Local Haunts

by Kara Lais, Ray Nadine (Contributor)

Genres: Horror

121 pages, Perfect Paperback

First published October 1, 2019

Reviews

[Bonnie Morse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe my expectations are just too high, but I've backed at least a dozen graphic novels/comics on Kickstarter this year, and some of them have been really disappointing. But none were quite the let-down Local Haunts turned out to be. Some of the stories were based on actual small-town urban legends and some were pure fiction that the authors clearly spent a lot of time on. But with the exception of three or four pieces, they all read like the set-up to a story. It's pretty much just getting a 2-4 page scene-setting introduction followed by THE END. I was repeatedly reminded by Jennifer Aniston's line in the wildly underrated film The Good Girl: It was like a story of what a story would be about.

The longest stories are 5 pages and even then all but two or three feel woefully incomplete, and those ended up being the most disappointing. With the exception of the one set in the square in Savannah GA, they pretty much all left me either wondering what the point was, or getting the point and just feeling like it didn't matter.

Possibly the most frustrating example is the story There is a Bridge, to which I paid special attention because it's set in a place I've been and still have family. But although I kept going back and rereading it, I couldn't quite make it click. What's the big deal with the bridge "swallowing people's pain" if they end up over the side anyway? Why not jump off a bridge without being tortured by a demon first?

I gave it two stars for the two stories that were satisfying, and because a lot of the art was exceptional, whether the writing held up its end or not. But I'm going to be a lot pickier about what I back from now on. This has just happened too many times.

[Lani Gunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars for the Spooky Arts