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Graythings
Beings from another world--somewhere between Earth and Hell-- are waiting everywhere, lurking in the city shadows and patterns on walls, in dreams and in nightmares, waiting to steal your happiness, your love, your children, and even your life.
- GenresHorror
224 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1995
38 people want to read
About the author
Pat Graversen
10 books10 followersBorn in West Virginia, Pat Graversen published her first novel, INVISIBLE FIRE, with Fawcett Books in 1981; THE FAGIN came out in hardcover from A&W Publishers in 1982. After a hiatus during which she concentrated on raising her family, she published DOLLIES in 1990 and STONES in 1991, both through Zebra Books.
Graversen then signed a five-book contract with Zebra. Under its terms, the publisher brought out SWEET BLOOD and a paperback edition of THE FAGIN in 1992, and both BLACK ICE and PRECIOUS BLOOD in 1993.
A short story by Graversen, "Ups and Downs," appeared in DARK SEDUCTIONS, an anthology of erotic horror put out by Zebra in 1993. She collaborated with her son Paul Erik on two young adult novels, GHOST TRAIN (published by Zebra,) and YIN-YANG. Her final novel was GRAYTHINGS, the last under her five book contract.
Graversen grew up in West Virginia, which she recalled as a "mystical, wonderful place," and traveled extensively before she married and settled in Toms River, New Jersey. Two of her children had entered school before she first considered writing fiction.
"When I took the kids to the park, I would bring along a notebook and write there," she recalled.
That first year, she turned out almost 40 short stories. She sent them to small magazines, and most were rejected. Finally, in 1979, Nuggett published "Lenny Sent Me," a "psycho story" about an ex-con who hunts down the sister of a man he befriended in prison.
She then completed her first book manuscript, INVISIBLE FIRE, and connected with an agent who sold it to Fawcett. Although the novel had a few plot elements in common with Stephen King's FIRESTARTER, it was no imitation; her book actually came out first.
Her next publication, THE FAGIN, featured a villain who kidnapped small boys for a Satanic cult. Graversen began to develop a specialty --child-in-peril plots, usually involving the supernatural.
DOLLIES drew upon her brief stint as a real estate agent. "I showed one house that scared me," she said. "When I took the people downstairs, there was a room in the basement with all these dolls in it. There was also a light swinging from the ceiling, as if someone else had just been down there.
"Sometimes it's only a small thing that gives you the idea. When I get one, I write it down in my idea book. It could be a name, or a sentence I hear."
STONES tells the story of a mother and her adolescent daughter who are menaced by the spirit of an ancient fertility goddess. More than Graversen's previous books, it incorporated a large dose of offbeat sexuality, as the innocent young girl takes on the personality of the female demon.
The author stated that she got the idea from a dream. "I saw a small woman made of stone, with greenish skin. I stayed scared by that all one summer."
She based BLACK ICE on the true story of a child who drowned in a lake near her home. Many readers told her that book was their favorite, because it was a "good, old-fashioned ghost story."
Pat also authored a large volume of published poetry, and three romance novels. One of her romance novels, HEART ON TRIAL (NAL Rapture Romance, 1982) sold to several foreign markets.
Graversen founded the Garden State Horror Writers in 1989 to encourage others in New Jersey who aspire to work in her genre. She also belonged to the Authors' Guild, the Authors League and the Horror Writers Association.
Because she appeared to be such a typical middle-class wife and mother, people assumed she wrote something more conventional, such as romance. She also sensed a condescending attitude from some men in her profession, but said, "I don't believe in being held back because I'm a woman."
"I've liked the women horror writers I've read. They've been ignored in the past, but they're catching up. Ten years ago, there were hardly any. Now you can at least name a half-dozen. Women are getting good contracts now, too," she pointed out, using her own five-book
Graversen then signed a five-book contract with Zebra. Under its terms, the publisher brought out SWEET BLOOD and a paperback edition of THE FAGIN in 1992, and both BLACK ICE and PRECIOUS BLOOD in 1993.
A short story by Graversen, "Ups and Downs," appeared in DARK SEDUCTIONS, an anthology of erotic horror put out by Zebra in 1993. She collaborated with her son Paul Erik on two young adult novels, GHOST TRAIN (published by Zebra,) and YIN-YANG. Her final novel was GRAYTHINGS, the last under her five book contract.
Graversen grew up in West Virginia, which she recalled as a "mystical, wonderful place," and traveled extensively before she married and settled in Toms River, New Jersey. Two of her children had entered school before she first considered writing fiction.
"When I took the kids to the park, I would bring along a notebook and write there," she recalled.
That first year, she turned out almost 40 short stories. She sent them to small magazines, and most were rejected. Finally, in 1979, Nuggett published "Lenny Sent Me," a "psycho story" about an ex-con who hunts down the sister of a man he befriended in prison.
She then completed her first book manuscript, INVISIBLE FIRE, and connected with an agent who sold it to Fawcett. Although the novel had a few plot elements in common with Stephen King's FIRESTARTER, it was no imitation; her book actually came out first.
Her next publication, THE FAGIN, featured a villain who kidnapped small boys for a Satanic cult. Graversen began to develop a specialty --child-in-peril plots, usually involving the supernatural.
DOLLIES drew upon her brief stint as a real estate agent. "I showed one house that scared me," she said. "When I took the people downstairs, there was a room in the basement with all these dolls in it. There was also a light swinging from the ceiling, as if someone else had just been down there.
"Sometimes it's only a small thing that gives you the idea. When I get one, I write it down in my idea book. It could be a name, or a sentence I hear."
STONES tells the story of a mother and her adolescent daughter who are menaced by the spirit of an ancient fertility goddess. More than Graversen's previous books, it incorporated a large dose of offbeat sexuality, as the innocent young girl takes on the personality of the female demon.
The author stated that she got the idea from a dream. "I saw a small woman made of stone, with greenish skin. I stayed scared by that all one summer."
She based BLACK ICE on the true story of a child who drowned in a lake near her home. Many readers told her that book was their favorite, because it was a "good, old-fashioned ghost story."
Pat also authored a large volume of published poetry, and three romance novels. One of her romance novels, HEART ON TRIAL (NAL Rapture Romance, 1982) sold to several foreign markets.
Graversen founded the Garden State Horror Writers in 1989 to encourage others in New Jersey who aspire to work in her genre. She also belonged to the Authors' Guild, the Authors League and the Horror Writers Association.
Because she appeared to be such a typical middle-class wife and mother, people assumed she wrote something more conventional, such as romance. She also sensed a condescending attitude from some men in her profession, but said, "I don't believe in being held back because I'm a woman."
"I've liked the women horror writers I've read. They've been ignored in the past, but they're catching up. Ten years ago, there were hardly any. Now you can at least name a half-dozen. Women are getting good contracts now, too," she pointed out, using her own five-book
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 19, 2018
2.5 I just couldn't get into this book. It's super short and I loved the premise/idea, but the writing was a little everywhere and the characters were just annoying. All the guys were selfish jerks and the main character/woman was just dumb!! I really wanted to like this because the whole premise of the graythings was so intriguing, but it just fell flat for me.
September 28, 2013
I've never groaned and ached so much while reading a book. It's not horrible, but I would never recommend it to a friend. Honestly I don't remember much about the book except thinking, "Really?!?" a lot while reading it. Don't waste your time on this. There's many better books out there.
October 1, 2021
Spooktober 2021 Book 1
Well this one was pretty damn bad and an awful way to start my annual tradition of nothing but horror novels in the month of October.
I’ll admit I only got this one because it was an infamous Zebra Horror novel, and I know Zebras are ridiculously hot or miss, but my God, I had no idea this would be as bad as it ended up being.
I like the idea that Graversen was shooting for. I even think had this been handled better, it could have been good. Unfortunately she squandered that with a shitty story with shitty characters doing shitty things.
Not a single person in this entire novel had a single redeeming quality. The main chick is dumber than a box of rocks (falling in love with one of the perpetrators of her issues, letting herself be raped and DGAFing the entire thing, putting herself in stupid situations), the antagonists’ motivations are lame and make little sense. And things happen with such terribly executed deus ex machina that there is really no point in even trying to get any kind of satisfaction from the idiotic ending.
Last year my Spoontober started out with a bang. This year it’s been a silent whimper.
Well this one was pretty damn bad and an awful way to start my annual tradition of nothing but horror novels in the month of October.
I’ll admit I only got this one because it was an infamous Zebra Horror novel, and I know Zebras are ridiculously hot or miss, but my God, I had no idea this would be as bad as it ended up being.
I like the idea that Graversen was shooting for. I even think had this been handled better, it could have been good. Unfortunately she squandered that with a shitty story with shitty characters doing shitty things.
Not a single person in this entire novel had a single redeeming quality. The main chick is dumber than a box of rocks (falling in love with one of the perpetrators of her issues, letting herself be raped and DGAFing the entire thing, putting herself in stupid situations), the antagonists’ motivations are lame and make little sense. And things happen with such terribly executed deus ex machina that there is really no point in even trying to get any kind of satisfaction from the idiotic ending.
Last year my Spoontober started out with a bang. This year it’s been a silent whimper.
March 14, 2018
I read this around when it came out. I was in the fifth grade and I know I wasn't the target audience for this, but I can honestly say this book shaped me as a writer. I adored this. I remember when I watched The Frighteners a bit later, I nodded my head and thought, "this is kinda like Graythings."
Thank you for this book, Pat Graversen!
Thank you for this book, Pat Graversen!
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November 17, 2023I've been parring down on books recently and came across Graythings, which falls into the elusive Zebra Horror category. Nostalgia compelled me to read this quick little novel before I shipped it to its new home. Mindless and underdeveloped, but not quite as terrible as everyone makes it seem.
February 13, 2019
I don't know what to say. This book was just so awful! It felt like an eternity to read a lousy 224 pages.
There was really not one thing in this book that I could consider even remotely attention grabbing. The characters were all so shallow, and the main character, Mariele, was probably the least interesting character I have ever read in any novel... ever!
I believe this was Pat Graversen's last novel before she passed away, which kind of makes me somewhat ashamed for giving this a bad review, but...ugh, come on! I try to tell myself that maybe she ran out of ideas, and this is all she could come up with. It goes without saying that I am pretty sure I will not be reading her other work.
The whole feel of this book felt like it was written on a third grade level. the storytelling is basic at best, and really not a whole lot of time was spent on even explaining what the Greythings actually were.
To point out one excerpt from this book to give some insight as to how poor this book was written:
“When she emerged from the shower, Mariele felt better than she had for days. The heaviness in her heart hadn’t lifted. She was still angry with all the players in the deadly game Ben had gotten her involved in, and she still hadn’t made a decision about whether she wanted to live or die, if she had a choice, but she did feel better.”
Good Lord!!! I wouldn't want to know how she felt before she went into the shower!!!
Please avoid this book!
There was really not one thing in this book that I could consider even remotely attention grabbing. The characters were all so shallow, and the main character, Mariele, was probably the least interesting character I have ever read in any novel... ever!
I believe this was Pat Graversen's last novel before she passed away, which kind of makes me somewhat ashamed for giving this a bad review, but...ugh, come on! I try to tell myself that maybe she ran out of ideas, and this is all she could come up with. It goes without saying that I am pretty sure I will not be reading her other work.
The whole feel of this book felt like it was written on a third grade level. the storytelling is basic at best, and really not a whole lot of time was spent on even explaining what the Greythings actually were.
To point out one excerpt from this book to give some insight as to how poor this book was written:
“When she emerged from the shower, Mariele felt better than she had for days. The heaviness in her heart hadn’t lifted. She was still angry with all the players in the deadly game Ben had gotten her involved in, and she still hadn’t made a decision about whether she wanted to live or die, if she had a choice, but she did feel better.”
Good Lord!!! I wouldn't want to know how she felt before she went into the shower!!!
Please avoid this book!
July 20, 2014
Wow, what a disappointment from Pat Graversen. I've read a lot of her books and I finally picked up a copy of Graythings the last book she wrote for Zebra Books (it may have been her last novel too) and this book felt and looked like a short story that was entirely rushed to print. I understood she had a 5 book contract and this was the last book delivered and it felt like a rush job. It's a sad thing because there was a good central idea here. Beings from another dimension between Heaven and Hell and they want to possess your soul. Along with that was a group of people obsessed with the idea of suicide and it felt like this could of been a top novel. But at a mere 224 pages, this book suffers from under developed characters, rushed settings, and a total lack of follow through on the story. Sadly this is one of the most disappointing Zebra Horror I've read in a while. There are only two Pat Graversen novels left for me to read published by Zebra and they are her vampire stories. Alas, after this novel I am not in a rush to read them. Disappointing.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews