The Vampire of Downing Street and Other Stories

by Amy Cross

A new prime minister is led down to the basement of Number 10, where he meets a surprising house guest...

A man finds his remote cabin being terrorized by a woman who only says the same three words over and over...

Billions of miles from Earth, a computer must make a difficult decision about a spaceship's last surviving crew-member...

As she struggles to look after her dying daughter, a mother notices strange noises in the house...

In the ruins of a planet ravaged by alien invasion, a young girl must decide whether to fight, or to simply try to stay alive...

After moving into a new house with her parents, young Cally Taylor realizes that perhaps one of the previous occupants never left...

On a remote mountain road, a woman comes face to face with a dead, frozen woman in a wrecked car...

The Vampire of Downing Street and Other Ghost Stories contains the new stories The Vampire of Downing Street, The Decision, Pets, Frozen Charlotte, When Ghosts Dream and Let Me In, as well as a revised version of Tenderling.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Vampires, Anthologies, Fantasy

321 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 4, 2017

About the author

Amy Cross writes novels and short stories in a number of genres, mainly horror, paranormal and fantasy. Books include The Farm, Annie's Room, The Island, Eli's Town and Asylum.

Reviews

[Doris · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unsettling collection of stories. The good ones were very good indeed, especially Tenderling. Others, such as the last one, Frozen Charlotte, had me want to slap the main character around for stupidity. None of these should be read just before bedtime, though.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent example of Amy Cross' work and I'm beginning to realise that her talent lies in her short stories, I have enjoyed every one of her compilations.
This novel had a bit of everything ranging from the weird, to the eerie and to the pants-poopingly scary. The "Tenderling" had my complete and undivided attention as did "The Vampire Of Downing Street".
If you're an Amy Cross fan and find her novels a bit "bloated" then I highly recommend you try her short story forays.

[John Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a fan of short stories

I am a fan of Amy Cross and therefore decided to give this selection a go. The result was disappointment. The stories, in general, were predictable and lacked depth. In future I'll just stick with complete novels.

[Paul Fletcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice collection of well imagined stories, spoiled slightly silly mistakes and poor editing, considering the version I have is a 2022 reissue you would have thought these would have been corrected
for example in "Tenderling" : "but I think they didn't heard." "figuring that it's work a try," "it's definitely bigger a field-mouse."
Aside from the book is enjoyable as a whole, "Pets" I loved but wished there was more.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent collection of sci-fi and horror stories. I particularly liked "Pets", about the last surviving humans after an alien invasion, and "Tenderling", in which a little girl becomes certain there is something living in the attic of the family home... and indeed there is! Good scary fun.

[Kay Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

Yet another excellent collection from the queen of horror. A short story to tantalize everyone's taste. The titular short was far and away my personal favorite and I'm sure it will stick with me a very long time.

[MARTIN WITHERS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read .

As someone who doesn't particularly like short stories I was impressed by this selection of horror tales all are very good.

[Julie Donovan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stories

Loved the stories, each one unique and well written. Cuddle up with your favorite beverage and enjoy the ride. It takes a brilliant mind to write like Amy Cross.

[Martina · Rating 1 out of 5]

The stories were not at all interesting, very predictable and lacked depth. The stories were supposed to be horror stories and were not in the least scary.

[Mrs Claire Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

I Love Amy's books and this was no different. It was a good selection of short stories. They left me wishing they were longer!

[Shawna Mathieu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

Having so many of the stories interconnected really heightens the creep factor. "Pets" and "Tenderling" were my two favorites out of this collection.

[Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like her novels better but some interesting characters. Frozen Charlotte was frustrating because of Lucy’s whining and refusal to listen. Poor Pickles was just trying to save her butt. Ugh.

[K.T. Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok

It was ok. There was only one story about a vampire. The others were paranormal, mythical, and zombie. The suspense was ok but not as intense as i hoped.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved these stories. As a busy mom I enjoy reading stories that I can finish in one sitting. Every story was diferent yet they all had me hooked from the beginning. Some of the stories were creepier than the others but, non the less I enjoyed them all. Just remember don't read them before bedtime. I had nightmares about some of the stories. I will keep reading books from this author.

[Anita Sherrod]

I loved it. Couldn't put it down.