Slander Hall

by Matthew Tait, Virtual Voice (Narrator)

Fifteen years ago the affluent gated-community of Slander Hall was the setting of the largest mass suicide in U.S history, dozens of men and women committing the ultimate sacrifice and embracing the covenant of their leader to shed their bodies for a life in outer space. Now a modern ghost town, it boasts only the decaying and derelict phantoms of a withered populace. Cedar Jarrell, sole survivor of the holocaust that claimed so many, returns to the dark heart of Slander Hall on a final pilgrimage where not all who take the journey will survive …

Genres: Horror

Audible Audio

First published January 2, 2012

About the author

Matthew Tait is an award-winning Australian horror author whose work blends psychological intensity with uncanny, brutal atmosphere. He published his first collection of dark fiction in 2011 and has since built a catalogue of titles praised for their originality and emotional depth. His novel Deception Pass won the Australasian Shadows Award for Best Novel, an honor for which he has been nominated three times. His short story Car Crash Weather was also commended by the Australian Horror Writers Association.

A former horror columnist and lifelong devotee of the genre, Tait’s work has been described as “the sort of horror Clive Barker must read on his days off.” When not crafting unsettling narratives, he’s immersed in the gritty tones of grunge music.

Reviews

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spook Central!

Backstory:

Cedar Jarrell who is the only survivor from a massacre that took place at Slander Hall has decided to revisit the place with some friends. They are curious about the rumors they have heard with the place being haunted and they would like to get some documentation of it.

But things do not go as planned as when they step foot onto the property "something" attacks one of the friends. Cedar and company still push onward as they figure if they do not find what they want with the hauntings that they will never complete their task. Once they enter Slander Hall though the ghosts have other ideas and to survive the haunting the friends will need to stick together through it all.

That is about all I can give on a taste without giving away spoilers and if you want to know more than you will need to read the book!

Thoughts:

This was my first time reading this author and I was impressed with how quick I was pulled into the story! The story was fast paced and held me in suspense as I wanted to know what was going to happen next!

The story is really short though and there are two more stories that lie within these pages as well which also was a nice surprising read. I do have a couple or so more kindle books by this author and looking forward to reading more books by him. Giving this book four "Haunted Horror" stars!

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite an interesting collection of three short stories. The first titles Slander House is a return back to a place where a religious cult committed mass suicide. Not bad, but the two stories to follow are even better. The second story Dolls Steak is on a handy man installing an additional cabinet in a room full dolls. That's quite a creepy tale referring to Nirvana and a special song dealing with a suicide solution. The third story is about a hick town named Terrica and the evil power of cars (my personal favourite). I can really recommend this book consisting of three horror stories. It will run shivers down your spine!

[Frank Errington · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Slander Hall, five people visit a modern day ghost town in the suburbs of Pheonix. Some in search of answers, some closure and some looking to make a buck documenting what they find.

Slander Hall was a gated community and home to Wendell Zacchaeus and his followers, members of the Soul Evolution cult.

For me, Soul Evolution is reminiscent of the real-life, San Diego based, Heaven's Gate cult whose members committed mass suicide 16 years ago, in March of 1997, in order to reach what they believed was a alien space craft following the comet Hale–Bopp. No comet this time, but aside from that there are some interesting similarities. Both the real, and Tait's, cults had their big events in the late 80's and both involved spaceships.

Central to this story is Cedar Jarrell, the lone survivor of the Soul Evolution cult. Now, Fifteen years after the mass suicide of the members of Soul Evolution, Cedar returns to Slander Hall with four others. What follows is a very strange story in involving creatures, ghosts, aliens and as I mentioned, a a spaceship.

In the author's words, "The mythos of the Soul Evolution cult was no longer a myth. Here the 'Next Level' presented itself...in all its glory."

I won't pretend to understand what I've just read, but that didn't make the trip any less enjoyable.

I'd definitely recommend getting to know Matthew Tait, another in a growing list of fine new voices in Australian Horror, and Slander Hall is an excellent place to start.

[Jenny Coyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rounding up from 4.5 stars

Some reviews appear to encompass 2 other short stories as well. This review is for Slander Hall only.

This book reminded me of the incident with the Heaven's Gate cult in the 90's. This story follows the lone survivor and select media personnel to revisit the scene. Slander Hall had my full attention from the very beginning. I deducted half a star only because the final chapter took away from the story itself. I would have preferred that it ended without the peek into the future.

[Novelish Delish · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick and interesting read, however, it fell kind of flat for me. In the beginning it had a lot of potential and I got where the author might have wanted it to go, but about halfway through some random paranormal creatures were thrown in and the end was really rushed. I feel as though this story line had a lot of potential had it been thought out better and not presented as a "novelette"/"Short Story."

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

great plot

The story doesn’t take the usual routes for horror stories. This was a fresh theme, and I loved it. 5 stars

[Joshua Hair · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read that consisted of a longer work (Slander Hall) and a few short stories. Slander Hall certainly seemed the most polished. The stories didn't pack as much punch and were more likely to have grammatical errors. That said, it was a quick and decent read based off some classic horror concepts. I'll probably read more from Matthew Tait in the future.

[Nicole M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I have ever read. You keep reading because you can't wait to see what happens next.

[Diana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Short and unfulfilling

I wanted to like this story. The premise was intriguing. But everything just happened so quickly with no real detailed explanation, no true emotional trauma to the group...they just go on like everything they saw was a dream, not the reality and death. The main character gives up too easily and doesn't interact with the group he brought along which is just weird and a bit lazy to me. I felt very disappointed that it ended so tidily and abruptly. Where are the investigations into the deaths of their friends? The tape is mentioned at the end but with no resolution as to what was on it, where it is now, etc. How is the disappearance of three people to be explained?

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

2⭐️
At c130 pages, Slander Hall featured 3 short stories; the titular Slander Hall, Doll Steak and Terrica.
Slander Hall -15 years after the mass suicide of cult members, survivor Cedar returns to the now abandoned gates community in this short, supernatural thriller. Well written but not my sort of thing.
Doll Steak - Eddie is hired to install a closet for a lady who collects creepy dolls. I enjoyed this short story but think it would have benefitted from being longer and more detailed.
Terrica - Some online friends meet up to find they have been lied to and have been lured by a club who kill people.

All in all, not my sort of reads but written ok.

[Daniel Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can tell when a novel or short story is written with the author having no clue on the content. Using a few nuggets of fact from the news of stories they've read and filling in the gaping holes of knowledge with invented fiction is one way to deal with it, another is thorough research.

Here, Tait has done the research through his own interest and not filled in the gaps with his own machinations, but layered it on top to produce a deep work that dabbles in the genres of horror, sci fi and spiritualism to produce a unique reading experience.

As with the other releases in Dark Continent's TALES OF DARKNESS AND DISMAY, this book has it's own niche within the set. We've seen the character pieces, the humour, etc, now it's time for some thinking man's horror. This is the Barker-esque member of the DC family, the piece with a great turn of phrase, a literary frolic and a grotesque elegance. Yes, despite the more artistic delivery in places, many splatter writers should sit up and take notice. One scene in particular had near perfect, realistic detail of attack and death.

With some genuinely creepy moments, and the constant desire to know what exactly is going on in this sometimes bizarre book, I can thoroughly recommend this, and shall be purchasing Tait's Ghosts in a Desert World for more of the same. I love an author that has a unique voice, and Tait certainly has that.

[Shannon Gambino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dropping directly into the meat of the novella, Matthew Tait wastes no time bringing his readers completely up to speed within a few paragraphs. One of the reasons why he is a favorite author of mine is how quickly he can draw the reader seamlessly into a plot with merely a few words. Once again, Matthew Tait does not disappoint. 'Slander Hall' touches upon a taboo subject for most people - mass suicide to achieve a higher power. Cedar Jarrell, one of the sole survivors of Slander Hall's Soul Evolution, returns to the scene fifteen years later with a team he has put together to find answers and some kind of closure. Cedar and his team find much more than they anticipate on their journey back to where it all ended...or is it only the beginning?

'Slander Hall' has a cinematic feel to it; eagerly grasping the reader by the hand, it's like watching an intense movie unfold. This novella would be a hit in the theaters!

[Nicole M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing.
Matthew had me wanting to read more.