First published back in March of 2016, Matt Shaw’s anthology ‘Easter Eggs & Bunny Boilers’ offered up twenty Easter-themed horror short stories by some of the best indie horror authors currently on the scene.
Introduction – Jim Mcleod – 2 Pages
Starting off the anthology in a suitably comical way, the ginger Don of Horror himself, Jim Mcleod of ‘Ginger Nuts Of Horror’ reviewing website, gets the tone going with explaining his dislike for the Easter festive period and the irony with many of the associated traditions. Jim ends his short introduction comically musing over a couple of authors he’d had a public failing out, who with were amongst the anthology contributors (neither are named!) All whilst retaining his usual witty and honest self.
A Word From Matt Shaw – 2 Pages
Author and anthology compiler – Matt Shaw – follows Jim with his own short introduction, explaining his motivation for putting together an Easter themed horror anthology (Easter is somewhat of a lull in the horror calendar), and how indeed he went about putting the book together (asked a load of authors, they accepted, then he inserted their stories in the order received). Of course, this is all told through Shaw’s effortless dry wit, making you smile at his absolute brutal honesty. There’s really only one Matt Shaw. Well…that’s not factually true, but you know what I mean.
Desserts – Matt Shaw – 9 Pages
It was the night before Easter Sunday, and ten-year-old Justin couldn’t sleep. Downstairs he could hear his mother and father arguing. Well, more his father shouting. Unhappy again about the evening meal he’d returned home to after a day working in the farm. However, Justin’s attention moved to the strange scuffling noise emanating from the other side of his bedroom door. The sound of a small creature, trying to get in. It was the night before Easter, and the Easter bunny had come with a treat…
This first foil-wrapped Easter offering is a somewhat reserved piece from Shaw. We’re given a glimpse of a toxic family environment which sets the scene for a mildly unsettling Easter horror. Essentially the Easter Bunny comes calling for this ten-year-old, however, it’s not all smiles and chocolate treats. Not for this Easter Bunny anyway!
Bastard Bunny – David Owain Hughes – 8 Pages
Henry was sick and tired of how his family and the community in general were to him. He was the vicar, yet they treated him like the village idiot rather than a man of the cloth. This Easter they were putting on their usual Easter gathering. Twelve of them were downstairs waiting for him to get into the outsized Easter bunny costume his wife made him wear every Easter without fail. But this year would be different. This Easter Mr Winkle Whiskers would be the only one laughing. With his bolt-action shotgun hidden within his costume, Henry made his way downstairs to his gleefully waiting guests…
Hahahaha! What a story! This is pretty much David Owain Hughes does an Easter version of ‘Falling Down’ (1993). A vicar who’s been pushed too damn far by his family and the rest of the village. You know what’s coming. Although the degree of sadistic, unrestrained violence and resulting bloodshed is probably a heck of a lot more extreme than you were anticipating. Oh yeah, Hughes absolutely lets loose on this one. It’s only short, but the story packs in the visceral nastiness with such a maniacal glee it’ll leave you shellshocked. I kid you not, the carnage that follows is on another level. But it's all delivered with a pitch-black comical wit. It’s a brutal and gruesomely spectacular Easter story.
The short story was later reprinted within David Owain Hughes’ ‘In Search Of Madness’ (2021) collection.
He Is Risen – Duncan Ralston – 15 Pages
Colin and Madison had only been dating since the start of the first semester, but they’d decided to go travelling to Wales to explore the rural British heritage. The history that surrounded them was a far cry from their Canadian homeland. None more so that what the quaint town of Drws Marwolaeth exhibited. It was Easter Sunday and the locals were flocking to the ancient stone church standing proud in the centre of the town. A focal point for the community. It offered a perfect example of local custom which Colin sought to experience. Where tradition and ritual still remained deep within the town’s life blood. Ancient rituals, bound to Christ’s resurrection, which have kept the town alive. Alive beyond death…
Honestly, when I started reading Canadian author Duncan Ralston’s offering, I was somewhat delighted to find it involved a couple from his own homeland visiting the rural setting of North Wales. You see, I’ve lived in Wales for the majority of my life – so the prospect of how Ralston might paint a picture of our locality, our customs, our traditions…oh, it brought more than a meagre smile to my face. What’s more, Ralston doesn’t disappoint! Think ‘The Wicker Man’ (1973) meets ‘Midsommar’ (2019) or indeed Lovercraft’s classic ‘The Shadow Over Innsmouth’ (1931) only with a decidedly Welsh backdrop instead. Then insert the ancient English tradition of ‘clipping the church’ warped beyond recognition due to a sinister connection to Christ’s resurrection. The result is a pretty darn creepyass tale, steeped in a wickedly distorted British history. Oh, and as a little Easter Egg for ya (if you’ll pardon the pun), if you’re not familiar with the Welsh language, Drws Marwolaeth translates to Death’s Door. A delightfully fitting name for a town which exists through a courtship with the dead. Yep, that’s North Wales for you…no fiction here boyo!
The Chicken And The Three Gods – Kit Power – 9 Pages
He placed a single feather into the machine. The output told a new story. One with a whole different view of the world. One from outside of mankind.
The four chickens were adopted young and placed in a small domestic garden. It was there that they met their three Gods. The first was the hen-human. She brought them food and gave them everything they needed for their comfort. She was their C’ra. The second was the cock-human. He too provided for them. They called him R’ak. In return they provided eggs for these two loving Gods.
But the third God, the one they named B’rok, brought nothing but fear and chaos amongst them. The chick-human B’rok, was small but filled with spite and anger. It would chase them around their sanctuary. It squealed and shrieked when it saw them. And it scared them. But their leader had other ideas. With a touch of chicken magic, they would turn the tide on their third God at long last…
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Kit Power has a heck of an imagination on him. One mother humper of an imagination! Here we have a quick-fire story from the perspective of a handful of young chickens that’ve been adopted into a young family. We see the story unfold from the chickens’ perspective. Their wonderful almost-child-like vision of their close-confined world. And the eventual repercussions of their leader’s actions against the family’s young toddler. The one they see as their spiteful tormentor. What a fucking crazy story!
The short tale was later reprinted within Kit Power’s collection ‘A Warning About Your Future Enslavement That You Will Dismiss As A Collection Of Short Fiction And Essays By Kit Power’ (2017).
Wicker Baskets – Kindra Sowder – 7 Pages
Seven-year-old Jesse was excited about what was in store for him tomorrow. Easter had always been one of his favourite holidays. Now he was in bed and awaiting a kiss goodnight from his mother. He could just about hear her and his father, downstairs preparing the Easter basket for him. He couldn’t wait for all the chocolate and fun tomorrow Having his cousins over to play. Although what he really wanted was a bunny. A rabbit to love and play with. Last year his parents had said he was too young, but this year, maybe, just maybe.
However, as young Jesse was just about to fall asleep, there was a knock at the door. Who could be calling at this time of night? The night before Easter. A visitor bringing Easter treats. In reality, it’s an Easter nightmare of its own…
US author Kindra Sowder offers up a short and nightmarishly dark comedy of a story… akin to something from ‘Creepshow’ (1982) only with that whole Easter theme to it! The story spends most of its time setting the scene, lulling us into a sense of family comfort, before unleashing a sudden burst of grotesque horror to conclude the piece with. It’s all very abrupt and sets you purposefully off kilter with the rapid change in pace and delivery. Although the ending feels somewhat stunted. With a turn of the page, we’re left thinking WTF?! Not necessarily in a negative way mind, but more like you’ve suddenly been pushed over a cliff edge. Kinda works though. Fair do’s!
My Last Easter – Jack Rollins – 13 Pages
The legend had persisted about Peter Carl Faberge. About him losing a beloved nephew during the Russian Revolution and, sick with grief, he’d created one of his ornate eggs in secret. An egg not intended for any Tsar, but instead imbued with mysterious properties that it was believed could bring about an end to all conflict… forever!
A century later and the egg has the most unlikely of new homes. Although, unbeknownst to eight-year-old Tommy Pritchard and his sister, it is this special egg that their grandmother has placed pride of place in her tired old living room. An egg with an extraordinary history and the power to unravel the world…
Oh man, you will not believe the insane escalation within this story. What starts out as a something akin to the intro sequence to ‘The Antiques Roadshow’, culminates in absolute end-of-the-frigging-world Armageddon. Yeah, this shit is bat shit crazy and then some.
Essentially, we’ve got a young boy and his sister who decide to play with their grandmother’s precious Faberge egg, only to find it brings about the annihilation of the world. It’s that wonderfully over-the-top. Bizarro sci-fi with so much fun and finality to it. Bastard brilliant my Bizarro brothers and sisters!
Lepus – Stuart Keane – 15 Pages
Lee’s life had been turned upside down when Kay told him to leave. He still loved her dearly. How could she do this to him? How could she raise Shaun alone, without him? He was now living out of a small, rundown two-bedroom apartment. But that wouldn’t be forever. He had a plan. He’d get Kay back, return home, and be happy. Then Lee would kill his poxy landlord. After all, his landlord would probably have something to say about the sixty-three skinned rabbit corpses left rotting on the apartment’s carpet. A necessary evil for the body suit he’d been making from their skinned fur.
Oh yes, four-year-old Shaun was going to have the best Easter surprise ever. The young boy was getting a visit from the Easter Bunny. It was a plan that surely couldn’t fail…
Oh, jeez is this a crazy one?! What a story! And what a frigging twist! Stuart Keane absolutely delivers the Easter treats with this messed up horror that hits you hard with the most unexpected of twists. Furthermore, the whole thing is delivered so damn well. Yeah, you know Lee’s not all there in the head, but fuck, what a messed up sudden twist. The short’s so well crafted, to keep you assuming, to keep you wondering what the hell was that big revelation the author alluded to at the start. Keane of course, keeps his cards to his chest throughout, until that magnificently executed moment when your jaw drops and it all comes out. Damn, that’s a twist… and hell, what a way to hit you with a double whammy at the end too. As a seasoned horror reviewer, I still didn’t see this one coming. Bravo, Stuart! You fucking nailed it.
“Little Bunny” – Glenn Rolfe – 9 Pages
Bremmer’s Woods had been off limits as far back as Marlow Shuman could remember. The woods had become a place of secrets. Dark and terrifying secrets. Tommy Schafer was known to have gone into the woods time and again. Later to be found guilty of the abduction and murder of nine children.
Now Marlow stood facing the woods watching a bunny run into the thick of the dark trees. Beckoning her to follow. She’d only been in the woods once before. Jenna, her younger sister, had taken her into them before she died. The day the fifteen-year-old had told Marlow about her rape. That one time just before Jenna took her own life…
God damn is this a dark and nightmarish short. US author Glenn Rolfe doesn’t hold back with delivering a devilishly bleak and grim story, filled with haunting, harrowing nightmares that come spiralling back to our lead character.
The atmosphere of the story’s setting is closely akin to Guy N Smith’s ‘The Wood’ (1985), with the dark and damp woodland creating a backdrop of lurking doom. The story itself isn’t told in a linear fashion but instead delivered through a zigzagging narrative between Marlow’s haunting memories and the present, where we see the teenager returning to these dreaded woods. What’s real, what’s a supernatural vision, and what’s a symbolic representation of the real horror that took place, is purposefully vague. A fog of haunting terror that creeps up your spine. It’s effective and fucking chilling. Nevertheless, there’s one thing for sure in all this…you’ll not leave the story with happiness in your heart.
Run Rabbit, Run – Michael Bray – 12 Pages
Reverend Gerald Rose had long ago stopped believing in the words of the bible or the message it tried to convey. He had seen the truth of the world, and it was a bitter, horrible place. He was almost fifty and had seen more depressing events and listened to more depraved confessions than any man should ever have to endure.
He felt like a sham wearing his clergy robes. A fraud, an anonymous face in a world build of hatred. But no more. He would make a statement. He would show the world the error of their ways. He would show them that Easter wasn’t just about gluttonising on processed chocolate. He would show the true meaning of Easter. For once, he was sure people would finally listen…
Oh jeez, is this one a hard-to-swallow story?! Essentially, we have a Reverend who’s completely gone full-blown-psycho and now plans to make one final statement to the world about Easter. Of course, our villain of the piece is a paedophile too. A vile excuse for a human who gets his rocks off fantasising about kids. And that’s where the story gets hard to swallow. It’s cold and cruel. A voyeuristic view of a paedo mind. Kids are the victim. The taking of innocence is his vile thrill. It’s fucked up and hard-hitting. And Bray pulls zero punches in its delivery. Gut punch central… and delivered perfectly.
When A Bunny Snaps – Jim Goforth – 25 Pages
Easter Sunday was one of those special nights of the year that seemed to bring all the freaks out of the woodwork. Every year it was the same thing for Bunny. Over Easter she became a freak magnet. Dressed in a skimpy thong with a pair of bunny ears and a small fluffy cottontail, it was fair to say, out of all the waitresses at Fantasy Dress, she was the one who received the most attention. Especially over Easter. The tips were good, but the drunken lewd approaches wore her down. As such, Easter Sunday was always a gruelling shift, but tonight was the worst. Short staffed and the bar buzzing with drunken letches, Bunny needed a break. A short cigarette break, to be by herself before the final stretch to the end of the shift.
However, the shadowy alleyway running alongside ‘Fantasy Dress’ wasn’t exactly the ideal location for relaxation, but it would have to do. At least Bunny could sit on an old crate and have a smoke in peace. Or so she thought. Unfortunately, Josiah Christian had other ideas. As a regular to the bar, over the years he’d been frequenting the place, he must have given Bunny a small fortune in tips. It was time she showed him a little appreciation. It was time he was treated to some Easter Bunny…
This is a good ‘un. For his offering, US author Jim Goforth goes for a hard-hitting short that takes us into a sleazy urban underbelly, where we have a stripper-style waitress being attacked in an alleyway by one of the drunk regulars. However, the story doesn’t end there. Nah, instead we have an ‘I Spit On Your Grave’ (1978) style brutal revenge horror, served up in a blood-splattered Easter basket to boot. It’s a fast-paced and compelling read from the start, with finely-crafted characterisation setting the foundations for a pulse-racing read that’ll leave you grinning from ear to ear. A top quality, bastardly brutal Easter read.
Help Me – Neil Buchanan – 19 Pages
Jo felt like hell. It was the result of a weekend of binging. Drink, drugs and more fucking drugs. Now he felt like utter shit. He needed to get back to his stinking flat and get some rest. He was even starting to hear and see things. The sound of a woman’s voice, pleading, crying out for help. Always fleeting, as if somewhere close by, but just out of reach. It was all getting too much for Jo. He needed rest. And that’s when it hit him. He had no money. So where had he gotten all the drugs from? There was only one place – Len McDurmon – a hardass drug dealer with a fondness for young men. Jo realised then he was in trouble. Big, fucking trouble…
This is an odd one. For the main part the story follows this scrawny, near-to-death drug addict, who’s gotten his ass into debt with a hard-as-nails drug dealer with a penchant for raping young lads. So, already a gritty plot if ever there was one! But where does Easter come in, I hear you ask? Well, aside from being set over Easter, we have this strangely surreal twist to the whole story, almost shoehorned into the narrative at the very end. It all feels rather odd, somewhere between an episode of ‘The X-Files’ (1993 – 2002), Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Arrival’ (2016), and the Prodigy’s video for ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ (1997). Can’t imagine it? Yeah, I know. Try reading it! It’s surreal and a tad too far from lucid to keep you fully engaged. Which is a shame as honestly, I was invested in Jo’s plight until then. Soz!
Educating Horace – Matt Hickman – 15 Pages
Horace Davidson and his mother had simply been dubbed as ‘strange’ by most of the town. Social misfits. It would be fair to say Horace didn’t mix well and had no real friends at school. Not that the fourteen-year-old minded, he enjoyed being alone. It gave his mind the opportunity to wonder. To imagine and fantasise. Horace Davidson did a lot of that – fantasising. He’d daydream about Candice Smith giving him the eye, or him fighting off a load of bullies, or better yet, Miss Fingerhut giving him the come on. But they were all just fantasises. For now, at least…
Ok, so there’s coming-of-age stories, and then there’s this malignant piece of torture porn horror! That’s not in any way a bad thing. To be honest, Hickman’s short is a monstrously compelling read. A story that doesn’t shy away from the tricky subject of teen fantasies. But of course, Hickman takes it a few steps further. The end result is a gritty, almost sleazy story, that pulls you in by the scruff of the neck and keeps you compelled to read on until the troubling, grin-inducing end.
Deb Loves Robbie – Mark West – 16 Pages
Robbie Hughes knew Deb Swales long before they’d gotten close in school. Their two families had history. They didn’t like each other. However, Robbie and Deb were different. They’d fallen in love and had plans for a future together. Although, when the Swales brothers found out about the pair, there was trouble. Trouble which ends in Robbie suffering from a Traumatic Brain Injury. Although, that was nothing compared to the accident that befell Robbie’s dearest Deb. An accident at Easter, but one which would change everything forever…
UK author Mark West has come to the Easter table with a particularly gruesome and tragic love story. Told through the eyes of Robbie Hughes, it’s a sad tale about a difficult love, that’s cut short by an accident. Only Robbie can’t quite see things as they are, due to his TBI. Instead, we have a gradual descent into a grisly scene, where we, the readers, know what’s happening, but like watching a car crash unfold, we watch from the sidelines as Robbie’s mental stability crumbles. It’s sad and grisly, with a cheeky little supernatural Easter resurrection side-element thrown in for good measure.
Tradition – Kyle M. Scott – 23 Pages
Billy couldn’t believe his fifteen-year-old brother, Kevin, was going to spend his time painting a lame Easter egg, rather than go and explore the woods. It’d been a place of infinite intrigue to twelve-year-old Billy, ever since they moved to the small rural town last year. Abbington Wood rested right on their doorstep like the gateway between worlds, yet he’d not once been able to explore its depths.
Their parents had warned them not to go into the woods alone, but tonight their parents were out with friends. Tonight, Billy and Kevin were home alone and could do whatever they wanted. So, why the hell was Kevin spending his time painting an Easter egg? And why did he seem so goddamn anxious? So scared! Fear seemed to emanate from Kevin in waves, and now it was beginning to creep into Billy. There seemed to be much more to Kevin’s task than simply following Easter tradition. Something truly worrying…
This is a really good one. In some ways it reminds me of aspects of Adam Nevill’s ‘The Ritual’ (2017), although more the film adaptation than the book. It’s a creepy story about an Easter tradition. A ritual which is done to keep an ancient abomination from taking the small town’s first-born children each Easter. Yeah, I know it sounds like a pretty standard horror affair, but trust me, this one’s got a proper chill factor to it. A thick slab of tension and eerie suspense for the first half, then an exposition of creature horror akin to something Lovercraft or Clark Ashton Smith might have penned for the latter half. The whole short is written incredibly well too, building on the nervous energy of the piece, until all hell breaks loose. This my friends, is Easter Horror!
Hey-Zeus – Duncan P. Bradshaw – 16 Pages
Guy had sorted Ed out with a fake ID. One which looked the part, although Ed couldn’t believe the fake name they’d given him. Jesus. Guy proclaimed it was pronounced ‘Hey-Zeus’. Out of all the names to pick, why that one? It was Maundy Thursday too and they were planning to go to the pub with the ID. No one was going to believe his name was Jesus on this day of all times. Although, the response Ed gets from the barman is far from what he expected. Free beers if he helps the bar manager with something around back. A task only Jesus could do. Something to set things right. A ritual to bring back Judas…
British author Duncan P Bradshaw is a man with a wild imagination. We’ve seen his wacky ideas at play in many of his previous novels. Crazy-ass stuff that swan dives off the otherwise stable diving board of reality and into a churning pool of wacky bizarro. That’s exactly what we have here. A wild horror piece reengineering the final painful hours of Jesus, leading to his reincarnation and then into something beyond anything you would have imagined! This shit’s wild and hilariously over-the-top. Bradshaw doing what he does best – writing the most unpredictable, off-the-frigging-wall bizarro, plucked from the mind of a lunatic genius!
Feldman’s Rabbit – Rich Hawkins – 14 Pages
Feldman had never known snow like it. His car had packed up in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but fields of white around him on all sounds. Having no desire to die in the squalid interior of his rusty Vauxhall Vectra, he’d abandoned his car and made his way on foot through the snowstorm.
After a while he came across an empty and isolated property. Somewhere to seek refuge from the snowstorm. Although it offered no power or heat. Nevertheless, the property at least provided shelter. With his stomach growling with hunger, he’d searched for food but found there was none there. Nothing to keep him going, other than a wicker basket full of chocolate Easter eggs at the foot of a tatty rabbit costume. Events that were becoming enough to drive anyone insane…
It would be fair to say that Rich Hawkins writes some bleak and fucking downbeat stories. His work has a murky, downtrodden air to it. A sort of impending doom embedded within a grey and gloomy backdrop. This Easter story is no different. Like with Kyle M. Scott’s ‘Tradition’ there’s again similarities to Adam Nevill’s ‘The Ritual’ (2017), although here we have our protagonist seeking shelter from an unrelenting snowstorm. What follows is a spiral into madness…and it’s not comforting reading at all. A narrative that bounds back-and-forth between nightmarish dreams and this poor fella’s challenging predicament. Two states which seem to blend and warp into a dark and desperate state of exhausted insanity. Utterly brilliant reading. Fucking dark and miserable though!
On The Third Day – Graeme Reynolds – 14 Pages
Up on the hillside, high above Jerusalem, the two men worked in darkness, keeping quiet so as to not draw attention to their presence. Barrabas had brought Simon along to help move the giant boulder that currently covered the entrance to the cave. Their intention – to take whatever souvenirs they could from the corpse inside. Barrabas was all too aware of who’s body lay inside. A prophet who had hundreds of followers, many of whom were rich. A few personal belongings from the dead man would undoubtedly bring in some serious money for them. However, they weren’t aware of the words Jesus had spoken before his death. “Don’t go anywhere near my body unit sunrise on the third day, otherwise bad things would happen”. Bad things indeed…
Ha! I knew someone was going to do a zombie Jesus story! I thought it’d be Bradshaw to be honest! Although his contribution was kinda zombie-Jesus (ish), here we have the full offering. What British author Graeme Reynolds has served up is a Bradshaw-esque style of horror zombie comedy, with a Stant Litore style of historic zombie plot. It’s everything you’d hope from a zombie Jesus tale – a rampaging blood hungry prophet, clueless disciples, and a heroic Judas to sort the matter out. Furthermore, the writing is fast paced and full of quick quips and dry wit. The result being a grin-inducing Easter treat for every good heathen out there!
Easter Eggs – Chantal Noordeloos – 21 Pages
Polly had agreed to spend Easter with Lukas’ family in Germany. They’d only met less than six months ago, but over that time she’d become pregnant with Lukas’ child and subsequently the pair had gotten engaged. Now Lukas wanted Polly to meet his family at the Opfergabe family estate. Whilst there, they could take part in their family’s Easter tradition – the Pysanka. A ritual involving them decorating Easter eggs, adding a small personal sacrifice, then burying the eggs within the surrounding fields as an offering to the Goddess Eostre – the lady of the soil. However, it was a ceremony that would turn out to be far more horrific than Polly Green would ever have imagined…
Goddamn is this a good one! In essence it’s akin to a reworking of ‘Midsommar’ (2019) only relocated to the rural German outback and set over Easter, with the ceremony being a strange corruption of the Easter festivities. As with Ari Aster’s movie, this folk horror is also absolutely brutal and utterly chilling. It starts off as a bit of a slow burner, with a gradual skin-crawling chill beginning to seep into the story. Then when the horrific reality of the ritual is revealed… damn does it get intense! This one’s heart-pounding and utterly captivating until the very last grisly page is turned. What an Eostre offering!
Easter Hunt – J.R. Park – 18 Pages
Old Pat had gone out into the village’s surrounding fields to set up the children’s Easter egg hunt as he did every Easter Sunday. Whilst he worked, hiding the brightly foiled chocolate eggs around the misty grassland, the village’s children eagerly waited in the church for the service to end, so they could commence the hunt.
Eight-year-old Annie could barely contain her excitement. Her and Megan would make sure they were the first out, hoping to take home the biggest harvest of chocolate eggs. However, that Easter would not be the joyous occasion they all anticipated. For lurking within the yellow tinted mists blanketing the surrounding fields, stalked a nightmarish beast, thirsty for flesh and blood…
It’s no secret that Park is a huge fan of Guy N Smith’s pulp horror. Furthermore, in this short story alone it’s plainly evident to all. Essentially, what we have is a pulpy reimagining of ‘The Slime Beast’ (1975) that’s been given an Easter twist. As such, blend that with the B-Movie wackiness of ‘Night Of The Lepus’ (1972) and you’ve basically hit the nail on the head with what to expect here. Is it fun?! You fucking betcha! Lashings of gory splatter, along with all the thrills and intestine spills or a pulpy ‘Creature Feature’ romp. This is Park in his element. An author who’s clearly sat down and had immense fun writing the short. The result of this is a monstrously entertaining pulp horror fest, with gnashing razor-sharp teeth and blood splattered bunny fur. Hoorah for pulp horror!
The Jesus Loophole – Luke Smitherd – 20 Pages
It was Easter Sunday and Harry had been on his way to the office when he’d been drugged and kidnapped. Regaining consciousness, he’d woken blindfolded, gagged and bound to a chair. His senses instantly recognised the smell of his office. His kidnapper had tied him up in his own fucking office! But what did he want? What the hell was this all about? Harry was just a family man. A trusted, respected Christian, devoted husband, and loving father to his two young kids. He couldn’t understand what his abductor could want from him. There was nothing he’d done to deserve this. Nothing, other than maybe, something that happened three years ago. But that was in the past. Long ago. He was a different man now…
What a story to end the anthology on! British author Luke Smitherd offers up a chilling short that moves from a seemingly textbook gritty thriller premise, to a pretty darn clever and thought-provoking conceptual piece. Honestly, this one’s fucking clever. It’s the mad hypothesis of a disturbed mind… but nonetheless, fucking clever. Oh, I like it! Essentially (without give anything away), we explore the idea of Christian remorse and then forgiveness along with how one might gain access to Heaven. Is there a loophole? Shit, I think there might just be! A genius idea, delivered through a tight, tense and dialogue-driven narrative. And it’s a story with one of the coldest endings ever. Happy frigging Easter!
The anthology runs for a total of 330 pages.
© DLS Reviews
