Dark Horror Tales

  Plot Summary: In Boys from County Hell, the legendary vampire Abhartach emerges from his grave. It is up to a father and son, and their crew of road workers to save the town.  Legend has it that Bram Stoker 's Dracula wasn't really an original idea but heavily inspired by local legends. One such theory is that Dracula was based on the Irish legendary creature, Abhartach because Bram Stoker passed through a quiet little county and learned the story from the locals. Boys from County Hell is based on that very rumour. In the movie, it is believed that Bram Stoker does pass by their little town which is why the local pub is named after him: Stoker. It is also due to this that many tourists flock to the place, eager to see where Bram Stoker found his inspiration. It is always fascinating to see where writers find their inspiration, is there not? Now Abhartach isn't exactly the typical vampire we've read in books. He was an evil, dwarfish creature who tormented the

  PLOT SUMMARY: When a new priest arrives, the people living in an isolated island witness miracles and omens.  There's some appeal to small towns and tight-knit communities. You grow up in a place where everyone knows your name. Everyone knows pretty much everything about you. You will never feel alone because you won't be in a large city full of strangers. You will always have someone to greet. In small communities, people often help each other out too. How many stories have we heard of people coming together to help their neighbours? How many times have you heard similar stories taking place in large cities?

  We have all heard of Cthulhu, though not exactly able to pronounce it.  It is supposed to be pronounced: kuh-thoo-loo.  What is a Cthulhu? It is a fictional entity created by acclaimed writer H.P. Lovecraft, but that isn't where the fiction ends. There is a whole universe and mythos created on that entity. 

 Trailers are an integral promotional tool for movies. Whether or not people go to see a movie depends on the trailers. But has anyone noticed that nowadays trailers pretty much give up the story of the whole movie including some pretty important disclosures that should stay under wraps until people watch the actual movie? Well, you will find no problems with Amazon Prime Videos, Welcome to the Blumhouse trailer. Four new movies coming up next month and each of them have their own trailer. First impression: all of them look dull and clichéd and unimpressive. Or is it the faded filter they used for the trailer?     Last years line up wasn't exactly amazing but the stories turned up okay. Not memorable. Just okay. You can read about them here:  The Lie Black Box Evil Eye   Nocturne  Here are the four movies coming up next month:    Black as Night (October 1st) A girl battles vampires with the help of her friend and her crush.     

  PLOT SUMMARY: A journalist is stunned when the small town he is visiting is gripped by strange occurrences everyone believes to be the work of the divine.  Faith can move mountains. It's the one thing that helps us go through our life. Faith in ourselves, faith in others, faith in entities and deities...the list goes on. But there are different kinds of faith. When we have faith in ourselves, it helps us boost our confidence. When we have faith in others, we learn to trust. When we think about religious faith, we believe that there is a higher power that is taking care of us. It is better to believe that rather than feel like we are all alone in this world. But the sceptics would have a different definition for faith. When we use that faith to make something work for us, they call it the placebo effect. All we need to do is to believe with all our heart and things magically work. But it is actually our faith and the minds that help us heal faster, or make it through a particul

Do you remember what you did last summer? Did you go on vacation? Picked up a new hobby? Sat home and watched the news on the pandemic? Waited for the lockdown to end?  Followed celebrities on social media to see what they have been up to during the pandemic since they can’t shoot for their movies or TV shows properly.  Yes, last summer was probably boring and this summer has been somewhat on par with that. So let’s talk about autumn.  This autumn, a new TV show is coming out based on the popular novel and movie franchise, I Know What You Did Last Summer.  In case you’ve forgotten the story, it’s about a group of friends who cause an accident, cover it up and a whole year later, are threatened by an unknown killer. Apart from the original novel, there have been three Hollywood movies based on it and one Bollywood movie (Kucch To Hai) which was highly “inspired” by the theme.  And now there’s a TV show.  My first thought was, where have the original scripts gone? Is no one writing an

  It's no surprise that as a horror genre enthusiast, I'm a huge fan of the master of horror, Stephen King. For quite some time, I was unable to do a lot of reading and when I finally found the time, the first thing I thought about was reading a Stephen King book. Now I'm not entirely sure why I picked Joyland of all the other books I haven't read by Stephen King. Maybe it was the cover? Maybe because it was supposed to be a mystery? Who doesn't love a good horror mystery? Stephen King is no doubt blessed with the ability to draw readers right in within the first page. You are introduced to the protagonist and drawn to his story. Now, I haven't read the author's recent work so I was mildly surprised that this story was told in the first person. For some reason, first-person stories don't appeal to me as such. I like stories told from the third person in which I get to experience the whole fictional world rather than just see the world through a character

  The Midnight Mass trailer is here, finally filling the blanks left by the teaser. We see a man returning to Crockett Island a long time after causing an accident in which a girl died whose image still haunts him. Crockett Island seems like an ideal place with a strong community bond. There is forgiveness and support and friendship.

  PLOT SUMMARY: A family moves into a new home unaware that it is haunted. As the husband begins to lose his mind, it is up to the wife to solve the mystery of the house before it is too late.  The Borley Rectory was known as the most haunted house in the world...in the 1930s. Years passed, investigators were sent in and people were re-interviewed, and then the Borley Rectory became the most-lied about house in the world. Turns out, no one actually saw a ghost and the people who claimed they did said it was all a prank. But that didn't stop filmmakers from digging up old stories and releasing a movie every three years or so. Here's another one: The Banishing.

  Fresh warmth of a full-summer day. Blossoming flowers. Rich green grass. The opening of the story places you in the middle of a town, a long time ago, when things were simple when there was harmony and community. Or so you would expect. The picturesque opening of the story waylays the reader into believing they are reading a story about just another pleasant day in a town when people loved to gather for some occasion or another and simply have a lovely time together. But then you realize you are reading a short story by Shirley Jackson, a writer known to excel in the horror genre. Clearly, something is afoot. And that is when you notice the clues. Men are smiling rather than laughing. Quiet jokes are being made. There is some hesitation to touch the black box which contains the slips of paper with the names of the head of the households. People greet each other gravely. Something is wrong, you would think. And it is when Tessie, one of the characters, declares that their family name

  How interesting is it that the makers of the show came up with such an apt title for a show? The trailer was intriguing, the thumbnails of the show on Netflix are interesting, but the minute you start watching the show, you truly understand the definition of clickbait. Because you have just been baited into watching a show that amounts to nothing. Clickbait is a limp mystery that will leave you frustrated after watching the last episode. It is that bad. The last episode needs a serious rewrite. Remember the phrase 'The Butler did it?' Mysteries can be hard to write, especially if the intention is to keep the reader/viewer glued until the very last page. The story is effective only when all plot points fall into place. The butler is supposed to be an unassuming character who no one suspects. The butler is just someone in the background who no one suspects of any misdeeds. After all, he's a helper; he's not capable of any wrongdoing, is he? But in some mysteries, of cou

  On the 8th and 9th of September, don't forget to get your free ebook from Amazon Kindle. Here are the titles available for free download: FOOLHARDY  RAGE HOUSE A SECOND TOMORROW JUST KISMET  THE HAUNTED EMPATH SINFULLY STUPID SEVEN  or VISIT MY AMAZON AUTHOR'S PAGE

PLOT SUMMARY: A couple's relationship is challenged when the wife turns into a vampire.    Thirty years of marriage is a long time. At this point, I would imagine that the husband and wife know pretty much everything about each other and either develop a deeper love for each other or become each other's habit and learned to endure those little annoying habits.

PLOT SUMMARY: A group of students go searching for the Bigfoot but end up finding not only the legendary creature but an evil creature called the Wendigo too.  Imagine looking for a silver coin and ending up with a gold one. Or expecting to come third place and coming up first. Or expecting a bad day but actually having an incredible one. It's like winning the lottery, isn't it? Quite a bit of serendipity too. The Dawn of the Beast is something like that. A group of people go looking for Bigfoot and end up not only sighting the legendary creature, but also a far terrifying one, the Wendigo. Yes, that's not exactly serendipity. More of having a bad day. But for the audience who is expecting to see one beast, guess what? You get to see hordes of beasts. For someone who is into creature features, this is probably a dream come true. For others, it will be a case of too much into too little. The story isn't much and the build-up is not as mind-blowing as it could be. And the