Cannabelle

by Shaun A.I.C. Wilson

When I first met Annabelle, she seemed like the girl of my dreams—charming, alluring, and a little mysterious. It was just a casual invitation to a party, and I thought I was in for a night of fun. But as the room spun and darkness enveloped me, I realized I had made a grave mistake. I woke up tied to a cold, metal table, surrounded by a group of strangers whose hungry gazes sent chills down my spine. Laughter mingled with the scent of something sinister in the air, and horror crept in as I pieced together the truth. They weren’t here to celebrate; they were here to feast.

51 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 30, 2024

About the author

Shaun A.I.C. Wilson is a horror writer born and raised in Milton Keynes, UK, on June 19th, 1991. He has a passion for crafting spine-chilling tales that keep readers on the edge of their seats. Shaun's love for horror started at a young age, where he would read The Saga of Darren Shan late into the night.

In addition to writing, Shaun enjoys spending time with his Fiancé and 3 boy's. His inspiration comes from his surroundings as well as his vivid imagination. He is also an avid gamer and movie buff.

Reviews

[Lady MacDeath 🌒🌕🌘 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shaun and I became friends on GR, after he sent me an ARC of his previous novella “The Salesman”, which I enjoyed. When he approached me last week, asking if I’d like to read his latest novella, which is his first attempt at Splatterpunk, I jumped at the chance. As a fellow Slipknot fan, I knew I was in for a treat.

James meets Annabelle, the beautiful redheaded, sexy and alluring, girl of his dreams, whom invites him to a party. Little does he know, that he is the main course, to be served up by Annabelle and her two sisters.

This is only the beginning of the story, and I’m looking forward to getting to know more about Annabelle and her sisters. This little novella, just left me wanting more. Shaun should be proud of dipping his toe into the Splatterpunk genre, though I’m hoping for lots more blood, and gore in the future.

5 🍖🥩🍖🥩🍖

[Steph's_Creepy _Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's good for a quick read but I needed much more information than was offered.

[Shannon Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another great book done by Shaun Aic Wilson!! “When I first met Annabelle, she seemed like the girl of my dreams— charming, alluring, and a little mysterious. It was just a casual invitation to a party, and I thought I was in for a night of fun.” All I can say is wow 🤯!!! I think Shaun really outdid himself with this one as it kept me wanting more! Even though at the end of the book you end up hating Annabelle. You can see why her and her family do the stuff that they do. As her and her sister's childhood was tragic. The ending I hated as Shaun left it as a cliffhanger. Making you wait for book 2.

[Danielle Hennessy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been lucky enough to receive an ARC of this.

Shaun is only just breaking into this genre as he normally writes children's books. This is definitely not for children and he is definitely an author to watch out for in the splatterpunk community. Welcome to the dark side Shaun. Lol.

Cannabelle is satisfyingly gruesome and everything you could want in a splatterpunk.

There is a solid underlying story that has been started in this novella (and which I am so eager to read more of) so it is not just a gorefest, although it has plenty of dark, disturbing moments to tickle your dark side.

Shaun has a good writing style that hooks you from page one and then allows the story to flow easily from page to page. Thanks for a great read!

[Johnathan Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Cannabelle” is a horror story, of the ‘splatterpunk’ subgenre, by author Shaun AIC Wilson. The plot follows protagonist, James, who finds himself the centrepiece of a torturous, cannibalistic freak show orchestrated by three very disturbed sisters, led by the youngest, Annabelle. Wilson successfully creates a very atmospheric, deeply unsettling, environment for his characters, and his descriptions of violence, gore and the grotesque perfectly leave a bad taste in the mouth. I look forward to reading the backstory of the mentally disturbed Annabelle in upcoming instalments.

[Lucille Lovegood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read the preview and it was honestly a 10/10 will be reading the full one for sure!!! Can't wait to hear her back story.
Well done man!

[Erica Hart · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this is really good, but it lacked depth and description. The author said that it's a teaser for a full length novel that he has coming out, but it still needed a bit more information than was offered. What was there was written well, but it felt unfinished and a bit rushed almost like a draft and not like the final edit.

[Jason Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is based on the ARC i received from the author.

Cannabelle is not what I expected, if I'm honest I don't know what I was expecting but this was not it.
The story is gross, the words used work so well.

nothing like his previous works!

this one is not for kids!

looking forward to receiving my signed author copy, i will be pre-ordering the Kindle copy once he has implemented the feedback from all the ARCS.

[Jodi Comeaux · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could give it less stars I would. I know this is a sample for the upcoming full-length version (or maybe the full-length is out already, idk) but the shortness is the least of my concerns with this bit of prose.

The writing was very lackluster. You can tell the author really did try, but he didn't describe the settings very much, and used most of his descriptors on the facial expressions (mostly the mouths) of the assailants.

Then there's the very obvious fact that it was completely unedited. There were sentences that weren't capitalized, including at the beginning of a paragraph. There were times where you didn't know someone was speaking until their turn was over because there were end quotations but no beginning quotations, and multiple misspellings. My favorite misspelling of all was when someone was in the kitchen and he wrote "draws" instead of "drawers".

I wish this was given more though. I would've loved to get sucked into it but all of the mistakes and lackluster writing were distracting. It needed MUCH more work before publishing.

[AMY HOWARD · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given a card at Bludfest by a lady who claimed her partner wrote books, intrigued i scanned the QR code which took me to his amazon author page. writtenm on the back of the card was "BLUDFEST - WINNER FREE BOOK, DM VIA INSTA @SHAUNAICWILSON and his signature. i dropped him a dm and he said he will send out my signed book not comftabl;e giving out my address he said he would email me a copy, upon reciving i was unable to put it down, its so dark and twisted very graphic not for the faint of heart. i have bought his other books on kindle and may take him up on that signed copy now i know he isnt going to kill me.

[S. Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tasty morsel of horror

James' mundane evening is suddenly jolted alive by the sinister intentions of the beautiful Annabelle. I enjoyed the thorough immersion into this quick, twisted tale. Judging from the play on words in the book title, you can surmise the premise. Nevertheless, experiencing the horrors from James' perspective was definitely eerie, and it left me wanting more. I'm a sucker for horror. The scenes that Shaun painted were great: very visual, macabre, and somehow delicate. The location where the horror unfolded kinda made me think back to my teenage days when we went to squat houses to drink and party. At least we didn't wind up like James.

[Bethany Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't leave reviews very often, but I wanted to explain my three stars because I don't want people to think I didn't enjoy this. I did.
I felt like this could have been more, for lack of better wording, fleshed out. I enjoyed the characters but I wanted to know more about them to feel like I cared about what happened. I know this one is super short but I wanted to care about what was happening. I'm intrigued by more of the authors work but sadly this just didn't hit what I wanted it to. It wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination and I enjoyed the authors writing style but I just wish it was a little more fleshed out than it was.

[Caseynova Frankenstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shaun A.I.C. Wilson’s Cannabelle transforms a simple flirtation into a dark exploration of horror. Through vivid, boundary-pushing prose, Wilson delves into themes of attraction, vulnerability, and the terrifying loss of control. Fans of extreme horror will find this unsettling story a powerful reminder that some connections lead not to romance, but to something far more sinister.

Full review available at Extreme Horror Books!

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got to read an arc copy of this book and it has left me wanting more! I was hooked from the first page and cannot wait for the release so I can dive in to the full story!
Really well written and keeps you engaged, with thought out characters and a twisted plot!
Came across author by chance but will definitely be following for more!

[Melanie Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need the full size!

This bite‐sized nugget of horror is so descriptive. I feel like a kid on Halloween looking through my satchel for a bigger piece of yum. The author clearly has what it takes to make this into something truly enticing in a horrific way. NOT for the squeamish folk who want a popcorn ball. This is the good icky!

[Gareth · Rating 5 out of 5]

the book was a epic and spine tingling story that was constantly keeping me hooked as the excitement Continued the more I read great story epic writer and a cool guy definitely recommend all his books

[Kean · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! WTF DID I JUST READ?

SHAUN HAS GONE ABOVE AND BEYOUND WITH THIS ONE, I WAS NOT EXSPECTING THIS...

SUPER HYPED FOR THE NEW BOOK!!!!!

THANKS FOR THE ARC!

ALSO IM NOT YELLING MY CAPS IS BROKE

[Mark Piggott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Chilling and Thankfully Short Read

I picked this up on a whim as I'm not really a horror reader, but I found myself drawn into the story. The title alone gave me a "Wrong Turn" vibe ND it didn't disappoint. I would love to know more about thus twisted little family.

[Jeremy Fulmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not For The Faint of Heart

If you like your horror cruel and bloody this is a gory good time. As a heterosexual male I cringe at the tales of the beautiful, flirtatious female with devilish intentions. Makes me want to stay home and play video games.

[Kim Bock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vividly written and captivatingly intense, the scenes came alive in my imagination! A thrilling experience, though certainly not suited for those with a weak stomach.

[Karm Barter · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25. I could have used a little more substance. The writing was good but needed to be expanded more. It wasn’t as graphic as I wanted. I will read more though.

[Cheryl P. (review hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very short story with lots of grammatical errors and not much of a plot. Wasn't very descriptive either.