Synopsis:
It’s the summer before senior year of college, and Abby’s boyfriend has just booked a weekend away with friends at a rustic lakeside cabin. Located in northern Pennsylvania, the dwelling is tucked away and boasts a breathtaking view.
As drinks are flowing on a moonlit evening, paranormal stories begin to be told—and when talk of the Clatter Man comes up, his grisly tale draws attention. He’s an urban legend with a grim lore, notorious for the ways his victims are slain.
Tensions rise when these friends realize their dark curiosity about the Clatter Man may have gone too far, and what began as a relaxing getaway turns into a battle for survival.
Review:
While Schieke’s Death Cult gave epic ’80s horror vibes, the Clatter Man took me back to the great slasher films of the 2000s. Like Cabin in the Woods or Cabin Fever, this novella starts out with a group of friends excited to get away for the weekend to a lakehouse.
Schieke’s character work, as always, is on point. Not only does she give just enough information to care about and relate to the characters, but they are exactly on par with the personalities required for this type of slasher tale. The sexy and sweet boyfriend, the wild and crazy best friend, the nervous best friend’s boyfriend, and the goofy, carefree fifth wheel. Then there’s Abby, who has had some run-ins with dark entities throughout her life, along with a few tragedies. She tries to be relaxed and fun while still maintaining common sense.
The friends get settled into the lakehouse and begin their weekend of fun with a dip in the water and burgers on the grill. They enjoy a few beers and have a lot of laughs. Then, the talk of urban legends finds its way into the conversation. Dustin, the odd man out, tells the group about the Clatter Man. While most of the group shakes it off as nothing more than a scary story, the wild and crazy best friend takes it to the extreme and attempts to conjure the nightmarish murderer.
I was aware that this story had a bit of romance in it. Ben and Abby’s relationship was sweet. He was patient with her during the times when she was feeling especially anxious or thinking back to the atrocities she experienced in her past. However, I found myself rooting for another outcome, and Schiecke did not disappoint. This tale even depicted a bit of spice as one of the couples moved their evening of alcohol and fun into the bedroom.
Once all hopes of a relaxing weekend are dashed, the story becomes fueled by terror and gore. The Clatter Man is unstoppable, driven by hatred after his own tragic events tore him apart a century ago. Abby feels as though she may be able to stop the Clatter Man, and this is where the story took a fun turn, from Wrong Turn to A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Schiecke will forever go down as my go-to for cozy horror. Her stories are reminiscent of the classic horror movies while always offering a unique spin. Schiecke takes the cabin-in-the-woods trope, decorates it with eerie windchimes, then desecrates it with a bloodbath no one saw coming. As a delightfully creepy cherry on top, the ending is a brutal reminder that “tortured souls never rest.”
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