A review by jessicamap
At the Cemetery Gates: Volume 2 by John Brhel, Joe Sullivan
4.0
Thanks to the publisher for the free copy in exchange for my honest review
I’m a big fan of short stories. I love when authors can pack a punch or leave a lasting impression in a small amount of pages. AT THE CEMETERY GATES: VOLUME 2 is a collection of 16 short horror stories and I really enjoyed them. There’s a variety of themes including urban legends, prison escapees, witchcraft, and even some creepypastas (which I’ve been on a kick of lately – thanks Slender Man).
There were some standouts for me but the commonality across the collection was the solid writing. The authors did a good job of setting the scene and the characters without having to go into too much detail, I mean some of these stories are 10 pages long. I was very impressed with that because there are short stories where you feel like you got little to no information on the main character, which is why I understand how some readers aren’t fans of short stories.
Some of the stories felt entirely possible – those are the scary stories that creep me out the most. I mean, sure, we all love the monster stories and the ones filled with ghosts and evil spirits, but there’s something that amps up the scary factor when it could be a real life scenario. The first one reminded me of the urban legend with the clown statue in the house that creeped out the babysitter.
Overall, if you want some quick horror stories to continue the Halloween spirit, then I would highly recommend picking this one up! There are a variety of themes and scenarios, so there are stories for all types of horror fans! I’ve heard great things about Volume 1, so I’ll have to go back and find that one to compare.
I’m a big fan of short stories. I love when authors can pack a punch or leave a lasting impression in a small amount of pages. AT THE CEMETERY GATES: VOLUME 2 is a collection of 16 short horror stories and I really enjoyed them. There’s a variety of themes including urban legends, prison escapees, witchcraft, and even some creepypastas (which I’ve been on a kick of lately – thanks Slender Man).
There were some standouts for me but the commonality across the collection was the solid writing. The authors did a good job of setting the scene and the characters without having to go into too much detail, I mean some of these stories are 10 pages long. I was very impressed with that because there are short stories where you feel like you got little to no information on the main character, which is why I understand how some readers aren’t fans of short stories.
Some of the stories felt entirely possible – those are the scary stories that creep me out the most. I mean, sure, we all love the monster stories and the ones filled with ghosts and evil spirits, but there’s something that amps up the scary factor when it could be a real life scenario. The first one reminded me of the urban legend with the clown statue in the house that creeped out the babysitter.
Overall, if you want some quick horror stories to continue the Halloween spirit, then I would highly recommend picking this one up! There are a variety of themes and scenarios, so there are stories for all types of horror fans! I’ve heard great things about Volume 1, so I’ll have to go back and find that one to compare.