Everything Gets Out Eventually

by Stephen Brennan

What would you do with a box that can’t ever be opened? How much do you value your soul?

”Fantastically horrifying, gratifying and funny.” - Amazon Reviewer

Born into a deranged cult family in the 1930s, Kevin Augustine and his older brother Michael live in the shadow of the demon imprisoned inside the old wooden box in their kitchen. It has no shape and no name, but if it’s ever released it will drag all of their souls into Hell for eternity.

Cursed by conscience and disbelief in the legend, Kevin defies his horrifying existence at the hands of Grandmother, the family matriarch, and escapes the town they’ve ruled over in secret for a century. His lust for a normal life leads him through the heart of America’s cultural revolutions and into the space age, only to be drawn right back into the tradition of murder and madness that is his birthright. Michael’s been driven insane in his absence, resorting to ever more perverted means to secure the family legacy. And not even his little brother will stand in his way.

Caught between Biblical evil and that which lives in the human soul, one question follows Kevin through to the end. Is the monster inside the box? Or is the monster telling the story?

Open his diary and find out.

Genres: Horror

242 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 4, 2018

About the author

The name Brennan actually comes from “Burn Hand”. Back in medieval days that was the title of a somewhat unpleasant fellow who doled out the colorful punishments of the time. So I guess you could say I’ve got a little bit of the gothic in my blood. I’ve always had a flare for the dramatic and I love a good story.

I was born in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland on September 3rd, 1981. Mount Pearl is actually a valley, but don’t ask me to tell that story because I’ve forgotten most of it. All in all Newfoundland harbors one of the most unusual cultures you’ll find anywhere, and also some of the friendliest people. I love my home and I get back there whenever I can, but opportunity and the promise of new experiences brought me to where I currently live in Calgary, Alberta.

Calgary isn’t New York by any stretch, but its got all the big city amenities. That and its a short drive from some of the most beautiful unspoiled country you could ask for. Often on the weekends I’ll be out riding trails on my quad, or doing the odd bit of hiking. Closer to home I like playing with my tiny fleet of cars. Got a 2006 Mustang and a 1978 F250, which is actually a character in my story “The Darkness Between”. They do say you should write what you know after all. Then again, I come up with some of the most random ideas you’ve ever heard of. The monster in that story actually evolved from a vision I had one day of a ghostly cloaked figure riding a motorcycle handsfree while playing the fiddle. To this day I have no idea what the hell brought that on; I was just walking home from work.

That’s getting off on a tangent though. I also have a guitar I’m too lazy to learn how to play, but I do love classic rock among other things. I guess I could keep going with the “long walk on a beach” stuff but I’ll spare you. Really hope that you get a chance to enjoy one of my stories; I’m sure you’ll find them original if nothing else.

Good life and happy reading!

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very dark, depressing and eerie tale written in a way you can't stop reading. It's the biography of Kevin, told by himself. He and his brother Michael grow up with a hick family posessed of a wooden box allegedly containing a demon. Their whole life circles around that box preventing the demon to get loose. If he gets out the whole family would be doomed. Well, Kevin is able to escape from his family rambling from town to town. But 10 years later he an his girlfriend Leah come back into the village now turned smalltown... I really liked how the story is told and the focus on the late 60s, e.g. the landing on the moon. Also the interwoven character of the Hoover sales representative is very uncanny. The prose is calm, almost hypnotic. The story very gloomy. In my opinion absolutely worth reading. Though nothing for depressed minds.

[Cari · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read, I really enjoyed it. It was the perfect length and had a perfect ending. I've come to appreciate that books with off and/or "unpolished"-looking covers tend to be really good to me, for whatever reason! The tale of the Augustine family is weird and horrible and sad and scary and I loved every minute of it. I especially loved the ambiguousness of The Box, that you never really get an answer from the author and are left to decide for yourself, just like Kevin. Perfection! l'd love some kind of sequel or deeper dive into Grandmother's beginnings, now that would be fun!

[Brent Buttorff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastically horrifying, gratifying and funny.

It takes superb talent to craft a story so richly enthralling around a wooden box. A decisive pleasure to read. A deliciously wicked romp concerning a demented family with a secret that may or may not need keeping. I wish the ending were different, but I understand why it ended the way it did.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read!
Unusual, but very entertaining.
The really felt like someone was telling you their life story. Just when you think you know, and quite like this person ...!

Good people do bad things and bad people do good things!