The Cold People: and Other Fairy Tales from Nowhere

by Felix Blackwell, Colin J. Northwood

Something wretched crawls beneath the skin of this world... Peel back that rotting skin and behold the improbable creatures, nightmarish places, and horrifying events that lie waiting just beyond everyday experience. Witness the terror of a man stalked for decades by entities from across the void. Feel the agony of an unholy union between technology and flesh. Know the decay of our reality as it collapses into a darker plane. Our deepest fears are mere shadows on the wall. Find out what casts those shadows in this collection of short stories by Felix Blackwell and Colin J. Northwood.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Audiobook, Fiction, Anthologies

265 pages, Paperback

First published October 13, 2016

Reviews

[Undomiel Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly surprised that this is the same author as Stolen Tongues; this collection was very dull, and the writing style felt very basic, which meant it wasn't scary either. Such a shame.

[Rachel Drenning · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found a new favorite horror author.

[George Dobris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading The Cold People made me feel on edge. The book itself is a collection of short stories in which all of them separately cause different fears and emotions. It really made me forget myself and immerse fully to the story. Although truth be told, the double narrative confused me, perhaps it would be more suiting to do one part with first person narration and a second part with third person narration. Nevertheless, still a great book and I recommend it to all fans of the genre.

[Alycia Carosella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book I’ve read by Felix and my goodness was this good! His writing style is just so compelling. Even though some of these stories were short, I liked how he incorporated some of them together.
I found that the cold people story was by far my favorite and the icebreaker one was creepy as hell.
Honestly any story with his fiancé Faye in it is bound to be a fantastic one. Her sleepwalking and night terrors are utterly terrifying and amazingly creepy.
Ten out of ten would recommend this. Honestly I recommend reading anything by him ❤️

[Madferrit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, creepy, short horror stories

Ah could anything be better than a book of short stories that are super creepy and gory? NO!
I really loved every story in this collection, and now I want more! More!
Felix Blackwell and Colin J Northwood ( same person?) know just how to write the perfect horror story that leaves you feeling unsettled and maybe a little freaked out.
I'm off to dig up some more Cold People....

[Emily Phynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chilling.

Another great anthology by felix Blackwell! The authors work well together to create matching unsettling atmospheres, with stories that are unnerving and unique.

[Tya C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This should’ve just been a collection of Felix’s interconnected stories. Colin’s stories felt very off-topic compared to the others. But, I enjoyed a lot of these stories! Several were truly terrifying!

Story ratings:

World Behind the World by Felix Blackwell: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (sooo creepy)
Icebreaker pt. I by Felix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (scary!)
Clean by Colin J. Northwood: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Lily by Felix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spare Parts by Colin: ⭐️⭐️
The Cold People by Felix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Cubes by Felix: ⭐️✨
The Bleeding Window by Colin: ⭐️✨
Going Down by Felix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Edwin by Felix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (a weird lil story)
Nothing Goes to Waste by Colin: DNF (I’m bored)
Motherbird by Felix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Chocolate is Rocket Fuel for Nightmares by Felix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (scary!; my fave)
Long Live the King by Colin: DNF (what’s up with all this fantasy??)
Cold Shoulder by Felix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
inbetween by Felix: ⭐️✨
Kismet by Colin: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spike by Felix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (that was rough)
Six Steps Forward by Colin: ⭐️✨
Poor Richard by Felix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Maternal Instinct by Felix: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Icarus by Colin: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Icebreaker pt. II by Felix: ⭐️⭐️✨

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a really great time with this short story collection. Felix has an incredible way of getting under your skin and making you afraid of things you never even considered. There's a good bit of variety here and not every story is as good as others but it was overall a very solid and fun read. And there were definitely a few nights when I found it hard to fall asleep at night due to the images he conjured in my imagination. I loved it!

[Candice's Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reminds me

These stories remind me of scary stories to tell in the dark but a bit more detailed. They gave me the same thrill while reading as I got from those stories. Felix has an amazing ability to tell scary stories and Colin's stories were just as entertaining hope to see many more stories from them!

[Rebecca Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed some of these stories. I love Felix’s stories about Faye and find them creepy and unsettling. Some of the stories were not my taste but I still love this author. I read Stolen Tongues before reading this book and it’s one of my favorite horror books of all time so I think I just had really high expectations for this book.

[The Quarantined Creep · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

compared to Stolen Tongues, this is very immature writing
is it really the same author?

[Glitter & Gloom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glooms Reads🌨️
I will forever and always love Felix Blackwell. His writing and narrative of horror is my favorite. He’s easily in my top 3 authors!

I really enjoyed this culmination of short scary/spooky stories. Written with his friend Colin J. Northwood, they both bring their own unique style to each telling. The balance between Blackwell and Northwoods writing styles leaves the reader comfortably shifting from one author to the next with the flip of a page.

This is a great book you can read a quick story, and set it down to start again later with a whole new story, disconnected from the one previous. There are some stories I liked more than others and it teetered back and forth, hence the 3 stars, but trust me when I say Blackwells works consistently get a 4.5 to 5🌟 out of me more than not!

Spooky scale: 👻👻👻👻
Gore scale: 🔪🔪

[Christian Van Boven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this collection. After reading Stolen Tongues I decided that I wanted to read all of Felix Blackwells books, and I prefer this collection to Stolen Tongues. There is a great variety of unsettling stories in this collection, many of which made me think deeply about the horrible situations the main characters get themselves into. Blackwell has such an interesting way of making me feel uncomfortable when I read, more so than any other author I’ve encountered. I highly recommend this collection to anyone who likes Blackwells style, or for any fan of the horror genre who wants to read a new author with a very unique style.

[SoftGurlBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.2/5

A great set or short stories! It was refreshing to invest my time in shorter stories and then immediately have the ability to jump into another one. While some stories were more gripping than others, the entirety of the anthology had me on edge and questioning every thought I have at night. Stories like this fuel my desire to embrace my sometimes-twisted brain and do some writing of my own!

Highly recommend this one.

[adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fear of the unknown is something I live for in horror and this anthology nails it! These stories are a mix of otherworldly creatures and the horrors of technology. I went in for Felix Blackwell, but I also thoroughly enjoyed Colin J. Northwood's contributions. My only issue with this anthology is that the stories at the end weren’t as strong as the rest. Overall though, this is a decent horror read for the Halloween season.

[Jazmeow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

I loved this collection! I couldn't put it down and it made me a little afraid to go out with my dogs at night, which is incredibly difficult to accomplish. I'd even probably read it again someday

[Holly B. Skinner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed some of the stories much more than others, which is pretty much guaranteed with any collection of short stories. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed more than I disliked, and I would read full books based on a few of them!

[Jennifer Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent short stories overall, but not nearly as good as Stolen Tongues also by Felix Blackwell. There is a creepy story within this book that includes night terrors and sleepwalking that I really enjoyed!

[Ashley Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I want to read something that will scare me to the point of nightmares, I read Felix Blackwell.

[Aiyana Friedlander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some pretty good stories.

I only read a few of the stories. I like mostly all the stories Felix wrote. We need more Horror from Felix!!

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent enough short story collection but sadly didn't live up to the same standard of scares as Stolen Tongues.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another interesting book of short stories from Felix Blackwell (and Colin J. Northwood). Felix's stories are creepstacular! This relatively new author could become the next Stephen King.

[Lacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to know more about the ship. Loved these short stories, although I wouldn’t call them horror. They are more like a slow burn into madness.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this collection. I enjoy the writing style and the imagination.

[Mackenzie Starnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will not sleep tonight– loved it! Simply horrifying.

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Think this may be one of my favorite short horror collections in a long long time.
It was creepy, atmospheric, but still extremely human at times.
This is one to watch out for!

[Jody Steed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dreadful collection

This is a great short story collection. It filled me with dread from the beginning and didn’t let go till the end.

[Jacob]

Just give them some blankets

[Tourmalily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of stories

I really enjoyed these sort of Fairytale horror stories. Some take you to disturbing, unsettling places, and others absolutely terrify.

[bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

felix blackwell has become an immediate read for me. so amazing