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Built on Strange Ground
The world is huge, and strange, and mysterious. And in the end, all we have is our stories.
Built On Strange Ground collects true, personal experiences of strange places, haunted sites, mysterious neighbors and local lore from a variety of talented and diverse artists.
All the stories in Built On Strange Ground are real, from the experiences of an immigrant couple who found their new house was inhabited by the dead, to the memories of a reclusive neighbor who hides a secret among her pet dogs, to a startling investigation into the hiding place of one of America's most infamous serial killers. There are more than 200 pages of stories to be found here, and they cover a great range of experiences, walks of life, and private, quiet explorations into how we as human beings deal with the inexplicable.
If you're a fan of the paranormal and the unexplained, interested in personal stories or fascinated with local legends and lore, this book will get under your skin in the best of all possible ways.
Built On Strange Ground collects true, personal experiences of strange places, haunted sites, mysterious neighbors and local lore from a variety of talented and diverse artists.
All the stories in Built On Strange Ground are real, from the experiences of an immigrant couple who found their new house was inhabited by the dead, to the memories of a reclusive neighbor who hides a secret among her pet dogs, to a startling investigation into the hiding place of one of America's most infamous serial killers. There are more than 200 pages of stories to be found here, and they cover a great range of experiences, walks of life, and private, quiet explorations into how we as human beings deal with the inexplicable.
If you're a fan of the paranormal and the unexplained, interested in personal stories or fascinated with local legends and lore, this book will get under your skin in the best of all possible ways.
215 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2018
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46 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 7, 2019
Because this are semi-non-fictive stories (in the vein of "this happened to me" or "I heard that this happened" or "a long time ago this happened") the shortness of the format works in their favor. Some aren't so spooky, some gave me actual chills, but all the different voices and art styles were a pleasure to explore.
June 8, 2018
I received this in the mail this afternoon, rather excited to get around to it as the previews on Kickstarter had looked fantastic. Unfortunately, although the quality of the book itself is top-notch and its illustrations very professionally done, I was disappointed with its stories.
I had been expecting short stories with short plots, but instead it was filled with two-three paged 'memories' of strange things (some weren't even that strange; three pages on being spooked by something in the woods at night was not exactly revolutionary) without explanations, context or a conclusion. Often they were just 'I was a child, and I saw this, and it was frightening', without any further information whatsoever, not even a 'ten years later I found out that it was __'. There were a few that weren't even stories at all, just historical facts bundled up into lovely looking illustrations.
Perhaps I had expected a little much from this book, but as a regular subscriber to casual forums like reddit's r/nosleep, I honestly expected (in my opinion quite reasonably) to have at least miniature stories to grab the reader with a beginning, middle and end. Instead, what you have here are almost several dozen children's fantasies and conspiracy theories ('I thought I saw three animals but she said there were two, does that mean one was a ghost?') with unsatisfying endings.
I would only recommend this to individuals who know someone who has contributed to this anthology and wish to support them. Or perhaps even people who are interested in browsing through various styles of cartoon art. Otherwise, this is one of the most unsatisfying reads I have recently experienced.
I had been expecting short stories with short plots, but instead it was filled with two-three paged 'memories' of strange things (some weren't even that strange; three pages on being spooked by something in the woods at night was not exactly revolutionary) without explanations, context or a conclusion. Often they were just 'I was a child, and I saw this, and it was frightening', without any further information whatsoever, not even a 'ten years later I found out that it was __'. There were a few that weren't even stories at all, just historical facts bundled up into lovely looking illustrations.
Perhaps I had expected a little much from this book, but as a regular subscriber to casual forums like reddit's r/nosleep, I honestly expected (in my opinion quite reasonably) to have at least miniature stories to grab the reader with a beginning, middle and end. Instead, what you have here are almost several dozen children's fantasies and conspiracy theories ('I thought I saw three animals but she said there were two, does that mean one was a ghost?') with unsatisfying endings.
I would only recommend this to individuals who know someone who has contributed to this anthology and wish to support them. Or perhaps even people who are interested in browsing through various styles of cartoon art. Otherwise, this is one of the most unsatisfying reads I have recently experienced.
July 31, 2018
First off, the artwork is incredible almost across the board. There's a variety of styles, but they all do a great job of evoking darkness & mystery. I'm pretty steeped in indie-comics, so I was pleasantly surprised to be unfamiliar with the majority of the contributors. That's what I love about anthologies: the potential to find new talented cartoonists to follow.
The writing was a bit more varied in quality. Some comics were built on flimsy premises, but the artwork usually made up for it. There were, however, a few really great entries sprinkled throughout. My personal favorite was the last comic by Nathaniel Wilson - really superb writing and appealing artwork that reminds me a bit of Gideon Kendall's.
The writing was a bit more varied in quality. Some comics were built on flimsy premises, but the artwork usually made up for it. There were, however, a few really great entries sprinkled throughout. My personal favorite was the last comic by Nathaniel Wilson - really superb writing and appealing artwork that reminds me a bit of Gideon Kendall's.
March 9, 2018
As it happens with most 'real' experiences with the supernatural, most of the 'stories' in this collection aren't really stories at all but just quick vignettes of odd events. There isn't much in the way of plot, and often the only way to notice a story has ended it's because a new one has started.
Some of the stories are actually pretty good, but overall this reads more like a collection of curiosities than anything else.
(Disclaimer: I received a digital copy of the book as a Kickstarter reward)
Some of the stories are actually pretty good, but overall this reads more like a collection of curiosities than anything else.
(Disclaimer: I received a digital copy of the book as a Kickstarter reward)
June 23, 2018
A delightful read if you like "fuan" style horror -- uneasiness or discomfort. These are all true stories of unexplained situations; not necessarily paranormal but not necessarily not. They're personal rituals, and old uncomfortable family memories, and those things that children didn't quite see but all agree on being true. Each artist's work is gorgeous and unsettling.
Don't go in expecting easily-resolved fiction or pure horror, but go in expecting that feeling of something uncanny, unresolved, that, if it happened to you, will bother you just a little for the rest of your life.
Don't go in expecting easily-resolved fiction or pure horror, but go in expecting that feeling of something uncanny, unresolved, that, if it happened to you, will bother you just a little for the rest of your life.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews