Old Scratch and Owl Hoots: A Collection of Utah Horror

by C.R. Langille, R.L. Weston, Mimi A. Williams

The West has always been a symbol of the wild frontier, rugged adventure, and dangerous exploration. However, if it wasn’t for fear of the unknown, the West would just be another cardinal direction. Old Scratch and Owl Hoots delves into that fear and captures it in fourteen tales of terror set in the West ranging from the 1800s to the present day. Take a gander inside and you’ll find stories dealing with… …a strange creature on Antelope Island that can never satisfy its hunger… …a young girl kidnapped by highwaymen; but she carries a dangerous secret… …a woman’s vacation to Zion National Park that takes a dark turn when she can’t stop hearing the cries of a newborn baby… …an outlaw on the run from Porter Rockwell who finds more than he bargains for in the Utah wilderness… …a war veteran who carries a darkness inside him that threatens his very own family. Experience these stories and more in Old Scratch and Owl Hoots. All the stories in the anthology are written by authors with Utah connections. Some are veterans at the craft, while others are making their debut.

Genres: Short Stories, Horror

204 pages, Paperback

First published January 9, 2015

About the author

C.R. Langille spent many a Saturday afternoon watching monster movies with her mom. It wasn't long before she started crafting nightmares to share with her readers. She is a retired, disabled veteran with a deep love for weird and creepy tales. This prompted her to form Timber Ghost Press in January of 2021. She is an affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association, the DEI Chair for the League of Utah Writers, and she received her MFA: Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in 2014.

Follow her here: https://link.heropost.io/crlangille

Reviews

[Terra · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Most of the stories are great and all of them are creepy. I am not a lover of the western genre so it took me a while to get through this one and is probably why I didn't give it a full 4 stars. I especially loved "The Hollow" by Michael Darling and the one by Johnny Worthen was extremely disturbing but fabulous. If you love horror with a western twist, check this one out.

[X · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've developed a habit of going to conventions and buying books from whatever small local publishers/authors are selling. I mean, best sellers and and free pdfs from the guterberg project are good book choices MOST of the time, but who ONLY wants to read the same stuff everyone else reads? And books make good convention souvenirs because you can actually read it, enjoy it, and THEN leave it on a shelf to sit forever, as opposed to other trinkets which sit on a shelf without ever being used. Anyway, I bought this at the SLC Comic Con and ended up really enjoying it. It was a fun, quick read. Most of the stories were just the right amount of creepy - there wasn't much in here that was overtly disturbing or gory, but most stories were just ominous enough to get you in that jittery mood. Recommend it for fans of creepypasta.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun ride! Loved it 🖤💀

[Michael Darling · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection includes my first professionally-published story, "The Hollow," so I'm naturally prejudiced in thinking it's great! As with all anthologies, some stories are stronger than others and different stories will appeal to different readers. Many of the authors are members of the Utah Horror Writer's Association (UHWA). All the stories are at least tangentially related to Utah and the Old West in some way. There are some deliciously Very Bad Things that happen and some memorable characters that will haunt your dreams. "The Hollow" was inspired by the first horror writer who ever gave me the chills: Edgar Allen Poe.