Selfie

by Mae MacCallum

Becoming internet famous is easy, keeping your soul is murder.

Cala would do anything for social media. Including submitting a selfie to a creepy website in exchange for everything she’s ever wanted.

The website asks users to submit a selfie in exchange for everlasting youth and beauty. Cala’s best friend, Mari, tells Cala that submitting a selfie is the only way she’ll ever get her account noticed on social media. Cala has reservations but submits a selfie to the website. After she does, her posts go viral, her follower count skyrockets, she makes new friends online, and she is now a famous influencer.

But nothing lasts forever, and everything has its price. After hosting a giveaway that ends in tragedy, Cala soon discovers how terrifying social media can be after you’ve lost your soul

Genres: Horror

208 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 1, 2023

About the author

Mae MacCallum lives in a rural part of New England with her family. Mae is terrified of invasive technology and people on the internet. When not writing about the things that scare her, you can find her in her house looking out the windows at the trees and glaring at any neighbors that happen to walk by.

Reviews

[Rae Vidal]

No rating because I DNF’d at 11%. I could not STAND the main character or her friend. They were incredibly annoying and I just couldn’t push myself to pick it back up.

[Ashley Greathouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A psychological tale about two friends seeking internet fame, what could go wrong?

This story starts off with the main character, Cala, uncertain what it is she truly wants out of life.
Her best friend Mari seems to make everything looks easy - making friends, socializing, she's a natural charmer.
That's how Cala wants to be.

So, taking her best friend's advice, she submits her selfie on a sketchy and morbid website promising that users will find the success they seek.

For a while, things seem to be going great.
Both friends are finding online success and Cala really seems to be becoming everything she wanted to be.
The only problem, Cala didn't realize what that meant, not fully...

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. It's like a modern Dorian Gray but so much more confusing. And what does that ending mean? It just doesn't make sense to me. A lot of things don't make sense to me. The things that happened are scary, yes, but they just don't tie up well.

[Cozy Ginger · Rating 3 out of 5]

A modern day Dorian Gray experience! This light horror infuses todays technology and vices as the kick off point to the story. MacCallum has a knack for the honesty behind the rush of positive feedback from social media posting and the value placed upon it. The story is riddled with anxiety and the innocence that can start a downfall. I was pleasantly surprised with the edges of eco-horror brushing against this story as well as demonic entities and body horror. I found them to be perfect for a light horror read or someone that doesn’t enjoy gory stories but still wants something shocking. Cala is extremely relatable and I enjoyed how she slowly became warped as the story progressed. The book is a mirror reflecting back on ourselves whether we like to admit it or not, we all enjoy praise and this praise for Cala has a cost.