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A Splinter in Your Mind
A Splinter in Your Mind is a relentless descent into the macabre, ten tales twisted with terror, dread, and uncanny truths. Haunted highways, carnivorous corpses, and backwater towns with no exit await inside this collection from Jeremy Eads, where no nightmare is ever quite finished.
A charming salesman takes a wrong turn into a town that won’t let him leave in Mountain Stranger, while a father’s insomnia reveals something monstrous beneath his bed in Night Terrors. In We the People, America bends into a horrifying alternate version of itself, one forged in paranoia and blood. Then there’s The Corpse Eater, where death is just the beginning of hunger.
From cursed contracts to haunted hollows, this book delivers raw, unsettling horror soaked in regret, madness, and grim humor. If you think you’ve seen it all, you haven’t felt A Splinter in Your Mind.
A charming salesman takes a wrong turn into a town that won’t let him leave in Mountain Stranger, while a father’s insomnia reveals something monstrous beneath his bed in Night Terrors. In We the People, America bends into a horrifying alternate version of itself, one forged in paranoia and blood. Then there’s The Corpse Eater, where death is just the beginning of hunger.
From cursed contracts to haunted hollows, this book delivers raw, unsettling horror soaked in regret, madness, and grim humor. If you think you’ve seen it all, you haven’t felt A Splinter in Your Mind.
118 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 22, 2025
5 people want to read
About the author
Jeremy Eads
5 books35 followersAuthor of The Lodge, Rock God and Reptile, and A Splinter in Your Mind, Jeremy Eads is a natural storyteller. First published at six years old he's since gone on to be a traveling musician, soldier, spy, and software engineer before settling on his true love, writing. He is a single father of four, a caretaker, and lives with a bossy Chihuahua named Sambone.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 7, 2025
Excellent collection of short stories. Kinda reminiscent of Creepshow from back in the day, but better.
May 29, 2025
I recently had the chance to read an advance copy of "A Splinter In Your Mind," a collection of short speculative stories by author Jeremy Eads. He prefaces the book by sharing that these were written during a period of personal loss and financial difficulties, and those themes recur throughout the stories to varying degrees. They're all well written, and effectively creepy. To me, the standouts include:
"Mountain Stranger," which introduces readers to a traveling sales rep and all around loathsome guy who finds himself trapped in an endless and inescapable nightmare as punishment for his selfish, despicable ways. It's the collection's opening salvo, and reminded me of a cross between the Greek fable of King Sisyphus, doomed to roll a boulder up a mountainside over and over for eternity, and the old "Twilight Zone" episode called "Valley of the Shadow," in which a man can't escape a creepy small town in the middle of nowhere.
The chilling, dystopian "We The People" takes the concept of a political debate between rival candidates to a whole new, and extreme level. I loved the imagery Eads evokes in it (a phalanx of armored donkeys, for example, known as "Battle Brays," and a thunderous parade of "War Elephants").
My favorite of the bunch was "The Corpse Eater," in which a young woman discovers a journal written by her great-grandfather that had been locked away, along with a mysterious ring, for decades. It's in these journal entries, chronicling a young, idealistic soldier's experiences in the brutal trenches of the first World War, that Eads (clearly a history buff) seems most in his writing element. The titular creature is truly disturbing, but I wish Eads had fleshed the story out more in the end, perhaps made it novella-length or more, carrying the creepy vendetta further, more of a family affair.
"Black Hollow" is another one that I felt had potential to be reworked into something longer. The premise is pretty basic: a group of teens explore a house rumored to be haunted, only to regret it. But the horrors of that house -- in particular, an upstairs bedroom from which a strange and ominous buzzing can be heard -- are unique and terrifying, enough to have carried the story further than it goes.
Eads is a new author for me, and overall, "A Splinter In Your Mind" is a great introduction. His writing evokes just the right amount of dread to hook you as a reader, reeling you in deeper until each story reaches its chilling conclusion.
"Mountain Stranger," which introduces readers to a traveling sales rep and all around loathsome guy who finds himself trapped in an endless and inescapable nightmare as punishment for his selfish, despicable ways. It's the collection's opening salvo, and reminded me of a cross between the Greek fable of King Sisyphus, doomed to roll a boulder up a mountainside over and over for eternity, and the old "Twilight Zone" episode called "Valley of the Shadow," in which a man can't escape a creepy small town in the middle of nowhere.
The chilling, dystopian "We The People" takes the concept of a political debate between rival candidates to a whole new, and extreme level. I loved the imagery Eads evokes in it (a phalanx of armored donkeys, for example, known as "Battle Brays," and a thunderous parade of "War Elephants").
My favorite of the bunch was "The Corpse Eater," in which a young woman discovers a journal written by her great-grandfather that had been locked away, along with a mysterious ring, for decades. It's in these journal entries, chronicling a young, idealistic soldier's experiences in the brutal trenches of the first World War, that Eads (clearly a history buff) seems most in his writing element. The titular creature is truly disturbing, but I wish Eads had fleshed the story out more in the end, perhaps made it novella-length or more, carrying the creepy vendetta further, more of a family affair.
"Black Hollow" is another one that I felt had potential to be reworked into something longer. The premise is pretty basic: a group of teens explore a house rumored to be haunted, only to regret it. But the horrors of that house -- in particular, an upstairs bedroom from which a strange and ominous buzzing can be heard -- are unique and terrifying, enough to have carried the story further than it goes.
Eads is a new author for me, and overall, "A Splinter In Your Mind" is a great introduction. His writing evokes just the right amount of dread to hook you as a reader, reeling you in deeper until each story reaches its chilling conclusion.
May 26, 2025
This is a set of short stories that I found entertaining. Some were better than others. The one that really stood out the most was, We the People. It's an alternative history story that cuts real close to reality, but it was quite the read. Mountain Stranger was another great one as a playboy gets dealt with in poetic style. Those were the two stories I enjoyed the most. However, the rest are pretty good.
Be sure to pay attention while reading as Jeremy will take you on quite the ride with his improving writing style.
If you're looking for a quick read or enjoy short horror stories, you can't go wrong with A Splinter in Your Mind.
It earns a solid 4/5 stars.
Be sure to pay attention while reading as Jeremy will take you on quite the ride with his improving writing style.
If you're looking for a quick read or enjoy short horror stories, you can't go wrong with A Splinter in Your Mind.
It earns a solid 4/5 stars.
August 24, 2025
Nine fabulous and unique stories. All different, all haunting and mysterious.
Mountain stranger was my favorite... be careful who you pick up on the road.
Corpses Eater was also a favorite... hunger never ends.
Perfect Book for the spooky season coming up.
Mountain stranger was my favorite... be careful who you pick up on the road.
Corpses Eater was also a favorite... hunger never ends.
Perfect Book for the spooky season coming up.
June 4, 2025
Jeremy Eads is quite honest in his introduction, noting that the nine stories in his debut horror collection "represent the most difficult and darkest years of my life" - and, frankly, it shows! Not to add insult to injury, but the stories are indeed dark and often disturbing, with an undertone of loss, despair and regret.
The first couple of stories especially proved very powerful, figuring unlikeable, flawed characters, both male, apparently both beyond redemption: "Mountain Stranger," the opening story, has a narcissist who thrives on misogyny giving a lift to a redhead he found on his way to Roanoke; his whole life seems to have taken a wrong turn a long while ago - now the wrong turn is literal and not just a metaphor! A very satisfying ending to this creepy and eerie story. "Night Terrors," on the other hand, starts with a man in therapy; he explains he can no longer sleep, there's a thing under his bed and he's got to protect his baby daughter - confession is good for the soul, provided you do have one! Another hugely impressive story, though for entirely different reasons, was the politically inflected fairy tale of a future America, "We The People" - horror satire at its best! "Unlucky" is about bad luck - man, the guy in this story is really a mess, and life seems to have it in for him; then he meets Bianca, who lights a fire under his butt (pun intended!). Then there's "Hollow," the closing tale of the collection, about a visit to a haunted house gone horribly wrong; it doesn't break any new ground, but it's entertaining and the end's meant to hurt - and does so quite capably. Finally, an outstanding story I loved for its complexities and historical realism was the longest tale in the volume, "The Corpse Eater," about a daughter cleaning up her dad's house after his passing, and discovering a box with mementos from WWII. The story is a slow burn, increasing the tension step by step, but what's original about it is the ending - I had no idea such a story could get even darker!
I recommend the collection to horror fans who enjoy horror making them uncomfortable, while simultaneously entertaining them with clean prose, grim endings, and challenging portrayals of humanity, especially that little monster in the mirror, lurking inside us all.
June 3, 2025
Jeremy Eads gave me a copy of his new book, A Splinter in your mind and I highly recommend it! I’ve always read horror, thriller type books especially paranormal, possession and stories about strange creatures. This is a great collection of short stories that are really dark and twisted. I don’t normally read short story format but I really enjoyed these as I could read a few then take a break and start a new story without forgetting what I’d previously read. The Bridge Guard and Black Hollow were my two favorites.
Jeremy wrote this book during a dark and difficult time in his life, as he stated in the introduction and I think it comes through in his descriptions of the characters, their bizarre situations, struggles and the horrifying deaths some of the characters met with. Thank you Jeremy, for the opportunity to read and review your work! 🐺🗡️
Jeremy wrote this book during a dark and difficult time in his life, as he stated in the introduction and I think it comes through in his descriptions of the characters, their bizarre situations, struggles and the horrifying deaths some of the characters met with. Thank you Jeremy, for the opportunity to read and review your work! 🐺🗡️
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews