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Ghostly Shadows Shorts #1
Foliage
They can run, but they can’t hide….
The end of the world has come. A horrific new disease has appeared and swiftly wiped out nearly the whole of mankind. Now four survivors – possibly the last four people alive – seek sanctuary in the remote countryside, hoping against hope that they can flee this terrible contagion which has destroyed everything in their lives.
A dark and disturbing tale of horror from F.R. Jameson, author of HELL’S SECRETS and THE WANNABES.
The end of the world has come. A horrific new disease has appeared and swiftly wiped out nearly the whole of mankind. Now four survivors – possibly the last four people alive – seek sanctuary in the remote countryside, hoping against hope that they can flee this terrible contagion which has destroyed everything in their lives.
A dark and disturbing tale of horror from F.R. Jameson, author of HELL’S SECRETS and THE WANNABES.
45 pages, ebook
First published March 17, 2017
12 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
F.R. Jameson
37 books221 followersF.R. Jameson was born in Wales, but now lives in London with his wife and young daughter. He writes both historical thrillers and supernatural thrillers.
His books are, at the moment, mostly sorted into two different – but complimentary – series. The first, ‘Screen Siren Noir’, currently comprises of three novels: ‘Diana Christmas’, ‘Eden St. Michel’ and ‘Alice Rackham’. All of which tell the stories of beautiful British film stars caught up in Noir tales of blackmail, obsession, scandal and death. He is currently working on both the fourth and fifth books in the series.
The second series is more disturbing and scary, and lives under the moniker: ‘Ghostly Shadows’. Right now there is only one book published, a tale of supernatural revenge – ‘Death at the Shadows’. However, 2019 will bring four more entries to terrify and intrigue.
His blog - https://frjameson.com/ - is regularly updated with information about his writing, as well as film and book reviews. You can follow him @frjameson on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, and you can find him on Facebook.
His books are, at the moment, mostly sorted into two different – but complimentary – series. The first, ‘Screen Siren Noir’, currently comprises of three novels: ‘Diana Christmas’, ‘Eden St. Michel’ and ‘Alice Rackham’. All of which tell the stories of beautiful British film stars caught up in Noir tales of blackmail, obsession, scandal and death. He is currently working on both the fourth and fifth books in the series.
The second series is more disturbing and scary, and lives under the moniker: ‘Ghostly Shadows’. Right now there is only one book published, a tale of supernatural revenge – ‘Death at the Shadows’. However, 2019 will bring four more entries to terrify and intrigue.
His blog - https://frjameson.com/ - is regularly updated with information about his writing, as well as film and book reviews. You can follow him @frjameson on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, and you can find him on Facebook.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 7, 2018
I can probably pinpoint exactly where in my psyche FOLIAGE comes from. It's me poking away at the emotional scars caused by seeing bits of the BBC's adaptation of THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS in 1981.
It wasn't from reading the book. I didn't read the book until much later. To be honest, since I was only six in 1981 when this adaptation aired, I'm not entirely sure how I got to see any of the TV series (my parents were relaxed with policing my viewing habits, but they surely weren't that relaxed). But I saw it and I saw the title creatures and I was left with a deep seated dread that there were plants out there who would happily hurt me.
These childhood fears weren’t alleviated by the fact that we had a number of large plants in and around the house. There was a giant Mother-in Law's tongue just inside our lounge which towered over me and always seemed to be on the point of reaching out its sharp leaves and impaling me; there was a honeysuckle around our front door, the kind of thing which would get out of hand in a fairy tale and seal us in forever; while around our back and front garden was a hedge of conifers that an imaginative little boy could easily imagine upping roots and marching towards the house to do terrible things to me and my family.
In short I didn't have the mentality of the green fingered. Green fingers were surely what happened when the evil sap of the enemy plants got into our bloodstream.
I was scared of plants and I had the BBC's 1981 version of THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS to thank for it.
What makes this so absurd is if you look at that adaptation now, the effects and the realisation of the Triffids is ludicrously poor. The monsters are clunky, cumbersome and obviously made out of rubber. Even for the time period they seem ridiculously unconvincing. So bad are they that one can imagine the contemporaneous FX guy on DOCTOR WHO shaking his head with disappointment and pity for his poor inept colleague. How it could have created such a reaction in me is unfathomable.
But rewatching it and being amazed was for the future. The 1981 Triffids got into my mind like few other things and the notion of plants not being oxygen producing friends, but instead monsters the equivalent of werewolves and vampires was made part of my DNA.
FOLIAGE is my response to that. A short sci-fi/horror story that I started writing in my childhood nightmares.
It wasn't from reading the book. I didn't read the book until much later. To be honest, since I was only six in 1981 when this adaptation aired, I'm not entirely sure how I got to see any of the TV series (my parents were relaxed with policing my viewing habits, but they surely weren't that relaxed). But I saw it and I saw the title creatures and I was left with a deep seated dread that there were plants out there who would happily hurt me.
These childhood fears weren’t alleviated by the fact that we had a number of large plants in and around the house. There was a giant Mother-in Law's tongue just inside our lounge which towered over me and always seemed to be on the point of reaching out its sharp leaves and impaling me; there was a honeysuckle around our front door, the kind of thing which would get out of hand in a fairy tale and seal us in forever; while around our back and front garden was a hedge of conifers that an imaginative little boy could easily imagine upping roots and marching towards the house to do terrible things to me and my family.
In short I didn't have the mentality of the green fingered. Green fingers were surely what happened when the evil sap of the enemy plants got into our bloodstream.
I was scared of plants and I had the BBC's 1981 version of THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS to thank for it.
What makes this so absurd is if you look at that adaptation now, the effects and the realisation of the Triffids is ludicrously poor. The monsters are clunky, cumbersome and obviously made out of rubber. Even for the time period they seem ridiculously unconvincing. So bad are they that one can imagine the contemporaneous FX guy on DOCTOR WHO shaking his head with disappointment and pity for his poor inept colleague. How it could have created such a reaction in me is unfathomable.
But rewatching it and being amazed was for the future. The 1981 Triffids got into my mind like few other things and the notion of plants not being oxygen producing friends, but instead monsters the equivalent of werewolves and vampires was made part of my DNA.
FOLIAGE is my response to that. A short sci-fi/horror story that I started writing in my childhood nightmares.
April 20, 2017
A nice slice of "end of the world" science fiction with some well drawn characters. The moment when someone first begins "to change" due to the infection is an outstanding piece of horror writing. A great short story that, if expanded, would make a fine novel.
November 6, 2017
A free read by a new-to-me author, "Foliage" is an interesting take an a post-apocalyptic England. Truthfully, I queued this book up on my tablet tonight because I've been reading post-apocalyptic books with beautiful nature scenes on the cover, and "Foliage" fit the bill nicely. The story starts interestingly enough, with four strangers toiling up rough terrain to reach a secluded, and presumably safe, cottage up in the boonies. A drunken McGrigor, with nine bottles of whiskey in his backpack, follows the Preacher, the Woman, and the Kid. The story is told from McGrigor's jaded perspective, and there is little explanation of what the group is actually running from until it catches up with them the next day. I enjoyed this story a lot, and look forward to more by the author. Kudos!
November 14, 2021
This is a 4.5 star read.
May 12, 2021
Foliage (Ghostly Shadows Shorts, Book 1)
By F.R. Jameson
Genre - Fiction/Horror/Short Story
Pages - 41
Format - Digital (Kindle)
Publication Information - Independently Published (March 17, 2017), ASIN: B06XQ6FL9B
Rating - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Reviewed by - William C. Bitner, Jr. https://booksinmylibraryblog.wordpres...
I was looking for a few short reads and went to my Kindle Library to see what I had available. My search brought me to a few of F.R. Jameson’s short stories. This author is new to me. From his catalog of books it seems he’s been at his craft for some time. I love reading authors who are new to me. I seem to have made a good choice in picking the few shorts that I did because they were brilliant. Foliage is an apocalyptic tale with few characters, and their size dwindling as the story proceeds. While short in words, it’s huge in its presentation. F.R. James is unmistakably a skilled wordsmith.. Vivid and visceral are a few adjectives that easily describe his writing. Fast paced and fluid with some of the best dry humor I’ve read in some time. The Brits do that so very well! I’m looking forward to reading more of his work.
From the back cover -”You cannot outrun the end of the world…
A horrific new disease has wiped out virtually all of mankind. Now, four survivors – possibly the last people alive – seek sanctuary in remote woodland. Hoping they can somehow escape the contagion which has destroyed the world.
But what happens when, out there in the wilderness, the sickness strikes?”
About the Author - F.R. Jameson was born in Wales, but now lives with his wife and daughter in London. He writes thrillers; sometimes of the supernatural variety, and sometimes historical, set around the British film industry.
Other work by F.R. Jameson - “Diana Christmas: Blackmail, Death and a British Film Star (Screen Siren Noir, Book 1)”, “Eden St. Michel: Scandal, Death and a British Film Star (Screen Siren Noir, Book 2)”, “Alice Rickman: Obsession, Death and a British Film Star (Screen Siren Noir, Book 3)”, “The Strange Fate of Lord Bruton: A Tale of the Gothic (Ghostly Shadows Shorts, Book 2)”, “The Widow Ravens (Ghostly Shadows Shorts, Book 3)”, “Algernon Swafford: Private Investigator (Ghostly Shadows Shorts, Book 4)”, “Sacrifice at St. Nicks (Ghostly Shadows Shorts, Book 5)”, “The Caller”, “Death at the Seaside”, “Confined Spaces”, “Terror of Breakspear Hall”, “Call of the Mandrake”, “Certain Danger”, “Won’t You Come Save Me”, “The Hellbound Detective”, “The Wannabes” et al...
By F.R. Jameson
Genre - Fiction/Horror/Short Story
Pages - 41
Format - Digital (Kindle)
Publication Information - Independently Published (March 17, 2017), ASIN: B06XQ6FL9B
Rating - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Reviewed by - William C. Bitner, Jr. https://booksinmylibraryblog.wordpres...
I was looking for a few short reads and went to my Kindle Library to see what I had available. My search brought me to a few of F.R. Jameson’s short stories. This author is new to me. From his catalog of books it seems he’s been at his craft for some time. I love reading authors who are new to me. I seem to have made a good choice in picking the few shorts that I did because they were brilliant. Foliage is an apocalyptic tale with few characters, and their size dwindling as the story proceeds. While short in words, it’s huge in its presentation. F.R. James is unmistakably a skilled wordsmith.. Vivid and visceral are a few adjectives that easily describe his writing. Fast paced and fluid with some of the best dry humor I’ve read in some time. The Brits do that so very well! I’m looking forward to reading more of his work.
From the back cover -”You cannot outrun the end of the world…
A horrific new disease has wiped out virtually all of mankind. Now, four survivors – possibly the last people alive – seek sanctuary in remote woodland. Hoping they can somehow escape the contagion which has destroyed the world.
But what happens when, out there in the wilderness, the sickness strikes?”
About the Author - F.R. Jameson was born in Wales, but now lives with his wife and daughter in London. He writes thrillers; sometimes of the supernatural variety, and sometimes historical, set around the British film industry.
Other work by F.R. Jameson - “Diana Christmas: Blackmail, Death and a British Film Star (Screen Siren Noir, Book 1)”, “Eden St. Michel: Scandal, Death and a British Film Star (Screen Siren Noir, Book 2)”, “Alice Rickman: Obsession, Death and a British Film Star (Screen Siren Noir, Book 3)”, “The Strange Fate of Lord Bruton: A Tale of the Gothic (Ghostly Shadows Shorts, Book 2)”, “The Widow Ravens (Ghostly Shadows Shorts, Book 3)”, “Algernon Swafford: Private Investigator (Ghostly Shadows Shorts, Book 4)”, “Sacrifice at St. Nicks (Ghostly Shadows Shorts, Book 5)”, “The Caller”, “Death at the Seaside”, “Confined Spaces”, “Terror of Breakspear Hall”, “Call of the Mandrake”, “Certain Danger”, “Won’t You Come Save Me”, “The Hellbound Detective”, “The Wannabes” et al...
January 11, 2022
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
I got an ARC of this book.
This was a quick read, but it didn’t skimp on the horror. This is yet another great read from Jameson. This one told of an illness that seemed just downright disgusting and horrifying to endure. This is not a zombie tale, instead maybe it is a plant tale?
On page there are two graphic deaths. The deaths are gruesome in a way that I never expected. I was really grossed out. I loved it. The scream sealed the horror in for me though. The idea that the scream was always part of the sickness just made it so you couldn’t ignore what was happening around you. It was a really good, small detail.
That being said, I wish this was longer. I wanted to know more. I wanted to see what would happen. Did the MC make it through his whole storage of alcohol? Did he have to find more? Did he find someone else? I wish I had just a little bit more. It was a great read, but it was too short to give me a satisfied feeling sadly.
It really reminded me of one of the first bizarro stories I read. The one about the man and his suit made of cockroaches and how he met a man with a suit made of twinkies. I know they sound drastically different, but they had a similar feel to them. Something about them is just haunting and also extremely practical and shocking. I would love to see Jameson do a hardcore bizzao story.
I got an ARC of this book.
This was a quick read, but it didn’t skimp on the horror. This is yet another great read from Jameson. This one told of an illness that seemed just downright disgusting and horrifying to endure. This is not a zombie tale, instead maybe it is a plant tale?
On page there are two graphic deaths. The deaths are gruesome in a way that I never expected. I was really grossed out. I loved it. The scream sealed the horror in for me though. The idea that the scream was always part of the sickness just made it so you couldn’t ignore what was happening around you. It was a really good, small detail.
That being said, I wish this was longer. I wanted to know more. I wanted to see what would happen. Did the MC make it through his whole storage of alcohol? Did he have to find more? Did he find someone else? I wish I had just a little bit more. It was a great read, but it was too short to give me a satisfied feeling sadly.
It really reminded me of one of the first bizarro stories I read. The one about the man and his suit made of cockroaches and how he met a man with a suit made of twinkies. I know they sound drastically different, but they had a similar feel to them. Something about them is just haunting and also extremely practical and shocking. I would love to see Jameson do a hardcore bizzao story.
June 24, 2019
This is a wonderful piece of writing from a talented Author. I’ve read several books and short stories by F.R. Jameson, and each time I’ve been thoroughly entertained. This short story takes the reader on a journey, and I really enjoyed not knowing what had happened in the past, and really no idea what was going to happen in the future. I love an Author that can keep me guessing and surprise me with the unexpected, and F.R. Jameson does that in spades.
For some reason McGrigor decided to follow the small group of survivors into the hills to look for a safer place to take refuge. The Preacher had made a convincing argument that there was a cabin where their small gathering could be safe from what was happening to everyone. It was going to be a march into the unknown. A fabulous read from start to finish. 5/5 Star Rating.
Verified Purchase Amazon Australia
For some reason McGrigor decided to follow the small group of survivors into the hills to look for a safer place to take refuge. The Preacher had made a convincing argument that there was a cabin where their small gathering could be safe from what was happening to everyone. It was going to be a march into the unknown. A fabulous read from start to finish. 5/5 Star Rating.
Verified Purchase Amazon Australia
September 2, 2021
Four survivors - The Preacher, The Woman, The Kid and an inebriated McGrigor - flee the city to get to higher ground as a new disease takes hold and annihilates life.
This is one story that I wish was a little longer. I would have loved to read more about the apocalypse itself. I won't say much about what happens when infection takes hold because of spoilers but I absolutely loved it. I also thought the reasoning behind McGrigor's drinking was smart as hell. At first I thought he was just a nihilistic drunk but, in the end, there was more to him than that.
This was the first of the Ghostly Shadows short stories that I have read so far. I think it will be hard to beat as my favourite! 4.5 stars
This is one story that I wish was a little longer. I would have loved to read more about the apocalypse itself. I won't say much about what happens when infection takes hold because of spoilers but I absolutely loved it. I also thought the reasoning behind McGrigor's drinking was smart as hell. At first I thought he was just a nihilistic drunk but, in the end, there was more to him than that.
This was the first of the Ghostly Shadows short stories that I have read so far. I think it will be hard to beat as my favourite! 4.5 stars
October 19, 2019
I love how the author writes. The story pulls me in and I want more. It had a nice steady pace. The characters made you want to get to know them. I hope you enjoy the authors books as much as I have. I have found that I would like some of the short stories turned into a bigger book.
I feel like I entered the twilight zone when I read the authors books. Very well done.
Got for an honest review.
Thank you for sharing your book with us.
I feel like I entered the twilight zone when I read the authors books. Very well done.
Got for an honest review.
Thank you for sharing your book with us.
February 13, 2020
There's nothing new bringing the world to an end by pestilence; writers have been at it since the mid-1800s. Still, despite the well-trod path, Jameson gives the motif a new twist, terrifying and yet intricately laced with wry irony. Jameson's talents as a writer come to the fore in this tale; during the visceral transformation phase of the disease, however, you might wish he wasn't such a good writer. Well done, and a great addition to the corpus of apocalyptic literature.
August 29, 2021
4 survivors make their way to a cabin in the woods in hopes of being safe there from a mysterious and terrifying illness.
I really liked this shorter apocalypse type story with an unusually disturbing but creative disease. I also really liked the gore aspect as well.
I do wish it had been a little longer because it was a very good one.
I really liked this shorter apocalypse type story with an unusually disturbing but creative disease. I also really liked the gore aspect as well.
I do wish it had been a little longer because it was a very good one.
November 4, 2019
Confusion
I enjoyed this however it's the first of a series and everyone but the drunk is dead? So are the books even related? Idk but I'm interested so I'll keep reading unless there just short stories I think that's it lol
I enjoyed this however it's the first of a series and everyone but the drunk is dead? So are the books even related? Idk but I'm interested so I'll keep reading unless there just short stories I think that's it lol
February 23, 2021
A short horror story that begins with a small band of escapees fleeing into the mountains. it turns out there is a disease the transforms people into plants. The story ends with the sole survivir moving on, while he still can.
September 25, 2021
Loved this short story! F.R. out his unique soon on an end of world tale and I loved the how descriptive the "disease" was. Tore through this short, gruesome tale.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews