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The Stain
Born of bloodshed, a prolific stain, fed by the sins of earliest man….The Simmons moved into 228 Briar Street. With two growing children needing a stable routine and a house to call home, Marc and Claire settled into the old red brick, unaware of the neighborhood’s dirty little secret. In the dark and unfamiliar depths of the basement it lurks. It desires to manipulate the family into destructive chaos as it has countless times past and as far back as there were settlers in this plot of land, feed upon both flesh and the ecstasy of its dark influence. And not just in this house. It is old, mischievous, and inherently evil. It is...THE STAIN.
- GenresHorror
162 pages, Paperback
Published January 20, 2026
13 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 27, 2020
Deceptively the author pulls you into what you think is a modern horror story. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find it rich in the folk-lore and cautionary tale, realm. I would even argue that this is a (Old French for a fairy tale of the doomed or accursed) Fae Tale. The first time reading it you may miss certain nuanced themes because you are naturally drawn into believing the evil comes from the outside and works its way inside the characters. Your focus is on the creature on the cover, however the reader finds that the creature on the inside is far more insidious. There are twists in the book that feel like whiplash, which I enjoyed. I felt I could imagine my surroundings and see the characters in my mind’s eye and empathize with their plights. If you don’t read it, you are definitely missing out on a very enjoyable and creepy tale that might make you question that dark place under the stairs, a little more than usual.
April 18, 2021
Born of bloodshed, a prolific stain, fed by the sins of earliest man….The Simmons moved into 228 Briar Street. With two growing children needing a stable routine and a house to call home, Marc and Claire settled into the old red brick, unaware of the neighborhood’s dirty little secret. In the dark and unfamiliar depths of the basement it lurks. It desires to manipulate the family into destructive chaos as it has countless times past and as far back as there were settlers in this plot of land, feed upon both flesh and the ecstasy of its dark influence. And not just in this house. It is old, mischievous, and inherently evil. It is...THE STAIN.
So I decided to do a short book for my next review instead of an anthology. After Daughters Of Darkness I did indeed look up work of the authors featured in the book, my first call was Ruchelle Dillon. If you haven't read the review then I suggest having a look, if more for just context. As I was pretty taken by Ruschelle’s writing style and good use of humour in her stories, the obvious two being ‘Dolls House’ and ‘Is that your dead wife or are you just happy to see me’. That is when I found ‘The Stain’, instantly the cover art pulls me into the darkness which was very well done by Nicholas. Along with the story blurb which I have popped up above, I'm a bit of a sucker for a good creature feature. My love of Godzilla and the night terrors caused by John Carpenter's The Thing saw to that. The story follows a family that have just moved into a new house, the family move alot due to the dad’s job. But instantly you get the ‘not quite right’ vibe which sets the mood for the start of the story. Now as you may imagine I have the attention span of a fruit fly and that's no joke. It takes alot for a book to grab me, this one pulled me in deep and I mean into the ground with bodies deep. Olivia, the teenage daughter and main character, was the character you started following. You felt her frustration and her fear, hell even I was getting hacked off with her parents at parts. I honestly got pretty emotionally invested in her and the other characters development. The sibling bond between the brother, Jasper and Olivia, makes things all the more real. It wasn't forced like with some stories, where they ramble on about family love. The age gap and sibling rivalry was very familiar, but also relatable you could tell she loved her little brother. All though my sister’s usual greeting to me ‘Hay smelly’, she's so charming; me and Jess are pretty much inseparable. As the story moves on you get the introduction to the creature, who lives in the home's basement. The creature itself was ruthless in its pursuit of Olivia and trying to corrupt her. The description was so vivid I could actually visualise the monster, so thanks for the nightmares Ruschelle. The story flowed seamlessly, even when it jumped into another time frame, where you got a bit more detail on the previous home owners or settlers on that plot of land. I can sometimes be a bit slow on the up take so this was a bonus for someone who's usually easily confused, as I was able to keep up with the shift in time. Surprised I remember my own name sometimes, think wearing a tag back in the day helped when I did nights. Then there was the twist that came later in the story, it totally caught me off guard. It started off subtle and I was like ‘nah, I'm probably reading too much into it’, then when the story progressed and the interaction became obvious I went ‘Oh ok didn't see that coming’. I love when a writer throws in the unexpected and she did it so well, it kept me hooked. This isn't your typical monster either, he oozed manipulation, I mean this thing was bloody cunning. You could tell that he wasn't your run of the mill monster and the story surrounding the neighbour and other residents solidified that. I now have no desire to have a basement, though ninety nine percent of the horrors I've seen didn't exactly help with that. So I read this beastie over the weekend and I definitely had trouble putting it down. I won't lie, I was stupidly curious if the monster was a one off creation or if there's more like it. His true intentions for the family become clearer as you move on through the book, proving there's no lengths he won't go to in order to achieve his end game. The story had me mesmerised with it's detail and how the characters changed as the story went on, making them more human in their flaws. If you like your mysterious monsters and dysfunctional but loveable characters, this is the book for you. If something doesn't seize me from the get go, it will live on the shelf of despair. To live in the ‘Meh, I'll finish it later’ pile, this won't be one of those books. So yes I am a very happy panda with this one, you can find ‘The Stain’ on amazon in the link below along with Ruschelle’s other work. So enjoy my lovely critters and remember Basement bad, Garden good.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B088PCNXB...
So I decided to do a short book for my next review instead of an anthology. After Daughters Of Darkness I did indeed look up work of the authors featured in the book, my first call was Ruchelle Dillon. If you haven't read the review then I suggest having a look, if more for just context. As I was pretty taken by Ruschelle’s writing style and good use of humour in her stories, the obvious two being ‘Dolls House’ and ‘Is that your dead wife or are you just happy to see me’. That is when I found ‘The Stain’, instantly the cover art pulls me into the darkness which was very well done by Nicholas. Along with the story blurb which I have popped up above, I'm a bit of a sucker for a good creature feature. My love of Godzilla and the night terrors caused by John Carpenter's The Thing saw to that. The story follows a family that have just moved into a new house, the family move alot due to the dad’s job. But instantly you get the ‘not quite right’ vibe which sets the mood for the start of the story. Now as you may imagine I have the attention span of a fruit fly and that's no joke. It takes alot for a book to grab me, this one pulled me in deep and I mean into the ground with bodies deep. Olivia, the teenage daughter and main character, was the character you started following. You felt her frustration and her fear, hell even I was getting hacked off with her parents at parts. I honestly got pretty emotionally invested in her and the other characters development. The sibling bond between the brother, Jasper and Olivia, makes things all the more real. It wasn't forced like with some stories, where they ramble on about family love. The age gap and sibling rivalry was very familiar, but also relatable you could tell she loved her little brother. All though my sister’s usual greeting to me ‘Hay smelly’, she's so charming; me and Jess are pretty much inseparable. As the story moves on you get the introduction to the creature, who lives in the home's basement. The creature itself was ruthless in its pursuit of Olivia and trying to corrupt her. The description was so vivid I could actually visualise the monster, so thanks for the nightmares Ruschelle. The story flowed seamlessly, even when it jumped into another time frame, where you got a bit more detail on the previous home owners or settlers on that plot of land. I can sometimes be a bit slow on the up take so this was a bonus for someone who's usually easily confused, as I was able to keep up with the shift in time. Surprised I remember my own name sometimes, think wearing a tag back in the day helped when I did nights. Then there was the twist that came later in the story, it totally caught me off guard. It started off subtle and I was like ‘nah, I'm probably reading too much into it’, then when the story progressed and the interaction became obvious I went ‘Oh ok didn't see that coming’. I love when a writer throws in the unexpected and she did it so well, it kept me hooked. This isn't your typical monster either, he oozed manipulation, I mean this thing was bloody cunning. You could tell that he wasn't your run of the mill monster and the story surrounding the neighbour and other residents solidified that. I now have no desire to have a basement, though ninety nine percent of the horrors I've seen didn't exactly help with that. So I read this beastie over the weekend and I definitely had trouble putting it down. I won't lie, I was stupidly curious if the monster was a one off creation or if there's more like it. His true intentions for the family become clearer as you move on through the book, proving there's no lengths he won't go to in order to achieve his end game. The story had me mesmerised with it's detail and how the characters changed as the story went on, making them more human in their flaws. If you like your mysterious monsters and dysfunctional but loveable characters, this is the book for you. If something doesn't seize me from the get go, it will live on the shelf of despair. To live in the ‘Meh, I'll finish it later’ pile, this won't be one of those books. So yes I am a very happy panda with this one, you can find ‘The Stain’ on amazon in the link below along with Ruschelle’s other work. So enjoy my lovely critters and remember Basement bad, Garden good.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B088PCNXB...
May 23, 2020
An old house, with something lurking in the basement, a bright shiny new family move in - with their own secrets and problems- a blend which Ruschelle Dillon makes a nightmare story from. Who are what is the stain? The story is told in shortish pacy chapters which crack along and are heavy on dialogue. This is an accessible read and one which is easy to get into. The characters draw you in, especially likeable is Livy, the feisty, spunky teen who first realises there is something very wrong with the shadows in the basement. The Stain itself, is a joy, oozing evil and macabre charm. There are many twists and turns in the plot, nothing is quite as straightforward as it seems, not the married couple, not Livy, not their uncle, not their neighbour, not even The Stain itself.
July 23, 2020
Review coming soon...
May 29, 2020
Having read Dillon's Arithmophobia collection of short stories, I was looking forward to a longer work from her as she has shown herself to be a very accomplished writer. The Stain is dark and creepy with a good mix of myth, legends, hauntings and possession to weave the thread of its tale together. In The Stain, these traditional elements of horror neatly combine to deliver a chilling tale. I look forward to more books from this author. She certainly has a way with words and an imagination to match.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews