. The devil lives in you. In all of you.”

Let’s be honest, you literally cannot go wrong with anything Judith writes. She has the ability to nail it on the head every single time! 👏🏼 As soon as I saw her story was the last one, I knew it was going to end this anthology with a bang. And man oh man, it sure as hell did. 😵 Her writing style is always on point and I really love how she’s able to articulate a characters inner thoughts / monologue. I love when extreme horror touches upon religious topics, in any context and without giving any spoilers, Judith accomplished that theme flawlessly. Per usual, I have nothing but praise for her story. She is honestly a writer I can count on to never disappoint! 🫶🏼

[Brian Bowyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Outstanding Anthology!

If you enjoy brutal horror, you'll have a blast with this one. Each tale is twisted, merciless, and absolutely riveting. Shiv did an amazing job compiling, editing, and illustrating the stories. Highly recommended for fans of extreme fiction!

[Rachal Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved every single story, illustrations are brilliant, and the authors are talented

[Lauren Middleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

All killer, no filler! I loved every second of this anthology. One of the best, full of the best!

[Jessie Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS!! Not many collections can win me over the way this did. The art work is beautiful and unique and every story is DIFFERENT! There’s a variety you’ve got the supernatural, violent, extreme, gore, wtf, gross everything you can expect from the genre AND MORE. These authors know how to write a story and Harrison starts it off strong with trotters which gave me hillbilly vibes. Not a fan of supernatural but the stories in this kept me hooked until the bitter end. Even if you don’t like collections this is one to look out for. Well done to all the authors!

[C.M. Guidroz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It finally happened! I finally found an anthology where every single story HITS!

This anthology was so much fun, every single story had me either cackling, grossed out, or googling shit I probably shouldn't be googling. I did not know pigs were packing corkscrew peens. You say you don't learn things from these books but you do! Each story was so well written, The Vicarious Vent by Sarah Derosa, had me feeling like I was checked into this hotel. The descriptions were on point. Loved it!

This was the most fun I have ever had reading an anthology and the artwork is just fkin amazing. If you want to discover some amazing talented authors check this out.

[Thomas Hobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing anthology of brutal horror with no trigger is off limits. A great collection. My favorite is The Getaway by R.J. Daly.

[Tony splatterpunk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anthology of extreme horror and splatterpunk, brutal,sick and twisted,I loved it! A fantastic read for fans of the genre 🔪

[Veronica ☠️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing collection! Fourteen authors come together to bring us some of the darkest, depraved, and well thought out stories. From the first story, you're hooked until the very end! In this collection, there is a little bit for everyone.

"No topic is taboo, and no trigger is off limits"

This is one collection I can honestly say was very smooth. She's a thick one, but she's worth the read! The illustrations were well done by Shiv, and that cover is one of my favourites. I highly suggest to pick up this collection and keep an eye out for volume 2 coming very soon! Incredible job by everyone!

[Cody Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished shocking Sojourns by Sidney Shiv and by a whole bunch of other fantastic authors like Judith Sonnet and R.J. Daly. Really like the cover of this one, (Sidney Shiv KNOWS how to illustrate that's for sure) great short stories in this one. 5/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Merrill David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished this dandy of an extreme horror anthology edited and illustratedby @sidney_shiv
Book was awesome, excellent group of authors and some fun filthy stories! Artwork from cover to cover is beautiful! Loved this book!

[Crystal Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot give this anthology enough praise! Every story in here knocks it out of the park. I have read a lot anthologies in my day and this banger right here is most definitely in the top five. All sorts of fun and filth in these pages. Just go read it already!

[Nicola (deathandthemacabre) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved it! I definitely liked some stories more than others, but each author proved how talented and brutal they can be!

There's something in here for everyone - zombies, inbred psychos, home invasion, monsters, cannibals and much more!

I would highly recommend diving in and getting a taste as it's the perfect way to try out a bunch of authors you may not have tried before!