Fun, quick read. I loved the variety of stories that were included. Home Before Dark was the standout for me. Looking forward to Volume 2 that releases soon!
"Stories With Horror & Heart" is the first installment in the anthology series by Thomas Gloom. The plan is for it to be composed of nine volumes that will be collected at a later date.
This one presents us with four amazing tales that range from supernatural to a horror that is more grounded and man-made.
"The music grew louder in their heads, but now it also seemed to be dancing on the breeze. Her feet throbbed, yet she continued on."
We're taken on a night stroll through streets, in a trance-like state, with music playing in our heads. We go on a date to a cemetery. We do an old friend and favor and it turns out to be more than we signed up for. And we commit to an Halloween tradition in the deep woods.
All these stories are really small pieces of what life can be like in any small town in suburban America, and maybe in some other countries too. You can't help but wonder if it could happen to you. Fog Creek is mentioned as the setting for one of the stories, and the author suggests that maybe we'll come back to this town, since it has still more stories to tell.
"Why don't people want to talk when a knife is held to their throat? It seemed like it'd be the best time to talk."
Thomas Gloom's writing makes these tales really easy to read and even easier to visualize. Especially when it comes to the woods, which are a constant presence throughout the book.
There's even something in his writing that made me think of Stephen King, for instance. I was reading "Home Before Dark" and couldn't stop getting vibes from "The Body", even if just because of the story's overall feeling.
"He hadn't noticed his attacker's car pulling out behind him with its headlights off. [...] Ignorance is bliss. In less than fifteen minutes he would be dead."
As I said in the beginning, this is the first of nine volumes. I just finished this one and I can't wait for the rest of them. Make sure to pick up this one, either now as an ebook or later when it comes out as a compilation in paperback. I'll make sure not to miss one.
The strongest writing I’ve read by Gloom so far! This is a short collection, but I found something to enjoy in every story. The first story hooked me right away, the middle kind of lagged, but the ending I did not see coming! Story two was short and packed a punch. Story 3 was my favorite and I’m sad it ended the way it did. I think story 4 was the weakest but had a cool inspiration from Gloom’s personal life! This is a great collection for spooky reading or Halloween Time! I am ready for part II
This great collection of bite-size yet harrowing shorts swings between horrors founded in cultish supernatural worship, and gritty real-life homicidal tragedy. Whichever way the pendulum of Thomas Gloom swings, he crafts his stories with the deftest of skill and precision, and I thoroughly recommend checking out this collection, as well as his novella which you can pick up for free just by signing up to his newsletter.
Superb job, Thomas. Keep crafting your freaky brand of horror!
“Darkness had choked out the last gasping light of the sunset. The neighborhood looked spookier than he remembered it looking upon his arrival. It hadn’t been that long ago, but it felt, to Paul, like an eternity.”
This short stories horror collection has been in my TBR list for a while now & with the Christmas holidays coming up, I found some time to read it. Stories with an fearful chill placed around the concepts of nature, which I’m a huge fan of. My favourite story in the collection was Drug Deal (from the quote above) and from the notes at end of it, it was one of his early stories. Well done for the dark entertaining read, Mr Gloom!!
Check out his work and his podcast. He interviews other indie horror authors. 💀💀💀
I love horror anthologies and this one was pretty creepy. I liked the overall feeling of trepidation you get waiting to find out what happens. Looking forward to more from this author.
I LOVED two of these stories (the first two) and two felt incomplete to me. I love it when you feel that even with a short story, you read a complete story. IThis was my first read from Thomas Gloom; willing to read more from him.
Este libro no fue para mi, las historias no las sentí para nada de terror y los finales eran muy apurados, siento que se quedaban cortas y a veces habías frases que me dejaban 🙄🙄🙄🙄
This was an entertaining collection of short stories. The dialogue is witty and will make you laugh more than a few times. The writing is easy to read, well paced, and properly detailed.
Perhaps my only complaint is that one story, which the author stated was a revision of a story he wrote in high school, goes on a bit too long.
I would have liked if the story was a bit shorter, so we could read some more of the author's newer work. But perhaps that is a matter of personal preference.
I also enjoyed reading about the inspiration for these stories. The story (and backstory) about a demon named Molech was particularly creepy.
Just as the headline says, this collection is short but will stick to your memory right from the start! My favorite of the stories would definitely be the opening one, "Music In The Night." Not only did I find this story to be well thought out, but the premise was unique and terrifying. Gloom has a knack for building suspense through the mysterious occurrences in these stories and I thoroughly enjoyed them all. Great work!
This collection of realistic creepy stories is great for spooky reads. The theme is creepy woods and what happens at night. Every story leaves you with an eerie feeling. Gloom makes it easy to image the surroundings and the pace in the stories is great.
All of the stories have a good beginning and at the end everything is tied up nicely together. Sometimes maybe to nicely. Each story made me feel anxious about what was going to happen and that kinda left me expecting the end to go in a certain way. This didn't bother me to much but some endings left me in a bit of an anticlimax. The authors note after every story (nice touch), the order in which the stories were told and some great last lines made up for this. I love when an author thinks more of the story and the emotions he wants to deliver.
This is my first Thomas Gloom read, and I am impressed and ready to read more! I love these types of southern horror tales, and Gloom describes the scenery so vividly and makes you feel like you're there. Each tale was unique. I read this at night while in bed, not wanting to sleep because I was so engaged with each story and had to know how they ended. The writing is great, and I highly recommend this one. Keep it spooky!
These short tales were creepy and kept me pressing forward to see what would happen next. Gloom is straightforward with his writing style (which I admire) and knows how to weave an unsettling story for his audience.