A review by monakabbani
The Black Cat by Scott Newman
4.0
“Witchcraft, sorcery, all sorts of nonsense. One prevailing thing was The Black Cat you see there. Most of the clubs would have cats present for various reasons. Some even say it was used to represent Satan himself.” - Mr. O’Malley
A mix between gothic Ireland and Stephen King’s The Shining, The Black Cat follows Emma and Jon Windborne on their holiday in Ireland. When their rental car breaks down in the middle of a storm, a kind innkeeper appears and offers them a room for the night at his most beautiful gothic style mansion. But despite this classic architecture, not all is what it seems. Especially when things begin to go bump in the night and one of the most seemingly innocuous occupants of this Inn, a black cat, appears to have eyes everywhere.
Scott Newman is an indie author I have been graced with meeting. He reached out to me about reviewing his short story, The Black Cat, and I was happy to oblige. Needless to say, I was more than impressed. I should start off by saying The Black Cat is a short story available to you on kindle right now however it will also become a part of a horror anthology in the future with the theme ‘inspired by true events’. I say don’t wait - download this story now onto your phone or tablet and give it an hour go. You won’t be disappointed. In fact, this story spooked me so much that I almost attacked my boyfriend when he crept up on me (accidentally) in the kitchen when it was dark out. He laughed at my reaction but I was thoroughly spooked!!
What makes this story and author interesting is that he takes inspiration from true legends. You learn something about folklore and that ‘inspired by true events’ tag always gets me. Despite some of the rough edges that could be smoothed out, the writing is absorbing. He also does all his cover work himself!
I will warn that there are some violent scenes and sexual behaviors that should be considered before reading. However, I get incredibly uncomfortable with tasteless acts of violence and I found none of that here. Just good ol’ horrifyingly psychological fun!
A mix between gothic Ireland and Stephen King’s The Shining, The Black Cat follows Emma and Jon Windborne on their holiday in Ireland. When their rental car breaks down in the middle of a storm, a kind innkeeper appears and offers them a room for the night at his most beautiful gothic style mansion. But despite this classic architecture, not all is what it seems. Especially when things begin to go bump in the night and one of the most seemingly innocuous occupants of this Inn, a black cat, appears to have eyes everywhere.
Scott Newman is an indie author I have been graced with meeting. He reached out to me about reviewing his short story, The Black Cat, and I was happy to oblige. Needless to say, I was more than impressed. I should start off by saying The Black Cat is a short story available to you on kindle right now however it will also become a part of a horror anthology in the future with the theme ‘inspired by true events’. I say don’t wait - download this story now onto your phone or tablet and give it an hour go. You won’t be disappointed. In fact, this story spooked me so much that I almost attacked my boyfriend when he crept up on me (accidentally) in the kitchen when it was dark out. He laughed at my reaction but I was thoroughly spooked!!
What makes this story and author interesting is that he takes inspiration from true legends. You learn something about folklore and that ‘inspired by true events’ tag always gets me. Despite some of the rough edges that could be smoothed out, the writing is absorbing. He also does all his cover work himself!
I will warn that there are some violent scenes and sexual behaviors that should be considered before reading. However, I get incredibly uncomfortable with tasteless acts of violence and I found none of that here. Just good ol’ horrifyingly psychological fun!