Most of you who follow my blog know I’m a huge fan of short stories and collections. I’m always on the prowl for more and have I found some good ones!
My Review
This collection has something for everyone. Not all of them are scary. I’d compare them to The Twilight Zone or Tales From the Darkside. More Twisted than horrifying.
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few that’ll make you flinch, and one or two you’ll wish you didn’t read after dark.
I particularly liked Cabin Fever. A shock was what I got when the story revealed itself. Not light reading and the ending left me wondering. Kind of grisly.
Another one that stood out was The Man In The Alley. He could see if a person was bad by looking at their shadow. I wondered what I’d do with that ability.
The Boy Who Saw Spiders is creepy crawly and quite disturbing. I have an irrational fear of spiders. Even the tiny ones make me shudder. I skipped past this one and waited until daytime to read it. Otherwise, I’d be lying in bed thinking about all of those spiders. They say there is one within 6 feet of you no matter where you are. Yuck.
Sick Day was twisted but the husband got my approval. He loved his wife.
My number one favorite was Mr. Ghoul’s Quaint Little Ghost Train. The cover gives you a clue. There was definitely a moral to this story. Something along the lines of ‘lest thee be judged’ or ‘he who casts the first stone.’ Spooky good.
There are 16 stories in all and though I wasn’t crazy about some, that’s the great thing about a collection. You can move on to the next story and find something you enjoy.
The author did a great job of giving you a wide selection of scenarios, and characters you’ll cheer for, shake your head at, and shake your fist at.
4 Stars
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Synopsis
Roll up to the funhouse, a brand new collection of tales from the author of Whisper, Dark Corners & Meat, Michael Bray.
A man who makes an unscheduled stop gets more than he bargained for in ‘CANDYLAND.’
A Group of teens discover a terrible secret on Samsonite farm in ‘SCARECROWS.’
A Schoolyard bully and his former victim reunite with horrifying results in ‘LONG TALL COFFIN.’
A High school party becomes an arachnid nightmare for one unfortunate guest in ‘THE BOY WHO SAW SPIDERS.’
These are just some of the horrors hidden within the darkest recesses of the funhouse. Look closer if you dare, and indulge in these 16 tales of madness, murder, terror and insanity.
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About Michael Bray
Michael Bray is a Horror author based in Leeds, England. Influenced from an early age by the suspense horror of authors such as Stephen King, and the trashy pulp TV shows like Tales From The Crypt & The Twilight Zone, he started to work on his own fiction, and spent many years developing his style. In May 2012, he signed a deal with the highly reputable Dark Hall Press to print and distribute his collection of interlinked short stories titled Dark Corners, which was released in September 2012. His second release was a Novella titled MEAT which was initially self-published before being picked up by J. Ellington Ashton Press. His first full length novel, a supernatural horror titled Whisper was initially self-published, and following great critical acclaim, sold to Horrific Tales publishing where it went on to reach as high as #3 in the amazon paid best sellers list.
Goodreads / Amazon / Twitter / Website
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Thanks for the great support and review today 🙂
You’re very welcome! How could I resist all of this horror!
Looks very creepy to me. LOL
One or two had me thinking of you. In a good way! LOL
Does anyone remember a Point Horror book called Funhouse? It was one of my favourites from childhood.
I like short story collections. We’ll never be crazy about every single one, but there are always some gems.
The title also rang a bell for me. I must have read it but been so long, I can’t remember.
I would have completely skipped the spider story altogether, so you’re much braver than me! Makes me shiver just thinking about it.
It had me remembering that post Sherry did about spiders. The video was so creepy!