What do you think?
Rate this book
Regretfully Invited: 13 Short Horror Stories
Why do left feet keep washing ashore? Find out the answer to this question and more with this 13 story bundle of creepy, horror micro-stories and flash fiction. No zombies, vampires, or werewolves. Delve into disturbingly haunting quick tales of murder, madness, and mayhem. Contained in a menacing atmosphere where all is not right in the world. Included in this Double Vision Based on real events, where midnight visitors could be sinister or a quirk of vision. Tubsy & The Trauma of Oz Based on real life hideously shocking consequences of letting a girl’s favourite dolly perform in the school play. The Grave of Gelert Based on a visit to the real Gelert’s Grave in Wales, a tribute to the memory of when hasty deadly action brought sorrow. Mary Annette Based on the most terrifying teleporting real life marionette ever rejected by a child. Tinnitus Study 421: Rotary A 50 word flash fiction experiment that inspired the optimistic psychopath Doctor Bell. Regretfully Invited When an audiologist knows too much about Doctor Bell’s tinnitus cure experiments, he takes an unorthodox approach to eliminating them as a witness. Disembodied Inspired by real events where left feet keep washing ashore in the Pacific Northwest, but police have no idea who they belong to or where they came from. Dreams of Debbie Based on real events after the death of a sister, when a dream may be more than a dream. Eye Eclipse A father uses a rare solar eclipse for revenge, inspired by real events when a bystander videos a fatal accident instead of trying to save the child. Ladykiller Based on nightmares of an alien apocalypse, where oversleeping has deadly consequences. Dad’s Death Bells Based on real events after the death of a father, who might have ghosted back to give a murderous message or last good-bye. Cofveve Pie A Mom’s desperate plan to prevent her daughter’s wedding by serving the fiancé a “special dessert”, inspired by real events and the mystery of what cofveve means. Napkins Inspired by a big brother who decides to take things into his own hands to protect his sister from Mother's abuse, but things don't turn out exactly as planned. Mature content not appropriate for young or sensitive readers.
86 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 5, 2018
4 people want to read
About the author
Jan L. Mayes
8 books44 followersJan Mayes is a nonfiction tinnitus-hyperacusis, horror, and cli-fi fiction author.
A retired audiologist, Jan lives in beautiful British Columbia with her partner, a rescue dog, plus feisty tuxedo and lazy ginger cats.
When she is not curled up in her favourite chair, Jan spends most of her time reading, deadheading, and relaxing in her leisure suit (ok, ok, they're pyjamas).
She enjoys cookies as all right thinking people should.
A retired audiologist, Jan lives in beautiful British Columbia with her partner, a rescue dog, plus feisty tuxedo and lazy ginger cats.
When she is not curled up in her favourite chair, Jan spends most of her time reading, deadheading, and relaxing in her leisure suit (ok, ok, they're pyjamas).
She enjoys cookies as all right thinking people should.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 30, 2020
“Regretfully Invited” is a collection of horror stories that came out at the beginning of 2018, which Jan L. Mayes was sweet enough to give me at Hallowe’en that year. A PDF takes awhile to read because I have a PC, nothing portable for reposed reading. I am glad to sample her broad subjects. I admit not foreseeing high marks because horror is not my cup of tea but anxiety is fine, if the relief of a happy outcome greets the end. Ah... but Jan goes for grim endings. I reassure everyone that they are not gory. She leaves ugly images unsaid.
I believe Jan concurred that it is good to try genres outside comfort zones. There is plenty to praise across her body of work, outside of story contents themselves. Her versatility is great and she has other collections that likely broaden the mix. There are stories of fatally critical Moms, a ballroom dance audition, a killer marionette, night-stalking aliens... A personal bugaboo is “tug”. I say that despite the phrase’s popularity, no one pulls anyone’s shirtsleeves. We tap or speak.
My lane is mystery, suspense, and the paranormal but I am familiar with many positive horror outcomes. These short stories were mean or hopeless: a borrowed doll pointlessly torn, in-laws making guests sick, causing blindness vengefully. There are layers that can been mined, like the temporary fear of a moment; not only dismalness.
I praise her uniqueness! Jan passionately gives the perspective of disorders that need attention: “tinnitus” and “hyperacusis”. My Uncle has had something like it since falling and avoids crowds. Sound fills his head, not his ears. Jan wisely makes use of fiction to show what noise torture is like. Awareness is everything. For the care and originality of incorporating “tinnitus” and “hyperacusis” education: three stars.
I believe Jan concurred that it is good to try genres outside comfort zones. There is plenty to praise across her body of work, outside of story contents themselves. Her versatility is great and she has other collections that likely broaden the mix. There are stories of fatally critical Moms, a ballroom dance audition, a killer marionette, night-stalking aliens... A personal bugaboo is “tug”. I say that despite the phrase’s popularity, no one pulls anyone’s shirtsleeves. We tap or speak.
My lane is mystery, suspense, and the paranormal but I am familiar with many positive horror outcomes. These short stories were mean or hopeless: a borrowed doll pointlessly torn, in-laws making guests sick, causing blindness vengefully. There are layers that can been mined, like the temporary fear of a moment; not only dismalness.
I praise her uniqueness! Jan passionately gives the perspective of disorders that need attention: “tinnitus” and “hyperacusis”. My Uncle has had something like it since falling and avoids crowds. Sound fills his head, not his ears. Jan wisely makes use of fiction to show what noise torture is like. Awareness is everything. For the care and originality of incorporating “tinnitus” and “hyperacusis” education: three stars.
August 29, 2018
Entertaining
I enjoyed some of her stories more than others. The marionette was the best! The grim descriptions of each of her characters was just enough. Her writing is simple and concise. It flows very smoothly and is not overly gorey. I also thought the cover art was exceptional. Let's hear more from the doctor.
I enjoyed some of her stories more than others. The marionette was the best! The grim descriptions of each of her characters was just enough. Her writing is simple and concise. It flows very smoothly and is not overly gorey. I also thought the cover art was exceptional. Let's hear more from the doctor.
July 22, 2018
I see a full length cozy/humorous mystery waiting to happen out of the "foot" story.
October 31, 2019
Sometimes it only takes a moment for someone’s destiny to change.
Since I wasn’t familiar with the legend that “The Grave of Gelert” was based on, I went into it with no pre-conceived ideas of what might happen next. This was one of the shortest tales in this collection, and yet it was also the most satisfying. It had a clear beginning, middle, and ending. The fact that the dog, Gelert, was the only character whose named was mentioned only made me more interested in finding out what happened after the king who owned him noticed that the infant prince was missing.
One of the things I noticed happening over and over again in this anthology were that many stories spent precious little time explaining what was happening in them. While I do understand that flash fiction and very short stories in general need to get straight to the point in order to stick to its word counts, there were several times when I had trouble understanding what happened in a scene or what an ending was supposed to mean because of how briefly everything was described. I loved the concepts behind all of them, but this confusion was what ultimately lead me to choose a lower rating than I would have otherwise gone with. This was something that was most noticeable with “Tinnutitus Study 421: Rotary” and “Tubsy & The Trauma of Oz.”
My favourite tale in this collection was “Dreams of Debbie.” It happened shortly after a woman named Debbie died from an aggressive form of breast cancer. Her grieving relatives were struggling to come to terms with her untimely death, and their healing process was not going well. I deeply enjoyed seeing how the plot developed from this point. It was simultaneously satisfying as well as something that made me desperately wish for a sequel.
If you love being scared senseless, Regretfully Invited: 13 Short Horror Stories may be the perfect book for you.
Since I wasn’t familiar with the legend that “The Grave of Gelert” was based on, I went into it with no pre-conceived ideas of what might happen next. This was one of the shortest tales in this collection, and yet it was also the most satisfying. It had a clear beginning, middle, and ending. The fact that the dog, Gelert, was the only character whose named was mentioned only made me more interested in finding out what happened after the king who owned him noticed that the infant prince was missing.
One of the things I noticed happening over and over again in this anthology were that many stories spent precious little time explaining what was happening in them. While I do understand that flash fiction and very short stories in general need to get straight to the point in order to stick to its word counts, there were several times when I had trouble understanding what happened in a scene or what an ending was supposed to mean because of how briefly everything was described. I loved the concepts behind all of them, but this confusion was what ultimately lead me to choose a lower rating than I would have otherwise gone with. This was something that was most noticeable with “Tinnutitus Study 421: Rotary” and “Tubsy & The Trauma of Oz.”
My favourite tale in this collection was “Dreams of Debbie.” It happened shortly after a woman named Debbie died from an aggressive form of breast cancer. Her grieving relatives were struggling to come to terms with her untimely death, and their healing process was not going well. I deeply enjoyed seeing how the plot developed from this point. It was simultaneously satisfying as well as something that made me desperately wish for a sequel.
If you love being scared senseless, Regretfully Invited: 13 Short Horror Stories may be the perfect book for you.
July 18, 2018
The grave of Gelert and Disembodied are the only stories that made some scene to me. Indeed the writing style of the author was good yet the stories could have been much better than this.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews