Bejeebers
Patrick Winters
Unveiling Nightmares, 2024
Ebook, 248 ppg.
ISBN-13: 979-8328239738
Just like several other short story collections I am reading this month, I grabbed Patrick Winters’ newest book, Bejeebers for an article I was writing, and checked it out. And I am so glad I did! His writing style is fresh and inviting. Once I started reading, it was hard to stop!
The first story is called “It Happened on Hump Day” but I didn’t read it on a Wednesday. I actually read this story on a Tuesday! Close enough, right? Just as I began reading this story, I got lost in the doldrums of the main character’s workday. This line, on page 2, made me laugh: “Betsy let loose another belly laugh down the way because there needed to be some extra bass in the workday song.” But I soon went from laughter to cowering in fear and crying out in horror at what happened next. It was awesome! The last line made me laugh again, though. This story was just so good!
In the next story, "Creepy as Flock," the main character is checking out a yard sale, and I laughed at the description of its contents: "A stockpile of stuff; an abundance of appurtenances; a colossal cornucopia of crap” (Pg. 15)
And on that same page, he discovers there an old woman, who he assumes to be the owner of the place. The description of this old woman made me chuckle: "The structure was old and disheveled, and the woman even more so. Oh, much more so. Frankly, she had a face like a puckered asshole – wrinkles galore and only one milky eye opened, the other drooped shut in a perpetual wink. A bird’s nest of gray-white hair sat atop the hideousness, springing up from a head that seemed two sizes too large for the lanky, gnarled frame that supported it."
One theme that stands out with these stories is that not all appears as they seem. Behind the familiar faces and the alarming scenes, there lies an evil waiting to strike. This took me by surprise, as I never saw that coming.
The story “One Night at Duke’s” was creepy! At first, it had this air of mystery. I kept trying to figure it out. Then I got to the end and I was like, “Oh!” That was so creepy. I loved it!
But not all of the stories in this book are creepy, frightening or horrific. The story “Huggy-Wuggies and Blood Splatter” was hilarious! It made me laugh through practically the entire reading. And when I wasn’t laughing, I was shaking my head in disbelief. It was just too funny. I know it’s a parody of those lame kids’ shows like Teletubbies or Yo Gabba Gabba (and I know of those shows because my kids watched them), and that’s what made this story all the more hilarious.
But then it was time to get back to the horror stories with the one that followed: “Melvin.” It had that “creepy neighborhood guy” vibe going pretty strong, and it made me remember when I was a kid and there was a creepy guy that wandered around our neighborhood, too. And, yes, people spread rumors about terrible things he did, adding to his creepiness! Then the story “A PIE—ON THE HOUSE” – OMG! Gotta have a strong stomach for that one! I laughed when the character called his pizza “the Black Plague Special” but I wasn’t laughing as I read the rest of the story. YIKES! I think I will need a break from pizza for a while after reading that one!
And how is it that when I read "ever since the Calamity swept across the world, breaking society like so much glass and turning existence into shards," I knew EXACTLY what that "Calamity" was?
I really enjoyed reading all of these stories and look forward to reading more of Patrick’s work!
Bejeebers is a collection of horror and speculative fiction that kept me glued to the pages. It pulled me in from the very beginning, and each story I read made me hungry for more! (Although I would not advise eating while reading SOME of the stories in this book, unless you have a strong stomach!) Ranging from stories of monsters to stories of the monstrous, this book should be on the shelf of every horror reader who enjoys reading short stories.
Five stars
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
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