Stories to Keep You Awake at Night: The Sick and the Sainted are stories of darkness and dread

 

 

The Sick and the Sainted

B. Murphy and J. Mason

Bobbie Murphy Books, 2024

ISBN-13: 9798227044884

Ebook, 184 ppg.

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There are the things we wish we could undo and unsee, but that doesn’t make them go away. That will never make them go away. The pain will linger and the horror will only grow. Left to fester in darkness, the terrifying thing will spiral out of control and take those harboring them onto a journey of darkness and despair.

 

The Sick and the Sainted by B. Murphy and J. Mason is a collection of stories reflecting this darkness. For the poor souls who somehow end up in the throes of evil or in the clutches of despair, the only way out is a one-way street.

 

I really enjoyed reading these stories. Filled with terror, horror, despair and pain, The Sick and the Sainted is a collection of stories that are the raw tellings from the twisted minds of characters or the unfortunate plight of those trapped in darkness. These stories made me cry, shudder, cringe, and grip my seat with fear.

 

The story “Responsibility” is one such story that really made me cringe. Yikes! It’s a good body horror story, coupled with one father’s very unique way of seeking vengeance against his daughter’s tormentor.

 

What I absolutely loved about some of the stories is how people are able to gain revenge against someone who either tormented them on the Internet or tormented someone else. Vengeance against someone who abused, bullied or hurt someone through the Internet is just one of the stories which I enjoy reading. There are so many creeps and trolls on the Internet! A lot of people can only wish they could get revenge against those who have hurt them online. For writers, we can obtain this vengeance in our stories. But for readers, it’s nice to see that happen, because it gives them a nice feeling of doing the same!

 

The story “Shattered” was heartbreaking. It especially touched a nerve for me because I am a survivor of the same thing, though what I went through did not happen from a stepfather. I completely understand the need to tell a story, in a way of setting the record straight and letting the truth be known. I did the same, telling mine as a fictional account. I know this is fiction, but I saw it in that way. Survivors of sexual abuse and rape need to tell their stories. I was sad how the character’s story ended. Sadly, this actually happens in real life; many victims are not believed, even blamed and called names, and end up doing the same thing that this character did. Even so, it is still a powerful story.

 

The last story in this book was disturbing but it was told from the disturbed mind of a character. It sure made for a creepy read!

 

The stories in the pages of this book are, indeed, those from the minds of “the sick and the sainted.” Readers must know that there are incidents in which a dog is killed and a pre-teen is first sexually assaulted then raped, so go into the reading of these stories with thick skin. But remember,  they are just stories; no animals or children were actually hurt or killed in the writing of these stories!

 

Filled with tales of dread, horror and terror, The Sick and the Sainted leaves a lasting impression on readers of what dangers lurk around the corner, and how things are not what they seem. These are stories that are the stuff of nightmares, safely existing on the pages of a book. After reading these stories, they may linger once the reader has put the book down, and return to haunt in the most horrific ways through nightmares.

 

 

Five stars

 

 

 

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

 

First House Horrors: Give Unto Us is a Gripping, Mesmerizing Tale of What Evil is Hidden for First-Time Homebuyers

 

 

Give Unto Us

Justin Lutz

Ghoulish Books, 2024

142 ppg., Ebook

ISBN-10: 1943720991

ISBN-13: 978-1943720996

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When most people buy a house, they typically ask about anything needing repairs, issues the old tenants had and what sort of things they might need to take care of before moving in. But sometimes, no matter how well you inspect the property of a house you consider buying, the bad thing lurking on the property is hidden. So it’s missed during inspection.

 

That’s what happens for Trevor Davis, when he and his wife, Melissa, purchase a house next to a river. Trevor only sees the river, fishing, lake days. He doesn’t see the monster that is hiding in the backyard.

 

But can anyone, really? It’s hidden so well. So well, in fact, that at first sight, everybody thinks it ‘s just typical sand. But it’s not your typical sand. Not by a long shot. And the young couple with a baby soon discover that their new home came with something the realtor neglected to mention.

 

This is a story that grabbed my interest from the very beginning. In fact, I zoomed through this story, devouring its pages, hungry for more.

 

And “hungry” is a term that will show up in this story. A lot.

 

I loved how there was so much mystery surrounding the house. See, the neighbors knew the previous tenant, and apparently, something that happened to him none of them really talk about. And one neighbor in particular knows something about the Bad Thing in the backyard.

 

This is definitely a story packed with suspense, excitement and terror from the very beginning. The characters get ideas in their heads they know they can’t be thinking – like, they weren’t REALLY thinking that, right? They weren’t really about to do something horrible … right? Well, they don’t know, and we don’t know until we get much later into the story. The Bad Thing in the backyard may be hiding, but it won’t stay hidden forever. It’s hungry. Hungry for something the new homeowners may or may not be able to feed it.

 

Give Unto Us is a gripping and terrifying story of how something not of this world slowly tightens its grip around the weakest link. With their last grip of reality slowly dropping away like sand through an hourglass, Trevor and Melissa Davis are at the mercy of something too powerful to escape from.

 

REVIEWER NOTE: While I really enjoyed reading this story, I must say that, as a recovering alcoholic, it was hard to get through most of it. The booze flows freely in this story and all of the adults are always drinking, it seems. So if you’re a recovering alcoholic like me, I must warn you to prepare for reading about this in the story.

 

 

Five stars

 

 

 

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

When Neighbors Feud: For the Sake of Brigid weaves a witch's spell of revenge into one of comeuppance and triumph

 

 

For the Sake of Brigid

Nora B. Peevy

Unveiling Nightmares, 2024

Ebook, 54 ppg.

ISBN: 979-8893795394 (Paperback)

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For the Sake of Brigid is a story of a neighborly spat unlike any other I have ever read. When it comes to two women who have their own particular preference of animals – Norah with her bees and Lydia with her horses – the war is on, with the poor horses being a part of the sacrifice! These feuding neighbors can’t seem to forgive and forget, but since it was the bees and horses that were the unfortunate victims, there is no forgiving or forgetting.

 

And little do they know that the same applies to the goddess, Brigid.

 

I absolutely LOVED how the stories of the Old Ways are woven into this story. They come alive in this story just as they are alive all around us.

 

Another thing I really liked about this story was how positively Norah’s witchcraft practice is portrayed, although there are moments of dark magic practiced. Yes, the part with the blood and chopping off the finger made me squirm, but I was very pleased to see the accuracy, consistency and true-to-lifeness of witchcraft portrayed in this story. There are so many stories out there where witches are portrayed in a negative light, complete with stereotypes and misconceptions. You won’t find any of that here!

 

But the darker side of what happens when you mess with a witch is shown in this story, too. The gore! The horror! This extreme horror story was brutal and relentless. It is not a story for the faint of heart. It is so well-written and well-told. The moral of this story? Don’t fuck with a witch!

 

The ending of this story was VERY satisfying and I really enjoyed reading it. It is a story that will long stay with me and it has certainly given me a new sense of appreciation for bees.

 

Five stars

 

 

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