This story is an attempt to create a surreal horror piece. This is the last story to see publication from that group and that makes me feel a little bit weird.

I wrote it (and two others) during my first two-week quarantine. My Halloween story ‘Wolves at the Door’ was published by the good folks over at Dread Imaginings. I’ve got a few new pieces out in the world:

I know many reviewers DID enjoy this book and I’m not discouraging others from checking it out, but I must be honest about how I felt about it and for me it’s a pass.It’s spooky season again. The ending was very B-rated horror movie and maybe I’d enjoy this novella more if it had been a B-rated horror movie (because I enjoy those as mindless entertainment) but what works as a bad horror movie usually doesn’t work for a book and that’s why I couldn’t enjoy it. My second issue with the novella was that all of the characters seemed to have had some past romantic connections to one another, and while that isn’t unusual is a group of young friends, it seemed really odd that every single dude had slept with one girl and so everyone had underlying resentment towards one another. Some of the writing was beautiful, but some of it was simply too over the top that a lot of times I had to reread to know exactly what was going on, and therein lies the issue, in a horror novella you want the action to be evident, not up to interpretation! Now, my issue with the novella is the excessive purple prose that was interjected throughout the whole novella. And let’s not forget that with such an incredibly frightening book cover, who wouldn’t be expecting to be scared shitless, right? The premise of the novella was also intriguing, a girl Cat, reunites with her friends for a wedding that will take place in a haunted Heian-era mansion.

I was truly anticipating this novella sine it has everything that I simply adore in horror, creepy vengeful ghosts, characters that love the macabre, and it was set in Japan, one of my fave countries. Lurking in the shadows is the ghost bride with a black smile and a hungry heart.Īnd she gets lonely down there in the dirt.Įffortlessly taking the classic haunted house story and turning it on its head, Nothing but Blackened Teeth is a sharp and devastating exploration of grief, the parasitic nature of relationships, and the consequences of our actions. It’s the perfect venue for a group of thrill-seeking friends, brought back together to celebrate a wedding.Ī night of food, drinks, and games quickly spirals into a nightmare as secrets get dragged out and relationships are tested.īut the house has secrets too. A Heian-era mansion stands abandoned, its foundations resting on the bones of a bride and its walls packed with the remains of the girls sacrificed to keep her company.

Nothing but blackened teeth summary