Haunted: Anthology by Various

Not all of these stories have ghosts.

No Summary was given with this book. Spooky.

I found this random Anthology in the library. Yes, it was in the kids section but as always that is not a excuse for the level of bad in these the stories. Most of these authors are unknown to me and none of the stories have made me motivated to go out to find more about the authors I wasn't already aware of before. As always I have review each stories, though this time I didn't review each one straight after listening.

The Castle Ghosts by Joseph Delaney - Spooky castle I saw the ending coming for miles. 3/5 stars for mysterious contents.

The Caretakers by Susan Cooper - This story was ruined for me straight off the bat by the protagonist describing her brother James as "not being autistic but something that has no name". He's autistic. Unless you actually going to give a diagnosis of something else then don't bring up the fact that the character with clearly autistic traits is not autistic. Maybe because an autistic person will be listening to the audio book adaptation of your story and be done with your shit. I don't really rate much besides the 'not autistic thing'. It's yourstandard creepy haunted house/island story. The title doesn't work, it's just a straight up misdirect and think this would have been more interesting from James POV instead of someone with no character traits at all. 2/5 stars for Lake screaming. 1/5 stars for Ableism.

 Good Boy by Mal Peet -  I liked this one. It's  not obvious in execution and creepy concept that would be terrifying. 4/5 stars for dog paws.

The Blood Line by Jamila Gavin - This story contains two actual creepy things: Mirrors and Work houses. Except has really complicated and convoluted way of getting the main character into the story and distracts from everything else. This story could worked, but didn't for me. 3/5 stars for monkey thief.

The Ghost in the Machine by  Eleanor Updale - This one really works as an audio book (story?), though I was promised pictures. I did actually think something had went wrong with my phone when this came on, like it was really weird virus I was listening to while in Waterstones. I also actually felt for the character in this one as well. 4/5 stars for high-tech ghosts.

Songs the Dead Sing by Derek Landy -This is a lot of darker than the other stories (except maybe the first one) in that involves Cult Murder and appropriately I was listening to it while trying to find the toilet in an old building  4/5 stars for lying leaders.

The Beach Hut by Robin Jarvis - This one was okay, it tried, but felt rather cope outy, probably due to this being aimed at kids and adults like to think  kids can't handle the extreme. I found the main ghost in this to be too annoying to deal with and therefore that end the ghostly experience there for me. 2.5 stars for mouthfuls of sea water. Also the voice actor is really whinny sounding.

The Praying Down of Vaughan Darkness by Sam Llewellyn - The framing of this story is unnecessary and doesn't stick to it well. There's a good idea in here but is not done well. 3/5 stars for cheesy breath. 

The Ghost Walk by Matt Haig - This story takes a lot of clichés and doesn't do much with them. Not at all creepy and an bad attempt to tell the Hitchhiker ghost story. What happens in this story could just be someone messing with them. 2/5 stars for pointless umbrella. 

The Ghost Wood by Philip Reeve - Meh. Another featuring dreaming about dogs. 3/5 stars for wood stones. 

The Little Ship's Boy by Berlie Doherty - Dumb and obvious. 1/5 stars for drowning. 

Overall, I give this 3/5 stars for dog clichés. I don't know if the writers were given prompts for this, but the similarity between these stories actually made the worse ones worst. There were some decent stories in here; the majority were just meh. The voice actors varied from good to terrible. I wouldn't recommend this book as a whole but there are some decent stories buried here. A library pick up sort of book.

Short Story: Into Darkness

Here's another repost. This is probably the earliest piece of writing that I still have. I wrote it when I was 14. Oh my god, that was almost eight years ago. I haven't change anything as there should be evidence of what my writing skill was back then and it probably the thing that's been edited the most times as this was part of my Stand Grade English Portfolio. I like to think I would have gotten a 1 if I had sat credit.

This was based off an old English Stand Grade writing exam prompt, you where meant to write a story with the title "Into Darkness" and/or based on a picture of a stone bridge. I did both. The sad thing is I'm petty sure the best thing I ever wrote was in my actual exam. Well, I really like my ending sentence so much I memories it and still have it: The living statue left the darkness and entered the panic of light.

It was based off a picture of a Gargoyle and its about a guy blowing up a bridge or a building I forget. It's odd as that something I so don't normally write like ever. So back to the story I can actually share with you as the SQA has brunt that story. I give my 14 years old self idea of horror and best piece of writing (if you had asked her what it was anyway).

Into Darkness

Lisa stood, on a bridge, in the flog, waiting for her best friend, Sandy. She was meant to meet her at 8 and it was now 20 past, but she wasn't worried. Sandy was always late.

She was more worried about herself. She knew it was stupid, but she couldn't help it. She had always been scared of the bridge, especially after she had seen a little boy fall off it. He had been all right, but she had nightmares for weeks after wards and she still had nightmares of the bridge sometimes.

The bridge was made of old grey stone; it had been built in the 16th century. It was surrounded by a forest; the trees were big and old. It would be easy to get lost in them. This made the bridge the prefect location for ghost stories. Whether it was ghost or serial killer, the bridge part alone would guarantee that you would be spooked by the end.

There had always been stories of the bridge being haunted… or something. Whilst it was being built, three of the builders went mysteriously missing and were never seen again. For years after wards people kept disappearing, they were all heading in the direction of the bridge the last time they were seen. Of course there was no proof of people disappearing and even if there was, there would be no way to say for certain that it was because of the bridge. People still go missing, but people go missing everyday. It meant nothing. It was just a normal bridge; well that’s what Lisa was trying to tell herself.

Lisa couldn't help but look over at the dark water below. It had been raining all week, so the river ran faster and deeper than usual. The water was almost hypnotizing. She wasn't afraid of water, not even the water under the bridge; she had played in the river under it when she was younger. It was the bridge that scared her.

It was getting late and she didn't want to be there when it got dark. Sandy had probably forgotten that she was meant to meet her. It would be best just to go and find her. However, just before she was about to leave, Sandy came running up to her.

“I'm sorry, I'm late”, Sandy panted. “I fell asleep.”

“That’s okay, I was just going to go and find you.”

Lisa turned back to the water and peaked over the edge of the bridge. Suddenly, she saw a pair of red eyes staring back at her. She shut her eyes, and shook her head. When she looked back there was nothing there.

“Hum, let’s go,” Lisa muttered

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” Lisa lied. ‘It’s just really cold’

“I know something’s wrong,” Sandy said as she put her hand on Lisa’s shoulder.

Lisa hesitated; there would be no way that Sandy would believe her. She didn’t even believe it her self.

“I thought I saw something.”

Sandy looked over the edge; she saw nothing.

“There’s nothing there,” Sandy said as she turned around.

“Of course there isn't, just my mind playing ticks on me,” Lisa said not sounding as if she meant it. “Let’s just go.”

She started to walk away. Sandy looked again. It was just the same, nothing was there. Sandy knew that Lisa was afraid of the bridge after all the stories she heard and everything that she had seen.
Her imagination had probably just gone wild. Being alone, all by her self at the bridge and it was twilight. It was when the darkness begins to sneak in, where the shadows get darker and there’s no where to run. Sandy admitted that she would have probably start seeing thing too.
Sandy notices how far away Lisa was already

“Wait for me, Lis.”

“Fine, but hurry...up,” Lisa had turned around to find that Sandy was gone. “Sandy where are you?” There was no answer. Lisa walked over to where Sandy had been. She looked around for her, but she couldn't see Sandy. She looked over the edge; there was nothing there. She turned around and went to look at the other side, but she didn't make it.

The last thing Lisa ever saw was those red eyes and then darkness.

***

 Funfact: A substitute teacher scanned read this and thought one of the characters had jumped off the bridge, which would have been so fucking random. (I'm always PG).

In reflection that ending is a bit rushed.

Book Review: Glimpse by Kendra Leighton

This is actually the second book inspired by Alfred Noyes’ The Highwayman and only read it with this book.

The highwayman came riding –
Riding – riding –
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door

Liz just wants to be normal. Her life is anything but.

Seven years ago Liz lost her mother and ten years’ worth of memories. When she inherits the infamous Highwayman Inn, she hopes the move will be a fresh start. Then she meets Zachary. Zachary who haunts her by night and in dreams; who makes her question everything she is and wants to be; who seems scarcely real – yet makes her feel so alive.

 I like the plot of this book. It also takes the stance of that seeing ghost would actually be a pain in the arse. The way the ghost work is a interesting take with just a parts of them being visible and more of overwhelming feeling when they're present. I think that was probably my favourite part of the book.

The character were all quite distinct but the plot does relay too much on characters being basically insane. Liz's issues with her mother was good addition. The romance was alright, I'm never person to ask about this so it all I can think to say.

The plot is okay, there a few things that let it down. Liz is bit too clueless in the name of the plot and
 the ending is a bit dodgy in the moral sense. I can't say anything else about that without it being a major spoiler.

Overall, I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars for bowls of bones. The ghost are awesome but there was one rule I didn't get. Things were a bit slow and there was a few plotholes such as why did certain characters do the bidding of a certain character in the first place. It is worth a read if you're into ghost and sort of retelling of poems.

I got this off NetGalley for review. It published by Much-in-Little