VS: US vs. UK Horror

LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!

A BATTLE ROYALE OF US AND UK
INDIE HORROR HEAVYWEIGHTS!

Who writes the best horror: the US or the UK?

Find out for yourself in VS: US vs UK, a competition anthology featuring some of the year’s best horror, judged by horror enthusiasts and us: the readers. DON’T FORGET TO CAST YOUR VOTE!

 

The Contenders…

Duncan Ralston vs Rich Hawkins 
James Ward Kirk vs Kit Power
Glenn Rolfe vs Lex H. Jones
Tim Miller vs Daniel I. Russel
John Ledger vs Jim Goforth
Essel Pratt vs Daniel Marc Chant
Thomas S. Flowers vs Kyle M. Scott
Jonathan Ondrashek vs David Owain Hughes
T.S. Woolard vs Toneye Eyenot
Michael Noe vs Dani Brown
Sisters of Slaughter vs Matt Hickman
Salome Jones vs Kitty Kane
Peter Oliver Wonder vs Kevin J Kennedy

This was so much fun to read!
And – you could feel that everyone was having fun while putting this book together, that shines through.
As for the winners… I tended to agree with the other judges, for the most part –  I’m not going to say which stories, or authors that I voted for – you should read this collection, and make up your own mind!

Peace, Love & Necrophilia ♥
 ~ sg

All proceeds from the purchase of this book will be donated to the Second Chance Center for Animals (US) and the West Wales Poundies Dog Rescue (UK) charities.

 

 

I IS FOR ICE by Iain Rob Wright

I is for Ice by Iain Rob Wright
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

That wasn’t any act of God. That was an act of pure human fuckery.”
~ Stephen King
The Final Flu has brought the world to it’s knees, and one doctor remains in the Mettulus Institute for Advanced Science to work on a cure. Doctor Faraday.
It is the year 2056 when Peter is awoken after years of cryo-sleep by the good doctor Faraday, and he soon comes to realize that the HBsAG11 virus isn’t the most dangerous thing in the lab with him.

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THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED – A Screenplay by Jerry Lewis

The Day The Clown Cried by Jerry Lewis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I didn’t know anything about The Day The Clown Cried until I read an article on IndieWire earlier today.

One of the most notorious, unreleased films ever made, Jerry Lewis’ Holocaust drama “The Day The Clown Cried” has long been the subject of rumor and speculation.

Intrigued, I searched out articles discussing the film, and why it was never released. I ran across a recording of Patton Oswalt describing how he had gotten a hold of the original script, trimmed it just a bit, and acted it out on stage in front of a very select audience. The show lasted for about three days before he was hit with a cease and desist order.
You know that just made me want to find it even more. (Have we met? I’m serious about my obsessions.)
Yay! for Google – I found the script online, and was going to skim through it – just to get a better idea of the story.
That was about two hours ago. I’ve read every word, and my heart is breaking.
I hope I don’t offend too many people by saying I can’t wait to never see this film. I cannot imagine seeing this story told with the exaggerated gags, and over the top… ‘clowning’ that it’s rumored to have. (Except when he is performing for the kids – that’s awesome.)
We’ll see how I feel in about watching it in ten years, because there is no chance of it being shown before then.

The LA Times reveals that the Library Of Congress has just received a collection of Lewis’ work from the man himself, including “The Day The Clown Cried.” But there’s one caveat: Lewis made the Library agree not to screen the movie for ten years.

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MIDNIGHT SNACK by Terry M. West

Midnight Snack by Terry M. West
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Due to a nasty wreck on the interstate, Calvin decided to get off on an unfamiliar exit and take a long-cut home. His stomach was reminding him that it was past dinner time, and he wasn’t looking forward to his plate of leftovers that his wife had waiting for him. His mind was wandering while he was traveling down the lonely road, and he didn’t take notice of how long he’d been driving, or how desolate the area was.
Not only was Calvin lost, but he got lost in a dead zone, no cellular signal, no gps, and a minimal radio signal. He encounters another stranded traveler on the side of the road, and things just keep feeling stranger to Calvin. When they hit the drive-thru of the only restaurant on their lost highway, things go from strange to about an 11 on the wierd-shit-o-meter.

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MIDNIGHT SNACK on Amazon

MORSEL by Terry M. West

Morsel by Terry M. West
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fetish and dark fantasy are the key to making the unhappy man happy.
He needs to be in control, and the hooker that he calls to his hotel room was more than happy to play along, until she accidentally defended herself a bit too aggressively.
The unhappy man’s appetite is satiated, and he is the happy man. For now. But the desire to have another morsel will come back all too soon.

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Terry M. West
Morsel

THE GIVING OF THINGS COLD & CURSED by Terry M. West

The Giving of Things Cold & Cursed by Terry M. West
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Johnson’s are keepers of cursed objects. Baker and his uncle are like Sam & Dean Winchester, hunting down these rare pieces to keep the world safe from evil.
After his uncles death he arrives at the deceased’s apartment; what he finds when he gets there chills him to the core.
The Giving of Things Cold & Cursed is the most recent short story that I’ve read by Terry M. West, and they all have managed to turn the creep-o-meter up to an eleven so far.

See more of my reviews, visit Terry on his site, and on Amazon!

GRISTLE & BONE by Duncan Ralston

Gristle & Bone ~ 7 Delectable Tales of Terror from Duncan Ralston

When successful restaurant owners Jim and Leanne Taymor confess to a grisly series of small town murders, their neighbor learns the gruesome truth that led them to kill. A young couple discovers the secret of a tourist town’s prosperity may lie in its sinfully delicious cuisine. Gonzo pornographers learn a brutal lesson following a tragedy they caused when life imitated “art.” Disgraced soldier Dean Vogel returns to his hometown and confronts the bullies, and a traumatic event, from his past. A reporter uncovers what really happened to the latest internet sensation, a troubled girl who disappeared on camera.

Gristle & Bone includes the novella, Scavengers, 4 novelettes, and 2 short stories.

Cannibalism, monsters, vengeful spirits, the apocalypse–chock-full of blood, mayhem, psychological horror, and good old fashioned gross-outs, Gristle & Bone is a tasty treat for horror fans!

LIFE DOESN’T ALWAYS HAVE A HAPPY ENDING

I cannot praise this book highly enough.
Each short story pulled me into Duncan Ralston’s world a little bit further, and his world is a scary place to be. Not in the gross out and gory way that I’m usually going on about, but on a psychological level that is terrifying.
BABY TEETH:
Candace and Joel McMurray have fallen into a joyless routine, living more like a brother and sister than husband and wife. The doctor informed the couple that they would never be able to have a baby. He literally called Candace ‘barren’, and said that it was most likely caused by years of taking childhood antidepressants. Not caring how callous she sounded, Candace said that she wanted her own children – not someone else’s.
As determined as she was to not let the news affect their sex life, the depression and despair wouldn’t stay outside of the bedroom. They crept in when she wasn’t paying attention, and within a month even Joel stopped trying to initiate sex. They developed individual hobbies to keep them occupied. Candice started scrapbooking, and Joel started masturbating. Little did they know that by summertime, they’d be hearing the pitter-patter of little feet in their home.

FAT OF THE LAND:
June hated the temper tantrums that that her husband threw. When one of her girlfriends asked her if she and her husband ever wanted to have kids, she was only partially joking when she replied with “I’ve already got one kid to worry about, thanks”. They’re multi-tasking a vacation this weekend – attending the wedding/union of their friends Max & Darrin, June’s photo shoot to help scout locations for an upcoming movie, and the annual 4th of July party held in a multi-million dollar mansion in the same town. Today’s tantrum was brought on when David couldn’t find the letter inviting them to the ultra-exclusive Independence Day party.
June was only trying to calm her husband down and pacify him by saying that perhaps the maid had mistaken the letter for trash, and accidently threw it away. David jumped on the opportunity to place the blame on anyone other than on himself, and promptly complained to the front desk. Again, trying to keep any semblance of peace, June jumped in when the clerk asked how the hotel could make up for the negligence of one of their employees. She asked the clerk if she could recommend a restaurant – the couple referred to themselves as Foodies, and were always on the lookout for something special – a diamond in the rough.
Whatever the reason – the staff at the Seaside Inn directed the couple to Ambrosia. The smells and the atmosphere pulled them in immediately, and they fell into a kind of trance while listening to the Chef prepare their meals – only coming back to their senses when they were back in their car and David was vomiting up his spleen.
Something had come over them while they were in that restaurant, and when June returned to Ambrosia unannounced the next day – the nightmare truely began.

BEWARE OF DOG:
Dean Vogel returned to his hometown after being dishonorably discharged from the armed forces.
He has been placed in the care of his aging parents, and is about to start his court ordered therapy. Therapy that he had no intention of finishing. By his fourth session, Dean was on the verge of a major breakthrough.
With help from Dr. Baswell, the skeletons that have been hiding away in Dean’s subconscious have started moving again – and they were ready to come out once and for all. Dean is about to remember the truth behind the incident from his childhood, and the truth doesn’t always set you free.

//END USER:
Mason Adler is a paranoid man, he can be summed up pretty neatly by the t-shirts that read “Just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get me”. The relationship that develops between Mason and Jenna, (his CPU), started out like the relationship that Joaquin Phoenix had with Scarlett Johansson in the movie HER, but it took a left turn at Albuquerque – and things got really messed up from there!

VIRAL:
If forced to choose a favorite from Gristle & Bone, VIRAL would be it. It centers around a fourteen year old girl, and a video that was uploaded on YouTube moments before she disappeared.
Daria Walker’s story isn’t a new one, she is picked on at school, and feels invisible in her home. She started cutting when she was twelve, and she used it as a way to deal with her depression. It was never about wanting attention, or crying out for help or sympathy. What sets Daria’s video apart from others like it, is the same thing that caught the attention of reporter Tara Maxwell – the teenager didn’t just end up missing, she literally disappeared – right in front of the camera.
Most of the people who have seen the video call it a hoax. But, Tara sees something else. She can see the pain in Daria’s eyes, and can hear the desperation in her voice. She sees herself at that age, and that is what is pulling her into the story. Tara knows what it is like to feel invisible at home, and wish to become invisible at school. She knows each and every one of those feels. That is what is driving Tara to find out exactly what happened to Daria.
If she can help Daria, will she be able to save herself in the process?
ARTIFACT (#37):

ILEGITIMI NON CARBORUNDUM
This SS has the feel of a Girls Gone Wild video, with a little bit of Boogie Nights sprinkled on top. Throw in a vengeful spirit, and let the fun begin!!  It’s hard to talk about each story individually when they’re all so damn good!

SCAVENGERS:
I started this story, and fell into a Grant Mazzy trance…

 Grant Mazzy: Mrs. French’s cat is missing. The signs are posted all over town. “Have you seen Honey?” We’ve all seen the posters, but nobody has seen Honey the cat. Nobody. Until last Thursday morning, when Miss Colette Piscine swerved her car to miss Honey the cat as she drove across a bridge. Well this bridge, now slightly damaged, is a bit of a local treasure and even has its own fancy name; Pont de Flaque. Now Collette, that sounds like Culotte. That’s Panty in French. And Piscine means Pool. Panty pool. Flaque also means pool in French, so Colete Piscine, in French Panty Pool, drives over the Pont de Flaque, the Pont de Pool if you will, to avoid hitting Mrs. French’s cat that has been missing in Pontypool. Pontypool. Pontypool. Panty pool. Pont de Flaque. What does it mean? Well, Norman Mailer, he had an interesting theory that he used to explain the strange coincidences in the aftermath of the JFK assasination. In the wake of huge events, after them and before them, physical details they spasm for a moment; they sort of unlock and when they come back into focus they suddenly coincide in a weird way. Street names and birthdates and middle names, all kind of superfluous things appear related to eachother. It’s a ripple effect. So, what does it mean? Well… it means something’s going to happen. Something big. But then, something’s always about to happen.

But this isn’t Pontypool, and these Scavengers are more the LURKER type.
(If you don’t know Pontypool – yes, this is a huge compliment)

http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=stories+horror%2CB00L3ETNLE

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=stories+horror%2CB00L3ETNLE

http://duncanralston.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7509031.Duncan_Ralston

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PORTRAIT OF A PSYCHOPATH AS A YOUNG WOMAN by Ed Lee & Elisabeth Steffen

Portrait of the Psychopath as a Young Woman by Edward Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think this one started a little slow for me.
I started reading it two different times before now, and set it down – accidentally forgetting about it.
Ok, maybe that’s not quite right. It didn’t start slow, necessarily. It didn’t start off as Ed Lee. When you’re in the mood for depravity, Lee usually just throws you in head-first – no chance to buckle up. Portrait of the Psychopath as a Young Woman didn’t do that, it eased you in.
I started over again yesterday, just finished it, and WOW! As a whole – Holy Shit!! When my brain started firing and putting things together, I wished I could read faster.
The depravity is there, buckets full of it! Mixed with gore, and painfully uncomfortable scenes of torture. It’s all surrounded by a story that is as uncomfortable as the torture scenes!
A woman who could be described as a modern day, more feminist (I hate the term, but, roll with me here), version of Dear Abby, is contacted by a killer – a woman who describes her sessions in chilling detail, and adds a little ‘proof’ that she’s not a phony. The detective on the case fucks with her relentlessly, and the wishy-washy love interest tries to be dominant, but someone from her past is the most dominating man in her head.
I’m very impressed with the story now, and I plan to look up Lee’s co-author, Elisabeth Steffen.

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BuzzFeed-Books: The Great Debate!

The Great E-Books Vs. Print Debate
On which side do you stand in the Battle of the Books?
Six BuzzFeed employees engage in a vicious debate to decide which books are better, printed or electric.
Moderated by Nathan Pyle

Originally posted on BuzzFeed Books – click HERE to see the vicious debate between six BuzzFeed employees.
Then, come back here so we can have our own debate!
I’m curious to hear everyone’s thoughts on this.

Since we have to choose a side, (for this discussion only), once you choose, don’t hesitate to share why you love them both!

I love the smell of literature in the morning…

I use my e-dictionary & highlighting options DAILY.

Personally, for the ME I am right now, I have to argue on the side of e-books. Don’t think that I don’t love everything about a printed book – the feel, the smell, the pride of looking at your collection…::sigh:: I’ll try for three Pro/Con points –
$ £ One of my arguments for e-books is COST.
I’M BROKE. Not just the regular “If I eat Top Ramen twice a day, then I can justify buying the new Laurell K. Hamilton hardcover this week,” broke. No. I’m at the – “If I don’t want to die, I can eat Top Ramen twice a day, and still afford to drink something other than water,” kind of broke. Having an e-reader allows me an escape from this one room slice of paradise located in the seventh circle of Hell, (take a left at Albuquerque, exit just past Xibilba). Without reading, I’d die.
☼ ☀ READING IN BED has many perks –
I can use ‘night mode’, (black screen w/white lettering), and read all night without the light disturbing my husband. Having to get out of bed to turn off the light, right at the perfect moment to close my eyes & drift off), isn’t a ‘thing’ anymore. Positional comfort and page turning without uncovering my [covered] ‘warm arm’ are other pros. Let’s not forget the possibility of monsters getting me when I set my feet on the floor to go switch off the light! No longer an issue!
♪♫ Here’s one I’m probably alone on, TTS.
Short of hiring a midget to stand by the headboard and tell you a story, you don’t have a Text To Speech option with a printed book. If you have any device other than a Kindle, the TTS options are pretty awesome these days. I love IVONA, and have two (free) voices for the program. Kendra is my US voice, and Jennifer is my UK voice. I adjusted the pitch and speed for both, and got them to sound really good. HOWEVER… I only have Ivona on my cell. My Kindle still uses the factory voice, but, I got used to it pretty quick. Now, if my eyes are sleepy, I don’t have to stop the story. I listen to books on my way to & from work, and I look forward to my walks! TTS has made a HUGE impact on my life.

I adore my printed books though. (I have 5 next to me right now.) But, for the purposes of this debate – I chose to stand on the side of EVIL.
Now, IT’S YOUR TURN!
Use the social media buttons at the bottom, and share this with your master-debater, book-loving friends!
Make your choice, aannndddd… GO!

I’m Not Sam by Ketchum & McKee

I’m Not Sam by Jack Ketchum

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This has been on my Must Read list for a while.
Now, I’m going to mark it as one that needs to be read again, to give it another chance.

It’s told from the husband’s POV. After a pretty enthusiastic night with his wife, Sam, he wakes up to find her naked, terrified, and not herself. She says her name is Lily, and although she’s speaking from a fully developed woman’s body, Lily is only five years old.

I was immersed in Patrick’s world, and could feel all his emotions in my gut – the early feelings of loss were quickly replaced with pangs of guilty embarrassment when they were in public, to confusion & shame when his body recognized the familiarity of his wife’s form on a child.
I appreciate the reason that the story ends as it does, but I would’ve liked a little bit more… something. It was a little abrupt, and I was left wanting. The additional bit at the end is Sam’s POV. Take the author’s advice – Let some time pass before reading it. (I didn’t.)
I hate the 3/5 rating, so it’s going on the Read Again list.

Visit Jack Ketchum’s International Official Website

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