Chicken: A Horrific Tale

by Tom Stearns

**Warning! Graphic content!**After losing his job due to COVID, Owen is forced to move out of his city centre apartment.When he finds a bungalow well below the average rent he is suspicious but grabs the opportunity without a viewing.The owner has done little to modernize the interior or clean up after the previous tenant...and there is an awful smell.Struggling in lockdown, Owen turns to drink and battles with feelings of isolation.When the old red armchair shouts out in the night, Owen doubts his sanity.But is it a ghost or his past that is haunting him?

A disturbing and horrific tale from Tom Stearns.

Genres: Horror

45 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 27, 2021

Reviews

[Vicki Herbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Little Chicken...

CHICKEN: A Horrific Tale
by Tom Stearns

No spoilers. 3 stars. Another creative yet cringeworthy story about the COVID-19 lockdown...

The government said if the death toll stayed at about 20,000, they would consider it a good outcome...

The toll was currently 80,000...

COVID had caused Owen to lose his job and, to save money, he had to move from the inner city to the outskirts...

While searching for new digs...

Owen found a bungalow with low rent he could afford, and he took it sight unseen...

But...

When he entered the place for the first time, it was barely cleaned, and there was an unidentifiable odor...

The furnishings and everything else about the place screamed pensioner, but until he found another job, the price was right...

During his time isolating and working from home, Owen became increasingly reliant on alcohol, vodka to be exact...

One night, in a drunken stupor...

Owen heard a voice say: I. Smell. Chicken! Weeks later, lying contentedly on his sofa in front of the TV, he heard a man say...

I smell chicken...

The voice came from an old man sitting on his armchair. He looked to be in his 70s...

Although Owen had drank down a liter of vodka, he was aware enough that he was the chicken the old man smelled...

And so began the sexual abuse the old man inflicted on Owen, his little chicken...

I don't remember who recommended this novella to me, but it is definitely not something that I would choose to read.

There were many questions that weren't answered by the end of the story, and loose ends are a pet peeve of mine.

If you're into stories about lecherous old men, then you might enjoy this novella, but if not, you might want to pass this one up because it's quite graphic.

There are warnings at the front of the story. I wish I had heeded them.

[Peter Topside · Rating 3 out of 5]

The attempt here wasn't bad at all. The entire story is very realistic, as I think most people had job transitions and troubles with indulging during the lost year, 2020. COVID was horrible for so many reasons, some of which still linger to this day. Owen, our lead, lost his job, began drinking heavily, had to move into a rundown apartment, etc. Just having a tough time. He began getting visits from something, and isn't sure if its the pressure of everything scrambling his brains, his loneliness, the drinking, a possible haunting, or a combination of it all. And we never really get an answer at the end, which was a bit of a lost opportunity. Tom Stearns strived to make Owen a sympathetic character that the reader really wanted to follow, but the pace of the story was much too quick and abbreviated to get there. Could have easily been twice the length and it would have been a welcomed course. There are some rough contents with rape and assault, but nothing dramatic, as seen in splatterpunk or other extreme horror variants. Some of it was necessary to some plot points, but a lot of it just felt forced and out of place. Less sexual content and further plot and character development would be encouraged. Again, I liked a bunch of what this had to offer, but it needed much more fine-tuning to be anything beyond an average reading experience.

[Steph's_Creepy _Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nope. This is not the one.

[Jessie Raven · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would absolutely love to scrub my brain of the filth I read. This is based off Covid times. Our main character Owen moves into a new property and is alarmed when there’s an indescribable smell that comes and goes. He finds out it’s an old man who calls him his chicken. Weird things happen and it affects Owen’s ability to work. The imagery in this damn book made me clench and feel sick. Absolutely amazing! Not the last book from this author and a nice quick read at 45 pages!

[Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a short story set in the present during the covid pandemic. Owen loses his job, can’t afford his apartment so downgrades and moves to a cheap rent “furnished” bungalow. A lot of people can probably relate so far.
Owen gets a job in a supermarket and starts drinking himself to sleep at night. The pressures of the lockdown, his situation and drinking start to spiral, and the red armchair begins to speak....
is this a man having a nervous breakdown? Is the bungalow haunted? Are past suppressed memories starting to surface or is a malevolent presence haunting him? Or is he simply in a drunken stupor every day.
I liken this, very loosely, to Shirley Jackson’s Haunting of Hill House. Like Hill House its theme is horrific, unlike Hill House it’s telling is very graphic (be warned), but they both feature a main character who end up in a strange house. Are they being haunted by spirits or themselves.
You need to read it and make your own mind up....or are you chicken?

[Margaret Hamnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Speechless

I was unsure what this book was about when I started it and feel I am no more sure now that I have finished it. It creeped me out, disgusted me in parts and even though it was short I really enjoyed it. Will definitely be reading more from this author.

[MR ALEXANDER DICKINSON · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good short story. Illustrates very well the monotony of shop work. The content isn’t as repellant as other books in this genre.

[Priya · Rating 1 out of 5]

0.5 star

[Megan Brooke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah this one was just outta pocket, that bored during Covid?

[Erin Honan · Rating 2 out of 5]

What the holy hell was that...

[-`Kirin´- · Rating 3 out of 5]

so… what the fuck?? 😭