Cats of the Pacific Northwest

by J.W. Donley, Leo Corbett (Illustrator)

Thanks to Donley, I'll have to look at my cats with a raised eyebrow from now on. Cats of the Pacific Northwest is unnerving and has visuals that will creep up your brain stem in the dead of night."
—Shane Hawk, author of Anoka

"This dark, contemporary fairy tale weaves together Hansel and Gretel, The Blair Witch Project, and Get Out, and to create an unsettling, moving, and haunting story."
—Richard Thomas, author of Disintegration, and Breaker (Thriller nominee)

David, an unsure young man, is trying to figure out how to be a "man" in the modern age. Well, at least what his girlfriend, Emma, expects of him.

When she suggests a backpacking trip out on the Olympic Penninsula, he jumps at the opportunity to demonstrate his worth. But, once they get out into the wilderness, they are quickly lost. Now they are out of food and beginning to starve, when a strange couple of cats cross their path.

Genres: Horror, Fiction

79 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 20, 2021

About the author

J.W. Donley—HWA and HOWL Society member—lives in the Pacific Northwest where the Cascade Mountains meet the Salish Sea.

J.W. is the author of the novelette Cats of the Pacific Northwest and the brand new 100 Unusual Prompts for Writers of Horror, Weird, and Bizarro Fiction with contributions from John Langan, Carlton Mellick III, Shane Hawk, and many more.

His short stories have appeared in anthologies from Dim Shores, HOWL Society Press, PIT, Chuckanut Editions, and on Creepy, a Horror Podcast.

Reviews

[Richard Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first experience reading J.W. Donley’s work was with his horror-tinged urban fantasy short ‘The Pigeon Lied’ in the excellent ‘Howls From Hell’ anthology. It was an anthology that I enjoyed so much I made a note to look out for any work being released by any of the authors within its pages. Donley’s short in particular is one that has stayed with me ever since, largely due to how unique the premise was and how skilled he was at creating a world and setting a tone in such a short piece. When he announced his next piece would be a short book entitled ‘Cats of the Pacific Northwest’ I jumped at the chance to read something new.

David and Emma are a new couple whose relationship is tested when a planned backpacking trip goes horribly awry and they both find themselves alone and stranded with no source of food or water.

As their situation becomes increasingly dire salvation appears to arrive with an offer of food and a place to rest. The fact that the offer comes from a pair of cats is certainly a cause for concern, but desperation causes the pair to follow them, deeper into the Pacific Northwest, heading toward either their deliverance or damnation.

Taking elements of classic fairy tales (most notably Hansel and Gretel) and using them as a basis to tell an otherwise grounded and often harrowing tale of a young couple whose relationship is tested when they become hopelessly lost in a dangerous and inhospitable environment, allows ‘Cats of the Pacific Northwest’ to simultaneously allow the reader to connect with and empathise it’s two leads while throwing them into an increasingly strange and outlandish scenario. The mash-up of horror and folk tale is note-perfect, giving the story an otherworldly, ‘anything goes’ vibe, but turning up the scares when the need arises. The fact that we get ample opportunity in the story’s early build-up to spend time with David and Emma goes a long way to making us care about their ultimate fate and they prove to be just as valuable to the story’s success as its high concept and assured execution.

I can’t wrap up this review without giving a special mention to Leo Corbett and the fantastic illustrations he has provided for the book. His full-page black and white artwork that is interspersed throughout really helps accentuate the strengths of the story, and the tone of the pieces change throughout as the narrative does, starting quite light and fun and becoming creepier and more unsettling as we progress. It’s a joy to see the text and illustrations work so well together in telling the story.

Cats of the Pacific Northwest almost defies description, incorporating elements of horror, fantasy, fairy tale and surrealism into a truly unique piece and one that sticks in the memory thanks to its strange and unsettling visuals contrasted against everyday, relatable characters. I’m very excited to see what J.W. Donley has lined up for us next.

[Cassie Daley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and that's exactly the type of situation David and his girlfriend find themselves in on a spontaneous backpacking trip gone wrong. Alone and starving, the two begin losing all hope when they find something strange lurking in the woods - or, rather, when it finds them!

Creepy and disquieting, CATS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST is written with a sinister lyricism that seeps the story in a compelling atmosphere of horror and magic. I won't be forgetting this one soon!

The addition of illustrations in this were a really nice touch - props to the artist! I loved seeing their interpretation of the forest and the characters, with each drawing being nicely stylized and a great accompaniment to the story itself.

Overall, would highly recommend for anyone looking for a quick read that'll give them a nice mix that's a little bit fairy tale, and a little bit freaky!

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, sweet, gruesome, and strange - much like a cat, indeed!

[Abbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only complaint is I would’ve liked to read even more! So sharp and spooky

[P.L. McMillan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cats of the Pacific Northwest is a punchy novella that has a heavy grim fairy tale feel. Despite the shorter length, the story is fully fleshed out and the suspense is killer. Fast-paced and with heavy atmosphere, this tale will leave you breathless.

The length of Cats of the Pacific Northwest makes it perfect for a beach read, on your lunch break, or when you want something spooky to read without a time commitment.

So if you like fairy tale aesthetics, the vibe of The Blair Witch Project, or are just looking for a suspenseful, chilling piece of short fiction: check out Cats the of Pacific Northwest.

[Caleb Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toss in a dash of Buffalo Bill from The Silence of the Lambs, mix with a shot of Hansel and Gretel (only darker), and finish off with a sprinkle of the crazy cat lady from down the street, and you have Cats of the Pacific Northwest.

I had a lot of fun reading this one. It's short and sweet with some great illustrations to boot. Plus the ending is just creepy AF. (Which I loved.)

Be sure to read this on a camping trip for maximum effect. And leave your cats at home.

[Big Red · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cats of the Pacific Northwest is a very short and fast-paced story. Donley gets you invested in the characters early on and from there, it's hard to put this down. I thought his writing was very well done and the art from Leo Corbett was great as well. Both Donley and Corbett do a great job of transporting to the PNW! Fun story that I think anyone would enjoy!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tale told in the delightful tradition of Hansel and Gretel through a modern lens. I'm just glad I don't meet cats like these.

[Cris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this one somewhere in the depths of Reddit and immediately grabbed it. I didn’t really look into it first. I almost never do. I like going in blind. But the title mentioned cats and that was enough for me.
I actually haven’t read many horror books where cats are part of the story like that. Or even movies honestly. The only ones that really come to mind are Cat’s Eye when I was younger and then The Last House on Needless Street. So yeah, cat horror automatically has my attention because I’m a huge cat person.
This one is really short. I read it in one sitting. It’s around 75 pages and actually contains two stories.
The main one follows David and Emma, a couple who decide to go backpacking in the wilderness on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. They’ve only recently started dating, and David kind of sees the trip as his chance to prove himself a little. He’s got that quiet macho thing going on where he wants to show Emma he knows what he’s doing out there.
Except… he doesn’t.
They end up getting completely lost in this massive dense forest. When the story starts they’ve already been missing for about two weeks. Their last food ran out four days earlier. They’re starving, exhausted, and basically just trying to survive at that point.
And then they run into a pair of cats.
Which sounds harmless at first. It definitely isn’t.
That encounter is when the story takes a much darker turn and becomes something way stranger than just a survival story. The whole thing had this dark fairy tale feel to it. I kept thinking about Hansel and Gretel, but also with that eerie wilderness dread you get from something like The Blair Witch Project.
Honestly the whole idea is just unsettling. Getting lost in a forest where nobody knows where the hell you are is already terrifying. Then imagine starving out there and suddenly running into some weird creepy cats. That whole situation was just… wild.
I won’t go too deep into the story because it’s short and best experienced going in blind, but it definitely scratched that eerie folklore horror itch.
One thing I kept thinking while reading it is how visual it felt. There are a few illustrations in the book and they’re nice and add to the atmosphere, but this story honestly feels like it’s begging to be a graphic novel. I kept picturing it with full color artwork and really eerie visuals. I think it would translate incredibly well into either a graphic novel or even a short animation.
Also worth mentioning this is definitely not a children’s book despite the title sounding kind of cute. There’s dark imagery, some disturbing moments, and it leans into that grim fairy tale style horror.
Anyway yeah, this was just a quick weird little read and I had a lot of fun with it. Now I kind of want to find more horror that does interesting things with animals… especially cats.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this was something. I was drawn to this book as I am an aspiring cat lady. I am not going to be that kind of cat lady. All I could think of was Betty White being the lady. That would just be an epic mind fuck if that happened before she passed. I'm pretty sure she would have enjoyed it too from what I've read about her.

If you want a quick wtf horror read - then this is for you. Though, if you're scared of cats for some reason - this is probably not the book for you. It was well worth buying on Kindle Unlimited, despite it only being 79 pages.

[Natalie S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the general idea of it but it needed more suspense and development. It read like a short story with a word limit in a college lit publication rather than a fully fleshed out and edited piece. Once we get to the hut it happens quickly and I feel like we are getting too much “telling” instead of “showing” so it dampens the suspense and creepy factor.

I enjoyed the rough illustrations, though. While simple, they worked with it.

[Miles Collier · Rating 4 out of 5]

a super short and atmospheric read, especially if you’re interested in horror :) i really enjoyed how fast paced it was, and the horror itself was SPOOKY - like, cats with human faces transplanted onto them? owls with human faces? it’s so fascinating. overall 3.5/5 - likely not something i’ll be revisiting, the characters were a little forgettable, but i still enjoyed it. :)

[Myk Pilgrim · Rating 5 out of 5]

J.W. Donely coaxes you to the edge of the dark forest, through ravenous brambles and under the low brush to the black heart of the woods; the ever-hungry place that was never meant for men to see.
Then he sods off and leaves you to fend for yourself.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one needed a little more baking. I liked the visuals around u district, but find it hard to believe people wouldn't care about accidentally hurting a cat 😭 I did like the cats having the stapled faces, but it felt like the characters were always making poor decisions

[Eve Harms]

Cats of the Pacific Northwest is a surreal journey that'll captivate you and make you follow its every word—until it's fully under your skin.

[Alex Wolfgang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy and colorful, great illustrations. Kind of like an extremely dark fairy tale.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

spooky and atmospheric but the language is clunky at times

[Carly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting ideas but needed so much more character and environmental development. Amateur writing skills. An easy one-night read.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful, frightful short read containing two stories that will make you look twice at any stray cats in the Pacific Northwest.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The compelling writing style made this dark fairy tale come to life.

[pj · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, strange tale of “funny kitties” haunting the Olympic Peninsula. It was gruesome and humorous all at once - a great quick read!