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Faces in the Dark: A Short Collection of Paranoid Horror
A short collection of strange, paranoid horror stories. Featuring the novella The Violet Dark - a hallucinogenic road horror. Read this toxic love song to darkness itself, and see what is meant by 'a beautiful nightmare'.
Also included are the short
Her Parents' Masks - She has never seen her parents' real faces. They have worn terrifying buffalo masks from the moment she was born . . .
The Watcher - The air is black, and I do not sleep. The hours tick by. I do not sleep because someone is watching me.
Anamia - Assorted entries from the Anamia Diary, found among possesions. Care is advised before reading, especially for those who have or have had an eating disorder.
The Gremlins - Humanity's days on this earth are numbered. How do you fight an enemy too small to see?
Nightmare - No waking up.
Dead Streets - A sad and haunted tale.
Cover by Jason A.W. Archuleta of Dark Sphere Photography and JCD2 Design.
Also included are the short
Her Parents' Masks - She has never seen her parents' real faces. They have worn terrifying buffalo masks from the moment she was born . . .
The Watcher - The air is black, and I do not sleep. The hours tick by. I do not sleep because someone is watching me.
Anamia - Assorted entries from the Anamia Diary, found among possesions. Care is advised before reading, especially for those who have or have had an eating disorder.
The Gremlins - Humanity's days on this earth are numbered. How do you fight an enemy too small to see?
Nightmare - No waking up.
Dead Streets - A sad and haunted tale.
Cover by Jason A.W. Archuleta of Dark Sphere Photography and JCD2 Design.
- GenresHorror
107 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 15, 2015
3 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Set Sytes
34 books61 followersAuthor and purveyor of all things fantastical, dark and weird.
Please don't feed him onions.
Please don't feed him onions.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 31, 2024
I will start off by saying I grabbed this book on a trip that coincided with Halloween, the back description made me feel that it would be a spooky collection of short stories, a more adult "Scary Stories to Read in the Dark". Not quite.
The bad: the chapter/segments are confusing as there is a longer short story that's broken into parts but it took me a while to catch on (reader error). There are some stories that remind me of a good Reddit or Tumblr creepypasta, I feel with some refining these could have gone so much further
The okay:
I can tell there's a Cormac Mccarthy influence, I was reminded of The Road many times, if you enjoy that novel you may enjoy this. It particularly becomes apparent the violet is a metaphor for addiction and it's pull. The story of the eating disorder really felt as though it was written by a teenaged girl, which is what the perspective called for, so kudos, the monster "Anamia" a bit on the nose.
The good:
The chapter "Dead Streets" is a hidden gem, it is beautiful and emotional in a strange and empty way. A reminder that the scariest unknown is not a monster or a conspiracy, it's the quiet automation of everyday life, that underneath the quiet pure veil of snow, there is nothing. The nothingness is the scariest, and most painful unknown promise. I was touched by "one day everyone can be still, and nothing bad or difficult or tiresome will ever happen again". A wish shared by myself in the deepest depths of existential dread. It's a very raw glimpse into the writer, that no matter how peaceful or comforted, ideation can take hold, but it's also what tethers us.
Solid 3/5, and most of it is for the last chapter.
The bad: the chapter/segments are confusing as there is a longer short story that's broken into parts but it took me a while to catch on (reader error). There are some stories that remind me of a good Reddit or Tumblr creepypasta, I feel with some refining these could have gone so much further
The okay:
I can tell there's a Cormac Mccarthy influence, I was reminded of The Road many times, if you enjoy that novel you may enjoy this. It particularly becomes apparent the violet is a metaphor for addiction and it's pull. The story of the eating disorder really felt as though it was written by a teenaged girl, which is what the perspective called for, so kudos, the monster "Anamia" a bit on the nose.
The good:
The chapter "Dead Streets" is a hidden gem, it is beautiful and emotional in a strange and empty way. A reminder that the scariest unknown is not a monster or a conspiracy, it's the quiet automation of everyday life, that underneath the quiet pure veil of snow, there is nothing. The nothingness is the scariest, and most painful unknown promise. I was touched by "one day everyone can be still, and nothing bad or difficult or tiresome will ever happen again". A wish shared by myself in the deepest depths of existential dread. It's a very raw glimpse into the writer, that no matter how peaceful or comforted, ideation can take hold, but it's also what tethers us.
Solid 3/5, and most of it is for the last chapter.
June 22, 2021
This collection is definitely different from the horror I usually am drawn to. It was nice to mix it up a bit. It has an interesting collection for stories, some I preferred over others. I think my favourite was the one about the Gremlins.
May 17, 2022
There is some beautiful prose in this collection, but most of the writing was so hard to comprehend (plus the complete lack of setting) that I had to DNF.
April 16, 2024
2.5 stars
This book was written poetically with a wide range of vocabulary. It was beautiful to read. However, the stories lacked world building or character building and introductions. I found myself awfully confused or struggling to connect with the writing due to these factors. Out of all of the short stories included in this book, I only found one immersing and fleshed out well.
This book was written poetically with a wide range of vocabulary. It was beautiful to read. However, the stories lacked world building or character building and introductions. I found myself awfully confused or struggling to connect with the writing due to these factors. Out of all of the short stories included in this book, I only found one immersing and fleshed out well.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews