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Nighmares, Monsters & Horrors Triptych #1
HERE BE NIGHTMARES
Short stories from the surreal and sometimes shocking imagination of Malaysian writer Julya Oui.
It can only be a nightmare if you:
* Walk into a convent where Sister Mary Angele starts to grow horns.
* Catch Mina telling her sister she was a victim of inter-species rape.
* Hear how Manny's phobia for garden snails is linked to a childhood crime.
* Find out the dreadful truth behind Jason’s toy collection.
* Listen to Jack reveal a secret that will affect everyone on earth.
After all, if here be nightmares, there can also be monsters.
It can only be a nightmare if you:
* Walk into a convent where Sister Mary Angele starts to grow horns.
* Catch Mina telling her sister she was a victim of inter-species rape.
* Hear how Manny's phobia for garden snails is linked to a childhood crime.
* Find out the dreadful truth behind Jason’s toy collection.
* Listen to Jack reveal a secret that will affect everyone on earth.
After all, if here be nightmares, there can also be monsters.
250 pages, Paperback
First published November 25, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
December 11, 2014
The stories in Here Be Nightmares are all very surreal and bizarre -- fitting the 'dream-like' motif of this short story collection. There is quite a bit of body horror and blurring of the boundaries between the real and the perceived. I actually thought the opening story (of a nun growing horns) to be a weaker one compared to my preferred stories -- one about people hanging on a bar in a misty world, and another about a woman who gives birth to aquatic monsters that she hides in the bathtub after she gets raped by a sea monster.
My only issue with this book is the fact that almost all the stories are peopled with vaguely Anglo-sounding characters and, with the exception of one that I remember to actually be set in Australia, are all set in a vague Anglo-ish location that could be America, the United Kingdom, Australia, or any other country with a white English-speaking majority. Why? Was this intentional because of the collection's 'dreamlike' motif? Some of the stories, like the one about the rope from heaven could easily have been set in a Malaysian small town, with Malaysian characters.
As a Malaysian writer in English, I understand the inclination to use Anglo-centric characters and settings: the books that we read tend to be from Western countries and are peopled by Western (usually white) characters. Being able to use local settings and characters, and to capture their idiosyncrasies and transform them into fiction, is something that takes a bit of a learning curve. And as a Malaysian reader of English books, I want to read books that contain characters, settings and idiosyncrasies that are more relevant to my life. I already have a huge choice of books that feature Western (and usually white) characters whenever I walk into any bookstore.
That aside, the surreal stories are pretty enjoyable in themselves and the book is a quick read. I recommend readers to give this book a shot and I look forward to the author's next collection of work.
My only issue with this book is the fact that almost all the stories are peopled with vaguely Anglo-sounding characters and, with the exception of one that I remember to actually be set in Australia, are all set in a vague Anglo-ish location that could be America, the United Kingdom, Australia, or any other country with a white English-speaking majority. Why? Was this intentional because of the collection's 'dreamlike' motif? Some of the stories, like the one about the rope from heaven could easily have been set in a Malaysian small town, with Malaysian characters.
As a Malaysian writer in English, I understand the inclination to use Anglo-centric characters and settings: the books that we read tend to be from Western countries and are peopled by Western (usually white) characters. Being able to use local settings and characters, and to capture their idiosyncrasies and transform them into fiction, is something that takes a bit of a learning curve. And as a Malaysian reader of English books, I want to read books that contain characters, settings and idiosyncrasies that are more relevant to my life. I already have a huge choice of books that feature Western (and usually white) characters whenever I walk into any bookstore.
That aside, the surreal stories are pretty enjoyable in themselves and the book is a quick read. I recommend readers to give this book a shot and I look forward to the author's next collection of work.
June 11, 2017
I'm not a fan of monsters but I kinda like some of the stories in this collection. Julya's writing is always mantap!
December 21, 2016
Her second book after Bedtimes Stories From the Dead of The Night. This collection listed 13 exciting stories capturing human nightmares. Going through the dark sides of human depicting their greed, depression, confused, frustration and humanity went hay-wire.
The collection is NOT an ordinary horror with grave yards, green puke or splashing blood. It is still eerie, but with class of its own. International background of each story will make readers think this is some sort of written work from America. Names, locations and interactions between characters were carefully chosen, it is very refreshing.
It opens with a story of a nun with sudden growth of horn, a person searching for the meaning of life accused as mad, relation between 2 elderly women, small town with gift from heaven, nightmares of being trapped in a diner to recall old bad doings, curse of a nail and end with Best Kept Secret depicting hopes and dreams of peaceful living. Each story is alluring, it will tease readers.
Words carefully chosen, scientific terms and smartly arranged Point of view 1 and 2 in this book should be a reference to writers wishing to explore horror genre. It is time horror stories be treated deeper, in a very mature aspect because it is emotionally human related.
4 Huge Stars.
The collection is NOT an ordinary horror with grave yards, green puke or splashing blood. It is still eerie, but with class of its own. International background of each story will make readers think this is some sort of written work from America. Names, locations and interactions between characters were carefully chosen, it is very refreshing.
It opens with a story of a nun with sudden growth of horn, a person searching for the meaning of life accused as mad, relation between 2 elderly women, small town with gift from heaven, nightmares of being trapped in a diner to recall old bad doings, curse of a nail and end with Best Kept Secret depicting hopes and dreams of peaceful living. Each story is alluring, it will tease readers.
Words carefully chosen, scientific terms and smartly arranged Point of view 1 and 2 in this book should be a reference to writers wishing to explore horror genre. It is time horror stories be treated deeper, in a very mature aspect because it is emotionally human related.
4 Huge Stars.
December 10, 2017
Strange and compelling - like Goosebumps for grownups.
February 11, 2020
Angels, Demons, aliens and all imaginables or unimaginable are in this book. 😊
July 13, 2022
“You get worse dreams now. You wake up frightened and sweaty. You sometimes wet yourself. You hear the whispers of people saying you are losing it. The soft floating figures become darker and cruder in shape. They are like quick scribbled drawings to your dreary eyes. They are everywhere; sometimes they just ignore you, but sometimes they gaze at you, wanting to touch you and caress your face. Every now and then, you hear screechy voices like an old vinyl record calling out to you. It's not exactly your name but it sounds close. You go back to the office to pack up and your colleagues look at you pathetically, sizing up your wretchedness with their probing eyes, but they wish you well anyway”.
- Insane (Here be Nightmares) by Julya Oui
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I love Taiping Tales of Terror for its local-ness but this one felt flat to me. I have been a fan of Julya Oui’s writing ever since i read one of her short stories about a school girl assisted by the Pontianak to resolve the murder in her hometown. That’s what made me buy ‘Taiping Tales of Terror’ in the first place. Unfortunately, this is a mixed bag for me. Some stories are impressive especially when there’s a twist at the ending (And i couldn’t guess it). That’s the real thrill of reading horror tales. BUT i find some stories unfortunately is quite detached and i barely felt invested within the stories. Most of the stories that i dont like is about ALIEN or some psychological/mental complexity. Sorry guys, Alien is the least horrifying thing for me because none can beat Southeast Asian Ghosts / Apparitions. Here’s my individual rating for each stories :
1. The horns of sister Mary Angele : 3/5
2. Insane : 4/5
3. Mina : 3/5
4. Stench of the dead : 5/5
5. Gifts from Heaven : 3/5
6. Garden Snails : 5/5
7. The Scouts are coming 3/5
8. Gorgon : 3/5
9. The Cost of Suspension : 2/5
10. Doom St. Diner : 5/5
11. Curse of the Nail : 4/5
12. Best Kept Secret : 2/5
Overall, this is too western for me (As i am expecting more local ghost actually). If you love aliens and monsters with a little bit of psychological horror , then this might be for you.
- Insane (Here be Nightmares) by Julya Oui
.
.
I love Taiping Tales of Terror for its local-ness but this one felt flat to me. I have been a fan of Julya Oui’s writing ever since i read one of her short stories about a school girl assisted by the Pontianak to resolve the murder in her hometown. That’s what made me buy ‘Taiping Tales of Terror’ in the first place. Unfortunately, this is a mixed bag for me. Some stories are impressive especially when there’s a twist at the ending (And i couldn’t guess it). That’s the real thrill of reading horror tales. BUT i find some stories unfortunately is quite detached and i barely felt invested within the stories. Most of the stories that i dont like is about ALIEN or some psychological/mental complexity. Sorry guys, Alien is the least horrifying thing for me because none can beat Southeast Asian Ghosts / Apparitions. Here’s my individual rating for each stories :
1. The horns of sister Mary Angele : 3/5
2. Insane : 4/5
3. Mina : 3/5
4. Stench of the dead : 5/5
5. Gifts from Heaven : 3/5
6. Garden Snails : 5/5
7. The Scouts are coming 3/5
8. Gorgon : 3/5
9. The Cost of Suspension : 2/5
10. Doom St. Diner : 5/5
11. Curse of the Nail : 4/5
12. Best Kept Secret : 2/5
Overall, this is too western for me (As i am expecting more local ghost actually). If you love aliens and monsters with a little bit of psychological horror , then this might be for you.
May 17, 2016
Great storytelling by Julya, some of it make goosebumps, some of it are thrills.
September 24, 2016
i love the editor who had arranged the stories. i really like the arrangement. this is the book that can take you to another place to think about.
June 1, 2019
I've been reading a lot of Malaysian pulp fiction books lately, and it's a good thing for me. These fictions always offer something refreshing, sometimes mundanely interesting, with little to no closure to some of the stories. And I liked that. Julya Oui did wonderfully here, creating something akin to the Goosebumps series I used to read when I was younger. I recommend this to anyone who enjoy light horror/thriller stories.
June 1, 2019
I've been reading a lot of Malaysian pulp fiction books lately, and it's a good thing for me. These fictions always offer something refreshing, sometimes mundanely interesting, with little to no closure to some of the stories. And I liked that. Julya Oui did wonderfully here, creating something akin to the Goosebumps series I used to read when I was younger. I recommend this to anyone who enjoy light horror/thriller stories.
March 24, 2023
(Rounded up from 3 1/2)
The writing style was very forward. There were a lot of time skips. Everything felt very linear.
This meant that there was a lot of plot, and each short story had an impressively large scope, while still being easy to keep track of.
It just wasn't a narrative style that worked entirely for me. I would have liked to see the stories fleshed out more and paced more slowly, but ultimately, that's a personal preference.
The writing style was very forward. There were a lot of time skips. Everything felt very linear.
This meant that there was a lot of plot, and each short story had an impressively large scope, while still being easy to keep track of.
It just wasn't a narrative style that worked entirely for me. I would have liked to see the stories fleshed out more and paced more slowly, but ultimately, that's a personal preference.
November 24, 2019
13 short stories, unusual, dark, and bizzare, and a few of them left me intrigued because the ending seems like a beginning of something worse and compelling. Well the title of this book explains all... 13 nightmare-ish stories.
My most favourite will be the last one 'Best Kept Secret'. Feels like watching an exciting movie.
Overall, enjoyable yet 'dark'.
My most favourite will be the last one 'Best Kept Secret'. Feels like watching an exciting movie.
Overall, enjoyable yet 'dark'.
August 13, 2021
2 stars. This is a very chilling collection of horror stories. I enjoyed "The Cost of Suspension". The rest of the stories are fairly surreal.
April 30, 2020
i only like the snail story. other than that, don't even bother.
May 16, 2015
Here Be Nightmares are a compilation of horror/fantasy/science-fiction short stories by Julya Oui. I hate to say this but I could not help compare to this book to Zen Cho's Spirits Abroad & Tunku Halim's Horror Stories. Unlike Horror Stories, these stories are not your ordinary monster under your bed kinda stories. It revolves interesting premises one after another, it questions the purpose of life itself and it puts you in a puzzle. Readers are meant to figure out the ending by themselves instead of it being handed on a platter.
However, unlike Zen Cho's Spirits Abroad, it lacks coherence. Relationship between characters are not portrayed as effective as the characters in Spirits Abroad. Julya Oui's writes the best when it is in a first point of view so whenever it is in a second or third point of view, the story is not told as good as it can be.
Watch out for Gift From Heaven & Cost of Suspension; two of the best stories from the book.
However, unlike Zen Cho's Spirits Abroad, it lacks coherence. Relationship between characters are not portrayed as effective as the characters in Spirits Abroad. Julya Oui's writes the best when it is in a first point of view so whenever it is in a second or third point of view, the story is not told as good as it can be.
Watch out for Gift From Heaven & Cost of Suspension; two of the best stories from the book.
April 14, 2015
LMAO okay initially I was only going to give this a 3.5 stars but THE LAST STORY (and some of the stories in this book too) OMFG I WANT MORE!!!! So much potential with the story tbh like YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME HANGING LIKE THAT YO (-groans-I guess that's the problem with short stories).
I actually enjoyed reading this because some of the stories really gave me the spooks, I had to stop reading it because I'm such a scaredy cat.
I actually enjoyed reading this because some of the stories really gave me the spooks, I had to stop reading it because I'm such a scaredy cat.
December 23, 2014
Some stories achieved a decent level of surrealness, such as the story about the nun with horns, but the rest read like underdeveloped writing workshop pieces.
Also agree with the other review about some of the stories being set in the USA. The location details failed to convince the reader and the 'American' characters still sounded like Malaysians
Also agree with the other review about some of the stories being set in the USA. The location details failed to convince the reader and the 'American' characters still sounded like Malaysians
May 13, 2015
Insane, Mina, Garden Snails, The Toy Collector, Curse of the Nail & Best Kept Secret was my favorite!
January 30, 2016
I liked this book though. Stories i enjoyed are 'Mina', which describes the horrific imagination, 'cost of suspension' about life after death, and 'curse of the nail'. Some stories are just so-so.
February 5, 2015
The Toy Collector is my favourite!
June 14, 2017
The short stories are okay and some have potential to have a book of its own. Garden Snails and The Cost of Suspension, to name a few, are good. The latter is indeed a nightmare.
November 4, 2016
Worth reading.
July 10, 2016
A bit too weird and strange for me..
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews