They Move Below by Karl Drinkwater

They Move Below: & Other Dark Tales by Karl Drinkwater
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 398

Publisher - Organic Apocalypse

Blurb from Goodreads

Horror lives in the shadows.

It exists under the earth’s surface in ancient caves; below the vast sea’s undulating waves; under dense forest cover; within a storm’s thick, rolling clouds; downstairs in our homes, when we hear the knife drawer rattle in the night. Even our minds and bodies harbour the alien under the skin, the childhood nightmares in our subconscious.

In this collection of sixteen tales Karl Drinkwater sews flesh onto the bones of our worst fears whilst revisiting some of horror’s classic settings, such as the teen party, the boat in trouble, the thing in the cellar, the haunted museum, the ghost in the machine, and the urban legends that come true. No-one is safe. Darkness hides things, no matter how much we strain our eyes. And sometimes those things are looking back at us.


My Review

I never pick up short stories as a first choice, it is very rare I like them although master King is always the exception. However, I read a Drinkwater novella before, a few years ago, and as he is horror/spooky this collection fits perfectly for my October reads so I thought I would give it a whirl.

Sixteen creepy short stories that will have the hair on the back of your neck standing, holding your breath and listening out for things that go bump in the night. I didn't love all sixteen, one or two I found only ok however the majority of them left me creeped out and back to how I felt back in the days when I first read horror. I love when an author recommends or mentions another author's work within a story, he did this with Koontz and I bought the book as I want to know the rest of the tale.

I would be had pushed to pick a favourite however of the lot I think "Just Telling Stories" two 'friends' in a hotel room freaking each other with scary tales which is something we used to do as kids. And "Claws Truth Forebear" a story that will have you feeling claustrophobic whilst the characters struggle through enclosed spaces and examining the consequences of ones actions. Some of the others are quite dark too but these two stuck out for me.

Drinkwater has the knack of creating a tense and terrifying atmosphere that draws in the readers and creeps them out almost from the get go. Some of the stories are only a handful of pages long whilst others have a bit more meat. I have read this author before and I will read him again, if you like a bit of freak and a good scare this is the book for you, 4/5 for me this time.

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