Status Updates From D.O.A. II

LINGER By Daniel I Russell-Harry tries to sell telephone plans ove the phone in his cubicle. Co-worker Dave is friendly but cautions Harry not to take a girl too seriously.Harry has schizophrenia in his genes, and exhibits persistent olfactory hallucinations which begin to focus on the casual date Susan. He can't escape her smell, entertains killing her. Predictable outcome. Rated a weak 3 Stars.

GIVE ME SOMETHING GOOD TO EAT By Shane McKenzie-Spooky Halloween tale about a small town whose adult population lived with a frightening fear and their very lives dependent upon all citizens towing the line. All children in the town were to be restrained securely and in lock step precision. Compliance was signalled by a lit pumpkin, but one night...the curb in front of a house was dark. Hell reigned.Very good.5 Stars

GAME OF GOLF By Gregory L. Norris-A truly bloody, gory, violent, and brutal mass murder of 29 adults on the green of a well appointed golf course. The authorities eventually arrived at the horrific scene. The ending was an example of perfect irony. Really pretty good. 4 Stars.

THE PROUD MOTHER By Ken MacGregor- A terrifying Victorian tale of madness and the unexplained. Certainly an original spin off of virtuous girl meets handsome man and they get married, have great sex on the wedding night. It is all perfect and erotic until fear followed by terror come out to play. Genuinely creepy and rated a solid 4 Stars. I'm starting to think male genitalia is on an endangered organ list.

THE PUBIC HAIR TUMBLEWEED By Joshua Dobson-Well, this story reads like a disgusting futuristic nightmare. The "Tumbleweed" central to the story and the guy delegated to sweep the laundromat floor encounter each other and it was kind of amusing in a sick way. Rated 3 Stars.

FAT BOY By Kelly M. Hudson- This revolting story of a morbidly obese young misfit named Tommy was gross, gory and as extreme and psychotic as a tale of sick, sated revenge can get. Original, shocking, locked and loaded with terror. Parental abuse through enabling, verbal abuse with relentless bullying and demoralizing at school. Rated 5 Stars for originality,writing, and unapologetic brutal bloody payback.

STD By David Bernstein-Brian awakens the morning after sexual escapades with a flight attendant he just met named Jackie. He has the need to empty his bladder and that was the beginning of his waking nightmare. I was snagged like a largemouth bass on a moss covered pond by a master angler. The author kept me intrigued and the "kill shot" was a complete surprise, both satisfying and imaginative. Liked it. 4 Stars.

DR. SCABS AND THE HAGS OF EL CAJON By Robert Essig-Lindsey's desire for a drink was stronger than the uneasiness triggered by the looks and feel of the disreputable looking bar she was passing. A man followed her onto the dark streets after she had left after that drink. You'd think he was the source of Lindsey's horrific fate just around the corner. Nope. Essig is hit or miss with me. This was a miss. Rated 2 Stars.

EVERY DROP OF BLOOD HAS A SOUL-A Tale Of Faust By David Quinn.
Presented as a glimpse of the professional relationship between a psychotic mass murderer and a female consulting psychiatrist at infamous Bellevue. The story is very brief and laden with symbolism. It seemed to me to take a page out of Nietzsche and his cautionary advice about the abyss. Rated 3 Stars.

UNDER THE PRETEXT OF PROPENSITY By Anton Cancre-Well written spin-off of the age old male dilemna of sexually desiring every attractive female he sees, including those who are unobtainable or forbidden fruit. In this case a Step Daughter. Jordan gives in to his male "propensity" but to his detriment. I did not feel that it was original. Rated 3.5 Stars.

BURN THE WITCHES -K. Trap Jones. This was a well written tale about a town in Georgia's first annual witch hunt. The narrator puts a bit of the problems that first year on their populace of "inbred hillbillies incapable of individual thought". This was a short story of horror intended to be amusing and with witty writing. May have succeeded with some readers but just did not resonate with me. Rated a generous 3 Stars

"Threads" By CALIE VOORHIS is about an outcast in Jr. High named Stephanie. She idolizes Corina, a Spanish beauty. School is otherwise Hell. Multicolored threads are emerging from her skin which crawl like fast moving worm sized venomous vipers. The creatures are weaponized. One day while wearing Corina's sweat as cologne the goddess befriends her. God is good. But there are complications. Body Horror? 3 Stars.

SEXY By WRATH JAMES WHITE-I love the works of WJW thus it was no surprise that I found this horror tale to be original, erotic, and replete with aberent sex and gore galore. A handsome well built and successful guy who has been sexually inhibited meets a girl from school who was mocked for obesity. Katrina is not that girl anymore. She takes him on her Harley for the adventure of his life. Rated 5 Stars.

ONE FLESH: A CAUTIONARY TALE By Robert Devereaux-Difficult to describe because preposterous and disorienting. Reincarnation madness off the chart,in all directions.Nonsensical would be high praise. Low point in this Extreme Horror Anthology. Rated 1 Star.

BORDERTOWN By Laura J. Campbell-A young MD Renal Specialist with heavy debt and no social ties takes a lucrative job offer from a colleague.She is brutally raped the day she gets off the bus.Gets under your skin,you feel like the temperature has dropped in the room.A different kind of horror awaits in the town of Drew. 5*

A SCALENE LOVE TRIANGLE By Kerry G.S. Lipp is a creative retelling of an old story. His incisive,crisp writing style makes an artistic, imaginative, twisted,and certainly chilling tale of betrayal and consequences. 5 Stars.

"Home" by the legendary Gonzalez was well, surprising.A father sends his preteen daughter out in the barren wasteland of a city devastated by depression. Her mother is dying from cancer and needs medication. Dad instructs her to panhandle and bring some cash home so they can eat, have heat. The opening was powerfully bleak and her task seemed hopeless. But nothing is ever as it seems is it? Writing,plot to shelf. 5*

"Anointed" by D. Lynne Smith was not my cup of tea. The story featured a Plumber and his Apprentice (son). The boy truly enjoyed unclogging drains. The trouble ensued when the motley duo answered a call to a large church. Yes it has a religious theme that the author attempts to use light hearted banter to tell with a jocular note or two.. It fell flat and Rated 2 Stars for not hitting any chords with me.

"Finger Cuffs" by Matt Kurtz is about a predator who becomes prey. This short story may be among the top extreme horror short stories I have read all this year so far. It is great! I will tell you how outstanding I thought it was, I found out who this accomplished guy is and I bought three titles of his right off the bat and hit "Follow". Edge of your seat brutal, original plot for an age old story. 5 Stars!!!

"REAL DINO SHIT" By Wol-vriey is the story of how three neighbors in an apartment complex happen to find themselves in a battle for their lives with a dinosaur. During a zombie apocalypse. The Nigerian horror author enjoys bizarro horror.Do you think? This tale was published in 2013. The short story was marginally amusing. Rated 3 Stars.

"Scream and I'll Come for You" is an end of times tale from the creative mind of Raymond Little (most popular work "D.O.A. II"). End of the world stories are typically not my thing, but this contribution from Little was special. One, the fatal malady that removes each person from the great checkerboard of life is original and downright chilling. The end was perfect because of the infused irony into the story. 5 Stars

I read a work of short fiction published in 1996 "If Memory Serves" by the great Jack Ketchum. An honest but professionally ambitious psychiatrist treats a 38 year old women with recently diagnosed MPD. Gradually the root of what happened to her from age 5 to 16 is revealed. Ketchum at his horrifying best. What happens when science opens Pandora's Box of hellish truths that the Devil wants burried?

I read the first story last night, a 5-Star contribution by Kristopher Triana entitled "The Devouring" originally published in 2013. It was not unsurprisingly original, a tale of two collectors who fancied collecting, watching, and animatedly discussing infamous horror porn on DVD. The young couple predictably fell in love when they discovered their individual sex fetishes miraculously dovetailed. Horror by a master.