Watch: A Disturb Ink Books Anthology

by H. Dair Brown, Russell Gray, John Joseph Ryan

Scary stories where "We'll be right back right after these messages" isn't just a promise, it's a threat. Don't touch that dial...

In ancient times, people circled around a fire and told tales. In the 1960s, people gathered around the glow of a television set. Prepare to be terrified by Watch, the third chilling installment in the Sinister Century series from Disturb Ink Books. Grab a seat on the couch and get to know the people in these unsettling stories from the 1960s all featuring TV's dark

A ghostwriter, who has an unusual moonlighting gig, but his separate worlds are in danger of crashing togetherAn elderly man struggling with both a changing world and the shifting loyalties of his family during a momentous historical eventA woman trapped in a rural farmhouse with her family and a terrifyingly altered realityEdited by H. Dair Brown, this anthology weaves together spine-chilling horror and thriller tales from acclaimed and emerging authors, Russell Gray, John Joseph Ryan, and Trevor James Zaple.

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Disturb Ink Books publishes fiction that lurks in the haunted land where gothic horror and psychological thrillers meet.

Genres: Horror

47 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 9, 2024

About the author

H. DAIR BROWN writes books and stories for people who like to read in that scary place where quiet, often supernatural horror and psychological thrillers overlap.

You can find some of the wiliest characters from MOLLY BRIGHT, her award-winning novel-in-stories, resurfacing in SUMMER BLUDGEON and AUTUMN NOIR (Disturb Ink Books). The stories in HOPE SCREAMS ETERNAL and STILL OF WINTER (both from Inky Bones Press) veer a little more horror.

For a quick sip of scary, check out the SINISTER CENTURY SERIES in the 90-minute reads category! Each collection in the series delves into the dark underbelly of a specific decade, bringing to life the horrors that lurk beneath the surface of nostalgic eras. From the eerie silence of early cinema to the ever vigilant (always listening) AI of today, these chilling tales explore how technology and culture intertwine to create nightmares tailor made for each generation.

ESCAPE - Explore the shadowy world of cinema in the 1920s

LISTEN - Succumb to the eerie whispers of radio during the 1940s

WATCH - Uncover the haunting secrets of television in the 1960s

CAPTURE - Experience the chilling grip of VCRs & camcorders in the 1980s

HOST - Navigate the dangerous territories of the internet in the 2000s

LURK - Confront the malevolent forces of social media & AI devices in the 2020s


You can also find her active on Goodreads and BookBub under "H. Dair Brown."

For more Dairlirious Rantings, visit www.HDairBrown.com or look for her on Instagram (@dairlirious).

Reviews

[Russell Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disturb Ink presents a set of six short story collections set in different decades, exploring how the technologies of the times opened the door for unsettling situations and horrors. Why am I reading the third installment first? Well, I’m a bit biased.

One of my stories opens this volume collection. Unfortunately, I’m not the Russell Gray who wrote The Lustful Ape, a fact I’ve lamented every morning this week while brushing my teeth. Despite that shortcoming, I enjoyed writing a story about where an unhealthy parasocial relationship might lead, back before the term ‘parasocial’ was popular (though it was coined in 1956). Then one thing led to another, and I ended up with what I hope is an enjoyable and fast-paced suspense story.

The following story in the collection, the appropriately named Unsettled by John Joseph Ryan, really sinks its teeth into a moment in time. Set in a living room during a family gathering, the story revels in detailing the sights, smells, and sounds of a dysfunctional family watching the historic moon landing on television.

The closing story, Sorry Girls, He’s Married by Trevor James Zaple starts off with what seems to be ground zero of an imploding marriage and what turns out to be ground zero of an exploding marriage against the backdrop of a television debut performance of The Beatles. And then things start getting a bit eldritch…I think this was my favorite story of the bunch.

Overall, this was a fun collection of stories, each offering something different. If you enjoy unsettling short stories, especially ones set in the 60s and written by authors with three names, then you will probably love this volume.

[Milt Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Watch (Terrifying TV_The 1960s)" is Book 3 of the Sinister Century Anthology series. I expected you run-of-the-mill shorts about strange TV shows and uncanny encounters via the black and white screen. I was pleasantly surpised to find three stories very different from what I imagined I'd find. The opening story, "A Query for the Quarry," by Russell Gray, worried me a bit, because it does not really depend on 1960s television; only tangentially does it refer to a cooking TV show - but its premise I found original and intriguing enough to enjoy the story and heartily recommend it to thriller fans. "Unsettled" by John Joseph Ryan wasn't horror, either, but it's an incredibly poignant and cruel story, about the patriarch of a family whose messy ordinary life (bickering, violence, child neglect) transpires in front of the TV, which is showing live a very important historical event of the 60s; the contrast was indeed unsettling. Finally, "Sorry Girls, He’s Married" by Trevor James Zaple, a family horror tale, has great writing and atmosphere, and did not disappoint at all as a terrific expression of the anthology's theme!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.