Dreams in Black Static: A Collection of Short Horror and Supernatural Stories

by Ambrose Ibsen, Velox Books

Two roommates stumble upon a mysterious and disturbing videotape. After watching it, one of them vanishes...

A heart transplant recipient gets much more than he bargained for when he digs into his donor's sinister past...

Mourning the death of their son, a young couple is plunged into madness after encountering something otherworldly in the wilderness...

DREAMS IN BLACK STATIC is a collection of eight terrifying stories by Ambrose Ibsen, author of The Haunting of Beacon Hill and Asylum. The tales included are:

"Me and Mr. Ray" **
"Decatur Road" **
"Dreams in Black Static" **
"Distortional Addict" **
"Trim" **
"Subterrane Dream" **
"Orchard"
"The Uncanny" **

** = Appearing in print for the first time

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies, Audiobook, Collections, Suspense

260 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2020

About the author

Once upon a time, a young Ambrose Ibsen discovered a collection of ghost stories on his father's bookshelf. He was never the same again.

Apart from horror fiction, he enjoys good coffee, brewed strong.

Reviews

[Armand Rosamilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-balanced horror collection of short stories. I've read and enjoyed the author's work before, so it wasn't a big surprise. The big surprise was how varied his tales can be, especially when he's writing short stories. There wasn't a weak story in the collection, either. Will be reading more from the author in the future!

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. A short story collection from the master ghost story teller in my book, Ambrose Ibsen.

[Jon Von · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really liked the story about the haunted shoegaze album. The tree one is pretty good too. Otherwise, there’s kind of a generic horror comic bookiness to it. Ibsen can be a little uneven but very good when he finds the right tone. Would make for a nice Halloween weekend read.

[♡ retrovvitches ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was a decent collection of stories. felt a big genetic at times but it was enjoyable enough

[Jonathan Maas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection, just solid. Think Thomas Ligotti, but a bit more readable.

The best tale in my opinion is Distortional Addict.

But they are all good, all solid and yes - think Thomas Ligotti but dialed back a bit, and a bit easier to read.

Just very good. I recommend it !

[Sarthak Bhatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book, but Orchard was doggy crap.

[Shannon Blanchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved all of these short stories, they were very good. Some I wish had a better ending, but oh well. OH, and the last story, The Uncanny, well played Mr. Ibsen, well played 👏🏻 🙌🏻👏🏻🙌🏻👏🏻🙌🏻

[Mtm66]

3.5

[§amantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5
I love short stories however these all fell flat for me. Not worth a read.

[Irina Stier · Rating 5 out of 5]

If not for the first story, I maybe would loose interest in this collection. But the start was so good, I felt addicted to listening to it as an audiobook.

[Burberi · Rating 3 out of 5]

the stories were enjoyable enough. o think my favourite is the trim. it was sooo goosebumps inducing.

[Orion · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing too fancy, just a nice and cozy collection of horror stories.

[Kay Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

October read

I absolutely loved each and every story in this collection. Of course, that comes as no surprise--Ibsen is a master of paranormal horror. These stories showcase his talent. They burrow down, below the skin, causing a break-out of goosebumps and shivers and sending your little hairs straight up. They burrow into the heart, tugging and pressing on all of your human emotions. They burrow into your brain, teasing you, manipulating you, only to spit you out at the other end shocked and shuddering. This is the perfect collection to read on dark, chilling October nights.

[David Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea what to expect, somehow having missed Ambrose Ibsen entirely in the past. This is a solid collection. My favorite is the one about the rare CD showing up in a thrift store, closely followed by the initial story, pretty long, about obsolescence - old video formats, things fading, the past left behind. The stories beyond that don't break a lot of new ground, but the tropes and familiar horrors are handled well. I usually say if a collection or anthology has two or three stories I can call good, it's a success, and I don't believe there's a dud in this entire book. Highly recommended - moody, bleak, and full of dark imagery to keep you up at night.

[Stephanie Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I added this audiobook to my list because I'm a fan of Joe Hempel's narration style and wanted to listed to any horror stories he narrated that I could get my hands on. Glad I gave this one a listen because this is a great collection. I didn't dislike any of the stories, although (like with any collection) there were some I loved more than others. My favourite was "Trim". That being said, even the stories that weren't my favourites had phenomenal imagery that stayed with me after I'd finished reading. I really enjoyed Ibsen's writing style for this collection.

[John Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deliciously spooky!

What a wonderful collection of short stories, all well written tales of psychological horror. The feeling of menace builds throughout the book and holds your attention through to the very last page which, surprisingly, concludes in a rather unexpected fashion. Very entertaining!

[Lallen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gave me bad dreams

These are not the usual psycho horror stories. They are subtle short stories that left me uneasy. The writing is okay...sometimes a little too wordy without adding anything to the story, but not distracting.

[Claire Trigell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of these short stories are quite good! I think some need a lot of editing down! The last story is far too long and should end about 13 minutes sooner than it does!
But I’ve defo read worse in the horror short story genre!

[Madison]

DNF at 22% (1h52)

I just couldn't get into this. I had been in the mood to listen to a horror anthology and this had a lot of starting exposition for the framing of the stories that I just couldn't get through. I think I might try it again later, but with different expectations

[Kathy Tumey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Caleb Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Ambrose Ibsen did it again writing a book that I couldn't put down. I have read all of his books and would recommend all of them!

[Tonya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh

Just okay- but perhaps his writing style is just not my cup of tea. One of the stories however, I thoroughly enjoyed- great ending that was totally unexpected

[Alia Makki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never gets tired. Lovely choice of words.

[Christine Dunne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each story was unique

I enjoyed them all and usually was grinning at the end. Please keep writing them and ill keep reading them sincerely Christine Dunne Harlingen Texas

[Bookworm With a B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of short stories. I really enjoyed the stories but the one that stuck with me the most is the video tapes story.

[FoxieMoxie203 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only briefly read the book summary for this one. I was surprised to find out it was a group of stories. They were entertaining just unexpected.

[Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a good series of spooky short stories! I especially loved the “lost media” themes, and the ending killed me.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent collection of stories by Ibsen. I found all of them interesting if not groundbreaking.

[Lex Honey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was going to hive it a 2, but that last story forced me to give it a 3.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average book of strange stories. It's a bit of a stretch to call some of them horror stories.