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Things Unknown: A Collection of Scary, Haunting, and Supernatural Horror Stories
A collection of terrifying horror stories that will haunt you for the rest of your days. Side effects include insomnia, night terrors, and the creeping sensation that there's something right behind you... A small town is plagued by constant nightmares as a dark figure demands to be released from his prison in the world of slumber. At her dying grandmother's insistence, a young girl pledges herself to an entity that promises a different kind of afterlife. It's supposed to be a place of eternal peace, but the things lurking in the shadows tell a different story. A man is haunted by two jesters who think revenge is a dish best served with a twisted, cosmic sense of humor. A young couple adopts a child who claims to remember nothing about his past. But he knows more than he tells, and they begin to notice something ancient lurking behind the young boy's eyes. These things and more in a scary, paranormal, and wretched collection of horror stories best enjoyed with a sense of deep foreboding and the knowledge that things are never as they seem. Discover the tragic and vile beings that prowl beneath the fabric of our reality. Get it now.
- GenresHorrorLovecraftian
213 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2020
34 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Travis Liebert
15 books28 followersTravis Liebert is a 21 year old Louisville, KY native and member of the widely invasive species "Homo sapiens sapiens." His hobbies include reading, writing, and anything else that indicates he's intelligent and literate. He went to Trinity High School where he openly brandished his repertoire of useless knowledge as captain of the quiz bowl team. He is now a perpetually absent student at the University of Louisville. You can find him on Instagram as @travisliebert.
His email is travismliebert@gmail.com. Please refrain from sending him hate mail, as he would prefer to just meet you in person and get punched in the face. If you would like to kick his teeth in, please contact his agent to arrange a meeting. His website is travisliebert.com
His email is travismliebert@gmail.com. Please refrain from sending him hate mail, as he would prefer to just meet you in person and get punched in the face. If you would like to kick his teeth in, please contact his agent to arrange a meeting. His website is travisliebert.com
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 24, 2021
Continuing with what he started with Things Undone, Travis Liebert offers a bunch of new original nightmares set in his cosmic universe. I enjoyed the first book enough and this one was a considerable improvement upon that. It’s easy to say that the writer has matured, but consider this…Liebert was 20 when he published book one and probably 21 when this came out. In fact, his age makes this production all the more impressive, because (outside of Mary Shelley, of course) I can’t think of anyone that young who can tell a scary story this well.
Or any story for that matter. I mean, seriously. Can you? Not YA or kids’ books, but proper adult oriented fiction.
Anyway, so yeah, he’s crazy young, his bio reads young, but somehow (and most excellently) his stories do not. In fact, they feature plenty of characters of all ages who act, speak and go about their life (however horrific) in perfectly reasonable fashion. And once the novelty of the author’s age becomes old news, you still get some genuinely good scary stories.
No happy endings here, this is, after all, cosmic. Great and indifferent powers exist behind the scenes and they and their followers manipulate and devastate the tragic bastards who stumble in their way. There’s also a bunch of poetry, Liebert began his writing career as a poet and, frankly, those I can take or leave, which is like most poetry to me, but the stories themselves are great. Each one original and imaginative and dark and eerie and even poignant. They range from purely psychological to fairly visceral, though never rely on guts and gore…which is just how I like my scares. Smart, literary, character driven. With a gut punch of an ending, if possible.
This collection is larger, more interesting and more exciting than its predecessor and portends great things for its author. It isn’t just good for a 21 year old, it’s actually good. Check this out, genre fans, preferably in the dark.
Or any story for that matter. I mean, seriously. Can you? Not YA or kids’ books, but proper adult oriented fiction.
Anyway, so yeah, he’s crazy young, his bio reads young, but somehow (and most excellently) his stories do not. In fact, they feature plenty of characters of all ages who act, speak and go about their life (however horrific) in perfectly reasonable fashion. And once the novelty of the author’s age becomes old news, you still get some genuinely good scary stories.
No happy endings here, this is, after all, cosmic. Great and indifferent powers exist behind the scenes and they and their followers manipulate and devastate the tragic bastards who stumble in their way. There’s also a bunch of poetry, Liebert began his writing career as a poet and, frankly, those I can take or leave, which is like most poetry to me, but the stories themselves are great. Each one original and imaginative and dark and eerie and even poignant. They range from purely psychological to fairly visceral, though never rely on guts and gore…which is just how I like my scares. Smart, literary, character driven. With a gut punch of an ending, if possible.
This collection is larger, more interesting and more exciting than its predecessor and portends great things for its author. It isn’t just good for a 21 year old, it’s actually good. Check this out, genre fans, preferably in the dark.
May 10, 2021
4.5/5
Travis Liebert has done it again!
I loved this anthology of horror stories just as much as I did The Anomaly Archives. Liebert has a great style that's so easy to read and follow, and I like that he's not scared to switch between first and third person in separate stories. The horror was deliciously evil and ever present.
Anthologies are a bit tricky to rate, so I've summed up each story below for simplicity. Can't wait to read more from this author!
Prologue- I don't typically make notes on a prologue, but this was haunting and ominous. It completely amped me up for the horrors to come. That poem at the end of it gave me chills!
The Last Supper - Noah and his son Aiden wander the streets hungry and homeless. Desperate for relief, Noah prays to a bizarre message graffitied in a back alley and gets exactly what he asks for. Be careful what you wish for. 4/5
The Jesters- On the way to work one morning, Mark accosts a pair of jester street performers, triggering a night of demented and psychological torture.4/5
The Great Shadow- Leah has been terrified of the dark ever since the incident at the hospital right before her grandma died. Years later on a trip with friends, she discovers what has been lying in wait for her. 5/5
Pushing Daisies- A group of friends play a prank that goes horribly wrong. They soon realize that their troubles are far from over. 5/5
Guardian Angel- A fun, disturbing letter from a concerned father about his son and his 'guardian angel. 4/5
The Orphan- A married couple adopts a young orphan. They soon discover there is something very dark and troubling about him. 5/5
A Mother's Love- A very disturbing poem about a woman who just had a stillbirth. 4/5
The Apostle's Cure- Desperate to save his terminal wife, a man entrusts her life to a strange doctor and an experimental treatment. 5/5
Lament- An old man journeys to the gravesite of his dear friend sixty years later and makes a startling discovery. 5/5
The Poet- A poet struggles to find inspiration after suffering a brain injury in a car accident. Desperate to feel depth of emotion, she finds the solution in a dark place. 5/5
Portrait of the Artist as a Dead Man- A dark poem centered around a misunderstood man named Willy and his internal struggle. 4/5
Return of the Vivisector- A man investigates a local mass suicide, arriving at dark realizations and revelations. 5/5
Mother- A thirteen year old girl and her father roam the country looking for her mother, but when she dares to look further into her past, she makes a startling realization that shakes her world to the core. 5/5
The First Bishop- A struggling priest is given new authority when a spirit visits him. With his new voice, he leads his new congregation in a terrifying new direction. 5/5
The Dream Plague- A small town's residents are deeply disturbed by communal dreams that order them to follow dark demands. 5/5
Travis Liebert has done it again!
I loved this anthology of horror stories just as much as I did The Anomaly Archives. Liebert has a great style that's so easy to read and follow, and I like that he's not scared to switch between first and third person in separate stories. The horror was deliciously evil and ever present.
Anthologies are a bit tricky to rate, so I've summed up each story below for simplicity. Can't wait to read more from this author!
Prologue- I don't typically make notes on a prologue, but this was haunting and ominous. It completely amped me up for the horrors to come. That poem at the end of it gave me chills!
The Last Supper - Noah and his son Aiden wander the streets hungry and homeless. Desperate for relief, Noah prays to a bizarre message graffitied in a back alley and gets exactly what he asks for. Be careful what you wish for. 4/5
The Jesters- On the way to work one morning, Mark accosts a pair of jester street performers, triggering a night of demented and psychological torture.4/5
The Great Shadow- Leah has been terrified of the dark ever since the incident at the hospital right before her grandma died. Years later on a trip with friends, she discovers what has been lying in wait for her. 5/5
Pushing Daisies- A group of friends play a prank that goes horribly wrong. They soon realize that their troubles are far from over. 5/5
Guardian Angel- A fun, disturbing letter from a concerned father about his son and his 'guardian angel. 4/5
The Orphan- A married couple adopts a young orphan. They soon discover there is something very dark and troubling about him. 5/5
A Mother's Love- A very disturbing poem about a woman who just had a stillbirth. 4/5
The Apostle's Cure- Desperate to save his terminal wife, a man entrusts her life to a strange doctor and an experimental treatment. 5/5
Lament- An old man journeys to the gravesite of his dear friend sixty years later and makes a startling discovery. 5/5
The Poet- A poet struggles to find inspiration after suffering a brain injury in a car accident. Desperate to feel depth of emotion, she finds the solution in a dark place. 5/5
Portrait of the Artist as a Dead Man- A dark poem centered around a misunderstood man named Willy and his internal struggle. 4/5
Return of the Vivisector- A man investigates a local mass suicide, arriving at dark realizations and revelations. 5/5
Mother- A thirteen year old girl and her father roam the country looking for her mother, but when she dares to look further into her past, she makes a startling realization that shakes her world to the core. 5/5
The First Bishop- A struggling priest is given new authority when a spirit visits him. With his new voice, he leads his new congregation in a terrifying new direction. 5/5
The Dream Plague- A small town's residents are deeply disturbed by communal dreams that order them to follow dark demands. 5/5
January 4, 2021
Volume 2 of The Shattered God mythos.
I feel like the writing was more rough in this volume than the previous one, like the author rushed it or skimped on editing. Also, many of the stories seem to belong to the "personal horror" rather than cosmic, with a very vague connection to the Mythos.
However, in other stories the author delves deeper into the mythology, recalling characters and locations from previous stories and hinting at their greater role in the grand scheme. I think it was a nice touch.
My favorite story was "The Last Supper", with its gruesome, perverse irony of the dark gods. I also enjoyed "The Apostle's Cure" (this one gives some clues to the bigger picture) and "The Dream Plague" (nice and poetic).
But overall I enjoyed it and I'm going to keep reading the series.
I feel like the writing was more rough in this volume than the previous one, like the author rushed it or skimped on editing. Also, many of the stories seem to belong to the "personal horror" rather than cosmic, with a very vague connection to the Mythos.
However, in other stories the author delves deeper into the mythology, recalling characters and locations from previous stories and hinting at their greater role in the grand scheme. I think it was a nice touch.
My favorite story was "The Last Supper", with its gruesome, perverse irony of the dark gods. I also enjoyed "The Apostle's Cure" (this one gives some clues to the bigger picture) and "The Dream Plague" (nice and poetic).
But overall I enjoyed it and I'm going to keep reading the series.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews