IAN DOWNUNDER VS THE MAN ON THE CEILING AND OTHER SCARY TALES FROM YOUNG AUTHORS

Ian has gotten his eyes on Chisto Healy’s new anthology, and it features some great stories!

TITLE: The Man on the Ceiling: And Other Scary Tales from Young Authors

EDITOR: Chisto Healy

GENRE: Horror

PAGES: 113

FORMAT: eBook

PRICE: eBook $3.99, Paperback $TBA

G’day all, it’s your ARC reader here from the chilly land of Australia coming to you fresh off the back of a pop-culture con featuring Linda Hamilton, Michael Ironside amongst a plethora of other film and television talent where I was lucky enough to have had an author stand. It was a barrel of fun, but now it’s back to business, and this week, I had the chance to review the work of another talented bunch. This time, it’s a short story collection, but not an ordinary one. No, this one comes from the young minds of future horror stars, ranging in ages from 6 to 13.

Minds of that age are ripe with imagination. I remember mine being full of weird, quirky thoughts and vivid stories that felt almost too real — that’s the magic of childhood. It would have been incredible to have had the opportunity to put these stories down in words and send them out into the world, and I’m sure these kids are brimming with excitement about their impending release.

There are some genuinely great, creepy stories here. They have been lightly touched up by the editor, but the authors’ voices remain intact. You can easily see that many — if not all — of these kids will have a bright future in horror should they choose to pursue it.

There’s a fantastic array of different horror genres represented here: sci-fi, medical, body, doll, and urban legends. My favourite was the title story, The Man on the Ceiling by Alexa Taylor, which has a genuinely creepy feel to it and a disturbing ending.

A few other of my faves included:

“What’s Wrong with Grandma?” by Finn Ramirez, where the grandma in question takes some unmarked energy pills to keep up with playing with her grandchildren, but the pills in question are full of eggs from a nefarious creature.

“The Revengecil” by Boe Healy, in which a man is transformed into a giant, revenge-driven pencil after being wrongly killed.

“Operation Thalassaphobia” by Mal Iler, where a space expedition is shot down over a planet and the crew are separated and hunted down by an alien creature.

There are also some drawings included from the children involved, and as we know from movies, creepy drawings from kids make things even scarier.

Having an avenue like this for young authors is fantastic to see, and I hope this is a successful and long-running venture that continues to feature more young writers and helps launch their dreams.

I give this 5 out of 5 ominous hanging ceiling men.

Ian Gielen is a writer of all things spooky and a horror fanatic. Ian embraces his inner geek with pride, his dedication on display in the intimidating collection of horror novels and video games that threaten to take over his living space. He is mad for all things Alien, Star Wars, and cats; his furry companions are always there to keep him company as he scribbles down his latest ideas. With the sheer number of furry and human companions in his life, it’s a wonder he isn’t a little crazier than he already is.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing, nor do the views or opinions of Crystal Lake necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or its staff. Thank you for understanding.