by Michael Bray
I started again.
I wrote new stories from scratch. Incidentally, one story and one alone has survived from that initial Destination Nowhere manuscript, and that one is Cabin Fever. Although it could be a bit long for a short story collection, there is something in there that I like, and like an underdog Sylvester Stallone in the Rocky movies, it always managed to avoid that knockout punch. Eventually, after what felt like an eternity of adding, removing, editing, deleting and rewriting, the book you have just read was pretty much in shape. Of course, by now you will know if you enjoyed it or not, and I sincerely hope you have. In the vein of those who came before me, I would like to take this opportunity to leave a few notes on each of the included stories for those interested in a little background info. For those who couldn’t care less, I invite you to close the book here, and will say thanks again for reading. For those who share my nerdy desire to peek behind the curtain as it were, here are my own personal notes on the included tales.
Mr Ghoul’s Quaint Little Ghost Train
I have to confess to not being the greatest fan of funfairs. I find them a little bit creepy. I like clowns even less, so decided in my infinite wisdom to write about them. I always saw Mr Ghoul a little bit like Captain Spaulding from Rob Zombie's, The Devils Rejects, and the idea that this timeless travelling circus moving from place to place and showing people their hidden past was a strong one which made for pretty interesting subject matter. At its most basic level, this story is about consequences of actions, and how one day they might just come back to bite you.
99.9am
Whenever a famous musician dies, I find it odd how the media always bring out the line about how they are now ‘playing music in heaven’. That got me thinking about how this would play out if not only was this true, but if we could somehow tune into these heavenly broadcasts and listen in. That was literally all I had idea wise when I started writing the story, and just really let it take me where it wanted to go. I thought it came out as a pretty good story in the end, even if it might have all been a figment of poor Doyle’s imagination.
The Eye
I like the idea that sometimes things can just happen for no real rhyme or reason. There are no real secrets in the world anymore, no surprises, and I’m not entirely sure that’s a good thing or not. ‘The Eye’ is a story about a world that just may have a few secrets left to share.
Scarecrows
I have a friend who lives on the English coast. On the way to visit him in the summer of 2012, I happened to look out of the window as we drove past rolling fields and farmland, and saw what can only best be described as scarecrow overkill. There must have been seven or eight scarecrows, an average of one per field of crops, and although we were past the bizarre scene in seconds, the imagery stuck with me. It wasn’t until I was writing the new stuff for this collection that I dug that image out of my head and used it for the basis of Dwayne & Randy’s story. This is actually one of my favorite stories in this collection.
H_NG__N
I was playing the game hangman with my daughter, when I started to ask myself what it would be like to play the game for real with an actual person in the noose. So strong was that image, that I couldn’t wait to write the story, and did it pretty much straight away, just going with the flow and letting the story shape itself and drag me along for the ride. I was pleased with the end result, and apart from a few minor changes, it has barely changed from its initial draft.
The Boy Who Saw Spiders
I will be the first to admit that I am deathly afraid of spiders. Even to see one skittering across the carpet freaks me out, and in the Bray household, it is my wife who is responsible for all spider based removals whilst I cower as far away as possible. I wanted to see if I could write a story that would make everyone as uncomfortable with arachnids as I was, and after some time thinking about what would be the absolute worst thing that could happen to a spider hater like me, the idea for ‘The boy Who Saw Spiders’ was born.
The Man In The Alley
I sometimes think about how the world has changed over the years. When I was younger, it seemed to be a much safer place to be. I had the idea that it would be interesting if people were born either inherently good or bad, and that in turn got me thinking about what sort of responsibility might fall upon someone who could see this in those people and how he might react. The idea for this story started to grow in my head, and was written in a single sitting. I was really happy with the finished piece, and count it as one of my favorite stories.
Sick Day
I have often been intrigued by how little we actually know those people who we are close to in our lives. I explored it a little in ‘That Gnawing Feeling’ from Dark Corners, but I wanted to explore it further, particularly in regards to marriage. It’s a strange commitment to make to someone, to promise yourself to them through sickness and health, rich or poor, until death etc. I asked myself what might happen if one half of such a union had a darkness in them which might render those values as moot, and how their spouse might react.
Jasper
This story was initially one never intended for publication. I was asked by a friend if I was able to write on spec about any specific subject matter given. I suggested that I felt confident that anything can be turned into a good story within reason, and was given the brief of composing something containing a mind reading bird. Undaunted, I started to write, and found that not only was the subject matter workable, it made for what I thought was a pretty good story. As with most of my work, there was no happy ending, although in the first draft there was – Jasper made it to the outside world. I always found that ending to be a little bit ‘Hollywood’ though, and so replaced it in the second draft with the bleaker finale you have here.
Tilly
It’s surprising how many people think this story is a supernatural tale about haunted dolls. Although on the surface, it looks that way, this one is actually about the advances in technology as far as toys go. Even kids as young as four are pretty proficient at navigating touch screen tablets and phones etc, and that itself is pretty disturbing. I wanted to look at what might happen if some of this super advanced technology went wrong, and if the super advanced artificial intelligence suddenly became less than artificial and actually started to go into business for itself. You could argue that it’s more sci fi than horror, but I like to think it strikes a happy medium between the two.
Long Tall Coffin
I have wanted to approach the subject of bullying for some time. There were a couple of stories in Dark Corners which touched on it, but I never had a story to really tackle the subject as head on as I would have liked, until Long Tall Coffin. Having been on the receiving end of the schoolyard bully on more than one occasion during my youth, this is a subject that is close to me, and I am happy to finally have the story out on paper.
50/50
As is often the case when I think about random things, the subject of freedom of choice came up. I asked myself what would happen if that freedom of choice to control your own destiny was taken from you, and how you might, given the circumstances, choose to give life one last try.
Cabin Fever
As I touched on earlier, Cabin Fever is both the oldest story in this collection, and also the only story to survive the very first draft of the book when it was called Destination Nowhere. The initial draft of the story was written in 2007, and was significantly longer than this edit. Although some might say that this version is still lengthy for a short story, I don’t think it’s too long, or at least I hope not. This is one of those stories that questions the difference between right and wrong, and when faced with a seemingly impossible decision, would you know what to do for the best?
The Langton Effect
This story was initially written for submission to a flash fiction anthology which had a strict 999 word limit. The story was rejected, and in hindsight it was with good reason, as I had to sacrifice much of the intended storyline to meet the word coun
t. Here it is now restored to its original pre-chopped state, and is my tribute to the superb Rod Serling’s Twilight zone type of story which were a great influence on me growing up.
The Trial Of Edwyn Greer
The literary world has become over-saturated with vampire stories. Most of them following the same rehashed plots. I wanted to approach the subject from a completely different angle, and asked myself what might happen if a vampire, after years of murder and maiming, was somehow re-humanised. The Trial Of Edwyn Greer is my idea of how such a thing could possibly play out.
Candyland
I was watching a documentary about a Congo tribe that had lived undiscovered by modern man until they were stumbled upon by accident. The idea of a community with no knowledge or form of interaction with the outside world was incredibly intriguing, and I tried to figure out a way to bring that same kind of situation a little closer to home. I was speaking to a fellow author friend of mine from across the pond who told me that the Arizona desert was a pretty isolated place, and with that nugget of information, Candyland was born. Of all the stories included here, I think this is my favorite. I like it a lot, and hope you do too.
And so, that is it. I hope you enjoyed reading this collection. Despite the roadblocks, it was great fun to write. I have to give massive thanks to Garrett Cook for editing the initial draft of the book, and to Sylvia Kerslake for doing the second more in depth line edit for the final version of the manuscript.
Also a special mention to the amazingly talented Stu Smith for the amazing cover artwork, and to Paul Levas, Albert Kwak, Pauline Bray, Bruce Blanchard, Joe Jenkins, Lois Wacey & Gail Holland for beta reading the collection and giving me invaluable feedback and guidance along the way.
I also have to say a massive thank you to my wife Vikki for tolerating me during the often grunt filled periods when I was putting this book together. I wouldn’t be able to do this without her constant support. If you enjoy this book, I ask you to take the time to leave it a review on Amazon. It only takes a couple of minutes, and really helps authors to make headway in the business.
And so, that brings us, once again to the end. As I write this, it has just started to rain (good old English weather) and I have a half-finished manuscript demanding my attention. The writer’s wheel never stops turning, and I hope to see you all again soon.
Michael Bray
15th September, 2013
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What lurks within the darkness? What crawls outside of our perception? What happens when the world as we know it stops making sense? When reality isn't what it seems, and the rules no longer apply?
“DARK CORNERS is the sort of book you’ll find yourself continually revisiting—still managing to catch you off guard even through multiple reads.
Bray is most definitely an exciting new voice in the field of horror fiction, and one I look forward to hearing more from in the future.”
- Horrornews.net
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“This journey through the macabre and Hell was a week-long feast of gore, terror, hell, demonic debauchery, you name it. Additionally for a week straight, I struggled to sleep, either because I was completely hooked on one of Bray's twisted tales, or I was apprehensive that one of his diabolical creations was going to materialize through the walls and carry me off.”
- Readinginthewindowseat.blogspot.com 4/5 suns
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“Bray is a powerful storyteller and has a keen ability to focus equally on characterization and detail in his settings while he sets the stage for the terrifying outcomes that ultimately await in each story.”
“A chilling collection of riveting stories.”
Welcome to Grueber’s, the brand new all night supermarket chain with a difference. For its unfortunate customers, the ordinary looking store could be the last trip they ever make—for its shelves are stacked with horrific delicacies made from human flesh, and the store boasts a Meat aisle that has to be seen to be believed. The unlikely group of unwitting shoppers must come together to not only survive, but to try to find a way to escape from the store and the inhuman Staff who are keen for them to stay… forever.
“This is an awesome, awesome, awesome read and one hell of a ride! It is quite simply one of the best short horror novels that I have read in ages!”
“I was immersed from the moment that I started reading and couldn't bear to leave this book alone.”
“This book has a sting in the tail too which makes for an ending that will almost leave a nasty taste in your mouth. A fantastic tale from a twisted mind!”
“Plenty of blood, guts and evil people...what more could a horror fan ask for?”
“Every element of a brilliant horror story was covered in this novel, the deaths were gruesome and graphically described, an abundance of heart-stopping moments and finishing off with a 'didn't see that coming' revelation.”
Table of Contents
Mr. Ghoul’s Quaint Little Ghost Train
99.9AM
The Eye
Scarecrows
H_ng__n
The Boy Who Saw Spiders
The Man in the Alley
Sick Day
Jasper
Tilly
Long Tall Coffin
50/50
Cabin Fever
The Langton Effect
The Trial of Edwyn Greer
Candyland
Author Notes
Also From The Same Author
