Walking with Ghosts

by Brian James Freeman

"Freeman's prose is clean and lovely, painting the canvas of the printed page so unobtrusively yet with such pronounced effect. His writing will leave you both chilled and deeply moved." - William Peter Blatty




Brian James Freeman's first full-length collection features twenty-nine stories that deal with both real and supernatural terrors.




These tales are populated by characters who seek answers to deeply troubling questions. They are haunted by horrors they think are out of their control, but sometimes the source of their greatest fears is closer to home than they ever imagined.




As William Peter Blatty notes in his introduction, "Freeman writes like someone who has seen the darkness lurking within the human heart and is compelled to shine a light on our deepest fears. His writing will leave you both chilled and deeply moved."




Originally published only as a small print run Limited Edition in the UK, this new edition features revised text and updated story notes by the author.

Genres: Horror, Collections, Short Stories

360 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2018

About the author

Brian James Freeman sold his first short story when he was fourteen years old and now writes full-time thanks to the support of his patrons on Patreon. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, three kids, a German Shorthaired Pointer, and an English Pointer. More books are on the way.

Reviews

[Johann (jobis89) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It was still Halloween night, after all, and there were real monsters out there, prowling in the dark.”

A collection of short stories dealing with both real and supernatural terrors.

This was my first time reading any of Freeman’s work and I would definitely pick up more in the future. He seems to be predominantly a short story writer and it’s easy to see why - he has a real flair for telling a story effectively within a limited number of pages. This collection is just over 300 pages long and contains 30 stories, so all the stories are concise and to the point. And wonderfully written.

There’s a lot of diversity and different settings within the short stories, but all seem to be linked by the theme of things that haunt us. Some stories are chilling, some are touching, some have supernatural forces at work, some don’t. A lot of the stories had twists and turns and endings that left me with my jaw hanging open - the first story in particular was excellent!!

My favourite story in the collection was Silent Attic, which is about a girl who’s mother dies in their attic bedroom after a long illness, and it was just so resonating and really hit home with me. Another story was absolutely hilarious (for me anyway!!), it was about a small community who take their Christmas decorations just a tad too seriously...

There’s really just a bit of everything! There were some stories that I didn’t enjoy AS much (which seems to always be the case with short story collections), but they were still impeccably written.

The average score for the short stories was about 3.6, so 3.5 stars seems fair!

[Michele Winter · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion, short stories are so difficult to get right. The writer must balance character development, plot, and a satisfying ending in a limited format. Many I have read leave me wanting more due to an abrupt ending or flat characters. Walking with Ghosts by Brian Freeman is a master class in short story telling. Most of his stories are squarely in the horror genre although I wouldn’t describe any as “scary”. Creepy, suspenseful, surprising are words that come to mind. I’m only 3/4 of the way through, but am so thoroughly enjoying it that I wanted to leave a review encouraging people to read it.

[Mike Limon]

I really enjoyed this book. It is filled with several short stories from Brian James Freeman. Some of which will make you think about each one after you have finished reading them. I also liked the fact that Brian has a section in the back of the book in which he tells the reader how he came to write that story. If you are a short story fan with an interest is scary stories, then this book is for you! I look forward to reading the next book from Brian James Freeman, a truly gifted writer!

[Bean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just finished this up, 29 short stories in all. This is a rather mellow read, nothing too shocking, scary or grotesque about any of the stories. Some stood out more than others, some of the stories would have made excellent novels on their own, had they been given more background and depth. His story about Halloween really resonated with me though. 3 out of 5 stars for me.

[Janelle Janson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this short story collection. I mean, between the gorgeous cover and the blurb from William Peter Blatty - of course I had to pick this one up. The writing is exquisite and I love supernatural stories! This entire collection is a wonderful ghost-y treat! Highly recommended! I’ll be looking out for what Brian J. Freeman publishes next!

[D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of shorts - often melancholy and heart wrenching. Lots of focus of loss and a few fun creepy crawling added in. A couple that made you go "huh?" Upon completion. Overall enjoyable read.

[Marian Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea

Don’t get me wrong, the short stories were great. Well written, interesting, and easy to read but not knowing how the story continues bugs me 😂! I just wanted each of them to go on and on. Otherwise, I did like them very much.

[Joanna Spock Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short story writer. And, an added attraction - really wonderful Story Notes by the author, which doesn't just talk about the writing of the stories, but how his daily life, his family, fit into it all.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these short stories. They all were having me wanting more. Some of course were stronger than others. BJF is a great author.