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Borrasca
Borrasca is a five-part novel written by C.K. Walker and originally published as a series on Reddit's NoSleep archive.
Sam Walker moves to the town of Drisking, Missouri one summer and quickly befriends two other kids, Kyle and Kimber. They take a trip to a strange treehouse, where you are supposed to carve your name on the tree or "you'll disappear". When Sam's sister, Whitney, actually does disappear a few months later, he passes five lonely years wondering what happened to her. When more people start disappearing suddenly, the three take it upon themselves to find out what's happening to all the disappearing people what connection the disappearances hold with the mountain outside of town.
The originally four parts of the story were published in 2015. Due to popular demand, Walker expanded on the story with a fifth installment in 2016, which takes place years after the events of the first part. The full novel is over 58,000 words.
It has been made into an audio drama starring and produced by Cole Sprouse.
Sam Walker moves to the town of Drisking, Missouri one summer and quickly befriends two other kids, Kyle and Kimber. They take a trip to a strange treehouse, where you are supposed to carve your name on the tree or "you'll disappear". When Sam's sister, Whitney, actually does disappear a few months later, he passes five lonely years wondering what happened to her. When more people start disappearing suddenly, the three take it upon themselves to find out what's happening to all the disappearing people what connection the disappearances hold with the mountain outside of town.
The originally four parts of the story were published in 2015. Due to popular demand, Walker expanded on the story with a fifth installment in 2016, which takes place years after the events of the first part. The full novel is over 58,000 words.
It has been made into an audio drama starring and produced by Cole Sprouse.
Audiobook
First published January 1, 2018
33 people are currently reading
1629 people want to read
About the author
C.K. Walker
34 books346 followersC.K. Walker has been published by Jitter Press, The Altar Collective, and Thought Catalog. Her stories have been adapted for audio by Chilling Tales for Dark Nights and the NoSleep Podcast.
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 554 reviews
February 11, 2024
This story infuriated me, and not in a good way. I heard it through the NoSleep Podcast and was really looking forward to it. It's revered by fans of the subreddit and is regularly referred to as one of the best NoSleep stories, akin to Penpal by 1000vultures, which is my all time favourite scary story. It did not deliver. The world building and characters were interesting but the story revolves around a secret about a bunch of young girls (children, really) who go missing and are never heard from again. I'm going to spoil the story: Thoroughly disappointed with this one.
August 4, 2019
Sometimes the realities we face are far worse than the supernatural.
September 11, 2022
This is probably one of the worst pieces of fiction ever written. Never have I been so infuriated by a book.
The story starts off amazing. A great atmosphere, interesting characters, and a insanely addicting mystery. I found it so hard to put down because I wanted to know all of the answers SO BADLY!
When I got all of the answers however, I wanted to fucking punch a wall because of how shitty every single answer was. I won’t go into detail here, but just know that it was disgusting. It was gross and vile for the sake of being gross and vile. None of it was used in a compelling way, the author just challenged them self to make it as repulsive as possible because it would get a reaction. I hate it when any media does this, but I have never seen it done to such an extent as in this “story”.
The reason for why all of this was going on also makes no fucking sense, it’s so contrived and out of left field. It also makes no sense why everyone in town, especially the parents of these girls are just okay with this?!?! What the fuck?! One or two people with have never had kids, sure, but an entire town was just like “yeah, this is the best way to solve our problem.”?!?!?!?!?!!
I wasted three hours of my life listening to a podcast form of this piece of shit, and I hate that this was made.
What made me even more confused was the praise this thing has been showered with. People calling it “incredible” and “their favourite” and they love rereading it”. WHY?!!? I don’t understand what people see in this; other then the most cliche “reality is scarier then ghost stories”. Yes, having realistic story over ghosts makes stuff scarier, but that is the worst praise ever for this.
Resident Evil, for example, is a gross and violent series with a realistic take on zombies (most of the time). It’s terrifying, but what makes Resident Evil work over this book is how they use the gross. Resident Evil (at it’s best) uses it to reinforces just how terrible and dangerous bio weapons are, and how we need to be carful with them. This book uses it to add the message of……………… oh right, it’s just for shock value.
If you’ve made it this far, please for the love of everything good in this world. Don’t waste your life with this book. You will get nothing out of it.
The story starts off amazing. A great atmosphere, interesting characters, and a insanely addicting mystery. I found it so hard to put down because I wanted to know all of the answers SO BADLY!
When I got all of the answers however, I wanted to fucking punch a wall because of how shitty every single answer was. I won’t go into detail here, but just know that it was disgusting. It was gross and vile for the sake of being gross and vile. None of it was used in a compelling way, the author just challenged them self to make it as repulsive as possible because it would get a reaction. I hate it when any media does this, but I have never seen it done to such an extent as in this “story”.
The reason for why all of this was going on also makes no fucking sense, it’s so contrived and out of left field. It also makes no sense why everyone in town, especially the parents of these girls are just okay with this?!?! What the fuck?! One or two people with have never had kids, sure, but an entire town was just like “yeah, this is the best way to solve our problem.”?!?!?!?!?!!
I wasted three hours of my life listening to a podcast form of this piece of shit, and I hate that this was made.
What made me even more confused was the praise this thing has been showered with. People calling it “incredible” and “their favourite” and they love rereading it”. WHY?!!? I don’t understand what people see in this; other then the most cliche “reality is scarier then ghost stories”. Yes, having realistic story over ghosts makes stuff scarier, but that is the worst praise ever for this.
Resident Evil, for example, is a gross and violent series with a realistic take on zombies (most of the time). It’s terrifying, but what makes Resident Evil work over this book is how they use the gross. Resident Evil (at it’s best) uses it to reinforces just how terrible and dangerous bio weapons are, and how we need to be carful with them. This book uses it to add the message of……………… oh right, it’s just for shock value.
If you’ve made it this far, please for the love of everything good in this world. Don’t waste your life with this book. You will get nothing out of it.
December 16, 2020
This is a review for the podcast starring Cole Sprouse which is just an adaptation of the novella, both of which were written by the same author.
So this was fucking disgusting. I’ve listened to dozens of fiction podcasts and found myself so absorbed in this one, thinking it was A+ quality and just absolutely riveting for a good 8 episodes. Then, I started listening to Episode 9 and I couldn’t fucking believe that the entire “mystery” of Borrasca was, to quote another review, “some Reddit neckbeard’s fucking rape farm fantasy.” Yeah. All those TEENAGE girls that went missing throughout the show? The revelation of the town mystery is that they were kidnapped, held in a warehouse, and raped until they were pregnant. That’s it. That’s the mystery. Fucking depraved, unimaginative, and frankly an insult to the strength of the preceding storyline. It makes no sense that this would be the ending when they could have chosen to go in a million other directions.
Oh, and they don’t shy away from audio portrayal of the rape farm. Long, drawn-out screams and moans, women begging to be set free, depiction of a scene where a man has just raped a women. Graphic like they found it gratifying. So fucking depraved and sickening I couldn’t believe an entire team of people supported this and thought it was a brilliant resolution.
For anybody saying the story is amazing and they really enjoyed it, please reflect on how desensitized you’ve become to brutalization and sexual violence against women. It’s shit like this that normalizes it.
So this was fucking disgusting. I’ve listened to dozens of fiction podcasts and found myself so absorbed in this one, thinking it was A+ quality and just absolutely riveting for a good 8 episodes. Then, I started listening to Episode 9 and I couldn’t fucking believe that the entire “mystery” of Borrasca was, to quote another review, “some Reddit neckbeard’s fucking rape farm fantasy.” Yeah. All those TEENAGE girls that went missing throughout the show? The revelation of the town mystery is that they were kidnapped, held in a warehouse, and raped until they were pregnant. That’s it. That’s the mystery. Fucking depraved, unimaginative, and frankly an insult to the strength of the preceding storyline. It makes no sense that this would be the ending when they could have chosen to go in a million other directions.
Oh, and they don’t shy away from audio portrayal of the rape farm. Long, drawn-out screams and moans, women begging to be set free, depiction of a scene where a man has just raped a women. Graphic like they found it gratifying. So fucking depraved and sickening I couldn’t believe an entire team of people supported this and thought it was a brilliant resolution.
For anybody saying the story is amazing and they really enjoyed it, please reflect on how desensitized you’ve become to brutalization and sexual violence against women. It’s shit like this that normalizes it.
February 23, 2022
A sex slave pregnancy factory? really? What a waste of time. The descriptive language at the beginning is so interesting but this story completely crumbles so quickly. I’m glad the writer has found success in other outlets because her voice is great but wow I hated this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2022
I had heard about this story some years ago as one of the best modern scary stories coming from NoSleep, and I was like "sure why not?"
The premise starts out interesting enough, kid moves to a small town and befriends other kids and they get wrapped up in trying to solve this town's dark secret. At first it leads you to think there's some kind of monster kidnapping girls, and god, I wish that was what it was than what we actually get.
Spoilers ahead, as well as a general content warning.
.
.
.
No instead we get some god damn incel rape fantasy of keeping these girls, CHILDREN, locked up and constantly raped by the elite men of the town (the mayor, the sheriff and so on) to bear babies, then when they can't have children no more, are unceremoniously killed. Not only does this story use the disgusting trope of making girls/women the catalyst for man pain instead of VALID CHARACTERS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT but just made this awful, awful situation for the sake of shock value. I've grown to be more cynical of the world over the years but even this is absolutely appalling and revolting to an unbelievable degree. If I could rate this 0 stars, or hell, even negative, I would. I wish I could forget I ever read this.
The premise starts out interesting enough, kid moves to a small town and befriends other kids and they get wrapped up in trying to solve this town's dark secret. At first it leads you to think there's some kind of monster kidnapping girls, and god, I wish that was what it was than what we actually get.
Spoilers ahead, as well as a general content warning.
.
.
.
No instead we get some god damn incel rape fantasy of keeping these girls, CHILDREN, locked up and constantly raped by the elite men of the town (the mayor, the sheriff and so on) to bear babies, then when they can't have children no more, are unceremoniously killed. Not only does this story use the disgusting trope of making girls/women the catalyst for man pain instead of VALID CHARACTERS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT but just made this awful, awful situation for the sake of shock value. I've grown to be more cynical of the world over the years but even this is absolutely appalling and revolting to an unbelievable degree. If I could rate this 0 stars, or hell, even negative, I would. I wish I could forget I ever read this.
Read
April 28, 2025Borrasca is the reason why horror stories about humans will always be more terrifying than the supernatural for me. People can be truly scary.
I listened to this on The Nosleep Podcast years ago, and it was such a well crafted horror story.
I listened to this on The Nosleep Podcast years ago, and it was such a well crafted horror story.
March 7, 2023
2023 update: So I was far less harsh on this initially than I should have been. This basically has nothing going for it that isn't completely ruined by the ending, and the portrayal of sexual violence really is completely tasteless, pointless and disgusting, totally unjustified by the text itself other than as shock value that is genuinely harmful. I would recommend this to absolutely no one.
Old review:
(I'll preface this quickly by saying that this story and its strengths and weaknesses from my perspective are really difficult to talk about without spoiling the entire thing, so if you don't want this to be completely ruined I would skip over this review until you read it. HOWEVER, I also highly caution with reading it in general because the ultimate subject matter could end up being triggering to many of those sensitive to sexual violence. Discretion highly advised.)
While I can't object to enjoying this story on a visceral level, I can't help but feel strongly that thinking about this after the fact leaves a sour taste in my mouth. C.K. Walker has all the right pieces in place - skilled chops at narrative tension and release, convincing and rounded characterization (especially for the three youthful leads), excellent use of clever foreshadowing, and a strong narrative voice that is somewhat beige and angsty but completely makes sense from the perspective of an adolescent. Tie that all up with a story of the depths of human depravity nested in the disguise of a horror tale about small-town evil and this should by all means be a clear cut hit.
But it's in this gut wrenching climax, where the curtain is pulled back and the true source of Drisking's horror is revealed, that the story at once reaches an undeniable narrative plateau yet also delivers something that is at best well-intentioned yet misguided and at worst radically tone-deaf. Yes, the ultimate horror of "Borrasca" is one of systemized sexual violence - the disappearance of the young girls that has plagued Drisking for years is attributed to a billionaire-funded operation that keeps them enslaved to breed "pure" children. All the gestures at supernaturalism are rendered in hindsight as red herrings, diversions from the more grounded evil that is really occurring. It is a horrific shock and a kick to the gut, one I can't deny is the mark of a writer skilled at narrative particularly.
But...to what ends is all this portrayed, exactly? It should go without saying that sexual violence is one of the weightiest topics one can engage with when constructing a work of art, and it's one that needs to be handled with grace lest it have tangible real-world consequences to those effected. "Borrasca" eschews this almost entirely, instead opting to frame its climax as a "shocking twist", one that twists the knife in and causes as much pain as possible. This is a 101 course on how NOT to handle sexual assault and human trafficking in media, because in light of this unfortunate framing choice the story ends up reducing trauma to pure plot, in the form of shock-for-shock's-sake.
This isn't to say I give no credit whatsoever to C.K. Walker - she's clearly trying to say something here, especially how this operation is one directly funded by rich men in power, making it evident that the author understands that this kind of violence is institutionalized first and foremost. But by illustrating this twist in such a shocking, callous, and horrible way, she leaves no room for readers effected by this kind of trauma anything other than horror. It's not helped by the fact that the story hinges on this as the plot twist/"big reveal", so people going into this will likely want to go in completely without knowledge and then unexpectedly be blindsided by a careless portrayal of trauma that daily effects real people tangibly.
And it's not like everything must have a happy ending, far from it, and it is a sobering and horrifying fact that many who abuse and enslave others for nothing more than profit motive and desire to dominate will often get away unjudged and unscathed. But in the 2020s, are stories like this really necessary? We, and far from least of all survivors of the crimes portrayed in "Borrasca", understand full well the breadth of systemized brutality toward women and girls, and you can portray a story like this, absolutely, but in the end what it says MUST amount to more than "horrific depiction of brutal sexual assault without catharsis for the purpose of a twist - the end". If you don't, it has failed as a piece of commentary, as a piece of literature, and even as a piece of horror.
In the end this is a story that, while containing merit on the part of its tightly-constructed narrative, can and probably has harmed many of the people who've encountered it, and we can do better than enable its callous marketing for the sake of "remaining unspoiled". If you are a survivor of SA and achieved catharsis out of this story - I can and will not take that away from you, and of course most of our greatest experiences with art are in the individual. But I do not think it will be the reaction most people have, for I think the way this story is handled is generally not conducive to discussion or analyses about institutional violence and sexual trauma as the result of a story which, in its context and framing, feels far too close to exploitation.
Old review:
(I'll preface this quickly by saying that this story and its strengths and weaknesses from my perspective are really difficult to talk about without spoiling the entire thing, so if you don't want this to be completely ruined I would skip over this review until you read it. HOWEVER, I also highly caution with reading it in general because the ultimate subject matter could end up being triggering to many of those sensitive to sexual violence. Discretion highly advised.)
While I can't object to enjoying this story on a visceral level, I can't help but feel strongly that thinking about this after the fact leaves a sour taste in my mouth. C.K. Walker has all the right pieces in place - skilled chops at narrative tension and release, convincing and rounded characterization (especially for the three youthful leads), excellent use of clever foreshadowing, and a strong narrative voice that is somewhat beige and angsty but completely makes sense from the perspective of an adolescent. Tie that all up with a story of the depths of human depravity nested in the disguise of a horror tale about small-town evil and this should by all means be a clear cut hit.
But it's in this gut wrenching climax, where the curtain is pulled back and the true source of Drisking's horror is revealed, that the story at once reaches an undeniable narrative plateau yet also delivers something that is at best well-intentioned yet misguided and at worst radically tone-deaf. Yes, the ultimate horror of "Borrasca" is one of systemized sexual violence - the disappearance of the young girls that has plagued Drisking for years is attributed to a billionaire-funded operation that keeps them enslaved to breed "pure" children. All the gestures at supernaturalism are rendered in hindsight as red herrings, diversions from the more grounded evil that is really occurring. It is a horrific shock and a kick to the gut, one I can't deny is the mark of a writer skilled at narrative particularly.
But...to what ends is all this portrayed, exactly? It should go without saying that sexual violence is one of the weightiest topics one can engage with when constructing a work of art, and it's one that needs to be handled with grace lest it have tangible real-world consequences to those effected. "Borrasca" eschews this almost entirely, instead opting to frame its climax as a "shocking twist", one that twists the knife in and causes as much pain as possible. This is a 101 course on how NOT to handle sexual assault and human trafficking in media, because in light of this unfortunate framing choice the story ends up reducing trauma to pure plot, in the form of shock-for-shock's-sake.
This isn't to say I give no credit whatsoever to C.K. Walker - she's clearly trying to say something here, especially how this operation is one directly funded by rich men in power, making it evident that the author understands that this kind of violence is institutionalized first and foremost. But by illustrating this twist in such a shocking, callous, and horrible way, she leaves no room for readers effected by this kind of trauma anything other than horror. It's not helped by the fact that the story hinges on this as the plot twist/"big reveal", so people going into this will likely want to go in completely without knowledge and then unexpectedly be blindsided by a careless portrayal of trauma that daily effects real people tangibly.
And it's not like everything must have a happy ending, far from it, and it is a sobering and horrifying fact that many who abuse and enslave others for nothing more than profit motive and desire to dominate will often get away unjudged and unscathed. But in the 2020s, are stories like this really necessary? We, and far from least of all survivors of the crimes portrayed in "Borrasca", understand full well the breadth of systemized brutality toward women and girls, and you can portray a story like this, absolutely, but in the end what it says MUST amount to more than "horrific depiction of brutal sexual assault without catharsis for the purpose of a twist - the end". If you don't, it has failed as a piece of commentary, as a piece of literature, and even as a piece of horror.
In the end this is a story that, while containing merit on the part of its tightly-constructed narrative, can and probably has harmed many of the people who've encountered it, and we can do better than enable its callous marketing for the sake of "remaining unspoiled". If you are a survivor of SA and achieved catharsis out of this story - I can and will not take that away from you, and of course most of our greatest experiences with art are in the individual. But I do not think it will be the reaction most people have, for I think the way this story is handled is generally not conducive to discussion or analyses about institutional violence and sexual trauma as the result of a story which, in its context and framing, feels far too close to exploitation.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 30, 2023
didn’t actually read this I listened to the podcast but the amount of times I had to listen to cole sprouse moaning uncomfortably and saying the word ‘shortcake’ made me want to kill myself. anyways this was so poorly written
June 10, 2019
i had a vague memory of reading this story long ago on r/nosleep. i don't think i ever finished reading it, and for the longest time i thought i would never find the story about 'the fucked up mining town that ran a sex trafficking ring' ever again. i think at one point i thought i had made it up myself ahaha. i'm certain i probably wouldn't have found it again if i didn't recognize the unique title while listening to creepypasta readings on youtube.
i will say that this is definitely one of, if not, the best stories originally published online. it's full of crazy twists, likable characters, and a story so disturbing yet engaging that could only come from a r/nosleep writer. mad props to c.k. walker. i hope she continues to find success in her writing!
i will say that this is definitely one of, if not, the best stories originally published online. it's full of crazy twists, likable characters, and a story so disturbing yet engaging that could only come from a r/nosleep writer. mad props to c.k. walker. i hope she continues to find success in her writing!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 29, 2023
Loved it until the reveal at the end. What a waste of time. Wtf.
I read this because I got recommended a video of someone reading this on YouTube, and the comments were full of praise. I decided I wanted to read it for myself.
Spoiling the ending:
Also, reading through reviews, so many people are saying the author was just trying to shine a light on
I read this because I got recommended a video of someone reading this on YouTube, and the comments were full of praise. I decided I wanted to read it for myself.
Spoiling the ending:
Also, reading through reviews, so many people are saying the author was just trying to shine a light on
November 19, 2023
CW: A Lot, especially around SA. Absolutely recommend looking up full content warnings if there's any chance you might need them!
Thanks, I hate it. DNF at 90ish%/ Less than 15 minutez left
Silver-linings-playbook.GIF
I'm so unbelievably angry for wasting two and a half hours of my life with no one to blame but myself, but I'm just a wittle baby who came out to have a good time and is feeling really attacked right now, so let's unfairly blame other people.
First of all, Jay Bird. They truly are to blame because they made a video titled, The Scariest Short Story I've Ever Read: Borrasca. Is this a crime? No. Do I think ascribing criminal intent to Jay Bird is reasonable and that the police and prisons should be destroyed and replaced with far greater support and a community-led restorative justice model? Yes. Is it fair to blame them for how I feel and my taking the title at face value, watching less than a minute of the video, before seeking our the story? Absolutely not, but I'm going to anyway.
I'm also blaming MrCreepyPasta, but I will endeavour to be fair and balanced™. Is it their fault I nearly wavered when I discovered this "scariest short story" was Creepypasta, but still said, fuck it let's strap in for nearly three hours? Probably not. I'm not the biggest Creepypasta gal, but I do like The Russian Sleep Experiment and like horror and the power of memetic proliferation of the work of unknown authors. They are also very much to blame for just how well they read the story, I genuinely don't think I would have for as far as I did without their spectacular amateur narration. The absolute bastard! Honestly, if Creepypastas are your thing, you simply must check out MrCreepyPasta. I might be furious, but we stan a wonderful amateur narrator and the depth of their library is WILD.
I can definitely blame C.K. Walker because they wrote it and well enough until the reveal that I genuinely thought there was going to be something fun and spoopy revealed to be going on. But it's not spoopy it's gross and weird and comes right out of the blue in a way that is tonally what the absolute fuckery? The more I reflect on it the worse the writing was, I realised. There were weird hints about things on the way that feel less like clues for the reader to pick up on, but more something to freak out about in a re-read.
Look, I'm on the side of write what you want, just examine why you do the thing and if you're writing about problematic stuff or actually being *problematic*. There are many things I don't understand that I would defend because correlation is not causation, survivors need to be able to explore and express, and people can just be awful, messy, and gross--some people want to write that and some people want to read it. Cool cool cool. That's doesn't mean you can right hateful, bigoted stuff or whatever. I'm not accusing this author or book of anything, beyond being super gross and skeevy out of nowhere. But frankly, I jumped in without looking, so this really is on me.
***SPOILERS***
It's not spooky, it's a fucking horrifying case of selling teenage people with the the potential to become pregnant into an utterly disgusting, literally and figuratively, imprisonment and rape farm to create babies to sell "in bulk". I stopped reading almost right after the reveal and the voyeuristic way it describes this victims of abuse and the toll it has taken on them, and one of the revealed villains talks about sexually assaulting the teenage protagonist's (teenage?) sister in front of him. That was more than I needed from what otherwise had a we have modern Stand by Me/ It at home took a handbreak turn into trauma porn. What is it with things I've been reading that out of nowhere take a completely unexpected and unwanted tonal shift into just uncomfortably mean and vindictive, especially towards the women in the stories? I don't like it.
I didn't read this, but I gleaned that the teenage couple are going to be revealed to be not only have been created in this nightmarish situation, but also siblings, because incest is just one of those 'extreme' and 'hilarious' tropes some authors love to throw in. I don't know how it ends and I really don't care to know more. I did see that there is a sequel with the protagonist coming back for revenge
I'll defend your right to write this kind of shit, but that comes with my right to call this, in my own personal, entirety subjective opinion a fucking disgusting waste of time bait and switch edgelord jump scare.
Man, I could have been reading about lesbian pirate adventures.
Thanks, I hate it. DNF at 90ish%/ Less than 15 minutez left
Silver-linings-playbook.GIF
I'm so unbelievably angry for wasting two and a half hours of my life with no one to blame but myself, but I'm just a wittle baby who came out to have a good time and is feeling really attacked right now, so let's unfairly blame other people.
First of all, Jay Bird. They truly are to blame because they made a video titled, The Scariest Short Story I've Ever Read: Borrasca. Is this a crime? No. Do I think ascribing criminal intent to Jay Bird is reasonable and that the police and prisons should be destroyed and replaced with far greater support and a community-led restorative justice model? Yes. Is it fair to blame them for how I feel and my taking the title at face value, watching less than a minute of the video, before seeking our the story? Absolutely not, but I'm going to anyway.
I'm also blaming MrCreepyPasta, but I will endeavour to be fair and balanced™. Is it their fault I nearly wavered when I discovered this "scariest short story" was Creepypasta, but still said, fuck it let's strap in for nearly three hours? Probably not. I'm not the biggest Creepypasta gal, but I do like The Russian Sleep Experiment and like horror and the power of memetic proliferation of the work of unknown authors. They are also very much to blame for just how well they read the story, I genuinely don't think I would have for as far as I did without their spectacular amateur narration. The absolute bastard! Honestly, if Creepypastas are your thing, you simply must check out MrCreepyPasta. I might be furious, but we stan a wonderful amateur narrator and the depth of their library is WILD.
I can definitely blame C.K. Walker because they wrote it and well enough until the reveal that I genuinely thought there was going to be something fun and spoopy revealed to be going on. But it's not spoopy it's gross and weird and comes right out of the blue in a way that is tonally what the absolute fuckery? The more I reflect on it the worse the writing was, I realised. There were weird hints about things on the way that feel less like clues for the reader to pick up on, but more something to freak out about in a re-read.
Look, I'm on the side of write what you want, just examine why you do the thing and if you're writing about problematic stuff or actually being *problematic*. There are many things I don't understand that I would defend because correlation is not causation, survivors need to be able to explore and express, and people can just be awful, messy, and gross--some people want to write that and some people want to read it. Cool cool cool. That's doesn't mean you can right hateful, bigoted stuff or whatever. I'm not accusing this author or book of anything, beyond being super gross and skeevy out of nowhere. But frankly, I jumped in without looking, so this really is on me.
***SPOILERS***
It's not spooky, it's a fucking horrifying case of selling teenage people with the the potential to become pregnant into an utterly disgusting, literally and figuratively, imprisonment and rape farm to create babies to sell "in bulk". I stopped reading almost right after the reveal and the voyeuristic way it describes this victims of abuse and the toll it has taken on them, and one of the revealed villains talks about sexually assaulting the teenage protagonist's (teenage?) sister in front of him. That was more than I needed from what otherwise had a we have modern Stand by Me/ It at home took a handbreak turn into trauma porn. What is it with things I've been reading that out of nowhere take a completely unexpected and unwanted tonal shift into just uncomfortably mean and vindictive, especially towards the women in the stories? I don't like it.
I didn't read this, but I gleaned that the teenage couple are going to be revealed to be not only have been created in this nightmarish situation, but also siblings, because incest is just one of those 'extreme' and 'hilarious' tropes some authors love to throw in. I don't know how it ends and I really don't care to know more. I did see that there is a sequel with the protagonist coming back for revenge
I'll defend your right to write this kind of shit, but that comes with my right to call this, in my own personal, entirety subjective opinion a fucking disgusting waste of time bait and switch edgelord jump scare.
Man, I could have been reading about lesbian pirate adventures.
February 8, 2023
yes i WILL add this long reddit nosleep story i read to my goodreads. anyway uhh at no point ever did i know where this was going and the ending was... something! sure was something! i've read some really good stuff on nosleep but good lord what was this. genuinely shocked that a woman wrote this and that this story is so popular
April 30, 2023
This story came with a stellar review from a close friend so I gave it a shot… and nope.
[Note: I only read parts 1 through 4 and skipped 5 because the same friend told me that it was clearly added as an afterthought.]
It’s a decent concept, but the execution leaves much to be desired. I got through it pretty quickly because it kept me turning the pages, but I was still disappointed at the end of it all.
This is on me, though… You can tell the author was an amateur when she wrote this. It was posted on Reddit. On. Reddit. For context, the last book I read and the one I’m reading now both happen to be from Nobel lit laureates. Going into an internet story expecting it to match up to critically acclaimed books is stupid and I shouldn’t have done that.
That being said, there were things even an amateur author could have easily done… Getting it proofread, for example….Typos and tiny inconsistencies are terribly distracting when one is reading. So when one writes "insulate" instead of "insinuate," or when the protagonist mentions a newly started MySpace page and in the same timeline, pulls out his phone to Google something, it catches me off guard. A couple of people going over the draft before it was published on her website (which is where I read it) might have helped.
Then there is the thing that bugged me the most: Kimber's mum's letter. It was as if it were written for the benefit of stupid readers. The only new information I got from it that I wasn’t completely sure about was the ex-sherrif's kids having names starting with a K and Prescott kids having names starting with a P. I did think it was odd that Kimber and Kyle were both redheads though. So I could have guessed they were half-siblings when it was revealed that the same small set of men had been impregnating all the abducted women. It's irrelevant whether their father was Prescott or the ex-sheriff.
While we're on the topic of reveals: This was as underwhelming as they come. Just disturbing for the sake of being disturbing. Even something as trite and Lovecraftian as, "they had to sacrifice the kids to the mine for the rest of the town to stay alive and thrive" would have been better in comparison (and I don’t even like Lovecraft).
Anyhoo, note to self: Internet books are internet books.
[Note: I only read parts 1 through 4 and skipped 5 because the same friend told me that it was clearly added as an afterthought.]
It’s a decent concept, but the execution leaves much to be desired. I got through it pretty quickly because it kept me turning the pages, but I was still disappointed at the end of it all.
This is on me, though… You can tell the author was an amateur when she wrote this. It was posted on Reddit. On. Reddit. For context, the last book I read and the one I’m reading now both happen to be from Nobel lit laureates. Going into an internet story expecting it to match up to critically acclaimed books is stupid and I shouldn’t have done that.
That being said, there were things even an amateur author could have easily done… Getting it proofread, for example….Typos and tiny inconsistencies are terribly distracting when one is reading. So when one writes "insulate" instead of "insinuate," or when the protagonist mentions a newly started MySpace page and in the same timeline, pulls out his phone to Google something, it catches me off guard. A couple of people going over the draft before it was published on her website (which is where I read it) might have helped.
Then there is the thing that bugged me the most: Kimber's mum's letter. It was as if it were written for the benefit of stupid readers. The only new information I got from it that I wasn’t completely sure about was the ex-sherrif's kids having names starting with a K and Prescott kids having names starting with a P. I did think it was odd that Kimber and Kyle were both redheads though. So I could have guessed they were half-siblings when it was revealed that the same small set of men had been impregnating all the abducted women. It's irrelevant whether their father was Prescott or the ex-sheriff.
While we're on the topic of reveals: This was as underwhelming as they come. Just disturbing for the sake of being disturbing. Even something as trite and Lovecraftian as, "they had to sacrifice the kids to the mine for the rest of the town to stay alive and thrive" would have been better in comparison (and I don’t even like Lovecraft).
Anyhoo, note to self: Internet books are internet books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 31, 2023
1.5, with the .5 going for the fact the writing style was engaging and fast moving.
I'm so disappointed because this story had so much potential, and was utterly ruined by the ending. As another review said, its vile and graphic purely for the sake of it. This story could've been Stranger Things esque, or even better, played with the idea of "Skinned Man" being the original survivors of the mining collapse, men damaged beyond recognition. It could've delved into the whole hallucinative aspect of the mine's poison, had even the reader become unreliable the longer he stayed consuming the poisoned air.
But noooo. It went for the cheap, crappy route which just ruined it. And the fact it ends with effectively a shrug? Like yeah, the main character is just a hobo now and the town is still going on doing what it's doing? If you're going to write a bad ending, at least make it a good bad ending. This is just bad bad. What a waste of time reading this🥲 I don't know how it got so much praise
I'm so disappointed because this story had so much potential, and was utterly ruined by the ending. As another review said, its vile and graphic purely for the sake of it. This story could've been Stranger Things esque, or even better, played with the idea of "Skinned Man" being the original survivors of the mining collapse, men damaged beyond recognition. It could've delved into the whole hallucinative aspect of the mine's poison, had even the reader become unreliable the longer he stayed consuming the poisoned air.
But noooo. It went for the cheap, crappy route which just ruined it. And the fact it ends with effectively a shrug? Like yeah, the main character is just a hobo now and the town is still going on doing what it's doing? If you're going to write a bad ending, at least make it a good bad ending. This is just bad bad. What a waste of time reading this🥲 I don't know how it got so much praise
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 27, 2019
Read it on a whim after asking a friend for any interesting CreepyPastas. I was not equipped for this one at all. I was physically ill for a few days after finishing Borrasca IV, and burned through Borrasca V desperately for resolution. Thankfully I got it, and I'm still thinking about it all. Now I send it to all my friends so they can also suffer. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the author also wrote for The Haunting of Hill House, so the quality of storytelling is a no-brainer.
December 1, 2025
this was a treat.
i found out about borrasca through a recommendation on youtube underneath the magnus archives and i figured the premise sounded really cool. it is, sort of. cliche in various bits, yes, but i really needed something to listen to while cleaning the study room which i am done with now (yay :D)
it’s your typical small town with weirdness going on, which gets worse and worse. people go missing occasionally and the adults don’t give a batshit. the embodiment of appalachian american tales. something like stephen king’s it.
the angry noise around it seems to center on the plot twist and i do agree with the reviews on how vile and shock-factor-hungry it was. then again, i am someone who consumes a lot of true crime and pretending stuff like that does not happen is pretty ignorant. the way it was written seemed probable but it could have been made a bit better, i suppose. the plot died down in the second season and became quite predictable. the characters were okayish—loveddd eric tho :3
i listened to the audio-drama version, so rating the overall quality, it was impeccable. buuut, kimber’s voice annoyed tf outta me (no offense to the voice actor <3)
overall, good shot! would not really recommend to fans of the magnus archives cuz it’s totally different and not as great, obviously :p
x
i found out about borrasca through a recommendation on youtube underneath the magnus archives and i figured the premise sounded really cool. it is, sort of. cliche in various bits, yes, but i really needed something to listen to while cleaning the study room which i am done with now (yay :D)
it’s your typical small town with weirdness going on, which gets worse and worse. people go missing occasionally and the adults don’t give a batshit. the embodiment of appalachian american tales. something like stephen king’s it.
the angry noise around it seems to center on the plot twist and i do agree with the reviews on how vile and shock-factor-hungry it was. then again, i am someone who consumes a lot of true crime and pretending stuff like that does not happen is pretty ignorant. the way it was written seemed probable but it could have been made a bit better, i suppose. the plot died down in the second season and became quite predictable. the characters were okayish—loveddd eric tho :3
i listened to the audio-drama version, so rating the overall quality, it was impeccable. buuut, kimber’s voice annoyed tf outta me (no offense to the voice actor <3)
overall, good shot! would not really recommend to fans of the magnus archives cuz it’s totally different and not as great, obviously :p
x
October 31, 2023
I guess I kinda liked it? Part 5 REALLY lost me.
The first 4 parts tell a coherent story of a man looking back on his childhood and of the horrors he experienced in his small town. The premise of Borrasca is one that has been beaten to death in pop culture, (pun intended?), but still, Borrasca holds its own and breaks the formulaic mold of many similar stories.
The closing lines of Part 4 are INCREDIBLY open ended, and set up for a big finale. Because of popular demand, the author proceeded with the story, and wrote Part 5 about a year after the first 4 parts released. Unfortunately, Part 5 completely loses any sense of realism that Parts 1-4 had, and spends more than half of its time making the main characters unlikable. Borrasca needed a part 5 to give the story a satisfying conclusion, but when considering how disrespectful Part 5 is towards the characters and story, is it worth having closure?
I would have much preferred the open ended nature, because if it were not for the last section, my rating would have been a high 3 maybe even 4.
The first 4 parts tell a coherent story of a man looking back on his childhood and of the horrors he experienced in his small town. The premise of Borrasca is one that has been beaten to death in pop culture, (pun intended?), but still, Borrasca holds its own and breaks the formulaic mold of many similar stories.
The closing lines of Part 4 are INCREDIBLY open ended, and set up for a big finale. Because of popular demand, the author proceeded with the story, and wrote Part 5 about a year after the first 4 parts released. Unfortunately, Part 5 completely loses any sense of realism that Parts 1-4 had, and spends more than half of its time making the main characters unlikable. Borrasca needed a part 5 to give the story a satisfying conclusion, but when considering how disrespectful Part 5 is towards the characters and story, is it worth having closure?
I would have much preferred the open ended nature, because if it were not for the last section, my rating would have been a high 3 maybe even 4.
June 30, 2024
Yuck!! Wtf was that ending. The story/ world building was so good only for the twist to be some nasty shit that wasn’t even written well. It went in this direction purely for shock value.
February 21, 2024
Now THAT is horror! Holy fuck not in a long time has something so thoroughly fucked me up like this has. I am a firm believer that good horror should deeply disturb you, it should be...I don't know... horrific. This story certainly lives up to the genre name, and made me actually sick to my stomach near the end. Exactly as it should.
The story is terribly disturbing, but the writing is goddamn beautiful. Things are tied together so well and the story foreshadows way better than a fuckin NoSleep story has any right to.
This one will stick with you. If you like well written, fucked up shit, you'll probably want to read this one.
The story is terribly disturbing, but the writing is goddamn beautiful. Things are tied together so well and the story foreshadows way better than a fuckin NoSleep story has any right to.
This one will stick with you. If you like well written, fucked up shit, you'll probably want to read this one.
November 25, 2020
Such a sad, infuriating, and at times disgusting tale, more of the characters' actions being disgusting and not the writing so much. There are elements of human trafficking and rape in this story so do keep that in mind going in. I heard this story on the NoSleep Podcast and its audio adaptation which makes the story truly come alive. The end when it comes is frustrating and heartbreaking.
January 3, 2024
I feel sick
April 10, 2024
I listened to this story on CreepCast so yes, my opinion will be tinded by their reactions but oh well. I know too well I wouldn't be able to read it on my own as I'm scared of my own shadow lol.
Borrascsa was my second horror in a row and basically my second horror ever, as I said I don't really read 'scary' stories. It's a story based in a small American town, filled with normal people and some secrets - nothing out of the ordinary. We follow Sam, a boy moving into said town. As a child he has a very tinted and not objective view, obviously, but he quickly realizes something scary, an urban legend or a supernatural being, is haunting the forests and hills around the town, mostly manifested by the excruciating, grinding metal sound.
The characters are simple, have normal traits you can see in your day to day life, they're just people - works great. At times you can almost forget something bad happened or will happen (because ofc it will). The main character and his family quite quickly adapt to the new reality but I like how you can still tell they're not native there, they only slowly learn about the buissnes said town may lead. I liked how in their teens Sam and his friends were talking to people, they saw, felt and heared something bad was happening and despite being children they wanted to participate in a good deed, in something the adults gave up on years ago.
The horror elements were scary but in a haunting, uncertain way - you're not being jumpscared, there's basically no violence so what's the terrifying part? The narration really does it's magic, being led by someone hanging between being one of the townfolk and being seperated from them. They don't mention ghosts, the characters aren't fighting monsters left and right - there's just always something more disturbing hiding there.
Borrasca is a great novel, but I think part of the 'charm' is going into it blind (or half blind, maybe check trigger warnings lol).
SPOILERS
The reveal made me genuelny nautious, it's gross and terrifying, especially not being that far from the ordinary. Yes, don't get me wrong, a whole town being in on the secret of an inhumane breeding farm is not very plausible - that's the fantasy element (you do have to squint to accept that, but I don't mind) but the usage of women to repopulate, taking away birthing rights or body autonomy IS NOT a fantay element and I'd even say it's on a rise (or has been for a couple of years now). The reveal of the stable was brutal, gross and heartbreaking I had to stop listening for a while and just breath, as I said check the trigger warnings if you're sensitive to certain topics!!
One of my favourite small details was how aware even kids were in that town - writting on the tree not to desapear, mentioning the iron gentelman something that is revelaed only later to be the grinder. They all at one point or the other know either first handed or from a trusted sort, they are in on a secret noone wants to reveal or break. So it just, is.
Those times they were talking about pregnancies, adoption, children and even when Sam's dad weeped for his own daughter were sad and moving when they happened, then they became grusome and twisted.
I understand why people may not like it or find it frustrating, but I think the craft, plot, characters all make it a really great story with an extreamly clear message - nothing will be worse than manmade horrors.
Borrascsa was my second horror in a row and basically my second horror ever, as I said I don't really read 'scary' stories. It's a story based in a small American town, filled with normal people and some secrets - nothing out of the ordinary. We follow Sam, a boy moving into said town. As a child he has a very tinted and not objective view, obviously, but he quickly realizes something scary, an urban legend or a supernatural being, is haunting the forests and hills around the town, mostly manifested by the excruciating, grinding metal sound.
The characters are simple, have normal traits you can see in your day to day life, they're just people - works great. At times you can almost forget something bad happened or will happen (because ofc it will). The main character and his family quite quickly adapt to the new reality but I like how you can still tell they're not native there, they only slowly learn about the buissnes said town may lead. I liked how in their teens Sam and his friends were talking to people, they saw, felt and heared something bad was happening and despite being children they wanted to participate in a good deed, in something the adults gave up on years ago.
The horror elements were scary but in a haunting, uncertain way - you're not being jumpscared, there's basically no violence so what's the terrifying part? The narration really does it's magic, being led by someone hanging between being one of the townfolk and being seperated from them. They don't mention ghosts, the characters aren't fighting monsters left and right - there's just always something more disturbing hiding there.
Borrasca is a great novel, but I think part of the 'charm' is going into it blind (or half blind, maybe check trigger warnings lol).
SPOILERS
The reveal made me genuelny nautious, it's gross and terrifying, especially not being that far from the ordinary. Yes, don't get me wrong, a whole town being in on the secret of an inhumane breeding farm is not very plausible - that's the fantasy element (you do have to squint to accept that, but I don't mind) but the usage of women to repopulate, taking away birthing rights or body autonomy IS NOT a fantay element and I'd even say it's on a rise (or has been for a couple of years now). The reveal of the stable was brutal, gross and heartbreaking I had to stop listening for a while and just breath, as I said check the trigger warnings if you're sensitive to certain topics!!
One of my favourite small details was how aware even kids were in that town - writting on the tree not to desapear, mentioning the iron gentelman something that is revelaed only later to be the grinder. They all at one point or the other know either first handed or from a trusted sort, they are in on a secret noone wants to reveal or break. So it just, is.
Those times they were talking about pregnancies, adoption, children and even when Sam's dad weeped for his own daughter were sad and moving when they happened, then they became grusome and twisted.
I understand why people may not like it or find it frustrating, but I think the craft, plot, characters all make it a really great story with an extreamly clear message - nothing will be worse than manmade horrors.
July 10, 2023
3/5
Read this with my husband. The first part took me a while to get into it but once it got going I couldn't stop reading it. The conclusion did feel a little bit like a let down though and I wasn't very satisfied with how everything turned out.
Read this with my husband. The first part took me a while to get into it but once it got going I couldn't stop reading it. The conclusion did feel a little bit like a let down though and I wasn't very satisfied with how everything turned out.
July 5, 2024
wow kidnapping and raping and sex trafficking women? what else is new. literally get creative and/or kill yourself hope this helps
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 26, 2024
This is definitely one of, if not the most fucked up stuff I've ever read. I still have a lot of unanswered questions after the ending, like for example, how is everyone okay with what's happening and why is everyone still turning a blind eye? But for the benefit of the story, I think it's better to leave these questions unanswered and up to your own interpretation. Because at the end of the day, this story is scary not because of some supernatural being but because of the humans at its centre.
October 26, 2023
I remembered reading this while I’m high school and finding it disturbing. Years last, I found the audio adaptation on Spotify and thought I would re visit it.
The second time around it was just as disturbing but I realize I never finished the story the first time.
This book takes you all over the place, it begins making you assume this is a supernatural story but only gets worse.
It took me days to finish this story and I felt myself falling deeper and deeper into this world with each day. I loved the characters the their development. I loved the terrible plot twists that made me feel ill and over all I thought the story was really good.
I could consider it a horror story and before reading I highly suggest reading up on the TW’s because it does get pretty dark.
There was so much I had forgot after reading it for the first time. I’m sure this will be the type of story I have to revisit every couple of years.
The second time around it was just as disturbing but I realize I never finished the story the first time.
This book takes you all over the place, it begins making you assume this is a supernatural story but only gets worse.
It took me days to finish this story and I felt myself falling deeper and deeper into this world with each day. I loved the characters the their development. I loved the terrible plot twists that made me feel ill and over all I thought the story was really good.
I could consider it a horror story and before reading I highly suggest reading up on the TW’s because it does get pretty dark.
There was so much I had forgot after reading it for the first time. I’m sure this will be the type of story I have to revisit every couple of years.
January 22, 2023
you know what? i will add this novel length creepypasta to my goodreads.
i burnt through this in one day. this was enjoyable and crazy in the same way that "Penpal" was, the other creepypasta/nosleep novelization i have read. i don't think this was a great story but damn it was entertaining. it kept me genuinely excited to see what would come next. definitely did not see the end coming. went a little off the rails but its a nosleep story, what do you expect! this was a purely self indulgent read because of my nostalgia for the era of 2010s online horror.
i also listened to this in audio drama format starring cole sprouse, which sure was interesting. the episodic nature of the podcast really lent itself to this story. i will be listening to the sequel.
i burnt through this in one day. this was enjoyable and crazy in the same way that "Penpal" was, the other creepypasta/nosleep novelization i have read. i don't think this was a great story but damn it was entertaining. it kept me genuinely excited to see what would come next. definitely did not see the end coming. went a little off the rails but its a nosleep story, what do you expect! this was a purely self indulgent read because of my nostalgia for the era of 2010s online horror.
i also listened to this in audio drama format starring cole sprouse, which sure was interesting. the episodic nature of the podcast really lent itself to this story. i will be listening to the sequel.
January 22, 2024
Jesus Christ.
This is the most horrific thing I’ve read in a long, long while. The story is excellently crafted- lighthearted and simple at the beginning, and soul crushing by the end. This story is about the horrors of humanity, plight of women, and the never ending complacency that will one day kill us all.
I will have nightmares of borrasca, the triple tree, skinned men and “shiny gentleman” for years to come.
I recommend this to those who can stomach it- please, don’t be fooled by the juvenile hi-jinx and small town horror of the beginning. What lies beneath is so much worse
This is the most horrific thing I’ve read in a long, long while. The story is excellently crafted- lighthearted and simple at the beginning, and soul crushing by the end. This story is about the horrors of humanity, plight of women, and the never ending complacency that will one day kill us all.
I will have nightmares of borrasca, the triple tree, skinned men and “shiny gentleman” for years to come.
I recommend this to those who can stomach it- please, don’t be fooled by the juvenile hi-jinx and small town horror of the beginning. What lies beneath is so much worse
January 22, 2024
ok listen, i already sorta figured there was a trafficking ring going on because of the obvious screams in the woods and ONLY the woods/mountains, women being the only ones going “missing” and the police and government ‘officials’ (very, very loosely used here) being so quiet about everything even though it’s a very small town, but still- the ending was horrifying. i only listened to the story, but i can only imagine the shock one may have while reading this. 5/5.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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