Review: A spooky ghost story with just one issue
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 11, 2011
Having recently downloaded several Joshua Scribner short stories and not particularly loving the first one I read (Coryanna), I was a bit apprehensive about this story, because I wasn't sure if I would like it or not.  However, I immensely enjoyed this short story despite the one inconsistency it had, and it has assured me that I did not make a mistake in downloading Mr. Scribner's other short stories.The story is about a man looking back to when he and his brother were only young boys.  It was Christmas time and they received a huge stereo from their parents.  Oddly enough, the stereo had a tendency to, in the middle of the night, have its pause button pushed down with another random button.  The reason to this strange occurrence is quite chilling, and I really enjoyed the other many aspects of the plot.I don't like to include controversial topics in my reviews, but if I'm being honest, the only problem that I have with the novel is the interpretation of religion that Mr. Scribner uses.  And before I say anything else, know that this is just my personal opinion; it might be different for someone else.  To me, it just doesn't fit that a Christian family would openly do the things that they did in this story such as cursing and going behind each other's backs.  Now, the mother is truly the "extreme" person when it comes to religion to the point of hating any non-Christian music and non-Christian Christmas tree ornaments, but judging from what the other characters do in the story, they supposedly all have some sort of faith, too.  It almost felt like Mr. Scribner was poking fun at religion, which makes him seem a bit tactless.Overall, I really enjoyed this ghost story and the creepiness that came from it.  Apart from the religion aspect, I thought that everything else was written splendidly.  I absolutely recommend this story to all horror lovers, and I will continue to (hopefully) enjoy more of Mr. Scribner's short stories.