Synopsis
From Nick Roberts, the best-selling author of The Exorcist’s House and Anathema, comes fifteen dark tales that are as horrific as they are moving.
“Come for the horror, stay for the heartbreaking emotion that bleeds into every page. Roberts really shows his range here, and it’s obvious early on in these stories that they will stick with you long after reading them. It Haunts The Mind is that damn good.”—John Durgin, author of The Cursed Among Us and Inside The Devil’s Nest.
Witness absolute evil in “Sally Under the Bed” and “It Haunts the Mind.” Endure vengeance and violence in “The Noose” and “The Bitter End.” Face the realities of addiction and grief in “Thanks for Sharing” and “The Weeping Wind.” Survive otherworldly monsters in “The Paperboy” and “Voodoo Bay.”
In balancing the terrors of the supernatural with the horrors of real life, this collection drags you down the dark alleys of a haunted mind, forcing you to confront your demons, both real and imaginary.
“Nick Roberts has an uncanny ability to scare the bejesus out of readers. With It Haunts the Mind & Other Stories, he does it time and time again. Highly recommended if you don’t want to sleep in the dark again.”—James Aquilone, Bram Stoker Award nominated editor and writer of Classic Monsters Unleashed, Shakespeare Unleashed, and Kolchak: The Night Stalker – 50th Anniversary
This horror fiction book is perfect for fans of horror short stories, short story anthologies, horror collections, U.S. Horror fiction, ghost fiction, suspense horror, stories about substance abuse, possession, and coming of age horror.
Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.
Review
I actually preordered a paperback of this, but I’ve been a bit too busy to get to it. The author very kindly sent me over an audible code, so I was able to fit it in sooner. Sadly there is a short story where you are not supposed to say the rhyme out loud so now I am unfortunately cursed. Alex Schiffer does a pretty solid job with narration though, I just prefer no curses.
This collection features 15 short stories, most of which have been published elsewhere before, but were entirely new to me. One of the cool things about them being from other anthologies is that you are getting a slew of locales and types of horror in this single collection, nothing reads as one note.
My personally favorite was Percepto! not only in its shock value, but also for the classic Vincent Price. A close runner up was Sally Under the Bed, which to me felt almost like Hendrix’s Ankle Snatcher but from a younger perspective and somehow even creepier.
Naturally, I’m really here to talk about It Haunts the Mind. The collection’s namesake, but also a short story from the world of The Exorcist’s House (which I absolutely loved). I believe this fits somewhere within the opening of the novel and the family moving into the vacated house. Three teens plan to get drunk and look around. They’ve heard rumors, but they aren’t scared. Fans will see a familiar face, and be haunted by a familiar, foul-mouthed presence. With it being short it doesn’t quite hit the same level of creepy, but I enjoyed the extra layer in background.
One of the things I think Roberts is doing best here, is making every short story feel big. Each one feels as if it could be a part of a larger story, not in the sense that they all need more, but they feel like they are actually fueled by more than what’s on the page itself. It’s really cool.
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