Black As Night

By: Billy Wells

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

BLACK AS NIGHT AND OTHER NIGHTMARES is a compilation of 32 short stories, most in the horror genre, and most with surprise endings. THE NIGHTMARES INCLUDE: THE CLOWN AT MIDNIGHT Charles likes to watch horror flicks by candlelight with his monster mannequins... MASQUERADE The Madeira Club has hired a travel agent to rent a castle in Transylvania for this year’s gala Halloween party... BLACK AS NIGHT Two teenagers try to rescue a helpless woman from being buried alive by a masked rider on Halloween... HANGMAN’S OVERLOOK A scam artist wagers $800 he will spend the night on Hangman’s Overlook and live... THE SHELL GAME An elderly man loses his faith in a snowstorm on the last day of his life... WEREWOLF ON BROADWAY A werewolf propositions a promoter to make his transformation the main event at Madison Square Garden... THE BOY WHO CRIED BOOGEYMAN John returns to the house where the boogeyman tried to eat him when he was ten years old... TOOTH FAIRY A serial killer has driven a crucifix through the hearts of seven boys and extracted their incisors... SURPRISE! SURPRISE! Jane has arranged a surprise birthday party for her boss at his funeral parlor... THE AX A warlock has sworn to return on the anniversary of being burned at the stake three hundred years ago... CYCLOPS The final show at the end of the fairgrounds is one Jed Norman will never forget... CHRISTMAS EVE It’s the night before Christmas and something’s in the house, and it’s not Santa... And twenty others... The editorial letter from CreateSpace, Amazon’s professional editing and publishing company, says “the overall theme of monsters and fright is extremely relevant in the wake of recent successes in this niche such as Harry Potter and Twilight.” Their copy editor wrote “I truly enjoyed the unique and twisted qualities of these short, yet intricately crafted, stories. Your stories almost seem to have an Edgar Allen Poe quality to them. Clearly you have a great skill for short story writing, and I will definitely be acquiring this book to add to my collection once it is complete.” CreateSpace’s comments on tone and style: “Your writing style was perfect for these short stories. There was just enough detail and intrigue to get an overall sense of the time and place in each one before the strong, abrupt, and often sinister, ending.” CreateSpace comments on Plot Flow/Characterization: “The sardonic scenarios combined with the ironic situations that all the main characters experience produces an over arching moral within each story. Although supernatural at times, the characters’ grievances are still relatable to the reader, especially as the scope of personalities and characteristics, both physical and mental, is so broad throughout the book. Identifying with the plight of each character allows the reader to sympathize with the protagonist, even when his or her actions are inherently flawed or misguided. ” To secure the sanity of the reader, I suggest these nightmares be read in broad daylight with loved ones in close proximity that can be summoned in an instant by a sudden cry. I take no responsibility for the circumstances that may befall those who dare to visit these foreboding scarescapes alone at night. Abandon all hope for these pitiable souls if the lights go out.

Good stories in this one

The stories in here are visceral and good. I love a short horror story with some punch to it. And the virtual voice narration was decent, better even than some human narrators out there I’m sorry to say.