"A room without books is like a body without a soul." - Marcus Tullius Cicero

Tuesday, 8 October 2013

Scary Fucking Stories by D. F. Noble



Scary Fucking Stories is a collection of short horror tales which started out quite strongly but ultimately failed to really “fucking scare” me. The foreword was gripping and a lot of the stories began wonderfully, the author managing to create both a creepy atmosphere and an air of distinct dread. However, the endings of most stories were abrupt and anticlimactic, as well as some being rather predictable. Furthermore, the outlandish title of the collection is misleading and much too extreme for the stories contained within, which are somewhat tame; with a title like this I expected a truly horrifying, trashy gorefest.

An unusual aspect of this collection - and one I didn’t really understand - is the interludes in which Noble addresses the reader directly. In ‘Contact Schematic’, we are informed about a psychic experiment involving lots of mirrors which we are warned not to attempt if prone to panic attacks, mental illness, or if you are faint of heart. At the end Noble asks that if you do attempt the experiment to email your experiences to him. I couldn’t tell if he was in earnest or if it was just another little story - albeit a very odd one. These segments seemed out of place and I remain unsure of what to make of them.

This is a fairly decent compilation of scary stories, with some sound writing and several inventive ideas; but the endings lack substance, failing to deliver scares, and for the most part it will probably not inspire much terror in hardened horror fans.

Rating: 6/10

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