 I really enjoyed this anthology. I loved how the intro teased that these stories were all based on true events but disguised as fiction. I’m all for a conspiracy theory, so my interest was definitely piqued. Saying that—I’m a huge horror fan. I live and breathe horror books and horror movies. My Netflix feed is nothing but indie horror films and blockbusters. My favorite types of horror are slashers, hauntings, and survival. The majority of these short stories didn’t really jump as horror to me. They were more like psychological suspense. Most of the stories had a quiet approach of being creepy and setting a dreadful tone. I’ll go over each story one by one: The Depths by Matthew Lyons I liked this story. A kid named Travis had stolen something from a very dark place where “there are too many ghosts buried there.” That line really popped out to me. When the old man banged on the door to get the item back, the tension between the old man and Travis’s dad was interesting. That scene was full of suspense. My favorite lines: 1) “...pretends he can’t feel the curious, dead eyes that follow him all the way home.” 2) “The house is filled with blood, and the silence is back, worse than before.” Laffing Sal by Lindsay King-Miller I loved the opening line: “A spider crawled across Sal’s tongue as the three girls came down the stairs.” I loved the twist of how Sal was part of an amusement park prop. The author did a great job of going between Sal and the three girls’ different point-of-views to show the terrifying situation happening. My favorite line: “Sal knew about fear. Fear had brought her to life.” This Was Always Going to Happen by Stephen Graham Jones This story used second person point-of-view by using “you” in the narration. The main character had a flat tire, and this weird cyclist kept bothering him with things that wouldn’t help with a flat tire. The author did a great job of making the cyclist creepy. The horror stories that I appreciate the most are the ones that could happen in real life. The ones that show humans can be monsters. I was digging the story then it just ended abruptly. Electric Stalker by Rebecca S.W. Bates Lindsay got hit by lightning while waiting on a bus. At the hospital, a woman named Amanda came to visit, claiming they were sisters. Lindsay had no recollection. I didn’t find this story creepy or scary at all. In fact, it seemed more like a contemporary drama with the family dynamics. Gaze With Undimmed Eyes and the World Drops Dead by Carina Bissett The author was good with setting and description. As a reader, I could feel the nastiness of the hotel bar. It was gross when a taxidermy squirrel on the rack lost its eye in the lady’s drink haha. I liked the twist of who Bruce turned out to be, but this was another story where I didn’t get a scary or creepy vibe at all. Grave Mistake by Joshua Viola and Carter Wilson This was one of my favorite stories in the anthology. Stephanie was pregnant, causing her to think suicidal thoughts because she didn’t want the baby. She was with Oliver and Elijah in a cemetery. They were looking for a vampire who they think killed their friend. The author did a great job of weaving body language into the back and forth dialogue. There was great tension. My favorite lines: 1) “What Stephanie struggles with most was the secret—a secret that began as shame and blossomed into horror.” 2) “Why would ghosts be in a cemetery, anyway?” 3) “The lives they led then, and the futures they hoped for, were gone.” There Is Something Up There by Joy Yehle This story was one of my favorites. It managed to make me feel bad for the characters with their tragic backstories. I loved how the emotional aspects didn’t stop the scenes from being full of suspense. Chills definitely went down my spine. Lily was on a search team, looking for a crew member that disappeared in the mines. Her neighbor warned Lily not to go, but she didn’t listen. I would love to say what they found in the mine because the reveal excited me so much! But I won’t spoil the ending. Scrape by Gary Robbe I thought the main character was only eleven, but he was using big vocabulary like “idling engine,” “where several workers mill about,” and “discordant.” The little boy could see ghosts at a house that was ready to be bulldozed. The beginning was confusing to me. I had a hard time understanding who killed who from the past. A non-linear plot was used to show how a family surrounded in fog couldn’t leave the house. The middle of the story started to pick up, becoming less boring, and I enjoyed the twist at the end. The Copper Door Karma Jar by Cindra Spencer The main character was dark and twisted. The setting was in a coffee shop. The story was alright, but I wouldn’t really call it horror. Since the killing part was skipped over, the rest of the story was kind of confusing. Block 12 by Thomas C Mavroudis This was one of my favorites. The author did a great job with dialogue, setting, and description. In a graveyard, two writing buddies heard a baby screaming. Nice twist of what they exactly heard. The characters were really into dark stuff. The main character wanted to forget what they experienced in the graveyard that night, but Adrienne was obsessed in going back. My favorite lines: 1) “The rules of movies and fairy tales did not apply to this world.” 2) “And I knew it was true, yet naming something didn’t define it at all.” The story was really getting interesting then it just ended abruptly. A Place for Cady by Melinda Bezdek This was one of my favorites. Cady was a little girl with a vivid imagination. She believed in monsters and even thought ants were evil haha. Since her brother was in the hospital, Cady was staying with her grandma. Poor Cady only went a block away to play but found a haunted, abandoned house instead. The last sentence of the story gave me the chills. Taste by Henry Snider I loved the opening line: “An October breeze filled the air and its bite tasted of decay.” Mason and Harmony were drug addicts, who were on and off again romantically. With this story, I had no idea what was going on… Chronic Cold by Josh Schlossberg This is one of my favorites. Alicia kept being woken up by her neighbor Reg driving a loud truck in the alley between 6:10 and 6:20 every morning. Right now, snow was blocking the alley. The author was great with similes and likenesses as descriptions. When Alicia noticed the weird looking elk stalking her like prey, I jumped in my seat. I loved the twist of what happened to all the animals. The Dead Spot by Angela Sylvaine Clare lived with a very strict mother. For her birthday, she wanted to visit an amusement park. There Clare met Mia. I was happy to see that I guessed right about Mia. The bittersweet ending made the story more interesting. Be careful what you wish for. My favorite lines: 1) “Since her eighth birthday, Clare dreamed of screams.” 2) “Freedom was Clare’s obsession.” I didn’t find the story creepy or scary at all. It felt more like a contemporary drama or romance. The Ghosts of Cheesman Park by Grace Horton I couldn’t tell if this story was flash fiction or a poem. There’s not much to say on my end because I’m a very literal person, so I didn’t get the interpretation of this poem. However, my favorite line was: “and the city became restless/haunted by the dead.” Old Golden Road by Jay Seate In this short story, there was a lot of telling, instead of showing. It was sort of awkward in introducing the urban legend of a killer in the backseat and introducing the weird noises on the other end of the phone at first. Donald had tried to leave his job but decided to answer that one last call. When he finally got in his car to get on the Old Golden Road, things really started to pick up. I loved the bittersweet ending. It made me feel sorry for Donald. I loved the twist at the end, and I really appreciated all the scary moments from the Old Golden Road ghosts. Finally some true horror in the anthology. If I Shall Wake by Desi D Shaun was a hitman hired to kill Joanna, who happened to sit beside him at the bar. Shaun killed people because he needed fast money for a heart transplant. My favorite line: “I may be a killer for hire but I never made anyone suffer.” I didn’t really find this story scary. It was more a thriller or supernatural tale. The Blue Lady by Sean Murphy This was one of my favorites. My nerves were on edge (in a good way) while reading this story. Four year old Connor bursted into his parents’ bedroom and said The Blue Lady in his closet wouldn’t leave his room. Yikes! I was hooked right away. There’s nothing more scary than living in your home with a ghost that appears out of nowhere. When The Blue Lady started taunting all the family members, I had to stop reading at night, then started back up the next afternoon. That’s how great this story was. I kept looking over my shoulder even though I was home alone. From the author’s bio, it looked like this short was based on a true story. Even more chilling! Mountain Lovers by Bobby Crew I was confused by this story and wish there had been more backstory on the two lovers. After reading, I had more questions than answers. When the two lovers fighting in the car were introduced, I figured right away that there had to be a twist. I’m happy I was right. I didn’t like that she kept calling her man “an ape.” Other than that, the story was okay. I enjoyed the couple’s bickering, which helped me feel all of their tension. Left Behind by P.L.McMillan This short was hands down my favorite story in the horror anthology. Two couples were ghost hunting, which Claire was the only believer in the group. They were at a house rumored to be haunted by a violent man who had killed his wife and kids. Load and behold, they encountered a ghost, and he held nothing back. Damn, I felt awful for Claire. This story was CREEPY, and I was along for the ride. I could picture everything vividly like a movie on the Chiller channel. Deep Veins by Travis Heermann Brothers, Emmet and Frank, were camping out, trying to dig for gold in a mine. A beast snatched Emmet, which forced Frank to go looking for his brother. I didn’t like this story at all. For what was happening, I felt like it could have been more suspenseful or scary. Seemed like Frank was just going through the emotions with hardly any reaction at all. That Time Maggie Ghosted Me by Jeamus Wilkes Paul was 50 and Maggie was 35. They were communicating through a dating app, then Maggie just stopped interacting online one day. Paul was obsessed and depressed, wanting to make sure she was okay. I appreciated the twist of who Maggie was, and I enjoyed the bittersweet ending. I’m a sucker for sad endings after all. However, I didn’t see how this story was horror. If anything, it felt like a paranormal romance. I RECOMMEND this anthology to read. 4/ 5 stars Keep smiling, Yawatta Hosby Terror at 5280' by Josh Schlossberg A neighborhood won’t let its residents forget the past. One taste draws two lovers into a nightmarish addiction. A harsh winter forces strange creatures down from the mountains. At sea level, where it’s safe, things like this can’t happen. But when you’re sky high in Denver, Colorado, anything goes...including your sanity. Beware of Terror at 5280’, a horror fiction anthology featuring dark tales set in and around Denver and the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, penned exclusively by local authors.   Comments are closed.
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