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The Whool
A sinister evil has arrived in Burrows, Wisconsin. With it comes ominous omens, haunting apparitions, and twisted, bloody bodies. It creeps. It stalks. It’s searching...But for what? THE WHOOL “...reminiscent of classic horror, with a suspenseful blend of mystery, folklore and terror.” (AstraDaemon’s Lair). “One of my favorite stories of 2020. It kept me curled up on my couch, anxiously flipping the pages, until I finished it.” (Best-Selling Author, Myunique C. Green) “Well written and atmospheric, this is a novella which any fan of creepy tales is sure to enjoy.” (Red Cape Publishing) THE WHOOL has been adapted into an audio production by the Weird Darkness Podcast, and is also featured on Creepypasta.com. IWriteBooksPub.com also ranked it their #3 book of 2020.Includes the short story prequel, "The Milk Boy" (2020).
- GenresHorror
103 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 17, 2020
6 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Scott Donnelly
81 books43 followersScott Donnelly is an indie author based in Grove City, Ohio, where he lives with his wife and three children. Scott is best known for his horror titles "Mothman: Return to Point Pleasant", “Sea Devil”, “A Monster in a Diner”, “Where it’s Always Spooky Season” (which won a 2023 Pen Craft Book Award) and "Cheater, Cheater" (which is receiving a 2024 film adaptation from writer/director Del Kary and distribution from SRS Cinema). Scott is also the creator and head writer of Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids, a horror podcast geared towards kids 8 and up. In addition to writing fiction, Scott also freelances for Weird Darkness Publishing as an editor and cover designer.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 18, 2021
The book starts with a hiker discovering an eerie deserted village full of skeletons. In the story to follow we see on another example, a small town named Burrows, what might have caused the dead. At first Felix Rider's parents die, then more and more inhabitants fall victim to something strange. They are killed in a very brutal fashion. What about the legend of the milk boy? Why warns Francis, the ghost of Felix' father, "Don't tell it"? Is there a connection to the mysterious box Francis bought on ebay? This is an extremely uncanny story with some fine horror motifs and a good ending. I couldn't put this spine tingler down and enjoyed it. Highly recommended!
April 15, 2021
This is a short read. It starts out kinda creepy, discovering a small town that had been forgotten throughout the years.
Then it flashes forward to a dude down on his luck who moves back home, and one of his parents are hoarders. They get a shipment of old crap from the forgotten town. Then it gets creepy. People across the small town get unexplained cuts on their feet and start dying.
I'm not really sure I have a clear picture of what The Whool is, but it's creepy and there's a legend of a milk boy that I hope I never come across
Then it flashes forward to a dude down on his luck who moves back home, and one of his parents are hoarders. They get a shipment of old crap from the forgotten town. Then it gets creepy. People across the small town get unexplained cuts on their feet and start dying.
I'm not really sure I have a clear picture of what The Whool is, but it's creepy and there's a legend of a milk boy that I hope I never come across
May 15, 2023
I enjoyed getting into this creepy, folklore story with lots of atmosphere. Really love how the village was not quite like Roanoke because there were skeletons found, but a very cool story about towns that die, and a unique story about how it happened.
June 26, 2021
Um. Not good.
Good job finishing and publishing a book, I suppose. That's not easy.
Apparently, this is kind of based on a creepypasta. The writing is bad. The organization of the story is bad. The formatting is bad. It's bad enough that I almost threw the book on the floor.
It claims to be Cthulhu-esque. I knew Cthulhu, and you, sir, are no Cthulhu. There are tentacles. Maybe.
Please don't read this
Good job finishing and publishing a book, I suppose. That's not easy.
Apparently, this is kind of based on a creepypasta. The writing is bad. The organization of the story is bad. The formatting is bad. It's bad enough that I almost threw the book on the floor.
It claims to be Cthulhu-esque. I knew Cthulhu, and you, sir, are no Cthulhu. There are tentacles. Maybe.
Please don't read this
August 22, 2020
This is the first book I read from this autor and let me tell you that I really Enjoyed it! Such a good book with great characters that keeps you obsessed with every page since the first one. For me, not a fan of horror, this was an amazing job! I wanted something different and decided to give it a try and then I just couldn't stop! I loved this! definitely a must
read!
read!
August 17, 2020
I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of The Whool from Scott Donnelly (author of The Scout Brooks Saga and the story Scorched which is include in Elements of Horror: Fire). The Whool is a quick read (I read it in one sitting) and it had me gripped from the start. The story opens with a mysterious discovery and continues to build a sense of dread and intrigue all the way through to the climax. Well written and atmospheric, this is a novella which any fan of creepy tales is sure to enjoy.
April 12, 2021
This novella by Scott Donnelly had me captivated from the get-go. It has a real docu-horror feel to it that I know would translate well to a short film or an episode of “Creepshow.”
The plot of the story is sandwiched between eye-witness report transcripts that pertain to two towns that were the sites of “The Whool”: one of them being the location of the main character. The story itself follows Felix, who returns home to his elderly parents in Burrows, Wisconsin. They’ve hit the age where onset dementia seems to be creeping in and they need their son’s help around their farm. Upon his arrival, bad things start to go down. Scott Donnelly wastes no time in tearing apart Felix’s life, childhood home, and the town surrounding it.
I was very intrigued by “The Whool” and how it was a sound translated into a word that personified a monster; it felt like a unique approach to horror that I could appreciate. The descriptions within the pages were reminiscent of Lovecraft and Ambrose Bierce. I could envision the dark clouds moving in, hear the "whool” sound in my mind, and smell the sour milk. It was quite vivid and I relished it.
My main bone of contention is that I was a bit unfulfilled by the ending. It showed the reader something, a concrete thing that was the source of the horror, but didn’t get into its history enough to feel conclusive. It briefly touched on some mythos that got close to an explanation, but its assembly felt loose-fitting with the rest of the information given. However, it is worth noting that Scott Donnelly informed me of a separate backstory for "The Whool" that is available, a prequel called "The Milk Boy." So now I am inclined to check that out and learn more about this monster.
Ultimately, I enjoyed the journey more than the destination with this one, but it is evident that Scott Donnelly has a talent for dreaming up horror that begs the return for seconds.
The plot of the story is sandwiched between eye-witness report transcripts that pertain to two towns that were the sites of “The Whool”: one of them being the location of the main character. The story itself follows Felix, who returns home to his elderly parents in Burrows, Wisconsin. They’ve hit the age where onset dementia seems to be creeping in and they need their son’s help around their farm. Upon his arrival, bad things start to go down. Scott Donnelly wastes no time in tearing apart Felix’s life, childhood home, and the town surrounding it.
I was very intrigued by “The Whool” and how it was a sound translated into a word that personified a monster; it felt like a unique approach to horror that I could appreciate. The descriptions within the pages were reminiscent of Lovecraft and Ambrose Bierce. I could envision the dark clouds moving in, hear the "whool” sound in my mind, and smell the sour milk. It was quite vivid and I relished it.
My main bone of contention is that I was a bit unfulfilled by the ending. It showed the reader something, a concrete thing that was the source of the horror, but didn’t get into its history enough to feel conclusive. It briefly touched on some mythos that got close to an explanation, but its assembly felt loose-fitting with the rest of the information given. However, it is worth noting that Scott Donnelly informed me of a separate backstory for "The Whool" that is available, a prequel called "The Milk Boy." So now I am inclined to check that out and learn more about this monster.
Ultimately, I enjoyed the journey more than the destination with this one, but it is evident that Scott Donnelly has a talent for dreaming up horror that begs the return for seconds.
October 16, 2021
Another creepy, awesome read for Halloween.
Scott Donnelly was awesome enough to send me a copy of his novella, 'The Whool', for review.
The story follows Felix Rider, who visits his parents back home in Burrows to help with the family farm as old age and illness have made it difficult for them to continue working there.
As the residents of Burrows Wisconsin come face to face with death in very brutal ways, the town is facing extinction caused by unknown reasons.
As Felix tries to uncover what causes havoc he will come face to face with an encient unspeakable evil. Will he survive and ultimate end the terror or will he meet his doom?
Short, sharp and shockingly good. From the first scene you get pulled in a world of mystery and death, as what's haunting Burrows is a hungry, deadly evil like no other.
The author manages to successfully create a hauntingly good story, reminiscent of the lovely classic horror where dark atmosphere and the sense of the doom that is about to be unleashed upon a whole town creates a fantastic buildup.
Dear reader, Scott Donnelly does a great job on decimating towns and this Halloween-perfect read will pull you from the hair in as you will die to find out the horrors hidden in this wonderful, well written short.
Read in one sitting, this is perfect for the spooky season 🎃🖤🤘
Scott Donnelly was awesome enough to send me a copy of his novella, 'The Whool', for review.
The story follows Felix Rider, who visits his parents back home in Burrows to help with the family farm as old age and illness have made it difficult for them to continue working there.
As the residents of Burrows Wisconsin come face to face with death in very brutal ways, the town is facing extinction caused by unknown reasons.
As Felix tries to uncover what causes havoc he will come face to face with an encient unspeakable evil. Will he survive and ultimate end the terror or will he meet his doom?
Short, sharp and shockingly good. From the first scene you get pulled in a world of mystery and death, as what's haunting Burrows is a hungry, deadly evil like no other.
The author manages to successfully create a hauntingly good story, reminiscent of the lovely classic horror where dark atmosphere and the sense of the doom that is about to be unleashed upon a whole town creates a fantastic buildup.
Dear reader, Scott Donnelly does a great job on decimating towns and this Halloween-perfect read will pull you from the hair in as you will die to find out the horrors hidden in this wonderful, well written short.
Read in one sitting, this is perfect for the spooky season 🎃🖤🤘
January 14, 2023
This is my third read from this author and as always his ability to create an atmosphere that is so utterly unsettling is a true skill he has mastered. This story had my stomach knotted up with terror the entire time and constantly wanting to look over my shoulder.
If you’re looking for a short read that is not only suspenseful but a great, creepy page turner, this is the book for you!
If you’re looking for a short read that is not only suspenseful but a great, creepy page turner, this is the book for you!
April 3, 2021
Don’t tel him ....
Loved The Whool. Starts off slow and steady, the picks up speed. Even though the story is short, you really get connected to the main characters. Had a great time reading this book. Definitely has the making of a trilogy.
Loved The Whool. Starts off slow and steady, the picks up speed. Even though the story is short, you really get connected to the main characters. Had a great time reading this book. Definitely has the making of a trilogy.
November 10, 2020
Creepy
What if you moved back home and everything got strange? People start dying strange things are seen and heard. What is the Whool?
What if you moved back home and everything got strange? People start dying strange things are seen and heard. What is the Whool?
August 8, 2021
I liked this, it was creepy, with some blood and guts, and a few unanswered questions, which left me wanting more, I'm, reading the short prequel called 'The Milk Boy' now.
April 12, 2024
Scott created a monster whose name reflects the terrifying sound he makes. Enjoyed getting to know the characters and having the stuffing scared out of me by the awful sound. Great spooky read.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews