The Pram by Joe Hill, Ankle Snatcher by Grady Hendrix, It Waits in the Woods by Josh Malerman (Creature Feature Collection, Part 1)

A husband’s obsessive desire for a child leads to an unexpected manifestation of his yearning in a nightmarish short story about fatherhood dreams by New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill.

 

Willy and Marianne’s farmhouse in Maine has acres of meadow and fresh air, and a lonesome bridle path in the forest along which Willy daydreams and ambles. When he’s loaned a decrepit old baby stroller to cart his groceries home, the rickety squeak of the wheels comforts him. So do the sweet coos of a baby Willy knows can’t be real. Can it? In this twisted thicket, wishes come true—with a price.

 Publisher: Audible | Narrator: Robert Petkoff | Length: 1 hour 31 minutes | Genre: Horror  | Source: Publisher | Rating: 4

The cover was just calling out to me with it creepiness and it didn’t disappoint.

Willy and Marianne have moved from Brooklyn to Maine in hopes of escaping the pain and heartbreak of their most recent miscarriage. When the owner of the grocery store offers Willy an old ratty pram to tote his groceries home, Willy allows the pram to soothe him as he thinks of the child he lost. Now Willy’s hearing the sounds of a baby. Has his wish to be a father come true or is something more sinister at play?

This was such a good horror story. It had all of the elements that I want in horror: creepiness, folksiness, a bit or gore, and troubled main characters. While I would have liked to have learned more about the Sin-Planters, this was a short story and only allowed for so much but I didn’t feel as though anything was missing.

This was my first time reading Joe Hill and you can tell that he inherited his father’s (Stephen King) gift of storytelling. I look forward to reading more from Joe Hill. 

Obey the rules. It’s the only way to survive the night in a short story about what hides in the dark by the New York Times bestselling author of The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires.

 

Marcus grew up believing his father killed his mother—then blamed it on the boogeyman under the bed. Always leave the lights on, his father warned, or the boogeyman will get you. Marcus still heeds the superstition, especially when he invites his new girlfriend over. Is Marcus haunted by a creature or has he just inherited his father’s murderous delusions? The night will tell.

Publisher: Audible | Narrator: Michael Crouch  | Length: 45 minutes | Genre: Horror | Source: Publisher | Rating: 5

 A boogeyman under the bed? Yes, please!

Marcus was six when his father was accused of killing his mother even though his father always blamed it on the boogeyman under the bed. While Marcus believed his father was guilty, he always slept with the lights on until one night he turns the lights off then his new girlfriend disappears under the bed. Now Marcus is questioning if he killed his girlfriend or if the boogeyman truly exists.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this as I’ve been struggling with Grady Hendrix’s writing but I loved this one!

This is the perfect spooky season short story. It has all the classic elements of a great horror story. There’s a boogeyman under the bed, what more can you ask for? While this one is short, I found the pacing and the plot to be perfect and even. Nothing felt rushed or left out.  

Some chilling campfire tales ring too true to ignore. For one young woman, an urban legend calls her into the woods in a spine-tingling short story by the bestselling author of Bird Box.

 

The dense Michigan forest. Haunting wails. The clip-clop of demon hooves on a bridge to nowhere. It’s more than a tall tale to Brenda Jennings, whose sister disappeared in those woods one fateful night. Three years later, on a solo stakeout in the dark, Brenda goes in after her. She’s desperate for answers, and terrified to find what lies waiting on the other side of that bridge.

 Publisher: Audible | Narrator: Lauren Ezzo | Length: 1 hour 38 minutes | Genre: Horror | Source: Publisher | Rating: 3.5 

 

Deep in the Ucatanani National Forest lies an urban legend…

When Brenda’s sister, Amanda, disappears in the woods one night and never returns, Brenda can’t help but to wonder if there’s truth behind the legend of Opso, the creature that lives in the woods. Armed with her recording equipment, Brenda takes to the woods seeking answers about what happened that night. But is she ready for the what she’ll uncover?

This one has the makings of a classic horror story.

-urban legend

-boogeyman in the woods

-missing teenager

-teenager on her own in creepy forest

-a mysterious bridge

Sadly, this one didn’t live up to it’s potential. While I liked the majority of the story and would consider it a worthy listen, the ending wasn’t as strong as it could have been and it felt a little rushed. I did enjoy the frantic suspense and Lauren Ezzo did a fantastic job with the narration and give this book a creepy vibe. 

Creature Feature Collection

Gather round as today’s most diabolically clever authors twist simple moments into otherworldly horrors. An empty baby stroller. A scratching underneath the bed. A farmhouse in the moonlight. With an unnerving sense of the macabre, these stories transform our greatest fears into bone-chilling realities.

 Available in e-book and audio, the Creature Feature Collection is a set of 6 books that can be purchased individually or as a collection.

 Books in the collection include

1-The Pram by Joe Hill

2-Ankle Snatcher by Grady Hendrix

3-It Waits in the Woods by Josh Malerman

4-In Bloom by Paul Tremblay

5-Best of Luck by Jason Mott

6-Big Bad by Chandler Baker 

Stop by tomorrow for my

 review of the second set of stories.