Blogtober Day 21: Nightmare Escapade

Nightmare Escapade is a 2012 horror anthology book by Waylon Piercy. I first became aware of it when I was searching Amazon for horror books to read during October. Since the book is a collection of short stories, I'm going to discuss each story on its own and my thoughts, rather than discuss the whole book at once. That seems like the most fair tactic.

"No Such Thing" is the first story in the collection. It tells the story of a little boy who is out playing in the woods and sees something. He comes to believe its a monster and, regardless of what he tries to tell his mother, she doesn't seem to see it. Ray soon becomes worried that the monster is going to get him and he is terrified at the thought. This story does a good job of portraying the fears and worries of children, especially the primal fear of the dark. "No Such Thing" isn't a particularly scary story, but it does leave the reader feeling a little unsettled.

"The Terrible Stranger" is the story of a soldier traveling home who comes across a terrible stranger, as the title implies. This story, along with two others, are part of a larger dark fantasy novel the author has been building for years. On its own, "The Terrible Stranger" is one of the best body-horror stories I've read in some time. Piercy paints quite the unsettling visual as the protagonist tries to escape to freedom.

The third story is titled "The Drum". The best way I can really explain it, without giving too much away, is by saying for once, horror is happening to the right person. Ever notice how the characters in horror are either unlucky or just stupid and that's how they end up being pursued by a mass-murderer or possessed by Satan or something? This tale is a little different. Harold isn't a nice person. He doesn't stumble upon something not meant to be found, he's not in the wrong place at the wrong time. He's just a jerk and winds up angering the wrong people. I like seeing, for once, that the right person is being terrorized.

"Apex Predator" tells the story of a former police officer trying to locate a missing girl. He finds her, only to discover things aren't what they seem. She's no longer among the living and soon, neither is he. The story doesn't end there, however, and I enjoyed seeing a different take on the specific "monster" in this story.

"The Basement" is a very short story. I believe its the shortest one in the book, being only a few pages. I can't give anything away that doesn't spoil the ending, but I found the point of view for the story interesting. It's told from a different perspective than most stories in its subgenre.

"Bones" is a story that's connected to "The Terrible Stranger". They aren't directly connected, but take place in the same world/universe. It's the closest thing to the traditional ghost story in the book, albeit with a twist. Since its part of a larger story, it doesn't fully explain things and leaves a lot open-ended, but I found it amusing at least.

"The Trunk" is the closest I got to a typical haunted house story in this book. Calling it a story about a haunted house isn't fair, since the house isn't haunted, the new owner is just curious about an old trunk left in the attic. The trunk isn't imprisoning a ghost, it doesn't contain pure evil or cursed objects. Instead, it offers something much more mysterious and "The Trunk" has a very surprising ending.

"Duel" takes place in the same world as "Bones" and "The Terrible Stranger". Unlike the others, its not a horror story. It fits more under the dark fantasy umbrella. The story is a snippet of what the author has built for the world, but I'm cautiously optimistic about the directions the story could go or what could be done with the aspects I read so far.

Nightmare Escapade consists of eight stories. They're entertaining for the most part, but I didn't find them very scary. Additionally, they suffer from a length problem. They are short stories, but a few are a little too short. Their endings feel a little rushed or cut-off. An extra few pages would've made the difference between an "okay" story and a good one.

Rating: 3.5 stars