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Bury My Body Somewhere Nice: A Collection of Dark Stories
“Kalvin Ellis reveals his dark side with BURY MY BODY SOMEWHERE NICE. Each story carves a vicious slice of the human heart. Read this with the lights on!” ~ Jonathan Maberry, NY Times bestselling author of BURN TO SHINE and COLD WAR
Kalvin Ellis brings together this collection of short fiction to explore some of the stranger sides of fiction. Fables, food, and felonies await within these twisted tales.
In the titular story, Bury My Body Somewhere Nice, a young man with a plan is trying to do some good in the world when his plans are foiled by an opportunistic murderer. Collecting bodies seems to be easy, but getting rid of them can be a real drag.
Kalvin Ellis brings together this collection of short fiction to explore some of the stranger sides of fiction. Fables, food, and felonies await within these twisted tales.
In the titular story, Bury My Body Somewhere Nice, a young man with a plan is trying to do some good in the world when his plans are foiled by an opportunistic murderer. Collecting bodies seems to be easy, but getting rid of them can be a real drag.
295 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 4, 2025
26 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 28, 2025
Bury My Body Somewhere Nice is a collection of short stories that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Each story is unique and full of grit, heart, and intrigue. I loved every last one.
In the Dark We Sin was a solid favorite until I met Hank, the MC of Atomic Despair. He stole my heart right out of my chest.
Five stars all around. Check it out!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In the Dark We Sin was a solid favorite until I met Hank, the MC of Atomic Despair. He stole my heart right out of my chest.
Five stars all around. Check it out!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
June 12, 2025
I feel like I have a hard time getting people to take me seriously because I like to gush when I enjoy something, and I’m not the harshest critic in the world either…. Especially if the book is written by one of my good friends, because who doesn’t love to support their buddies??
So, how can I get you guys to believe me when I say - Kalvin Ellis has made me love short stories. In general, for ever and ever? Maybe, maybe not. But for now, I’m wildly impressed. Please believe me, for I am genuine 😇
I do, however, struggle to review short stories, even if I love them because… well, it’s no secret that they’re short! But I digress, I will provide the briefest overview.
Scissors - after I read this one, I told my husband I was mad I didn’t write it. Not like I had this idea festering or anything but I really thought it was such a neat idea and I truly wish it had been my own (yes, seriously)
Soft, Chewy Center - 2 pages in, I asked Kalvin - I’m eating lunch while I’m reading this, should I stop? Yes, I should have. The pace matches the tone of the story perfectly, as dual storylines become tighter and the panic to reach the conclusion hits.
Atomic Despair - okay, I thought this was sweet. In theory, it’s… not exactly, but this one had heart. The feelings I felt for (seemingly) inanimate objects, more than once, throughout these stories was really something special.
Bury My Body Somewhere Nice - the title story did its job - it grabbed me right from the beginning, it was layered and interesting, and had a bit of mystery looped in. Each new development in the story had me going “oh no” as I cheered for the MC to get his situation figured out! (I hope the title makes the description sound more enticing)
In The Dark We Sin - I think this one was my favorite, when coincidentally, I wasn’t even sure if it would suit me. I don’t even want to describe it, for fear of giving away any details but… let’s just say… if you woke up in a room with no exit and nine strangers, would you do what it takes to escape?
If you’ve read Kalvin’s books before, you know he has a knack for weaving dark and sinister tales, while holding his sense of morality and need for justice high. It’s interesting to see parts of your friends' personalities take such a front seat in their writing, especially when you’re confident they don’t realize how many of their qualities are shining through. This may be an odd thing to say about a horror writer, but as horror fans, we know the light is just as important as the dark.
Do yourself a huge favor and pick up a copy!
So, how can I get you guys to believe me when I say - Kalvin Ellis has made me love short stories. In general, for ever and ever? Maybe, maybe not. But for now, I’m wildly impressed. Please believe me, for I am genuine 😇
I do, however, struggle to review short stories, even if I love them because… well, it’s no secret that they’re short! But I digress, I will provide the briefest overview.
Scissors - after I read this one, I told my husband I was mad I didn’t write it. Not like I had this idea festering or anything but I really thought it was such a neat idea and I truly wish it had been my own (yes, seriously)
Soft, Chewy Center - 2 pages in, I asked Kalvin - I’m eating lunch while I’m reading this, should I stop? Yes, I should have. The pace matches the tone of the story perfectly, as dual storylines become tighter and the panic to reach the conclusion hits.
Atomic Despair - okay, I thought this was sweet. In theory, it’s… not exactly, but this one had heart. The feelings I felt for (seemingly) inanimate objects, more than once, throughout these stories was really something special.
Bury My Body Somewhere Nice - the title story did its job - it grabbed me right from the beginning, it was layered and interesting, and had a bit of mystery looped in. Each new development in the story had me going “oh no” as I cheered for the MC to get his situation figured out! (I hope the title makes the description sound more enticing)
In The Dark We Sin - I think this one was my favorite, when coincidentally, I wasn’t even sure if it would suit me. I don’t even want to describe it, for fear of giving away any details but… let’s just say… if you woke up in a room with no exit and nine strangers, would you do what it takes to escape?
If you’ve read Kalvin’s books before, you know he has a knack for weaving dark and sinister tales, while holding his sense of morality and need for justice high. It’s interesting to see parts of your friends' personalities take such a front seat in their writing, especially when you’re confident they don’t realize how many of their qualities are shining through. This may be an odd thing to say about a horror writer, but as horror fans, we know the light is just as important as the dark.
Do yourself a huge favor and pick up a copy!
July 3, 2025
This is a collection of five very differing short stories.
Firstly we have 'Scissors. A Love Story' which had a very unique pov. ⭐⭐⭐
The second 'Soft. Chewy. Centre' felt like a 'Black Mirror' episode and was extremely unique.⭐⭐⭐⭐
The next entry 'In The Dark We Sin' reminded me of some of my favourite movies ever which are Cube (1997) and the SAW franchise.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The fourth tale which is our titular one 'Bury My Body Somewhere Nice' revolves around our main character having a break from reality after committing a murder while trying to dispose of the body.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
And the final story 'Atomic Despair' is set at a deserted gas station told through the eyes of a metal car part man, mascot.⭐⭐⭐
This was a very well written and wholly original collection that I had a really fun time reading and I look forward to reading more from the author.
Firstly we have 'Scissors. A Love Story' which had a very unique pov. ⭐⭐⭐
The second 'Soft. Chewy. Centre' felt like a 'Black Mirror' episode and was extremely unique.⭐⭐⭐⭐
The next entry 'In The Dark We Sin' reminded me of some of my favourite movies ever which are Cube (1997) and the SAW franchise.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The fourth tale which is our titular one 'Bury My Body Somewhere Nice' revolves around our main character having a break from reality after committing a murder while trying to dispose of the body.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
And the final story 'Atomic Despair' is set at a deserted gas station told through the eyes of a metal car part man, mascot.⭐⭐⭐
This was a very well written and wholly original collection that I had a really fun time reading and I look forward to reading more from the author.
November 13, 2025
This book was a nice surprise. Each story was fucked up, easy to read and fast paced. They were also very unique with crazy endings!! My favorite was Soft, Chewy Center and Atomic Despair.
July 17, 2025
Solid indie collection from Kalvin Ellis features five stories of horror fun and originality, four of them being POVs, with two of those as inanimate objects! Essentially the stories are a wholesome, enjoyable experience from the get go, never getting long in the tooth and each a fresh, intriguing tale in each start and a satisfying conclusion to every story. There is a very Tales From the Crypt vibe throughout, with the exception of the last story, ATOMIC DESPAIR, which is my favourite of the lot, and feels like a very ambitious, yet satisfying post-apocalyptic effort of history getting revenge on the hateful and ignorant.
And even though comeuppances feel like the theme du jour throughout the collection, I personally recognized the amount of love and learn that is spattered (and splattered) in each story. The first yarn, SCISSORS: A LOVE STORY, speaks for itself from the start, but the title story, BURY MY BODY SOMEWHERE NICE & ATOMIC DESPAIR continues the themes and is a rewarding experience for your indie horror fix. Kalvin Ellis gets thumbs up for evoking the imagery and memory of the Grade B tv/movie horror fun we grew up on and you cannot go wrong with a joyously evil and deliciously fun time here.
And even though comeuppances feel like the theme du jour throughout the collection, I personally recognized the amount of love and learn that is spattered (and splattered) in each story. The first yarn, SCISSORS: A LOVE STORY, speaks for itself from the start, but the title story, BURY MY BODY SOMEWHERE NICE & ATOMIC DESPAIR continues the themes and is a rewarding experience for your indie horror fix. Kalvin Ellis gets thumbs up for evoking the imagery and memory of the Grade B tv/movie horror fun we grew up on and you cannot go wrong with a joyously evil and deliciously fun time here.
October 3, 2025
“My mind wanders to what they were trying to learn from this as the world slowly slips away and I fall once again into darkness.” - Bury My Body Somewhere Nice by Kalvin Ellis, ✂️.
This short story collection is dark, disturbing, and totally addictive. Each tale is creepy in the best way—gory, unsettling, but never over the top. Ellis nails that perfect balance between twisted and believable, and every story sticks with you long after the last page.
If you’re into haunting, beautifully messed-up fiction, add this to your list ASAP.
This short story collection is dark, disturbing, and totally addictive. Each tale is creepy in the best way—gory, unsettling, but never over the top. Ellis nails that perfect balance between twisted and believable, and every story sticks with you long after the last page.
If you’re into haunting, beautifully messed-up fiction, add this to your list ASAP.
August 15, 2025
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 to Bury My Body Somewhere Nice by Kalvin Ellis.
I first encountered Kalvin Ellis's writing through his wonderful novel In the Hills Above the Gristmill. I thought it was a brilliantly well-written story, captivating and creepy while being populated with fun, interesting characters. It's book that's actually inspired things in my own writing, and when it's sequel came out I was curious to read more. Could Kalvin replicate the by your throat writing of his first book. The answer was yes absolutely. In the Grave Where the Bones are Still Wet is a epic expansion of its predecessor in terms of scope, scale and character progression. I was more than a little jealous. So when he asked me would I like to be an advanced reviewer for his short story collection I jumped at the chance thinking there has to be a fault somewhere. Surely, he couldn't achieve the same level of success. So I read the collection.
The b#####d did it again!!
Seriously, though this is a fabulous collection and Kalvin deserves all the recognition for it. I won't go into detail about every story but I will mention those that stood out the most. First off is the opening story Scissors: A Love Story, a kind of summary of a life told through the perspective of an inanimate object that's refreshingly unique and fun.
From that we get the beautifully written Atomic Despair - my personal favourite. It's just a gorgeous piece of writing that hits all the feels only to descend into brutal, gory mayhem. It's epic in all the right ways.
Bury My Body Somewhere Nice (by the way what's this guy's thing about graves?) allows Kalvin to stretch his comedic muscles in this story about body disposal. It's cheeky fun that's a nice balance for the overall book.
If you're looking to read some brilliant, original then look no further than this. It's also has the lovely pleasure that you can only find by in short stories, stories that can be read in one sitting. Well done Kalvin, you b#####d!
I first encountered Kalvin Ellis's writing through his wonderful novel In the Hills Above the Gristmill. I thought it was a brilliantly well-written story, captivating and creepy while being populated with fun, interesting characters. It's book that's actually inspired things in my own writing, and when it's sequel came out I was curious to read more. Could Kalvin replicate the by your throat writing of his first book. The answer was yes absolutely. In the Grave Where the Bones are Still Wet is a epic expansion of its predecessor in terms of scope, scale and character progression. I was more than a little jealous. So when he asked me would I like to be an advanced reviewer for his short story collection I jumped at the chance thinking there has to be a fault somewhere. Surely, he couldn't achieve the same level of success. So I read the collection.
The b#####d did it again!!
Seriously, though this is a fabulous collection and Kalvin deserves all the recognition for it. I won't go into detail about every story but I will mention those that stood out the most. First off is the opening story Scissors: A Love Story, a kind of summary of a life told through the perspective of an inanimate object that's refreshingly unique and fun.
From that we get the beautifully written Atomic Despair - my personal favourite. It's just a gorgeous piece of writing that hits all the feels only to descend into brutal, gory mayhem. It's epic in all the right ways.
Bury My Body Somewhere Nice (by the way what's this guy's thing about graves?) allows Kalvin to stretch his comedic muscles in this story about body disposal. It's cheeky fun that's a nice balance for the overall book.
If you're looking to read some brilliant, original then look no further than this. It's also has the lovely pleasure that you can only find by in short stories, stories that can be read in one sitting. Well done Kalvin, you b#####d!
December 22, 2025
Bizarre horror, funny, unique, and every story was a page turner! Beautifully written a few had my jaw dropping and the tears pouring from my eyes. More people need to read this anthology!
Scissors: a love story
“and I laid that sumbitch open like a champ.”
Like if the brave little toaster had a friend that was a pair of scissors
Soft chewy center
“Wiping away what could have been a delicacy but instead was a pink slime with small chunks in it.”
You gotta try the free mysterious treat from your favorite Chinese restaurant…right?
In the dark we sin
“My brain attempts to pull me back to reality, but my memory has its hooks in the past.”
Crispin has woken up trapped in the dark surrounded by other people in what only could be a large vault. Once he realizes what is happening, it’s too late to help the others.
Bury my body somewhere nice
“To be normal. Instead, I’m standing here in the middle of the night next to a dead man whose d*ck I just touched.”
While driving up a lonely mountain in the middle of the night, Eddie asks out loud if he’s lost. When he gets an answer from the back of the car he panics - oh no it’s fine it’s just from the dead body.
Atomic Despair
“Rust had eaten away at him, bits of him flaking off like small, oxidized pages of a calendar counting down the days until he blew away in the wind.”
Hanks best and we’ll only friend is getting older and when he watched him pass away he feels an immense loneliness; but Hank is just a statue welded together by car parts in the middle of the desert on a road no one can travel anymore.
Scissors: a love story
“and I laid that sumbitch open like a champ.”
Like if the brave little toaster had a friend that was a pair of scissors
Soft chewy center
“Wiping away what could have been a delicacy but instead was a pink slime with small chunks in it.”
You gotta try the free mysterious treat from your favorite Chinese restaurant…right?
In the dark we sin
“My brain attempts to pull me back to reality, but my memory has its hooks in the past.”
Crispin has woken up trapped in the dark surrounded by other people in what only could be a large vault. Once he realizes what is happening, it’s too late to help the others.
Bury my body somewhere nice
“To be normal. Instead, I’m standing here in the middle of the night next to a dead man whose d*ck I just touched.”
While driving up a lonely mountain in the middle of the night, Eddie asks out loud if he’s lost. When he gets an answer from the back of the car he panics - oh no it’s fine it’s just from the dead body.
Atomic Despair
“Rust had eaten away at him, bits of him flaking off like small, oxidized pages of a calendar counting down the days until he blew away in the wind.”
Hanks best and we’ll only friend is getting older and when he watched him pass away he feels an immense loneliness; but Hank is just a statue welded together by car parts in the middle of the desert on a road no one can travel anymore.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 23, 2025
Bury my Body Somewhere Nice is easily my favorite collection of short stories.
I have a lot of trouble reading short stories. With each new story in a collection you have to learn the new characters, worlds, rules, locations it just melts my brain and leaves me mentally exhausted. That being said I went into this book already knowing I love Kalvin's writing and that my favorite short story, Scissors: A Love Story, kicked the book off. I figured I would just start with one that was familiar to me and maybe read one new story every few days or so.
After I finished the first story I couldn't help but jump into the second, and then the third. After I put the book down I found I couldn't stop thinking about the stories and had to read more. Would you believe I read this entire collection in a single day?!
This collection is truly something special. From the pulpy retro feel of the cover art and design, the interior formatting with unique images and fonts for each stories title page, to the stories held with in the pages themselves.
With wildly different themes and tones from story to story there's something here for everyone. Soft, Chewy Center has maybe scarred me for life. At one point while reading, I actually said, "oh no!" outloud when realization dawned on me. If you know, you know.
To get to my point- this collection is fantastic, you should read it. What are you waiting for?
I have a lot of trouble reading short stories. With each new story in a collection you have to learn the new characters, worlds, rules, locations it just melts my brain and leaves me mentally exhausted. That being said I went into this book already knowing I love Kalvin's writing and that my favorite short story, Scissors: A Love Story, kicked the book off. I figured I would just start with one that was familiar to me and maybe read one new story every few days or so.
After I finished the first story I couldn't help but jump into the second, and then the third. After I put the book down I found I couldn't stop thinking about the stories and had to read more. Would you believe I read this entire collection in a single day?!
This collection is truly something special. From the pulpy retro feel of the cover art and design, the interior formatting with unique images and fonts for each stories title page, to the stories held with in the pages themselves.
With wildly different themes and tones from story to story there's something here for everyone. Soft, Chewy Center has maybe scarred me for life. At one point while reading, I actually said, "oh no!" outloud when realization dawned on me. If you know, you know.
To get to my point- this collection is fantastic, you should read it. What are you waiting for?
February 19, 2025
(4.5 rounded up) Ellis delivers a fantastic set of short stories that are bound to get your heart rate racing! I was completely entertained throughout each story. Ellis’ writing style is addictive and each story is sprinkled with originality! I would absolutely read longer pieces of these stories!
Though each story will keep you flipping those pages, “Scissors: A Love Story” and “Soft, Chewy Center” were so weird and original, no doubt these will stick with me the most!
Though each story will keep you flipping those pages, “Scissors: A Love Story” and “Soft, Chewy Center” were so weird and original, no doubt these will stick with me the most!
April 7, 2025
This little collection of stories packs a huge emotional punch. I truthfully don’t think I’ll ever recover from Atomic Despair, and Scissors: A Love Story has been on my mind since I finished it; it’s utterly unhinged and yet still so sweet. Every story in this collection is memorable and unlike anything I’ve read before (Soft, Chewy Center is so gross in the BEST way), and I absolutely recommend it. Kalvin is definitely a must read author for me, and should be for all horror fans.
June 22, 2025
5 short stories
Scissors: A Love Story.. Interesting take💓
Soft, Chewy Center.. I mean WTH??? 🤢
In the dark we sin.. scary thought..water 😨
Bury My Body Somewhere Nice.. Eddie has some issues. ☠️
Atomic despair.. vengeance!🤖
Scissors: A Love Story.. Interesting take💓
Soft, Chewy Center.. I mean WTH??? 🤢
In the dark we sin.. scary thought..water 😨
Bury My Body Somewhere Nice.. Eddie has some issues. ☠️
Atomic despair.. vengeance!🤖
July 12, 2025
A fun and gruesome homage to the vintage pulps of years gone by! I purchased this from the author directly at Fan Expo Denver 2025. A real “page turner.”
July 25, 2025
Loved it. A perfect nostalgic piece taking me back to the good old days of pulp-horror paperbacks in all the right ways. Kalvin must've been channeling the literal and figurative King himself in writing this as it reminded me fondly of Creepshow while still maintaining originality. Particularly in the second story, Soft Chewy Center, I just kept hearing a voice whispering in my head "Jordy Verrill, you lunkhead!"
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews