Brace yourself for 12 twisted tales from America’s Deep South in TEETH MARKS, the third collection of horror fiction from Matthew Weber.
Psychotic Killers, Bloodthirsty Monsters and Ghastly Specters from Beyond the Grave!
Weber’s latest collection will grab you like a meat hook and keep you turning pages long after you’ve wet the bed. From back-country curses and maniacal next-door neighbors to alien invasions and shape-shifting beasts, TEETH MARKS delivers the most fun you’ll ever have reading about terrible things. Available now for Kindle download and soon in paperback from Pint Bottle Press.
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Matthew Weber (A DARK & WINDING ROAD, SEVEN FEET UNDER) is editor of the DOUBLE BARREL HORROR anthology series and editor-in-chief of EXTREMER HOW-TO home improvement magazine. He is a happily married father of three children, and when he’s not writing, remodeling or chasing kids, he plays bass in the long-running punk band, SKEPTIC?
Horror author, Matthew Weber offers seven stories steeped in the urban legends and ancient superstitions of the Deep South. Each story is unique in its own right, with a weaving of tales who’s connection is of hot summer nights and southern culture at its scariest. Characters are multi-layered and many do not live happily ever after; if they live at all.
Weber has clearly done his research, creating a world where the reader is immersed in the supernatural and the macabre. We are schooled in the hard lesson of dabbling carelessly in Voodoo. Then, we experience the tribulations of teenage angst when combined with a quasi-creative writing-telekinesis. In one of my favorite stories, we as readers are on the run from whatever mutant lurks down at the old fishing hole. His descriptions of southern life and backwater people captivated me as a reader and drew me into the minds of his tortured characters.
If I had one thing to improve upon in Seven Feet Under, I would say it was perspective. Readers who are contemplating reading this short story collection all in one sitting should take note. Some of Weber’s stories are written in first person and some in third person. Changing of one’s internal narrator may be required when ending one story and immediately beginning the next. That weak point for me may be a strong point for others. Each story could be read on a lunch hour or two and even better yet, on a flight to the Big Easy.
Seven Feet Under is listed as general horror, but all of its stories are void of extreme scenes, as well as blatant sexual content. So often, I am asked to recommend horror novels to young adults and those copies are few and far between. Alas, Seven Feet Under is one I can recommend safely while simultaneously singing its praises for scare factor and vivid, concise writing for all readers teenage age and up.
Many authors test their chops by way of short story. Fan bases and readership are made from horror anthologies. It is my sincere hope that Matthew Weber gleans an audience for his back country, home-spun horror tales. If we are lucky, perhaps he will delight his readers with a much longer, full length singular tale that will let us get to know the types of characters that I love; simultaneously flawed and heroic, a mixture of good and evil.
As the days get longer and the nights grow colder, new books call to those who love to read. Whether you take Seven Feet Under with you as you crawl under a pile of blankets or you beat the cold by traveling south, this book is a worthy page turner.
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David Watson, Dan Shaurette, Marc Vale, KBatz (Kristin Battestella), Mimielle, Dawn Wood, Lillian Csernica, Killion Slade, D.J. Pitsiladis, Jesse Orr, A.D. Vick
Hello fellow Addicts. D.J. Pitsiladis here with another dark and sinister review to offer you.
“A Dark and Winding Road” is a collection of dark short stories that range from park animal vengeance to a government program to take care of people deemed too much of a burden or danger to their families and society, and finally a teenager so bullied he calls upon a demon for revenge. No two stories share the same scare factor, so be prepared for some horror filled variety.
I really enjoyed this book. It got my blood pumping in all the right spots and made me wish at points that I didn’t need to put it down for such essentials as work and sleep. In some ways, it reminded me of Stephen King’s earlier anthologies in how fun the stories felt. I very much recommend this book for anyone looking for a fun break away from the norm.
Bellaire, Texas – Creature Stew presents short fiction by eighteen outstanding horror authors. Released on January 31, 2015, the e-book is available from Amazon. This terrifying collection of short stories features work from award-winning, veteran horror authors, as well as stories from talented writers making their fiction début. If you’re looking for a fresh dose of rampaging, brain-eating zombies or perhaps a killer catfish, the size of a Honda, that can churn a man into mush, look no further!
Creature Stew includes fiction by C.C. Adams, Kate Bowen, Shenoa Carroll-Bradd, Michael Clark, Dave Dormer, Marc Ferris, Tom Folske, Ken Goldman, Daniel Hale, Robert Hart, Tessa Hatheway, Calypso Kane, Matthew Smallwood, Paul Stansfield, Chad Stroup, D.S. Ullery, Matthew Weber, and E.S. Wynn.
The eighteen included short stories were selected from numerous submissions accepted from the general public in a free, egalitarian process. Published by Papa Bear Press, Creature Stew is currently available in e-book format. Papa Bear Press is an independent publisher and writer’s resource based in Bellaire, Texas. As our first commercial venture, Creature Stew reflects our mission to seek out talented new voices, while showcasing quality fiction from today’s rising stars in popular literature. The anthology can be purchased from Amazon via the following link: http://www.amazon.com/Creature-Stew-C-C-Adams-ebook/dp/B00T11GPY4
Creature Stew was edited by Michael S. Collins. The publisher’s mission can be found on the Papa Bear Press website, www.papabearpress.com.
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The first book I want to talk about is Heroin In The Magic Now by Terry M. West. In the introduction to this book Terry says how the main character’s pain is based on reality and he tells the story of how he got into the horror genre. In order to get into the business he helped make soft core porn to raise money to make horror films. This lead him into a world of sex, drugs and emotional pain which is what this book is based on.
Heroin in the Magic Now follows a pornographer named Gary Hack, who has found himself making disturbing monster porn videos for his depraved clients. People ask him to do things he can’t live with and the only escape that Gary has is through heroin. The problem is his escape is taking over his life and leading to a darker reality.
Gary is a complicated man, he is self medicated and numb to the fact that vampires, zombies and werewolves are now part of our every day lives. In the beginning he is working on a porn movie called Dracula’s Exotic Guest. He hates what he does and himself for doing it, but he is good at it and still dreams for a better life.
Gary is a brilliant artist but his career didn’t go where he wanted and now he is stuck making monster porn and working with difficult people. Gary handles his problems well enough, such as a leading actress telling him he is the worst director ever and wanting more money. Gary looses a little more of his soul every day, his wife has already divorced him, his daughter wants nothing to do with him and he just got another directing job hes not proud of as head of production for a zombie gang bang movie.
I loved the character of Gary in this book, he is a lost soul and you cant help but root for him despite the bad things he has done. Gary is a man who never meant to hurt anyone, he just did some things that he wasn’t proud of to fulfill his dreams. Heroin In The Magic Now has a good mix of horror and comedy. I loved the concept behind this book and it was a fresh look at a world where monsters do exist, but some of the worst monsters are the ones within. My favorite scene in the book was towards the end where the street vendor who sold Gary a gris-gris bag for protection against the supernatural sells Gary another, saying that each time he has to buy a new one he was going to charge Gary more. If you read the story you will understand but I think Terry was making a point that each time Gary screwed up it was going to be harder for him to get his soul back. Terry M. West knows what makes a good horror story and he knows how to make monsters scary and funny.
Next up is The Clinic by Matthew Weber. Patricia Tyler’s son, Alex, has made the Tyler families lives a living hell. He argues constantly, has destroyed property, bullies family members and classmates, and he is a pyromaniac and sexual deviant. Patricia doesn’t know what to do so she turns to the clinic for help and the reader learns what happens in the future when children misbehave.
This is the kind of story that you would see on The Twilight Zone, except its scarier than anything the classic TV series has to offer. I can’t talk to much about this short story because I don’t want to give it away but I will say that the concept is terrifying. One scene that scared me was when Alex tried to get to his sister late at night. I also thought that it was interesting to see who was on the bus at the end of the story. Where I would agree that Alex deserved to be there, some of the others didn’t. This is a well written story and a chilling read. The story is meant to preview an upcoming anthology by Matthew Weber . If The Clinic is any indication of the quality of the other stories in the book then I would be really excited to see what Matthew Weber has coming out next.
The last book I want to mention is a short story by Terry M. West called The Giving Of Things Cold And Cursed. The year is 1925 andBaker Johnson has just inherited his uncle’s home. His Uncle was an odd man who kept a room full of cursed objects. Baker and his uncle are not like other people, they study the supernatural, collect strange objects and try to prove if spiritualists are charlatans or not.
Even though this is a short story I got the impression that Terry did his homework. The character of Baker made me think of Houdini who also was into proving spiritualists weren’t what they said they were. In 1925 spiritualists were common place and preyed on people who had lost someone. I enjoyed hearing about how the objects taken from the room effected the people’s lives that took them. In particular I liked how the man who wrote humourous poetry started writing dark poetry like Poe when he got a cursed object. This is a well told horror story that reminded me of something you would see on the show Tales From The Darkside.
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