Grappling with Your Worst Fears: Wrapped in Plastic is a collection of spine-tingling and horrifying stories

 

Wrapped in Plastic and Other Sweet Nothings

By Robert P. Ottone

Journalstone, 2023

ISBN: 978-1-68510-113-8 (trade paper)

978-1-68510-114-5 (ebook)

192 pages

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I am currently on a “short story collection” reading binge, so I was thrilled at the opportunity to review Robert P. Ottone’s latest book, Wrapped in Plastic and Other Sweet Nothings, a wickedly good collection of horror stories. These stories were just so damn amazing! And there’s a werewolf story, too! What a treat!

 

I am a big fan of the Sleepy Hollow story – heck, anything Sleepy Hollow – so I was greatly interested in reading THAT particular story. And it was so good. A nice twist on an old tale. I loved it!

 

“The Girl in the Floor” was a bizarre kind of spooky story. I mean, you try to understand HOW this can happen – but sometimes with horror, there is no “how.” Sometimes with horror, things happen that we cannot and often should not understand (and, yes, some things should NOT be known or understood). The thing about horror, though, is that, unlike with other genres, it is allowed to go beyond the bounds of reality and stretch our sense of belief. Sure, there’s no possible way that something can happen, but it does. It did. And we don’t know how or why.

 

Horror takes us to the darkest depths of reality and to places that we never knew existed or could exist. There are no laws of physics in horror – only a very strong sense of disbelief. And that’s exactly what happens with the story “The Girl in the Floor.” We try to figure it out—hell, the characters wrack their brains trying to figure it out—but sometimes, we just can’t. The unbelievable, the unthinkable, just happens whether we get it or not. That’s not lazy writing; it’s horror.

 

Although I must say, that particular story was more sad than horrific.

 

What was REALLY horrific was the story “A Year of Bloody Gums.” If you have always dreaded an appointment with the dentist, THIS story will definitely give you nightmares – and cradling your mouth! This story had me cringing many times and the part where the character really tears into her teeth was very hard to read. Yikes!

 

The story “The Aluxes” was also very dark. It was difficult to read because of what happens to the baby. But the bad guys in this story were real terrifying. I love reading culture horror stories and this one did not disappoint. It was so good with a very satisfying ending!

 

This whole collection of stories does not disappoint. The author lures you in with a tale as old as time – the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow – but he keeps you there with spine-tingling, nerve-biting and earth-shattering stories that will have you looking over your shoulder as they did me. He saves the best for last, the title story capping it all off with a haunting tale with the kind of surprise ending you won’t see coming.

 

Wrapped in Plastic is a collection of scary, horrific and creepy stories that will take readers through the darkest reaches of the author’s imagination. These are the kind of stories that explore our fears and bring us face to face with our greatest nightmares. These stories have the power of lasting long after we finish reading them, haunting our own lives with their terrifying twists and hellish torments. Reading this book with the lights on is recommended!

 

Five stars

 

 

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.