Novelette Review: BestGhost by C. J. Daley + Spooky Season Recs
A spooky sampler for the forthcoming 'Tales From Cemetery: A Short Story Collection'
The Old Mayor’s Mansion sits just a few miles outside the town of Cemetery.
When best friends Sean and Devon want to increase views on their ghost investigation channel, they know the mansion is the perfect spot to film.
Armed with a slew of new equipment, the buddies set out to capture the paranormal hotspot that will make them famous—just maybe not in the way they were hoping.
GENRE: Horror / Thriller / Mystery
PURCHASE LINKS: StoryOrigin (FREE)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: C. J. Daley lives in New York. He has written a full-length debut novel, as well as a full accompanying short story collection. BestGhost is his first sampler on the road to releasing the novel. He hopes this won’t be the last you hear from him.
Review
This novelette left me wanting more, and I mean that in a good way! It was very atmospheric and unsettling, reminding me of why I don't like watching documentaries of ghost hunters in the first place LOL. The characters also popped out of the page. I would follow them on YouTube or social media if they were real people — not for the ghost hunting bits, but because of their banter and fun dynamic. (Oh, those poor boys.)
Looking forward to the next installments, and will definitely be on the lookout for this author's other works!
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bonus Round: Spooky Season Recommendations
While you're here, here are some of my spooky season picks! These range from downright horrifying to thrilling but emotional, weird short stories, and even one for younger audiences.
- We Will Rise by Tim Waggoner - In Echo Hill, Ohio, the dead begin to reappear, manifesting in various forms, from classic ghosts and poltergeists, to physical undead and bizarre apparitions for which there is no name. These malign spirits attack the living, tormenting and ultimately killing them in order to add more recruits to their spectral ranks. A group of survivors come together after the initial attack, all plagued by different ghostly apparitions of their own. Can they make it out of Echo Hill alive? And if so, will they still be sane? Or will they die and join the ranks of the vengeful dead?
- Keeper of the Dead by Ryan Young - The undead still carry memories of the past: a phone, a wallet of family photos, an ID. After a ravaging plague has turned humanity into a race of flesh-eating monsters, remembering these victims as people falls on one man—a grieving, hopeless survivor who feels called to collect these artifacts.
- Scareground by Angela Kecojevic - Twelve-year-old Nancy Crumpet lives above a bakery and her life is a delightful mix of flour, salt, and love. Yet her mind is brimming with questions no one can answer: Why did her birth parents disappear? Why can she speak with the sky? And why must she keep her mysterious birthmark hidden? Everything is about to change when the Scareground returns to Greenwich. Nancy is convinced it holds the answers to her parents’ disappearance. Nancy and her best friend Arthur Green meet the fair’s spooky owner, Skelter, and discover a world full of dark magic and mystery. Nancy must confront her greatest fears to get to the truth. But is she ready for all the secrets the Scareground will reveal?
- Promise by Christi Nogle - A young woman confronts her digital doppelganger. A mother and daughter struggle underground, finishing robots for the rich. A loving couple find that their mirrors are very different than mirrors used to be. Your devices sometimes connect not just to the web but to the afterlife. Be prepared for strangeness here. We have several types of aliens, alternate dimensions, virtual-reality writing retreats, time-travel games and time-travel tragedies, cosmic artforms and living paintings, haunted Zoom meetings, and giant worms. These stories reflect the weird and unknowable future. They are often bizarre and dreadful, but they also veer towards themes of hope, potential... and promise.
And if you'd like to give it a shot, Hotel Fen, the first book of my Norse myth urban fantasy trilogy with Meri Benson, has some spooks too!
About the Creator
Marie Sinadjan
Filipino spec fic author and book reviewer based in the UK. https://linktr.ee/mariesinadjan • www.mariesinadjan.com
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galing nman nakakatuwa mag browse s mga story mo