Phobias

by R.E. Bunch

Fear is a personalized experience.

Phobias is a collection of 13 gothic horror stories. This debut collection of short stories is atmospheric with dread, distorted perception, and what crawls through the soul. These stores run the gamut of horrifying to tender hearted dread. Some even scarring.

132 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2021

About the author

RE Bunch is a writer from Chicago, Illinois. She enjoys all things occult, horror, and science fiction. She pulls from art, true-crime stories, scientific theories, and nature to stretch her creations beyond the limits of horror. She blends poetry and prose writing techniques to develop worlds filled with mystery, dread, and beauty. A style that has been described as eclectic and uniquely her own.

When she is not writing she is playing with dogs and making linoleum prints.

Reviews

[Kathryn Hewitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book not really knowing what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprsied! I don’t tend to read many collections of vignettes, but it worked well and I found myself enjoying these phobia themed horror tales. They were spooky enough to give you the chills, and their topics were varied so as to avoid becoming monotonous.

[Gareth Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several years ago, I had an idea for a story that began with a number of mysterious holes appearing in someone's back yard. I didn't know more than that, and never took the idea further. Had I done so, I doubt it would have turned out as creepy and disturbing as "The Holes at Tromaine Farm", one of thirteen short stories in this collection.

Each story is inspired by a specific phobia, including well-known ones such as arachnophobia and claustrophobia, but many for which I either didn't know the names, or totally didn't know it was a thing. For example, trypophobia is "an aversion to the sight of irregular patterns or clusters of small holes or bumps". I think I have that now.

The stories are independent, involving different characters and places, but the author has a recognizable style. Some of the endings are open, and a couple left me confused on first reading, but others were gratefully finished with a suitable shudder. My favorites included the aforementioned "Holes", as well as "The Dog Near Bradford, AZ" (which made me more scared of hitchhikers than dogs), "Time Will Pass Anyways", "Third Shift" and "Bound Forever". You may have your own favorites. Regardless of your personal phobias, I promise there will be at least one story here to keep you up at night!

[Svea Neitzke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phobias is an interesting collection by RE Bunch. Each story focuses on a particular phobia. The first one is called 'Refresh Refresh,' Social Phobias: Fear of Social Situations. A man doesn't understand boundaries and becomes obsessive.

My favorite story in the collection is Bus Money, Astraphobia: Fear of Thunder and Lightning. I was once stranded in college and I was pretty broke, and it started raining. It was awful. However, the character, Xavier's bad luck is entirely his own fault. Through chance encounters with a stranger and the paranormal, he has to take responsibility for his bad decisions.

It ends with the story, The Longest Time, Nosophobia: The Fear of Developing a Disease. It’s a heartbreaking story of a family dealing with the consequences of a deadly pandemic. Overall, I really liked all of the stories in this unique collection.

[George Adamczyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This writer's descriptions and details made me feel like I was inside the stories! My favorite was "Elma" which really caught me by surprise! Her endings might be a little enigmatic, but if you like to disappear into the supernatural, you will like this book!