Parasomnia

by J.C. Bratton

Recent divorcée Alex Anderson suffers from hypnopompic hallucinations, parasomnias that take place between REM sleep and wakefulness. The hallucinations consist of rapid moving still images that appear before her eyes while closed. She encounters a still image of the most perfect man she has ever seen in her life. She later learns that this man was a real person, Dr. Scott Collier, who tragically died in a car accident. With the help of her friends, a psychologist, and clues left behind by a mysterious young woman, Alex learns that Scott may not be her "dream man" after all; instead, he could be her biggest nightmare.

Genres: Suspense, Thriller

54 pages, Paperback

Published May 31, 2020

About the author

Growing up loving horror and mystery tales, JC Bratton writes short stories that pay homage to the Point Horror novels she would read as a kid: stories such as Slumber Party by Christopher Pike and Twisted by RL Stine. Some of her biggest influences are Alfred Hitchcock, Lois Duncan, Stephen King, and Richard Matheson.

Reviews

[Ashley Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise was interesting and as I started reading I was very intrigued. The parasomnia take was something new for me. The creep factor could have been higher with a more developed story though. There was also a lot of telling rather than showing, especially with character descriptions. I didn't get to know their personalities but ages and heights were made clear. The chapter with Abigail's journal was pretty cool. I like short stories, but I feel like this book tried to pack a novel in a short story size. There's a lot of good stuff here but it felt too rushed, especially the ending. I didn't feel like there was a climax or stakes, and definitely not a resolution. Nothing wrong with cliffhangers, but the bad guy just left and that was that. Seemed too easy...
But I do have to say, the author is a great writer. The grammar, prose, and story idea was great. They're definitely someone to watch, especially as they hone in on their craft more.
I would still recommend this book to readers with an extra dollar or with KU because it is still interesting.

[Dan Santos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short story you can put away in an hour, if you dare, if you can. It’s certainly worth the read.

Drawing from urban legend, the Man in the Hat comes to terrify us all. I didn’t know about this concept until I read it in Bratton’s story. But I can’t get it out of my mind now. I have to find out more.

Alex rents an apartment and starts having weird debut realistic dreams. She shares these dreams with her scientific investigators friends, and all hell breaks lose...almost literally. It’s a short book, so I can’t share much more without giving away the plot and the ending. I won’t do that. Whoever likes to be scared witless can pick up a copy and enjoy one of the biggest frights in his or her life.

Do it! You know you want to. Five horrifying Stars!

[ReensReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suspenseful and intense short story

This story kept me on the edge of my seat! It was such a great read and I couldn't stop reading until I turned the last page. Such an intense and scary story that I'm glad I read it during the day time and not at night, because I don't think I'd be able to sleep!! Actually, I might not be able to sleep tonight as I'm worried about The Hat Man entering my dreams and seeing images of dead people in my sleep... This is definitely going to keep me up at night!

[Cam Lang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very rarely read the paranormal genre so I decided to start with a short read. I was a big fan of Freddy Krueger when I was younger so I was pleased to see the dream theme come into play. I quite enjoyed this story. It had a creative plot, the characters were well developed despite little time do so and the writing was clear and easy to follow. I actually might have enjoyed it had this book been a little bit longer. I will definitely look at the other books in this series.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chilling

This novella is the perfect read for someone short on time. It starts off slow but quickly ramps up into a terrifying horror story.

I personally loved the theme throughout the book of following God or the devil. (It's not a spoiler! It's on the first page. ;) ).

If you liked goosebumps or just want a quick scare, this book is perfect for you!

[Max Fischer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written page-turner.

For your consideration: The author presents a credible set of unusual circumstances and weaves a provoking paranormal tale. Serling-esque, I couldn't help reflect on The Twilight Zone. It engages me as a reader.

[Rosie Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read

Great short story, ended too quickly! I wanted more! Was a very interesting topic. Would love to see this story develop into a book and learn more about the characters.

[Naurah Hazwany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm thankful to the author because gave me this story (ebook) for free! I like the writing style, although I'm not used but I can understand the whole story very well. First thing why I'm interested with this story because about 'sleep' something like that. At first I thought it's relate about insomnia until I read, I learn new things! I'm unsure a little bit about paranormal or to me supernatural because this kind of genre... I rarely like but this one quite good. Short but still satisfy to read. The mystery isn't enough >_< xD overal the story is nice one.

[Tarrant Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parasomnia was an interesting read. This short story is well-organized but I couldn't help but feel as if the entire tale was rushed. I think this idea would have worked better as a novella instead of a short story. This story's plot would then have time to unfolded slower, allowing the tension to build. It would also have given the author more room to explore the characters, giving them more emotional depth. Granted, this is the first time I've read this author but I couldn't help but want more. Personally, I think this author should step outside the short story form and into the longer novella.

All in all, there aren't any major flaws in Parasomnia beyond that of containing this provocative tale into the short story form.

[Mark Sneed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked the story and idea. The author has a great style and understanding of the writing craft. There are some great images here. I liked learning about parasomnia and the urban legends. It had a good concept and I wanted more. The problem with Parasomnia comes from the short form. I just wished that there was more to this short story. There are a lot of things to digest in the reading. I think the overall story needs more time to develop. I needed more character development and time to build up the tension. The story seemed a bit pushed and hurried. As a paranormal story I enjoyed the idea but unfortunately, in the short story format the creepiness felt rushed. Hope to see the author try a longer form in the future.

[Diane Griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this as a Goodreads giveaway

Recent divorcée Alex Anderson suffers from hypnopompic hallucinations, parasomnias that take place between REM sleep and wakefulness. The hallucinations consist of rapid moving still images that appear before her eyes while closed.

Parasomnia is an interesting thing to have and this caught my attention from the book description. This book is more of a short story and a very quick read.

I feel like there could have been more detail to the story, and more information. I did enjoy it but felt like it was just not quite there.

[James Wallgren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paranormal thriller

I read this book pretty quickly in a setting. As the other reviewers mentioned, I wanted to read more. I was intrigued by the recurring dreams of the story, for I have experienced similar dreams during stressful in my life. I would say this is a page-turner rich in characters. The book sets itself up for other short stories on the paranormal. I enjoyed the story and will be looking for deeper and richer content in the future.

[Ginger Cain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird but good

I liked the imagery of the writing. The author painted word pictures and used plenty of dialogue and action to keep me interested. The problem is with the story. There was no story. It’s like a well written dream.

[kristen a westling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

Not too scary for me and was a quick read. Too quick. Would make an awesome novel with more story to it.

[Liza Cordero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short & Scary

An urban legend, a horror story. A handsome vision turns into a haunting tale.

A short and engaging read. The author has a creative imagination.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sat down to read Parasomnia by JC Bratton last night. I picked it up at 10 pm and was finished by 10:30 pm; it is a very short story...and I found myself why it was so short. I don't say that because I think it should be some long novel, I think short stories are fun. It's nice to be able to sit down when I have limited time and read a story from beginning to end. I say that because it feels like there is more to this story that's not being said.

When I selected this story I was led to think that it would be a thriller, that it might scare me or at least give me the creeps. And, while it was interesting and I enjoyed what I read, I was never scared or creeped out. I feel the author missed an opportunity here to give the reader more back story. I for one had never heard of "Hat Man," so I would have loved more information to go with the story.

Also, when it came to our main character recognizing the man's picture from her dream...I couldn't help but think that the character visits the site regularly, she walks past that spot at the mausoleum regularly...she probably subconsciously noticed the photograph and he wound up in her dream. That's the skeptic in me that wanted more development for our main character to get to her OMG moment where she realizes who he is. A bit more story development with the characters speaking in her dreams before she reaches that point would have really helped develop that plot-line to have me saying OMG right along with her.

And then the end arrives, very quickly and very abruptly. Leaving me going....huh? Where's the rest of the story?

I'm NOT trying to tear this story down, I did enjoy what I read, that's why I gave it 3 stars (for those of you dubious about that rating, 3 Stars mean "I liked it".) This story just feels incomplete; a little more work would have it at a 4 star for me as far as a short read goes.

But hey, if you have Kindle Unlimited it is free for you to read. If you have a few minutes and want to read something from beginning to end that may entertain you (it could be a fun pool-side read) then pick it up, read it an let me know your thoughts as well.

[Asia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story has good bones but needs to be a bit longer to make sense. The start was great, there was enough background on the main character for me to understand why she was having these dreams. But that's where things started to get muddled. Everyone just willingly accepts all these crazy paranormal theories. The story would have been better if someone had a bit of skepticism or even just asked a few questions. Instead they all just run to catch some urban legend and randomly get saved by someone who also just so happens to believe in the paranormal.

Please don't get me wrong I enjoyed the story, I just wish it was a little longer so that it could develop more.

[Ariel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to Blue Milk Publishing for this ARC!

The premise of this short is very intriguing, as someone who is familiar with the lore of The Hat Man and various parasomnias I was looking forward to a scary tale about the two. Unfortunately the writing style in this particular piece is very juvenile which lead to an over explained yet underdeveloped plot, I also did not care for the lead character as her language and actions seemed much younger than the age described.

[Tabitha Chandler · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the premise and idea of this story! That’s what really attracted me to try this one out. This could have definitely been fleshed out more though, I felt like there were so many things that I was missing out on. Everything rushed by so quickly, I didn’t even have time to really feel concerned or worried for the characters. The characters themselves seemed a little bland, but there’s also only so much detail that can be included in 50 pages.

Would love to see this extended into a full novel, that would be really exciting!

Thanks to BookSirens for the ARC

[Caryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

(I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, but all opinions in this review are my own.)

This story has the seeds of an interesting story, but it has a long way to go to get there. Very amateur, predictable. Lacks detail and nuance. This is an interesting first draft of a first chapter.

[D.J. Hawkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story has so much potential, but it fell short mainly because it wasn't fleshed out well enough, especially the whole Hat Man Legend and the characters. The sentences were also a bit choppy and therefore awkward to read. If this was a longer piece, it would be able to add much more detail, character development, and plot development.

[Candra Hodge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting short story

I feel like this book would have actually been better as a full book instead of a short story. It felt like the events in it moved too quickly- even for a short story.