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May Cause Unexplained Ocular Bleeding
From the gruesome, unfiltered imagination of Nikolas P. Robinson comes a collection of stories ranging from the brutal and bleak to the bizarre and surreal.
In these pages, you'll witness a drunk driver experiencing consequences worse than anything he could have imagined.
You'll see what happens when a beloved pet is accidentally sacrificed, opening the gates of Hell.
And that is only the beginning.
It gets worse from there.
In these pages, you'll witness a drunk driver experiencing consequences worse than anything he could have imagined.
You'll see what happens when a beloved pet is accidentally sacrificed, opening the gates of Hell.
And that is only the beginning.
It gets worse from there.
97 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 20, 2021
4 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Nikolas P. Robinson
33 books101 followersI am a grandfather (seven times over), a Splatterpunk Award-nominated and 666 (Sixie) Award-winning horror author, a photographer and videographer, a (former) musician, a News Producer, and an avid consumer of media.
Originally from the Twin Cities in Minnesota, I spent most of my life in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
In September of 2022, I moved from my long-time home in South Dakota to the Pacific Northwest, where I'm working as a morning News Producer for Good Day Oregon on KPTV/KPDX.
It's a pleasure to meet you, maybe you could find the time to check out some of the things I've written.
There's more on the way.
There's always more!
It never ends.
Originally from the Twin Cities in Minnesota, I spent most of my life in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
In September of 2022, I moved from my long-time home in South Dakota to the Pacific Northwest, where I'm working as a morning News Producer for Good Day Oregon on KPTV/KPDX.
It's a pleasure to meet you, maybe you could find the time to check out some of the things I've written.
There's more on the way.
There's always more!
It never ends.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 27, 2022
I've said it before and I'll say it again Nikolas P. Robinson is a fucking awesome writer and storyteller. Damn this was just a awesome collection of stories every one of them different and every one of them fucking awesome. Some are violent, some are weird, but all are just so well written I took a break after each story and just digested what I had just read.... He is just so good at making you feel immersed in each story it blows me away how talented of a writer he is. I'm serious when I say it watch this author and remember his name this guy is going to be a author that's going to blow up very soon. Can't recommend this book or this author enough. Fucking 10/10
September 1, 2021
Nik's collection of dark and strange tales are impeccably written and haunt the reader long after they're finished.
November 26, 2021
Well written, well thought out dark stories. Each one holds it own. It’s very hard to pick a favourite because they are all so good. I highly recommend this book. By the end of the book my eyes 👀 were bleeding 🩸. WARNING ⚠️
November 24, 2021
In this episode, I review "Caution May Cause Unexplained Ocular Bleeding" by Nikolas P. Robinson.
https://youtu.be/YlYtgd6RPys
https://youtu.be/YlYtgd6RPys
October 28, 2021
This book will surprise you. It surprised me. I thought it would be all about gore and insane situations that would either make you gag or wince or laugh. It's so much more. Yes there's blood and violence and a taboo subject, but you also get surprised and given a sense of hope only to have it ripped away.
I highly suggest reading the Authors notes when you've finished the final story. You'll get a glimpse into the man who is Nikolas Robinson.
I highly suggest reading the Authors notes when you've finished the final story. You'll get a glimpse into the man who is Nikolas Robinson.
September 7, 2023
(Originally appeared on Ginger Nuts of Horror in August 2021)
On its surface, Nikolas P. Robinson’s newest release presents itself as traditional splatter-gore fare, but upon closer inspection, May Cause Unexplained Ocular Bleeding explores existential truth on a level rarely attempted by extreme horror writers. I first encountered Robinson’s work when the poet and dark fiction author presented at Killer Con in Austin this year (airing remotely), and his charisma and collection intrigue immediately caught my attention.
May is a short read, only ten stories in length, and easily may be finished in one sitting, but I would encourage readers to take their time and digest it in chunks. There isn’t a weak entry in the decade, but the stand-outs for me run the gamut in theme and gore level. In the opening tale, “Drive Me Home,” Tavor’s tree-trimming implements for his job at a landscaping business come in handy when, intoxicated with his best girl passed out beside him, he hits a pedestrian with his car. “Though the glow from his single, functioning headlight isn’t great, he can see the dark, muddied dirt surrounding the body before he’s all the way there. Far from sober, his thoughts are still swimming, and he thinks for a second that maybe the person he hit has pissed themselves before a second internal voice tells him that it’s blood. There’s so much of it, soaking into the dry earth of the road like it’s a vampire thirsting for nourishment.” But things are not what they seem, and one misstep domino-effects Tavor on a destiny for which he has not adequately prepared.
“It’s Fine…Everything is Fine” reminded me initially of a disturbing news account I caught years ago of a naked man who, hopped up on bath salts, began biting and—literally—eating strangers like a mindless zombie in downtown Miami. Here, Robinson places the catalyst for his tale’s terror in a seemingly innocuous traffic accident. Soon after, “Hands began slapping against glass, fists pounding rhythmically into the surface…They both managed to find a moment to be grateful they’d lucked into a bank rather than something less likely to be fortified as the barrage of flesh against glass filled the deserted interior with echoes.” As witnesses watch from the lobby, what began as a fender bender quickly accelerates into a chaotic, full-blown fearfest.
The group’s tentpole entry, “The Journey,” is its most cerebral. It opens with the narrator remarking about a set of mysterious lights in the distance, intermittently visible from his city abode, and the possible power wielded by their source. If he investigates, he will “be able to see first-hand just how credible the tales have been, these rumors and whispers that spread from the places where the lights have previously appeared, these tales of transformation and strange alteration afflicting those who venture too close to curiosity.” Accompanied by a reticent trail guide, the protagonist ventures into the forest in search of answers while simultaneously quitting smoking cold turkey. Robinson marks the passage of time using a series of nicotine withdrawal benchmarks interspaced with scenes of unnerving adventure into surrealist dehumanization horror on par with William S. Burroughs’ Naked Lunch: “I came to see what it could change in me, never imagining how drastic these alterations would be. I wanted to experience something new, something truly novel. I never anticipated that I would shed my humanity in the process.”
Fans of Robinson likely will be familiar with “Horseplay,” which made its initial debut on the Godless digital platform. In the story, the closet door in the backroom of underground pornography is kicked wide open when a post-production video editor hired to clean up fetish films for distribution views a particularly unconventional sex tape featuring a cornucopia of kink that most viewers would say not only breaks the moral compass, it smashes it to bits. “I’m not sure how the tape found its way to my seller. It could be that someone else involved in the intended bestiality production had cleaned up the mess and shipped the tape off as if nothing was out of the ordinary. There’s still money to be made, after all.” If you have any qualms about content that pushes boundaries, “Horseplay” is not for you, but in it, the author skillfully builds a series of unbridled disturbing tableaus into a sly social commentary on just who should share the guilt when individuals are victimized for the sake of entertainment.
“Wake Up,” one of the shorter entries in the collection, is nonetheless powerful in its portrayal of an unfaithful partner, an uncomfortable sharing of a marital bed with the cuckolded spouse, and the gruesome aftermath of what appeared to be a run-of-the-mill quarrel. Don’t venture into this one with a full stomach unless you’re looking to lose a few pounds. Readers should weigh that snippet of advice for all of May’s stories but also savor what’s particularly unique about this collection against the backdrop of its extreme horror label. Rather than tie up his gruesome dioramas in a tidy manner, Robinson sometimes leaves the resolution, the real horror, up to the reader’s imagination. In a genre routinely soaked with in-your-face carnage, this pushes May up to the top with the cream.
On its surface, Nikolas P. Robinson’s newest release presents itself as traditional splatter-gore fare, but upon closer inspection, May Cause Unexplained Ocular Bleeding explores existential truth on a level rarely attempted by extreme horror writers. I first encountered Robinson’s work when the poet and dark fiction author presented at Killer Con in Austin this year (airing remotely), and his charisma and collection intrigue immediately caught my attention.
May is a short read, only ten stories in length, and easily may be finished in one sitting, but I would encourage readers to take their time and digest it in chunks. There isn’t a weak entry in the decade, but the stand-outs for me run the gamut in theme and gore level. In the opening tale, “Drive Me Home,” Tavor’s tree-trimming implements for his job at a landscaping business come in handy when, intoxicated with his best girl passed out beside him, he hits a pedestrian with his car. “Though the glow from his single, functioning headlight isn’t great, he can see the dark, muddied dirt surrounding the body before he’s all the way there. Far from sober, his thoughts are still swimming, and he thinks for a second that maybe the person he hit has pissed themselves before a second internal voice tells him that it’s blood. There’s so much of it, soaking into the dry earth of the road like it’s a vampire thirsting for nourishment.” But things are not what they seem, and one misstep domino-effects Tavor on a destiny for which he has not adequately prepared.
“It’s Fine…Everything is Fine” reminded me initially of a disturbing news account I caught years ago of a naked man who, hopped up on bath salts, began biting and—literally—eating strangers like a mindless zombie in downtown Miami. Here, Robinson places the catalyst for his tale’s terror in a seemingly innocuous traffic accident. Soon after, “Hands began slapping against glass, fists pounding rhythmically into the surface…They both managed to find a moment to be grateful they’d lucked into a bank rather than something less likely to be fortified as the barrage of flesh against glass filled the deserted interior with echoes.” As witnesses watch from the lobby, what began as a fender bender quickly accelerates into a chaotic, full-blown fearfest.
The group’s tentpole entry, “The Journey,” is its most cerebral. It opens with the narrator remarking about a set of mysterious lights in the distance, intermittently visible from his city abode, and the possible power wielded by their source. If he investigates, he will “be able to see first-hand just how credible the tales have been, these rumors and whispers that spread from the places where the lights have previously appeared, these tales of transformation and strange alteration afflicting those who venture too close to curiosity.” Accompanied by a reticent trail guide, the protagonist ventures into the forest in search of answers while simultaneously quitting smoking cold turkey. Robinson marks the passage of time using a series of nicotine withdrawal benchmarks interspaced with scenes of unnerving adventure into surrealist dehumanization horror on par with William S. Burroughs’ Naked Lunch: “I came to see what it could change in me, never imagining how drastic these alterations would be. I wanted to experience something new, something truly novel. I never anticipated that I would shed my humanity in the process.”
Fans of Robinson likely will be familiar with “Horseplay,” which made its initial debut on the Godless digital platform. In the story, the closet door in the backroom of underground pornography is kicked wide open when a post-production video editor hired to clean up fetish films for distribution views a particularly unconventional sex tape featuring a cornucopia of kink that most viewers would say not only breaks the moral compass, it smashes it to bits. “I’m not sure how the tape found its way to my seller. It could be that someone else involved in the intended bestiality production had cleaned up the mess and shipped the tape off as if nothing was out of the ordinary. There’s still money to be made, after all.” If you have any qualms about content that pushes boundaries, “Horseplay” is not for you, but in it, the author skillfully builds a series of unbridled disturbing tableaus into a sly social commentary on just who should share the guilt when individuals are victimized for the sake of entertainment.
“Wake Up,” one of the shorter entries in the collection, is nonetheless powerful in its portrayal of an unfaithful partner, an uncomfortable sharing of a marital bed with the cuckolded spouse, and the gruesome aftermath of what appeared to be a run-of-the-mill quarrel. Don’t venture into this one with a full stomach unless you’re looking to lose a few pounds. Readers should weigh that snippet of advice for all of May’s stories but also savor what’s particularly unique about this collection against the backdrop of its extreme horror label. Rather than tie up his gruesome dioramas in a tidy manner, Robinson sometimes leaves the resolution, the real horror, up to the reader’s imagination. In a genre routinely soaked with in-your-face carnage, this pushes May up to the top with the cream.
February 9, 2022
Ten short stories for lovers of extreme horror. This is the first book I have read from this author and it's good reading.
February 10, 2022
This book had me questioning it for a second there. It lures you know with a false sense that Nikolas P. Robinson is playing it safe. Wasn’t sure what classification it fell under. Then the story named “The Worms” hits and this baby plows head first into a whole new realm that shuns labels. This is a mixed bag. One that most people will pick through, only eating the M&M’s. But this collection needs to be digested by the fistful. You can’t judge it on one tale alone. You have to look at it after it’s all settled in your tum-tum. Did my eyes bleed? No. For that reason alone I demand compensation!!! Although “Horseplay” did make me puke till there was nothing left but blood. I may have an ulcer.
December 17, 2022
I very much enjoyed this collection of short stories. Very brutal and disturbing. Mr. Robinson is very good at subverting and leaving you hanging on his last words of each story. I got chills several times through each story. The last story in the book rattled me in so many ways I needed to read it again . This is a perfect book to take on a short trip or as an escape on a day off work. Just be sure to you use the bathroom first.
July 8, 2022
Short and sweet but I loved it! One of the more extreme-ish anthologies I have read, but not too much for us horror fans! Very cool!
October 13, 2022
A collection of some amazing little short horrors, some funny, some bizarro and some darkly horrific
Drive me Home - A warning against driving whilst drunk, the ending is heart-stopping and I doubt I'll ever forget it 5/5
Hell is For Rabbits - When a pet accidently spill blood on a summoning site it becomes the doorway to some very strange events. There's some very odd stuff in this one, what happens to the neighbours is something else 4/5
It's Fine… Everything is Fine - A zombie apocalypse with a partner who doesn't respect your opinion, this one was both funny and depressing at the same time 5/5
Midnight Massacre - After watching a horror movie at a drive in theatre how would you cope with encountering something as evil in real life 4/5
The Journey - A expedition to see some strange lights turns into a Lovecraftian horror, it must be the worst time to try to quit smoking 4/5
The Right Tool for the Job - How far would you go to help one of your neighbours with someone annoying? This was a very dark, but very fun little story 5/5
The Worms - Dan thinks he has Worms in his brain, drinking and fighting are the only way to stop them. Some pretty nasty violence here 5/5
Wake Up - How do you know what is really happening when you wake up in the dark? I'm not sure how you write something this terrifying in 4 pages 5/5
Horseplay - A collector finds an interesting video cassette. All of the trigger warnings for this one 4/5
Troglodyte - A man suffering with PTSD decides to build a new home under his parents house, the end of this is heart breaking. I loved this, one of the best short stories I've ever read. 5/5
I will be searching out more by Nikolas P. Robinson having read these stories
Drive me Home - A warning against driving whilst drunk, the ending is heart-stopping and I doubt I'll ever forget it 5/5
Hell is For Rabbits - When a pet accidently spill blood on a summoning site it becomes the doorway to some very strange events. There's some very odd stuff in this one, what happens to the neighbours is something else 4/5
It's Fine… Everything is Fine - A zombie apocalypse with a partner who doesn't respect your opinion, this one was both funny and depressing at the same time 5/5
Midnight Massacre - After watching a horror movie at a drive in theatre how would you cope with encountering something as evil in real life 4/5
The Journey - A expedition to see some strange lights turns into a Lovecraftian horror, it must be the worst time to try to quit smoking 4/5
The Right Tool for the Job - How far would you go to help one of your neighbours with someone annoying? This was a very dark, but very fun little story 5/5
The Worms - Dan thinks he has Worms in his brain, drinking and fighting are the only way to stop them. Some pretty nasty violence here 5/5
Wake Up - How do you know what is really happening when you wake up in the dark? I'm not sure how you write something this terrifying in 4 pages 5/5
Horseplay - A collector finds an interesting video cassette. All of the trigger warnings for this one 4/5
Troglodyte - A man suffering with PTSD decides to build a new home under his parents house, the end of this is heart breaking. I loved this, one of the best short stories I've ever read. 5/5
I will be searching out more by Nikolas P. Robinson having read these stories
January 10, 2023
An interesting but uneven collection of horror shorts. The first two are probably the best. Drive Me Home which delivers a chilling reminder about not driving/murdering under the influence. Hell Is For Rabbits is a darkly funny jaunt into the dangers of mixing Satanism and household pets. The rest varied from a little odd but interesting to one or two (Midnight Massacre) which seemed like left-over creative writing assignments. Overall a decent, entertaining collection.
September 18, 2021
Perfectly creepy and sometimes scary
March 25, 2023
Loved this book of short stories!
These stories packed a serious punch. I loved them! They are all so different and expertly put together. It leaves you wondering wtf you just read, as you hurry to start the next story. Seriously amazing!
These stories packed a serious punch. I loved them! They are all so different and expertly put together. It leaves you wondering wtf you just read, as you hurry to start the next story. Seriously amazing!
September 22, 2022
This volume has something for all horror lovers: body horror, psychological horror, cosmic horror, and bizarre horror. The stories are well-crafted and always leave some room for the reader’s imagination to fill in some of the disturbing details. They’re unsettling through what they reveal as well as through what they keep hidden. My favorites were “The Journey,” “The Right Tool for the Job,” “The Worms,” and “Troglodyte.” All stories are rich in suggestive imagery, and, at times, like in the case of “Worms,” the reader is left wanting more. “Troglodyte” is built around a gem of an idea that reminded me of Joe Hill’s short story “The Cape.” In my view, when a story is powered by such a beautiful metaphor or image, the best the author can do is not mess up its mystery by trying to explain too much. Nikolas Robinson does just that, he’s able to weave a tale that has a personal undertone without crushing the mystery at its core. Highly recommended!
January 15, 2025
I understand a compendium of short stories with the main theme of nihilism won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I went in with the understanding that everyone may view nihilism a bit differently. But for the last 2 short stories, it was just rotten. I'm glad I saw the last two, but I'm not sure it was worth the time spent on the first 8.
February 12, 2025
I feel like I'm missing something here with all the 5 star reviews.
I found this tedious. The 2 stars are for the one story that actually managed to shock me a little. (The horse one).
I found this tedious. The 2 stars are for the one story that actually managed to shock me a little. (The horse one).
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews