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Six Scary Stories

Number 1 bestselling writer Stephen King introduces and presents six gripping and chilling stories in this captivating anthology.Stephen King discovered these stories when he judged a competition run by Hodder & Stoughton and the Guardian to celebrate publication of his own collection The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. He was so impressed with the entries that he recommended they were published together in one book.Reader beware: the stories will make you think twice before cuddling up to your old soft toy, dipping your toe into the water or counting the spots on a leopard…

Paperback: 200 pages

Publisher: Cemetery Dance Pubns; 1st Trade Paperback Edition edition (October 31, 2016)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1587675706

ISBN-13: 978-1587675706

Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (149 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #12,309 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #9 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Horror > Anthologies

I may have mentioned it once or twice, but in case you missed it – I would by a limited edition bound copy of Stephen King’s grocery list if he ever decided to do something like that. Yes, that’s how much I love the man’s writing. On top of that, it’s published by Cemetery Dance Publications (which I may have also mentioned more than once). With those two things going for it, I knew it just had to be a win… until I discovered that the stories weren’t actually BY King, but chosen by him. When Bizarre of Bad Dreams came out, King ran a short story contest for Hodder & Stoughton Publications – a well-known UK Publishers. The stories contained within are the winner, followed by the five runner-ups. To be honest, besides the fact that it was a very quick read, some of the stories were disappointing to say the least; and I’d hate to see what the losing stories were.1) Wild Swimming by Elodie Harper – This was the winner. While this wasn’t my least favorite, it most certainly, in my opinion, wasn’t the best. First, I’m not a fan of the way it was written; a one way email communication. Second, the story was very predictable, it really only had one ending that the reader was able to discover very early on in the story.2) Eau-de-Eric by Manuela Saragosa – This was one of my favorites. I thought I saw the ending coming, and while I didn’t get it exactly, it was just creepy enough to be relatable; especially if you have children.3) The Spots by Paul Bassett Davis – This was, hands down, my least favorite of the lot. The story made no sense, and again, only had one plausible ending. I agree with King when he says, “Never tell too much. The monster is always scarier when it is still under the child’s bed…” however, in this story, there needed to be more explanation to make it more relatable.4) The Unpicking by Michael Button – This story takes a well-known theme, and ups the ante. You may want to put a lock on your child’s toy box in the future. Just saying. Well written, and creepy.5) La Morte De L’Amant by Stuart Johnstone – A story about clichés should be described with one, avoid it like the plague. There was nothing creepy, scary, or disturbing about this story – except for how it wound up in this anthology. Absolutely nothing happens, and what’s left to the imagination is nothing short of a typical CSI episode.6) The Bear Trap by Neil Hudson – This was my favorite; hands down. Another story where I thought I had the ending figured out, and was pleasantly surprised to find out that I didn’t; in fact, I wasn’t even close.So, there you have it. Six stories, and read like the Sergio Leone movie: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The eBook price of $4.99 makes it worth checking out since it comes to less than a dollar a story. And even if you only like a few of them, you’re still only out the price of a Starbucks. But still, I find it hard to believe that these were the top choices by the master himself.

I was very excited to read stories that Stephen King deemed good enough to be in this book. Wild Swimming, Eau-De-Eric and The Bear Trap were my favorites. There are no jump out at you scary stories but they are all creepy in their own way. This is definitely worth reading but it is pretty short. I read the book in around 45 minutes.

Quick OverviewWhen I pre-ordered this, I was aware that it was a compilation of stories submitted in a contest. Stephen King’s part in the book was to pick his favorite and provide an introduction. Thus, I knew the macabre tales might not measure up to the quality of the Master.And, of course, for me, they didn’t quite measure up. They’re okay, though, except that they more reminded me of Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone than of King. That is not meant to be a harsh statement, for I loved TZ beyond description.Rather than provide a critique such as that provided by the other reviewer (which is an excellent review, btw), I’m going to discuss some of the other issues that may interest a few of you, if you will but read on…Length: Print, 200 pages, estimated, according to the description. It felt much shorter to me, though.Q - Target Audience/Genre and is it marketed as Nonfiction or Fiction:A – Horror, Macabre.Q - How was this book obtained?A – Bought on during pre-order.Q – If this is fiction, is it a plot-driven or a character-driven story?A – These short stories are all plot-driven.Q - Is this a book that I can read without having to read others first?A – Yes.Q - Are there a lot of typos/misspellings, grammatical errors or other editing failures?A – No, the editing is excellent.Q - Is this a fast, easy read or is it more of a leisure read?A – Each story is an incredibly fast read. Nice for commuters.Q - What sort of language does this writer use to amplify the points made?A – Adult English, UK. Note that there is very little profanity. In fact, I came across only one f-bomb and very few other cuss words.Q – What age group is this suitable for?A – If this were a film it would be rated PG-13. More to the point, the single f-bomb appears in the short story LA MORT DE L’AMANT by Stuart Johnson, so if you wish to avoid any f-bombs, simply don’t read story number five and you’ll be okay.Q - My biggest pleasure or disappointment?A – I was looking for something a little more edgy than I found in these stories. Maybe it is because I am an older guy was such a fan of Twilight Zone. For younger folks, these stories might be just the ticket. In that regard, they are a nice update to TZ, in that modern media are the reference for readers (social media and WI-FI, etc.To give a feel for the editing, and the style and flow of this work, I am posting a brief excerpt below.ExcerptSorry, I don’t use excerpts lifted from short stories, for I want to avoid spoilers.Bottom Line:Each of the stories is good, if predictable, so many readers will enjoy 6 Scary Stories more than I. Still, I have to give my honest opinion and rate the book accordingly.Three stars out of five. It’s okay, especially while commuting. Otherwise, I’ll keep watching for the next Stephen King classic.Comments regarding your opinion of this book or of my review, whether favorable or unfavorable, are always welcome. If you buy the book based on my review and become disappointed, especially, I do want to know that and I want to understand how I can improve as a book reviewer. Just please be polite.Thank you.

Six stories chosen chosen by Stephen King from a contest.WILD SWIMMING: A tale about a strange lake, which you should never swim in.EAU-DE-ERIC: A creepy little tale about a doll named eric. Freaked me out, especially the ending.THE SPOTS: A strange tale about trying to count a leopard's spots. Why no one person should have all the power.THE UNPICKING : a weird tale about evil toys. Quite brutal at times.LA MORT DE L'AMANT: A tale about a bridge. Not much actually happened.THE BEAR TRAP: A post apocalyptic tale. Really cool ending.EAU-DE-ERIC and THE UNPICKING were the best to me. LA MORT DE L'AMANT was my least favorite. I enjoyed all of the tales and would welcome a second volume. Highly recommended.

These six stories were submitted for entry into a contest to promote the Stephen King edited collection of short stories BAZAAR OF BAD DREAMS and didn't quite make that cut. But King liked them enough to put together this collection.I really liked two of the stories - WILD SWIMMING by Elodie Harper and THE BEAR TRAP by Neil Hudson. They were creepy but allow the reader to fill in the pieces.The other four stories were readable. So I figure that's a pretty good percentage, especially when in some big anthologies I have a hard time even finding one story that I really like.

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