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Scared Silly
What do you get when you mix a penis eating zombie with a downtrodden grim reaper then add a pinch of lycanthopic mad scientist, sprinkle it with a grocery store full of living food and mash it into a frightening red eyed monster?
You get SCARED SILLY!
Let author, Frank J Edler, take you into a world of not-so-serious horror. This collection features five frighteningly funny tales from the wicked and wacky writer. Laugh yourself to death as you read the stories: Old Scrote, SPLAT!, Death Gets A Life, GROSSeries and Wolfberries.
You get SCARED SILLY!
Let author, Frank J Edler, take you into a world of not-so-serious horror. This collection features five frighteningly funny tales from the wicked and wacky writer. Laugh yourself to death as you read the stories: Old Scrote, SPLAT!, Death Gets A Life, GROSSeries and Wolfberries.
90 pages, ebook
First published June 21, 2014
2 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Frank J. Edler
36 books129 followersFrank J. Edler is the author of many twisted novels and uncanny short stories often cited as 'laugh out loud' dark comedies. His writing walks the fine line between horror and the bizarre. He resides in New Jersey, a land that is both horrific and bizarre.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 24, 2021
3.5 STARS
This is some of the earlier work by Frank Edler, and while these stories were enjoyable, some impressed more than others. What I did like, though, was the way he thought outside the box - I will give him points for originality.
'SPLAT!' was the one I didn't connect to, and I think this author is better when working some humor into the horror. 'GROSSeries' was really, really original and I must say I enjoyed it. It was 'Death gets a life' which impressed me the most - I am looking forward to reading his other 'Death' stories.
Worth checking out, me thinks.
This is some of the earlier work by Frank Edler, and while these stories were enjoyable, some impressed more than others. What I did like, though, was the way he thought outside the box - I will give him points for originality.
'SPLAT!' was the one I didn't connect to, and I think this author is better when working some humor into the horror. 'GROSSeries' was really, really original and I must say I enjoyed it. It was 'Death gets a life' which impressed me the most - I am looking forward to reading his other 'Death' stories.
Worth checking out, me thinks.
July 15, 2014
If you've somehow managed to miss Frank Edler's ravings on his podcast and his blog, you may wish to remedy that before giving this book a read, if only just to get a better sense of the twisted mind you'll be delving into. Then again, whether you plan on reading Scared Silly or not, you just might wanna check out Books, Beer & Bullshit regardless, for interviews with Douglas Hackle, John McNee, and certain other authors who don't get nearly as much press as they deserve.
To begin my review, first a few words on each story:
Old Scrote
A great choice to open this collection, introducing us to Edler's singular voice and style. As he explains in the postscript, "I could have gone with a kidney-eating zombie or a lung-eating zombie but that’s not my style, my style is a penis-eating zombie clown."
SPLAT!
Darker than the other stories here, this one managed to get some chuckles out of me regardless. Definitely not the strongest in the bunch, but not bad for what it is, and certainly not for an author who seems most comfortable on the humorous side of horror.
GROSSeries
Easily one of the best grocery-zombie stories I've read in a while, and that's counting "A&P" by John Updike. Wait... what other grocery-zombie stories are there?
Death Gets A Life
Probably the most polished story on display, and also the only one featuring Death on a fucking surfboard. Would love to see more in this vein from Edler in the future.
Wolfberries
Rarely are inside jokes so readily adapted for public consumption. Great dialogue in this one, too.
Excerpt from Brats In Hell
Edler is spot-on in his portrayal of midwestern American life, and possibly the afterlife as well. Ends the collection on a strong note, with the promise of more good stuff to come.
Overall, Scared Silly is definitely worth a read for the right kind of reader. There is quite the range of quality here, and while the stories aren't necessarily presented in chronological order, it is interesting to chart Edler's development as a writer. Your own mileage may vary, but here is my personal list of kudos and condemnations:
+ 2 for penis-eating zombie clown
- 1 for using "impervious" where "oblivious" was intended
- 1 for using "cacophony" where "clamor", "din", or "ruckus" would've sufficed (and twice)
+ 1 for Death on a fucking surfboard
+ 1 for knowing the difference between "horde" and "hoard"
- 1 for mixing up "it's" and "its" here and there
+ 1 for knowing the difference between "pedal" and "peddle"
- 1 for some repetitive descriptions
- 1 for some spelling/punctuation errors
+ 2 for managing to achieve some very funny and unsettling scenes regardless
+ 1 for some pretty awesome dialogue as well
= 3 stars total
As Edler himself admits in his introduction, Scared Silly may be a bit rough around the edges, but whatever his prose lacks in smooth sophistication at this stage, it makes up for with an unassuming earnestness so rarely found in more refined works. Sure, most of these stories could use another going over yet, but nothing that a good, bitch-slapping editor couldn't handle.
Definitely an author to watch...
To begin my review, first a few words on each story:
Old Scrote
A great choice to open this collection, introducing us to Edler's singular voice and style. As he explains in the postscript, "I could have gone with a kidney-eating zombie or a lung-eating zombie but that’s not my style, my style is a penis-eating zombie clown."
SPLAT!
Darker than the other stories here, this one managed to get some chuckles out of me regardless. Definitely not the strongest in the bunch, but not bad for what it is, and certainly not for an author who seems most comfortable on the humorous side of horror.
GROSSeries
Easily one of the best grocery-zombie stories I've read in a while, and that's counting "A&P" by John Updike. Wait... what other grocery-zombie stories are there?
Death Gets A Life
Probably the most polished story on display, and also the only one featuring Death on a fucking surfboard. Would love to see more in this vein from Edler in the future.
Wolfberries
Rarely are inside jokes so readily adapted for public consumption. Great dialogue in this one, too.
Excerpt from Brats In Hell
Edler is spot-on in his portrayal of midwestern American life, and possibly the afterlife as well. Ends the collection on a strong note, with the promise of more good stuff to come.
Overall, Scared Silly is definitely worth a read for the right kind of reader. There is quite the range of quality here, and while the stories aren't necessarily presented in chronological order, it is interesting to chart Edler's development as a writer. Your own mileage may vary, but here is my personal list of kudos and condemnations:
+ 2 for penis-eating zombie clown
- 1 for using "impervious" where "oblivious" was intended
- 1 for using "cacophony" where "clamor", "din", or "ruckus" would've sufficed (and twice)
+ 1 for Death on a fucking surfboard
+ 1 for knowing the difference between "horde" and "hoard"
- 1 for mixing up "it's" and "its" here and there
+ 1 for knowing the difference between "pedal" and "peddle"
- 1 for some repetitive descriptions
- 1 for some spelling/punctuation errors
+ 2 for managing to achieve some very funny and unsettling scenes regardless
+ 1 for some pretty awesome dialogue as well
= 3 stars total
As Edler himself admits in his introduction, Scared Silly may be a bit rough around the edges, but whatever his prose lacks in smooth sophistication at this stage, it makes up for with an unassuming earnestness so rarely found in more refined works. Sure, most of these stories could use another going over yet, but nothing that a good, bitch-slapping editor couldn't handle.
Definitely an author to watch...
October 2, 2017
My interview with Frank here!
Excellent starter for an author I hope to see more from soon!
Refreshing to read the work of someone who can't help but be humorous—too often the opposite is the case. A welcome voice to the horror/bizarro communities :)
Excellent starter for an author I hope to see more from soon!
Refreshing to read the work of someone who can't help but be humorous—too often the opposite is the case. A welcome voice to the horror/bizarro communities :)
February 27, 2016
A humorous approach to horror that I enjoyed. I finished this one quick, as each of these stories were pretty different from the next and held my interest throughout. Not a loser in the bunch. I am looking forward to more of Frank's work.
September 1, 2017
Just a plain old wacky good time!
October 30, 2014
This is a good collection. I wanted to give it a higher rating, but a few things held me back. I believe the author is building his chops well as a writer. Story-wise, this is a 4.5 star collection. Writing-wise, there were a some hiccups with missing punctuation and descriptions that could have either been more or less to the point. I would recommend this collection to any lover of comedic horror who is willing to look past the aforementioned hiccups, or wouldn't notice them anyways.
The book starts off with a tale about penis-eating zombies. I swear I've read a story like that somewhere before....hmmm...anyways, it was a great opener and hilarious as fuck. The next story. "SPLAT!", is ill placed, in my opinion. The most serious of the bunch, I think it should have been thrown somewhere closer to the middle to break things up. But you could always just read the stories out of order. So maybe try that. I think it might have been my favorite in the book. Something about dark, quiet roads just gives me a good case of the willies.
Aside from those two, the real gem here is "Death Gets A Life". I can't help but mention that it reminded me of the Adam Corrolla voiced character from Family Guy, of which I'm fond. It's really just the most cohesive and organized tale in the batch and what made me most want to read more from this Frank Edler guy.
All in all, I think anyone with any taste would have a good time with this book.
The book starts off with a tale about penis-eating zombies. I swear I've read a story like that somewhere before....hmmm...anyways, it was a great opener and hilarious as fuck. The next story. "SPLAT!", is ill placed, in my opinion. The most serious of the bunch, I think it should have been thrown somewhere closer to the middle to break things up. But you could always just read the stories out of order. So maybe try that. I think it might have been my favorite in the book. Something about dark, quiet roads just gives me a good case of the willies.
Aside from those two, the real gem here is "Death Gets A Life". I can't help but mention that it reminded me of the Adam Corrolla voiced character from Family Guy, of which I'm fond. It's really just the most cohesive and organized tale in the batch and what made me most want to read more from this Frank Edler guy.
All in all, I think anyone with any taste would have a good time with this book.
July 16, 2014
So Frank runs this podcast, right? He's a funny guy, could be a real drinking buddy type. A guy like that, sometimes the stuff that comes out of their mouth, you think - “Man, that was pretty funny. You should probably write that down.”
And then he did!
I had a chance to beta-read this work a bit ago and here are some of my thoughts: Frank wasn't trying to impress me with vocabulary or trying to make me chase down my dictionary. His form is straight forward, to the point, and flavored with bits of comedy. Is there more cheese in this book than horror... Yes. I would almost say it's a horror comedy. He's got a great zombie concept in here that I won't spoil, but man, that concept was a gift alone. Anytime I put down a read and then play out a concept an author has presented and have a little fun daydream style- Then yeah, kudos for that.
There's a good mix in here. Grossness, horror, comedy, and even some heart and sweetness. I dig the variety. The name Scared Silly is pretty spot on as far as titling a product, although I would have given it a name so long and ridiculous just to be a total ass, for no reason whatsoever other than I could. Like... Super Baby Smasher Stories I Hate You Dad- The Book.
I don't think he ever got full on black humor in this work, since I felt a sense of levity amongst them all (except one, which was straightforward horror) but I think he's got what it takes to tell stories, and I'd like to see where he goes with it.
I give it four stars because he made me laugh out loud several times. I like to laugh. It makes me feel human. THANKS FOR THE WIENERS, FRANKIE.
And then he did!
I had a chance to beta-read this work a bit ago and here are some of my thoughts: Frank wasn't trying to impress me with vocabulary or trying to make me chase down my dictionary. His form is straight forward, to the point, and flavored with bits of comedy. Is there more cheese in this book than horror... Yes. I would almost say it's a horror comedy. He's got a great zombie concept in here that I won't spoil, but man, that concept was a gift alone. Anytime I put down a read and then play out a concept an author has presented and have a little fun daydream style- Then yeah, kudos for that.
There's a good mix in here. Grossness, horror, comedy, and even some heart and sweetness. I dig the variety. The name Scared Silly is pretty spot on as far as titling a product, although I would have given it a name so long and ridiculous just to be a total ass, for no reason whatsoever other than I could. Like... Super Baby Smasher Stories I Hate You Dad- The Book.
I don't think he ever got full on black humor in this work, since I felt a sense of levity amongst them all (except one, which was straightforward horror) but I think he's got what it takes to tell stories, and I'd like to see where he goes with it.
I give it four stars because he made me laugh out loud several times. I like to laugh. It makes me feel human. THANKS FOR THE WIENERS, FRANKIE.
June 19, 2018
Scared Silly shows 5 different sides of the weird and awesome package that is Frank Edler. Yes Mr Frank I like your package. Each story is different from each other but each one is funny and has a good amount of horror in it. I think this is a good vehicle to see what the author’s writing style is like. I loved this collection and recommended it to horror and bizarro fans.
July 19, 2015
Horror comedy done right!
For my full take, go here Scared Silly
For my full take, go here Scared Silly
June 22, 2021
Disturbing, kind of morbid fun
If you like dark fiction but also like humor, this is a great collection for you to read. Frank Edler's stories are like demented cartoons full of absurd premises, b-movie campiness, and the occasional genuine heartfelt moment. One thing's for sure: nobody else writes stories like this. It's a fun ride!
If you like dark fiction but also like humor, this is a great collection for you to read. Frank Edler's stories are like demented cartoons full of absurd premises, b-movie campiness, and the occasional genuine heartfelt moment. One thing's for sure: nobody else writes stories like this. It's a fun ride!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews