The Devil's Rite

by Dan Shrader

On Brian’s tenth birthday, his life took a dark turn when he received a visit from a haunting figure known as The Tree Man. The encounter forever stained his life.

Now in his twenties, Brian is determined to uncover the truth after his discharge from a psychiatric facility. Reconnecting with his sister, he becomes embroiled in a series of lies, questioning the origins of the Tree Man, and his own memories of that fateful night.

Genres: Horror

96 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 23, 2024

About the author

Dan Shrader is a horror author from French Lick, Indiana. He's the author of Cabin Black, Craven's Freaks, Full Nasty, The Worm Tongue Gospels, and numerous other works of transgressive fiction. Blending psychological terror, splatterpunk, and extreme horror, his stories explore obsession, grief, madness, and addiction. His interconnected Towers Valley universe continues to expand across novels and collections, earning him a growing readership and multiple horror award nominations.

When he isn't writing his next nightmare, he's probably hunting down forgotten VHS horror films or adding another bizarre title to his ever-growing collection.

Check out his newsletter on Substack: Communion of Flies
Website: danshraderhorror.com

Reviews

[Peter Topside]

I'm on a solid streak of horror reads lately. This was a really well-developed book, packed full of plot twists, psychological torment, a little creature feature, and a whole lot of story in a short runtime. Brian is a perfect lead and I really enjoyed the pacing of his relationship with Allie, his sister, as we found out more about their dynamics, Brian's mental illness, the loss of their parents, and the truth behind the Tree Man. I'm always so thrilled when I see horror authors taking chances with these different concepts, setting themselves apart from the pack. And Dan Shrader did that in spades here. My only critiques are that I wanted some more context on Greg, the sister's husband, and Allie, with a bit of a slower pace towards the latter portion. Everything came full circle, but there were some plot points that went limp, which, if developed further, would have made everything feel smoother and more fine-tuned. And, by doing that, it would have fixed the pacing issues as everything became unraveled by the end. Still a very positive experience that makes me want to see more of Dan Shrader's works.

[Horror Bookworm Reviews]

A Horror Bookworm Recommendation
The Devil’s Rite by Dan Shrader
https://horrorbookwormreviews.com/

As a child, the traumatic events that occurred “that night” has committed Brian to the Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility. As an adult and with all that extensive therapy, Brian is being released. However, when the recollection of his parent’s brutal murder is combined with the urban legend of The Tree Man, his return to a normal life is drastically disrupted with no way out.

The Devil’s Rite is a story of nightmares and horrifying acts of brutality. Author Dan Schrader somehow manages to burn his disturbing written words into your brain all the while molesting your senses. Seriously, the imagery this guy comes up with should be forbidden by human exploration. Within the pages of this novella sized story, Schrader takes young and naive and dilutes them with distortion and manipulation. The result…a disconnect from reality.

I love the intense fear, bizarre eeriness and of course the calculated chaotic storyline of The Devil’s Rite. Schrader’s books are always unsettling enough that they should include a safety belt. I swear, the aura that surrounds Mr. Schrader has to be the color of midnight black.

With terrible forces from beyond to sickening revealing VHS tapes to seances and rituals…The Devil’s Rite packs a sucker punch to the gut. Along with the kick-ass book cover, this is a five star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Horror Bookworm Recommendation.

[Eve Moss]

YOU NEED THIS BOOK HERE IS YOUR SIGN

[Xtina Reads]

After reading this I learned that something chewing on teeth grosses me out 😅😅

FUCKIN EW! Also s/o to the TREE MAN 👹

[Alex]

This was an amazing read by Shrader!

We follow our main character that encountered a mysterious being known as the "Tree Man" as a child, but was it real? Or just all in his mind?

There is a lot of mystery here, which kept me entertained from beginning to end. I was dying to know if this Tree Man was actually real.

It's a fun and violent read with plenty of twists that will definitely keep you hooked!

4/5

[Danielle Yvonne]

“He looked like a hellish gargoyle, feet planted in perfect balance, gazing deep into the young boy’s eyes. His jaw moved up and down, with blood and drool dangling from his chin.” 👹

Okay Dan Shrader, I ended July with Soulless Lonesome and started August with The Devil’s Rite. I have now officially read every piece of work you have published and damn… my only regret is not reading this one sooner. This book was INCREDIBLE. It straight up made me spiral and I found myself with heart palpitations almost every paragraph. 🙌🏼

I said in my last review that reviewing Dan’s books were becoming increasingly more difficult because I don’t like repeating myself, but per usual, you provided an amazing story that just absolutely hits in all the places it needs to. And again, the Easter eggs you strategically place throughout all your books to “connect” them is crafted in a way that’s unmatched. 🤌🏼

I don’t do spoilers in my reviews but I will say that I binge read TF out of this in an hour tops. 😮‍💨

If you’re a fan of an impeccable writing style, amazing character development, creepy stories with religious / culty / witchy undertones and one hell of a plot twist— I highly suggest grabbing this gem. And it’s also available on KU. 😝

I typically don’t do star ratings but this was an easy five star to give from cover to cover. 👏🏼

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

[Charlie]

spännande!!! fun ride? oklart vad mer att säga

[Dana Reynolds]

Good, bingeable read! Honestly, pretty sad too.

[ScarlettAnomalyReads]

At this point i might as well start every review with Dan, by saying, I know the last one was my favorite but...

Here I am, just a girl who loves horror and apparently very fucked situations, standing in front of you, with yet another favorite of Dan's lol

Poor fucking Brian yall, his life was such a wreck, mental illness, parents dead, AND really weird things going on, the kid is 10 when this all starts, and the creepy Tree Man..

I'm not going to lie, I really liked shifting from 10 year old to 20 year old Brian, when he's an adult, and ready to figure out what the fuck happened.
It was like a dark unusual detective story, that every time it unfolded, it got a little more dark, and a lot more sinister.

How can you figure out the past, when you cant trust anyone around you , or even your own memories.

This was different then the Satanic Bill stuff I'm used too, but it still had Dan's voice coming through the pages, and I need more of this dark, sinister, story weaving.

Fabulous, loved this, and I really want to see more of this Dan!!

[Bee]

This was such an interesting short story, but I feel like it could've used 25-50 more pages to really flesh out the details. It took a turn in the end that I'm not sure how I feel about. The visual of the Tree Man eating teeth hasn't left my brain since I read it. That's one of those things that's just going to haunt me for a while. I flew through this story and would absolutely read more by this author.

[Jennifer]

The first couple of chapters were a bit slow for me but the ending of this was WILD!!! I was saying wtf the whole time.

[Chelsea McCrady]

The Devil’s Rite by Dan Shrader is an addictive and quick read with the amount of twists and turns this story took I couldn’t put it down! I highly recommend this!

[Adrian Grant]

3.5 / 5. Slow to start but became interesting mid way through. Then became dark & twisted as we neared the finale but felt far too rushed towards the end. Decent but not an amazing read.