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Astaroth: A Coralie Westerly Story
Before he died, I hadn’t seen my dad in years. Now I see him all the time.
I used to work at a tattoo studio in Brighton until the day my dad came in to see me. He had died a week earlier. I saw him everywhere after that.
I knew the way to fix this would be in my childhood home, in the one room of the house he forbid me to enter until the day I did; the day I ran away. I knew I would need help.
Anton de Vane used to be one of the most famous ghost hunters on TV, but after they canceled his show, he’d been slumming it with live readings in seaside playhouses. My house could be his ticket to a comeback.
Tom Burgess is only a ghost hunter in his spare time because, as he will freely admit, he doesn’t believe in ghosts. His speciality is debunking paranormal phenomena, but I have a feeling he may struggle with my dad.
When both showman and skeptic arrive on the same day to take care of my ghost, I knew it was going to be explosive but I hadn’t realised it would be dangerous; I hadn’t realised there would be so much blood.
And that was before I showed them what was in the attic…
Astaroth is the first in a series of standalone horror novels connected only by their unusual narrator, mortuary assistant Coralie Westerly. If you like spine-chilling supernatural horror stories like Stolen Tongues or The Haunting of Hill House, then you won’t want to miss this book.
I used to work at a tattoo studio in Brighton until the day my dad came in to see me. He had died a week earlier. I saw him everywhere after that.
I knew the way to fix this would be in my childhood home, in the one room of the house he forbid me to enter until the day I did; the day I ran away. I knew I would need help.
Anton de Vane used to be one of the most famous ghost hunters on TV, but after they canceled his show, he’d been slumming it with live readings in seaside playhouses. My house could be his ticket to a comeback.
Tom Burgess is only a ghost hunter in his spare time because, as he will freely admit, he doesn’t believe in ghosts. His speciality is debunking paranormal phenomena, but I have a feeling he may struggle with my dad.
When both showman and skeptic arrive on the same day to take care of my ghost, I knew it was going to be explosive but I hadn’t realised it would be dangerous; I hadn’t realised there would be so much blood.
And that was before I showed them what was in the attic…
Astaroth is the first in a series of standalone horror novels connected only by their unusual narrator, mortuary assistant Coralie Westerly. If you like spine-chilling supernatural horror stories like Stolen Tongues or The Haunting of Hill House, then you won’t want to miss this book.
133 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 31, 2021
1 person is currently reading
6 people want to read
About the author
Chris Regan
8 books41 followersChris Regan is a comedy writer who wrote for "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" for seven seasons, winning five Emmys and two Peabody Awards. He was one of the coauthors of the best-selling "America (The Book)" and his work has appeared in USA Today, The New Yorker, and New York magazine. He has also written for Comedy Central's "The Burn with Jeff Ross" and "The Jeselnik Offensive" with Anthony Jeselnik.
His books include the 2008 humor book, "Mass Historia: 365 Days of Historical Facts and (Mostly) Fictions," published by Andrews McMeel.
He was also the co-author of "Shatner Rules" with William Shatner, released in 2011.
"You can't change the past, but with Mass Historia, Chris Regan has done a very fine job of making fun of it."--Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report
"For my money, Chris Regan is America's finest craftsman of funny sentences, sentences which start off interesting and amusing, coax laughs with pitch-perfect, snarky descriptors along the way, and then suddenly SLAM you with the unexpected, truly hilarious punch." --Adam Felber, author of Schrodinger's Ball and writer, Real Time with Bill Maher
"Anybody can make history. Only one man can write it. And only a greatly funny man like Chris Regan can make it worth reading. Sorry, Thucydides, but you can suck it!"--Mo Rocca, commentator, CBS Sunday Morning and NPR's Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me
"'Mass Historia" is one-eleventh the length of Will and Ariel Durant's 'The Story of Civilization' with six times as many laughs. Maybe even seven times as many! There is no one I know who understands the weave and weft of that grand tapestry called history like Chris Regan does. That said, I'm really glad he wasted all that knowledge on this book, because it's hilarious."--Eric Drysdale, five-time Emmy Award-winning writer, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report
"Hilarious! Chris Regan is one of the smartest, funniest writers around, and 'Mass Historia' is almost big enough to hold everything inside that giant brain of his. Buy this book, read it, laugh your ass off, then take it back to your old high school and use it to smack your history teacher across the jaw."--Bob Powers, author of You Are A Miserable Excuse for a Hero and Happy Cruelty Day!
"Shatner Rules is a light, clever, witty book that is all about enjoying life from the perspective of a now eighty-year-old man with fascinating stories to tell… this is a great read.”—Portland Book Review
“The galaxy's most famous starship captain offers a mostly tongue-in-cheek guide to his rules for living, complete with anecdotes and life lessons. Eighty years old and still going strong with multiple TV shows, films, books and appearances…Shatner's lust for life shines through… Whatever the situation--be it an awkward dinner with Charlton Heston or a fight to the death with a wild boar—Shatner applies his rules as only he can…[his] fans will relish the opportunity to learn from the master.”—Kirkus Reviews
His books include the 2008 humor book, "Mass Historia: 365 Days of Historical Facts and (Mostly) Fictions," published by Andrews McMeel.
He was also the co-author of "Shatner Rules" with William Shatner, released in 2011.
"You can't change the past, but with Mass Historia, Chris Regan has done a very fine job of making fun of it."--Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report
"For my money, Chris Regan is America's finest craftsman of funny sentences, sentences which start off interesting and amusing, coax laughs with pitch-perfect, snarky descriptors along the way, and then suddenly SLAM you with the unexpected, truly hilarious punch." --Adam Felber, author of Schrodinger's Ball and writer, Real Time with Bill Maher
"Anybody can make history. Only one man can write it. And only a greatly funny man like Chris Regan can make it worth reading. Sorry, Thucydides, but you can suck it!"--Mo Rocca, commentator, CBS Sunday Morning and NPR's Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me
"'Mass Historia" is one-eleventh the length of Will and Ariel Durant's 'The Story of Civilization' with six times as many laughs. Maybe even seven times as many! There is no one I know who understands the weave and weft of that grand tapestry called history like Chris Regan does. That said, I'm really glad he wasted all that knowledge on this book, because it's hilarious."--Eric Drysdale, five-time Emmy Award-winning writer, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report
"Hilarious! Chris Regan is one of the smartest, funniest writers around, and 'Mass Historia' is almost big enough to hold everything inside that giant brain of his. Buy this book, read it, laugh your ass off, then take it back to your old high school and use it to smack your history teacher across the jaw."--Bob Powers, author of You Are A Miserable Excuse for a Hero and Happy Cruelty Day!
"Shatner Rules is a light, clever, witty book that is all about enjoying life from the perspective of a now eighty-year-old man with fascinating stories to tell… this is a great read.”—Portland Book Review
“The galaxy's most famous starship captain offers a mostly tongue-in-cheek guide to his rules for living, complete with anecdotes and life lessons. Eighty years old and still going strong with multiple TV shows, films, books and appearances…Shatner's lust for life shines through… Whatever the situation--be it an awkward dinner with Charlton Heston or a fight to the death with a wild boar—Shatner applies his rules as only he can…[his] fans will relish the opportunity to learn from the master.”—Kirkus Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 29, 2021
ASTAROTH
First edition. July 31, 2021.
Copyright © 2021 Chris Regan.
Written by Chris Regan.
Caroline Westerley forward explains that Chris became fascinated with death after reading her work. She saw more beauty in the end than in life; she gives a more in-depth detail to Caroline's work and her experience in medicine. You can tell the author has been profoundly affected by Caroline's blog and use of descriptive context. When the blog disappeared as a fan, Chris was disappointed and even contacted Caroline. After no replies, she finally got chatting with Chris, and thus the idea was born for the story. Caroline inspired a large percentage of this book, so you can tell Chris wanted to do her justice. It's sad to hear at the end of the forward that he and Caroline hadn't spoken since, but maybe this story can show her how truly inspired Chris was by everything she taught her.
The story itself is an adaptation of facts from Caroline mixed with Chris's creative input. Her time working in the mortuary and how even in death, our bodies can tell a vivid story. You can tell in the details of the dialogue that the character is very connected to her job, and at some points, the corpses she encounters. The story focuses on three characters Coralie, Anton and Tom. Starting with Anton, a supposed expert in the paranormal field and once a viral celebrity. Now washed up and resorting to talks in old community centres.
When you are sitting in the audience watching Anton, you feel like Coralie is sitting right there next to you, talking through everything he asks—giving her opinion and giving you a little more detail each time about her as a personality. It's almost like you're taking a look at all views on the paranormal world from the scientific side that Tom shows to the eccentric and unexplainable from Anton. Chris raises some interesting points throughout the book; it feels almost like documentation rather than a ghost story at first. Almost like the start to one of those found footage movies, where you don't know what direction it's going to take. Whether we're going all-out supernatural demons and ghosts or a more subtle eases you in gradually building the paranormal story tale. It was indeed the latter; I love when a story doesn't just lob content at you. I also enjoyed getting more background on the character; it wasn't just one giant information dump. It made you visualise the scene from Anton's childhood and catch a more vulnerable side of his personality.
I sat there thinking, ok, what are we going to discover? How does Coralie fit into all of this, and why are we coming from her viewpoint? Then we get to meet Tom Burgess, who is more than interested in Coralie's ghost issue than he's letting on. That's when things get interesting as Coralie's life is divulged, and you get to understand why it's so vital that it's from Coralie’s viewpoint. The entity in question, which by the way, I won't spoil it for you. Has this eerie presence, not the usual jangling of chains and moaning. It's a lot creepier, and it most definitely sets the atmosphere and tone for the story. Especially when you get more information on the actual ghost, which, let's face it, I was dying to see banished exorcist style. I felt like, as the reader, I was sitting in on all the discussions and events. I never got lost or wondered what was happening; Chris kept me well informed throughout. It had a very distinct vibe that kept me going back for more. The rivalry between Anton and Tom was also an excellent little development, and I won't lie, I was kind of rooting for Tom as Anton seemed to be a bit of an attention whore. And if you want more on how this haunted fiasco went, I'm afraid you'll have to read it to find out. If you long to find a story with conflict and ghosts, family feuds and lies that eventually crawl to the surface, you are going to love this book.
First edition. July 31, 2021.
Copyright © 2021 Chris Regan.
Written by Chris Regan.
Caroline Westerley forward explains that Chris became fascinated with death after reading her work. She saw more beauty in the end than in life; she gives a more in-depth detail to Caroline's work and her experience in medicine. You can tell the author has been profoundly affected by Caroline's blog and use of descriptive context. When the blog disappeared as a fan, Chris was disappointed and even contacted Caroline. After no replies, she finally got chatting with Chris, and thus the idea was born for the story. Caroline inspired a large percentage of this book, so you can tell Chris wanted to do her justice. It's sad to hear at the end of the forward that he and Caroline hadn't spoken since, but maybe this story can show her how truly inspired Chris was by everything she taught her.
The story itself is an adaptation of facts from Caroline mixed with Chris's creative input. Her time working in the mortuary and how even in death, our bodies can tell a vivid story. You can tell in the details of the dialogue that the character is very connected to her job, and at some points, the corpses she encounters. The story focuses on three characters Coralie, Anton and Tom. Starting with Anton, a supposed expert in the paranormal field and once a viral celebrity. Now washed up and resorting to talks in old community centres.
When you are sitting in the audience watching Anton, you feel like Coralie is sitting right there next to you, talking through everything he asks—giving her opinion and giving you a little more detail each time about her as a personality. It's almost like you're taking a look at all views on the paranormal world from the scientific side that Tom shows to the eccentric and unexplainable from Anton. Chris raises some interesting points throughout the book; it feels almost like documentation rather than a ghost story at first. Almost like the start to one of those found footage movies, where you don't know what direction it's going to take. Whether we're going all-out supernatural demons and ghosts or a more subtle eases you in gradually building the paranormal story tale. It was indeed the latter; I love when a story doesn't just lob content at you. I also enjoyed getting more background on the character; it wasn't just one giant information dump. It made you visualise the scene from Anton's childhood and catch a more vulnerable side of his personality.
I sat there thinking, ok, what are we going to discover? How does Coralie fit into all of this, and why are we coming from her viewpoint? Then we get to meet Tom Burgess, who is more than interested in Coralie's ghost issue than he's letting on. That's when things get interesting as Coralie's life is divulged, and you get to understand why it's so vital that it's from Coralie’s viewpoint. The entity in question, which by the way, I won't spoil it for you. Has this eerie presence, not the usual jangling of chains and moaning. It's a lot creepier, and it most definitely sets the atmosphere and tone for the story. Especially when you get more information on the actual ghost, which, let's face it, I was dying to see banished exorcist style. I felt like, as the reader, I was sitting in on all the discussions and events. I never got lost or wondered what was happening; Chris kept me well informed throughout. It had a very distinct vibe that kept me going back for more. The rivalry between Anton and Tom was also an excellent little development, and I won't lie, I was kind of rooting for Tom as Anton seemed to be a bit of an attention whore. And if you want more on how this haunted fiasco went, I'm afraid you'll have to read it to find out. If you long to find a story with conflict and ghosts, family feuds and lies that eventually crawl to the surface, you are going to love this book.
May 4, 2022
Astaroth is a great little story that takes on televised ghost hunters, and makes you doubt reality the whole way through. It's a story-within-a-story (and potentially within another story, if you count Chris Regan's introduction to the series), with an unreliable narrator (that's not a spoiler, she tells you up front) and a great mystery unfolding.
If this is only the first (and therefore likely worst) book in the series, I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel, to see what Coralie does next.
Rough statistics for the bookworms: approximately 150 pages, depending on how you format the pages, took around 2 1/2 hours total to read, and not a single page of boredom.
If this is only the first (and therefore likely worst) book in the series, I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel, to see what Coralie does next.
Rough statistics for the bookworms: approximately 150 pages, depending on how you format the pages, took around 2 1/2 hours total to read, and not a single page of boredom.
May 13, 2022
Mortuary assistant Coralie tells the story of Anton, the body she is currently working on. Anton is a paranormal investigator and had a long career on TV. Now he is just a performer. At least until his brother Tom decides there is a demon in him. This story is spell-binding and contains a lot of paranormal activity. Highly recommended.
I received a copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 7, 2022
I’m not sure how I feel about this book. It’s a bit vague. I suppose some of it is answered in the end, but still vaguely. The back and forth between the ghost hunters and whether they believe is interesting. The unreliable narrator isn’t developed enough for me. That said, it’s an entertaining short horror novella. It may be more interesting as a series if more is explained.
I received a free copy from voracious readers for an honest opinion.
I received a free copy from voracious readers for an honest opinion.
August 21, 2022
This was an exciting quick read. It’s been awhile since I’ve read a book written in first person and I really enjoyed the different perspective. The characters were vivid and the twists were unexpected. I had a great time reading this story and recommend it to anyone who likes to read a good haunted house/ghost story.
I received this book from the author through Voracious Readers Only
I received this book from the author through Voracious Readers Only
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews