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Camp Slasher Lake
Camp Slasher Lake: Volume Three
A tribute to the glorious slasher movies of the 1980s, Volume 3.
Featuring:
Son of the Devil by Jonathan Maberry
Girls' Night by Will Suffer
Honeymarrow by MJ Mars
Night of the Mosquitoes by Brian G. Berry
Old Bones by Megan Stockton
The Song of Blood by Jay Bower
The Grove by Eric Butler
Blue Moon Over Blood Lake by M Ennenbach
Motel Nowhere by RJ Roles
Baptismal Waters by Angel Van Atta
Custer Comes Home by D.W. Hitz
Featuring:
Son of the Devil by Jonathan Maberry
Girls' Night by Will Suffer
Honeymarrow by MJ Mars
Night of the Mosquitoes by Brian G. Berry
Old Bones by Megan Stockton
The Song of Blood by Jay Bower
The Grove by Eric Butler
Blue Moon Over Blood Lake by M Ennenbach
Motel Nowhere by RJ Roles
Baptismal Waters by Angel Van Atta
Custer Comes Home by D.W. Hitz
- GenresHorrorShort Stories
379 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 27, 2024
5 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
About the author
D.W. Hitz
38 books175 followersD.W. Hitz loves the outdoors and enjoys making it a background character in his work. He devours stories in all mediums. He enjoys writing in the genres of Horror, Supernatural/Paranormal Thriller, and Science Fiction/Fantasy. He aspires to tell stories that thrill the heart and stimulate the imagination.
When not writing, D.W. enjoys spending time with his family, hiking, camping, and playing with the dogs.
Be sure to sign up for his Patreon today at https://patreon.com/dwhitz to stay up to date with news and exclusive offers, plus discounts on signed books.
When not writing, D.W. enjoys spending time with his family, hiking, camping, and playing with the dogs.
Be sure to sign up for his Patreon today at https://patreon.com/dwhitz to stay up to date with news and exclusive offers, plus discounts on signed books.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 1, 2024
Don’t deprive yourself of reading this anthology! While you’re at it, grab Volume 1 & 2 as well!
With amazing cover art by Don Noble& fantastic horror stories from incredible authors you really can’t go wrong. I love this collection because it was so perfect to read outside at night in the summer, imagining that maybeeee I wasn’t alone in the darkness outside. I’m not sure if I would be able to bring it camping… I’d be too terrified to sleep in my tent.
Special shoutouts for “Old Bones” by Megan Stockton- ok, having worked night shifts in a rural hospital with only one other staff member… this was terrifying and brought up scary memories (patients wandering in the dark, or showing up bloody in the middle of storms at the ER doors, the morgue fridge doors that would randomly open when you walked by them…). I was freaking out when the power went off in the story and could only imagine Santi’s stress and fear.
Also “Baptismal Waters” by Angel Van Atta gave me heart palpitations I swear! I had to take a break a few times just to come to terms with what was happening. The end of the story too! Yikes!!!!😱
With amazing cover art by Don Noble& fantastic horror stories from incredible authors you really can’t go wrong. I love this collection because it was so perfect to read outside at night in the summer, imagining that maybeeee I wasn’t alone in the darkness outside. I’m not sure if I would be able to bring it camping… I’d be too terrified to sleep in my tent.
Special shoutouts for “Old Bones” by Megan Stockton- ok, having worked night shifts in a rural hospital with only one other staff member… this was terrifying and brought up scary memories (patients wandering in the dark, or showing up bloody in the middle of storms at the ER doors, the morgue fridge doors that would randomly open when you walked by them…). I was freaking out when the power went off in the story and could only imagine Santi’s stress and fear.
Also “Baptismal Waters” by Angel Van Atta gave me heart palpitations I swear! I had to take a break a few times just to come to terms with what was happening. The end of the story too! Yikes!!!!😱
September 13, 2024
I really enjoyed this collection of stories. They were all based on. Some aspect of a slasher. A lot of them turned the trope of slashers on its head. This was a very good collection with some truly awesome stories. There wasn’t a weak story in the bunch. I was gifted a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
February 15, 2025
This is volume 3 of the Camp Slasher Lake books, so that tells you all you need to know, that tells you just how good this series is and I don't really need to write a review! 🤷♀️
Ok, OK, I will….
Once again the stories within these pages are pure slashery awesomeness! Hitz handpicks the finest storytellers, sets up camp and lets them creep around and unleash their words on us, brilliantly brutal, gore soaked, blood drenched and nightmarish words, that will have you sleeping with the lights on and zipping up that tent tightly at night!
11 stories, all of which are incredibly good. The first story wowed me and I figured the rest had a tough act to follow, but they did me proud, every single story had the wow factor, alongside the gory, creepy, brutal, gripping and thoroughly enjoyable factor!
Here's a few words for each story to tempt you inside….
SON OF THE DEVIL by Jonathan Maberry.... Neb finds his backbone after his father is hauled away by the cops and the religious nut from next door gives him a piece of her mind.
He's alone now, after watching his mother and sister suffer, and losing his father, he has to step up. He heads into town, and comes across horrific scenes, scenes that will haunt him, and he wants nothing more than to have his father back, to seek revenge together on anyone who ever wronged them.
Heart wrenching. A smooth flowing, addictive, almost poetic narrative.
GIRLS NIGHT By Will Suffer.... When Alice is pranked by some girls from school, she wants just one thing, the ultimate revenge, she is determined to get her hooks into them and serve up appropriate justice.
Blood drenched and action packed.
HONEYMARROW by MJ Mars.... Suki is leaving her family for a couple of months to attend an archaeological dig. The destination is steeped in myth and legend, and terrifying the locals. It's a huge discovery for the team, and things quickly deteriorate into bloody chaos.
Chilling.
OLD BONES by Megan Stockton.... Santiago is working the night shift at the Hands of Grace hospice, when there's a power cut during a storm. It's happened before, but tonight it feels different...
One of the residents may just have a new lease of life, and a fresh taste for death.
Creepy as heck atmosphere. Tense.
THE SONG OF BLOOD by Jay Bower... Deputies Turner and Maloney are tasked with investigating the recent spate of murders, their only clues, a camp, knife wounds and dice...
So many have lost their lives by the roll of a dice, a sick game, a bloody song...
I really liked that we got the killer's pov in this story.
THE GROVE by Eric Butler…. Mike is telling scary stories at a Halloween party in a lodge with his friends, he discovers a strange bracelet, one he's familiar with. But why?
He's propositioned by one of the girls, and like any red blooded male, he takes her up on it, and to a place he knows in the Grove...where long buried memories resurface and a cold, bloody dish of Karma is served.
Creepy good revenge!
BLUE MOON OVER BLOOD LAKE by Mike Ennenbach.... Piotr is an imposing man, yet a simpleton, working for the Nazis in the once sleepy town of Czaplinek. He cares for nothing other than gathering water and his sister, Sonja, and its while gathering water that tragedy strikes. Sonja uses her surroundings to her advantage, learning the old ways, and putting them to good use. All she wants is her brother, and vengeance...
Melancholic, beautifully dark and eerie.
MOTEL NOWHERE By RJ Roles.... Gary is struggling to stay alert on a long drive in the works vehicle when, like a miracle, he spots a motel sign through the abundant foliage...
He finds himself all tied up in some business he's not keen on being a part of... and things quickly turn nasty!
Great twist I didn't see coming!
BAPTISMAL WATERS BY ANGEL VAN ATTA.... Sammie is alone, a baby, orphaned brutally and left to fend for herself. After a strange encounter at a diner, an innocent and joyous family camping trip goes quickly and horribly wrong.
All Sammie wants is to be clean, and to have her family back..
Seen through the eyes of a naive little girl, emotional, heartbreaking and utterly chilling.
CUSTER COMES HOME by DW Hitz.... Russ is tasked with the demolition of Camp Custer Falls, years after the massacre that took place there. The caretaker's cabin is the last to be torn down and he has a sinking feeling it's not going to be easy to let it go. Or the book he finds there..
Charlie is in charge of the construction crew and feels she needs to prove herself, so stays late every night, despite the creepiness surrounding it.
Lawrence and Chad! Woah!! 😲
Tense and creepy. Brutal, brilliant. The perfect end to this collection.
Ok, OK, I will….
Once again the stories within these pages are pure slashery awesomeness! Hitz handpicks the finest storytellers, sets up camp and lets them creep around and unleash their words on us, brilliantly brutal, gore soaked, blood drenched and nightmarish words, that will have you sleeping with the lights on and zipping up that tent tightly at night!
11 stories, all of which are incredibly good. The first story wowed me and I figured the rest had a tough act to follow, but they did me proud, every single story had the wow factor, alongside the gory, creepy, brutal, gripping and thoroughly enjoyable factor!
Here's a few words for each story to tempt you inside….
SON OF THE DEVIL by Jonathan Maberry.... Neb finds his backbone after his father is hauled away by the cops and the religious nut from next door gives him a piece of her mind.
He's alone now, after watching his mother and sister suffer, and losing his father, he has to step up. He heads into town, and comes across horrific scenes, scenes that will haunt him, and he wants nothing more than to have his father back, to seek revenge together on anyone who ever wronged them.
Heart wrenching. A smooth flowing, addictive, almost poetic narrative.
GIRLS NIGHT By Will Suffer.... When Alice is pranked by some girls from school, she wants just one thing, the ultimate revenge, she is determined to get her hooks into them and serve up appropriate justice.
Blood drenched and action packed.
HONEYMARROW by MJ Mars.... Suki is leaving her family for a couple of months to attend an archaeological dig. The destination is steeped in myth and legend, and terrifying the locals. It's a huge discovery for the team, and things quickly deteriorate into bloody chaos.
Chilling.
OLD BONES by Megan Stockton.... Santiago is working the night shift at the Hands of Grace hospice, when there's a power cut during a storm. It's happened before, but tonight it feels different...
One of the residents may just have a new lease of life, and a fresh taste for death.
Creepy as heck atmosphere. Tense.
THE SONG OF BLOOD by Jay Bower... Deputies Turner and Maloney are tasked with investigating the recent spate of murders, their only clues, a camp, knife wounds and dice...
So many have lost their lives by the roll of a dice, a sick game, a bloody song...
I really liked that we got the killer's pov in this story.
THE GROVE by Eric Butler…. Mike is telling scary stories at a Halloween party in a lodge with his friends, he discovers a strange bracelet, one he's familiar with. But why?
He's propositioned by one of the girls, and like any red blooded male, he takes her up on it, and to a place he knows in the Grove...where long buried memories resurface and a cold, bloody dish of Karma is served.
Creepy good revenge!
BLUE MOON OVER BLOOD LAKE by Mike Ennenbach.... Piotr is an imposing man, yet a simpleton, working for the Nazis in the once sleepy town of Czaplinek. He cares for nothing other than gathering water and his sister, Sonja, and its while gathering water that tragedy strikes. Sonja uses her surroundings to her advantage, learning the old ways, and putting them to good use. All she wants is her brother, and vengeance...
Melancholic, beautifully dark and eerie.
MOTEL NOWHERE By RJ Roles.... Gary is struggling to stay alert on a long drive in the works vehicle when, like a miracle, he spots a motel sign through the abundant foliage...
He finds himself all tied up in some business he's not keen on being a part of... and things quickly turn nasty!
Great twist I didn't see coming!
BAPTISMAL WATERS BY ANGEL VAN ATTA.... Sammie is alone, a baby, orphaned brutally and left to fend for herself. After a strange encounter at a diner, an innocent and joyous family camping trip goes quickly and horribly wrong.
All Sammie wants is to be clean, and to have her family back..
Seen through the eyes of a naive little girl, emotional, heartbreaking and utterly chilling.
CUSTER COMES HOME by DW Hitz.... Russ is tasked with the demolition of Camp Custer Falls, years after the massacre that took place there. The caretaker's cabin is the last to be torn down and he has a sinking feeling it's not going to be easy to let it go. Or the book he finds there..
Charlie is in charge of the construction crew and feels she needs to prove herself, so stays late every night, despite the creepiness surrounding it.
Lawrence and Chad! Woah!! 😲
Tense and creepy. Brutal, brilliant. The perfect end to this collection.
October 9, 2024
I read the first two volumes and enjoyed them. So I had high expectations for this one and I wasn't disappointed at all. It's a tribute to 1980s horror, which is my favorite time period for horror. Every story in this collection was great, there wasn't a single bad one I can point out. With that being said, there were a few that I absolutely loved. These are...
Old Bones by Megan Stockton
Baptismal Waters by Angel Van Atta
Custer Comes Home by D.W. Hitz
However, every story caught my attention. Every author in this collection did a wonderful job. I hope there will be a fourth installment!
Old Bones by Megan Stockton
Baptismal Waters by Angel Van Atta
Custer Comes Home by D.W. Hitz
However, every story caught my attention. Every author in this collection did a wonderful job. I hope there will be a fourth installment!
October 7, 2024
Camp Slasher Lake is BACK!
Volume 3 pulls no punches and will devastate readers. There are horrors unknown until now and terrors abound within these pages!
When I discovered that there was going to be another volume to Camp Slasher Lake, I was desperate to know more! I knew I had to learn which amazing voices were going to be presented and then couldn’t wait to see what devious and vile things might be presented to us readers within the pages.
What follows are some immediate thoughts that I had after each story:
Son of the Devil - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
By Jonathan Maberry
- Jonathan Maberry is a master of the craft. Not only are his stories terrifying, but they also deliver powerful emotions even in the shortest formats.
Girls’ Night - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
By Will Suffer
- Summer camp has never felt more devious than it did in this terrifying and water logged nightmare fuel. This is perfect for those fans of Friday the 13th!
Honeymarrow - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
By MJ Mars
- This story is so uniquely different but is still just as deliciously evil as you could get. This has some creative killing that I really liked!
Night of the Mosquitoes - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
By Brian G. Berry
- Brian Berry writes gore like no other devious mind out there. This story is a study in how to showcase levels of evil and grossness to the extreme! It was just perfection!
- The end of this gives me hope we could see more writings from this story and let me tell you I would read it immediately!
Old Bones - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
By Megan Stockton
- There is an entry in the Wrong Turn franchise that this story reminded me of. And I loved that entry as much as I enjoyed this twisted and demented hospital slasher. Check all the beds or elseeee!
- Also cops in horror stories crack me up, useless is an understatement.
The Song of Blood - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 💫
By Jay Bower
- Jay Bower writes great horror. I’ll never think of a d20 the same way again. And that’s just on creative killers!
The Grove - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
By Eric Butler
- MAKE THIS A MOVIE IMMEDIATELY!
- Not only did this play out in my mind as a true horror film, but this was so engaging and engrossing. I couldn’t stop reading this and I would KILL to get an expanded story and world from this.
Blue Moon Over Blood Lake - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
By M Ennenbach
- This was a slow burn but holy snap the ending of this story had my jaw on the floor. Some say it’s still there to this day. This was such a wild story from start to the last chapter. Amazing.
Motel Nowhere - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
By RJ Roles
- Brutal and bloody! Motel Nowhere is truly a local to visit and it’s going places (pun intended). This was a fun bloodbath time and who doesn’t love a good cat and mouse!
Baptismal Waters - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
By Angel Van Atta
- I found myself super disoriented with this story at first. However, when it comes to emotional impact - this story probably hits the hardest of this entire collection!
- Brace yourselves because this one isn’t for the faint of heart!
Custer Comes Home - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
By DW Hitz
- If there is one thing I know it’s that Hitz knows slashers and can provide some disturbing slashers in writing. I have nightmares from the first volume still and I’m glad I have fresh nightmares with Custer Comes Home
Volume 3 pulls no punches and will devastate readers. There are horrors unknown until now and terrors abound within these pages!
When I discovered that there was going to be another volume to Camp Slasher Lake, I was desperate to know more! I knew I had to learn which amazing voices were going to be presented and then couldn’t wait to see what devious and vile things might be presented to us readers within the pages.
What follows are some immediate thoughts that I had after each story:
Son of the Devil - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
By Jonathan Maberry
- Jonathan Maberry is a master of the craft. Not only are his stories terrifying, but they also deliver powerful emotions even in the shortest formats.
Girls’ Night - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
By Will Suffer
- Summer camp has never felt more devious than it did in this terrifying and water logged nightmare fuel. This is perfect for those fans of Friday the 13th!
Honeymarrow - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
By MJ Mars
- This story is so uniquely different but is still just as deliciously evil as you could get. This has some creative killing that I really liked!
Night of the Mosquitoes - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
By Brian G. Berry
- Brian Berry writes gore like no other devious mind out there. This story is a study in how to showcase levels of evil and grossness to the extreme! It was just perfection!
- The end of this gives me hope we could see more writings from this story and let me tell you I would read it immediately!
Old Bones - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
By Megan Stockton
- There is an entry in the Wrong Turn franchise that this story reminded me of. And I loved that entry as much as I enjoyed this twisted and demented hospital slasher. Check all the beds or elseeee!
- Also cops in horror stories crack me up, useless is an understatement.
The Song of Blood - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 💫
By Jay Bower
- Jay Bower writes great horror. I’ll never think of a d20 the same way again. And that’s just on creative killers!
The Grove - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
By Eric Butler
- MAKE THIS A MOVIE IMMEDIATELY!
- Not only did this play out in my mind as a true horror film, but this was so engaging and engrossing. I couldn’t stop reading this and I would KILL to get an expanded story and world from this.
Blue Moon Over Blood Lake - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
By M Ennenbach
- This was a slow burn but holy snap the ending of this story had my jaw on the floor. Some say it’s still there to this day. This was such a wild story from start to the last chapter. Amazing.
Motel Nowhere - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
By RJ Roles
- Brutal and bloody! Motel Nowhere is truly a local to visit and it’s going places (pun intended). This was a fun bloodbath time and who doesn’t love a good cat and mouse!
Baptismal Waters - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
By Angel Van Atta
- I found myself super disoriented with this story at first. However, when it comes to emotional impact - this story probably hits the hardest of this entire collection!
- Brace yourselves because this one isn’t for the faint of heart!
Custer Comes Home - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
By DW Hitz
- If there is one thing I know it’s that Hitz knows slashers and can provide some disturbing slashers in writing. I have nightmares from the first volume still and I’m glad I have fresh nightmares with Custer Comes Home
September 12, 2024
A bunch of short horror stories. I throughly enjoyed the collection. A few of them were really really good. Some were average and didn’t get the horror feeling going. But overall really enjoyed it, definitely one to pick up if you’re into short stories!
November 24, 2024
Billed as a tribute to the slasher movies of the 80s, the stories do exactly as you want them to! Plenty of blood, plenty of gore, plenty of cheesy tropes. Very enjoyable tales.
November 9, 2024
If you're a slasher fan looking for the perfect read, Camp Slasher Lake is a must-have. This anthology delivers a chilling collection of slasher stories that are packed with blood, gore, and brutal encounters. Each tale is masterfully written by a group of incredibly talented authors, each bringing their own dark, twisted vision to life.
The variety in this anthology is impressive, each story feels fresh yet unified by the theme of relentless terror. Whether you prefer the classic camp setting, a creepy motel, or an eerie grove, Camp Slasher Lake has it all and then some. The graphic and visceral descriptions make the scenes come alive. It will have you on the edge of your seat flipping pages to see what’s coming next. The stories are brutal, and the tension never lets up. While the content might not be for the faint of heart, fans of slasher horror will revel in the carnage and fear. Be sure to grab all three volumes!
The variety in this anthology is impressive, each story feels fresh yet unified by the theme of relentless terror. Whether you prefer the classic camp setting, a creepy motel, or an eerie grove, Camp Slasher Lake has it all and then some. The graphic and visceral descriptions make the scenes come alive. It will have you on the edge of your seat flipping pages to see what’s coming next. The stories are brutal, and the tension never lets up. While the content might not be for the faint of heart, fans of slasher horror will revel in the carnage and fear. Be sure to grab all three volumes!
September 7, 2024
This was another absolutely amazing collection of slashers. Each one was just brilliant, and I couldn't stop reading. I was so engrossed that I hadn't even realised I was on the last story, and I was gutted. We need more of these collections.
Once again, if you're a fan of horror and slashers, you have to read all 3 volumes (definitely read them in order as DW Hitz continues his story in each one).
Once again, if you're a fan of horror and slashers, you have to read all 3 volumes (definitely read them in order as DW Hitz continues his story in each one).
November 10, 2024
This anthology has plenty of blood, gore, spice, and more. There are several different tropes throughout, including urban legends and camps.
Two of my favorite stories were from Jay Bower and Angel Van Atta.
Two of my favorite stories were from Jay Bower and Angel Van Atta.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2024
This anthology is ideal for the spooky season.
It features a talented group of authors, who are skilled at creating horrifying and chilling tales. If you enjoy books or movies featuring slashers, then this collection is highly recommended. Right from the start, the stories craft an eerie mood that sends chills down your spine, accompanied by descriptions of violent and gory bloodshed. I was hooked from start to finish and wished it wouldn't have ended.
It features a talented group of authors, who are skilled at creating horrifying and chilling tales. If you enjoy books or movies featuring slashers, then this collection is highly recommended. Right from the start, the stories craft an eerie mood that sends chills down your spine, accompanied by descriptions of violent and gory bloodshed. I was hooked from start to finish and wished it wouldn't have ended.
September 11, 2024
As the days are getting colder, the evenings darker, and October starts to loom, there's always one subgenre of horror I begin to gravitate towards for the spooky season: the good old fashioned gory slasher. As far as those go, I found that this book, the third entry in the Camp Slasher Lake series, more than delivered. Encompassing everything from the traditional stories that the name suggests—think screaming teens, machetes gleaming in moonlight, sex, and fountains of claret spraying—to more unique, fun, and occasionally devastating takes on the style, there's plenty here to have disciples of the classic Hollywood masked murderers grinning ear to ear.
Of the 11 stories here, I could easily single out every one of them for praise. From the opening story, Jonathan Maberry's western revenge tale that could easily be expanded into a full novel, to MJ Mars' take on the genre that almost leans towards folk horror via an archaeological dig site, and a fun take on a B-movie/creature feature from Brian G. Berry, every author has brought to the table an idea or a concept that is well worth reading.
My personal favourite story is Megan Stockton's Old Bones. I love hospital-set horror, although I think this is the first time I've read one in a hospice, and this one makes great use of the setting. Following a nurse in a facility that's awaiting sale, he makes some startling discoveries when the power goes off during his night shift. I had an absolute blast with this one, and I'd love to see the author tackle a novel-length slasher in the future.
Other highlights are R.J. Roles' Motel Nowhere, a delightfully brutal read with a concept that'd fit right into an early King collection, and M. Ennenbach's Blue Moon Over Blood Lake, a dual timeline story of an occult killer in a 1940s Nazi camp and German tourists visiting 1990s Poland. The collection is capped off by D.W. Hitz's closing tale, Custer Comes Home—think Jason Lives meets Evil Dead, a perfect example of the 'remorseless killing machine' antagonist, and with one of the best endings in the collection as well.
The stories contained within this book are gory, violent, intense, sometimes sex-filled, sometimes fun, and what higher praise is there for a fan of the slasher subgenre? If you're the sort of person who spends October binging your Friday The 13th boxset or screening every Scream film, this collection needs to be on your Halloween read list.
September 11, 2024
11 stories, 11 WOWs! This anthology is DYNAMITE!
The whole package D.W. Hitz has put together is simply amazing! And no wonder: these authors have proven, time and time again, their solid grasp of what makes a short story work, and they know their stuff when it comes to slashers. The stories feel like short films, wasting no time to get to the point, going for non-stop action, gory killings, and quick, terrific dialogue. Not to mention atmosphere! In fact, the opening story, Maberry's "Son of the Devil", the longest of the bunch, could be easily turned into a great Western Slasher movie (perhaps the first of its kind?).
The volume deserves special mention for originality (MJ Mars' "Honeymarrow" goes for a slasher-type of story in an archaeological dig, with a female scientist, mother and wife, as the "final girl" - great ending!), style (Will Suffer's "Girls' Night" ticks all the boxes with both elegance and flair; Brian G. Berry's "Night of the Mosquitoes" is a fantastic B-movie kind of story, exactly what the title promises!), and inventiveness (Jay Bower's "The Song of Blood" plays with the killer's point of view in a totally immersive way, plus he's throwing Easter Eggs left and right! Easter Eggs galore in Hitz's "Custer Comes Home" too - Custer literally comes home in Hitz's fictional Custer Falls!).
However, I'd like to single out five stories for taking the slasher theme and going places I never expected: "Old Bones" by Megan Stockton (a fantastic slasher in a hospice home - chilling ending!), "The Grove" by Eric Butler (the perfect slasher story in the woods), "Blue Moon Over Blood Lake" by M Ennenbach (wonderful prose, a WWII supernatural slasher with Nazis and witches, told in two time periods), "Motel Nowhere" by RJ Roles (an unintentional slasher civil war in a motel in the middle of nowhere! Briliant!), and my favorite, "Baptismal Waters" by Angel Van Atta (a stunning story about a family massacre, a tale with many triggers, of both the emotional and graphic physical kind! This felt like true crime horror and the raw emotion floored me - especially once I made sense of the title).
I can't praise this anthology enough. If you can handle slashers, and you find yourself hungering for a good slasher story, original, violent, detailed, this is the anthology you've been waiting for. Take it with you everywhere and spread the joy around!
The whole package D.W. Hitz has put together is simply amazing! And no wonder: these authors have proven, time and time again, their solid grasp of what makes a short story work, and they know their stuff when it comes to slashers. The stories feel like short films, wasting no time to get to the point, going for non-stop action, gory killings, and quick, terrific dialogue. Not to mention atmosphere! In fact, the opening story, Maberry's "Son of the Devil", the longest of the bunch, could be easily turned into a great Western Slasher movie (perhaps the first of its kind?).
The volume deserves special mention for originality (MJ Mars' "Honeymarrow" goes for a slasher-type of story in an archaeological dig, with a female scientist, mother and wife, as the "final girl" - great ending!), style (Will Suffer's "Girls' Night" ticks all the boxes with both elegance and flair; Brian G. Berry's "Night of the Mosquitoes" is a fantastic B-movie kind of story, exactly what the title promises!), and inventiveness (Jay Bower's "The Song of Blood" plays with the killer's point of view in a totally immersive way, plus he's throwing Easter Eggs left and right! Easter Eggs galore in Hitz's "Custer Comes Home" too - Custer literally comes home in Hitz's fictional Custer Falls!).
However, I'd like to single out five stories for taking the slasher theme and going places I never expected: "Old Bones" by Megan Stockton (a fantastic slasher in a hospice home - chilling ending!), "The Grove" by Eric Butler (the perfect slasher story in the woods), "Blue Moon Over Blood Lake" by M Ennenbach (wonderful prose, a WWII supernatural slasher with Nazis and witches, told in two time periods), "Motel Nowhere" by RJ Roles (an unintentional slasher civil war in a motel in the middle of nowhere! Briliant!), and my favorite, "Baptismal Waters" by Angel Van Atta (a stunning story about a family massacre, a tale with many triggers, of both the emotional and graphic physical kind! This felt like true crime horror and the raw emotion floored me - especially once I made sense of the title).
I can't praise this anthology enough. If you can handle slashers, and you find yourself hungering for a good slasher story, original, violent, detailed, this is the anthology you've been waiting for. Take it with you everywhere and spread the joy around!
September 18, 2024
Incredible read that it’s not only jam-packed with incredible authors but it also pays tribute to those slasher movies from the 80’s that we love!
Like every anthology, some hit more than others but I really enjoyed every story in this one!
Like every anthology, some hit more than others but I really enjoyed every story in this one!
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