Review: Lock the door before reading...
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 21, 2014
You get a large variety with in this collection with many of the usual suspects coming to the party - vampires, ghosts, witches, creatures, curses, some body horror, and a couple of crime/murders thrown in for good measure. Some of the stories are strange, some eerie. The story I found the most scary was "The Loft" in which three women manage to control their imagined fears, but don't cope quite so well when those fears suddenly become very real.Other stories I enjoyed were "Out Of Order" - a great start to the collection. A seemingly normal situation suddenly gets very strange as we are kept guessing as to who (or what) is on the other side of the door. "Druid Stones" - a nice neat story which comes full circle and shows how quite often curiosity does indeed kill the cat. Also "Life In Miniature" - one of those stories where we know that it's going to end badly but are kept guessing as to who for. All the stories are -1) Out Of Order (9/10) A woman's fears come screeching into reality on a train ride towards Hell.2) Our Lady Of The Toads (7/10) When something appears to be going on in the local haunted house, a man tries to find out warts up.3) Family Heirloom (8/10) A theft from a shop sparks off a curse which a man would kill to return.4) Ring Of Stones (7/10) A plan to end a curse from past generations does not go so well.5) Death Comes For Maggie McDaniel (8/10) There is unfinished business to attend to when two girls secret goes public.6) Creatures Of The Night (7/10) When a writer finds that words are flowing a little too easily, he soon discovers a hole in the plot.7) Druid Stones (9/10) A woman's curiosity leads to a childhood memory being replayed, but from a different angle.8) The Loft (9/10) An after hours choir practice turns in to a fight to survive.9) Life In Miniature (9/10) A homeless man is given an offer which he can't shrink away from.10) You Have One Message (8/10) People find that they really can't live without their mobile phones (or with them) when technology starts to play up.It's one of those collections which leaves you wondering what (if anything) you can trust, and probably won't be enjoyed by those hoping for a happy ending, although there is the odd one or two. Would be nice to see a larger collection with more stories to really get your teeth into, but on the whole I enjoyed this one, as should all Horror readers. Just remember to lock the door before reading as you never know who (or what) may come knocking.