Spook Lights: Southern Gothic Horror
Eden Royce
Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
August 3, 2015
Reviewed by Catherine Bader
Eden Royce’s Spook Lights is an incredible book. I was caught up by the style, creativity, and most of all, the ambiance of these stories. She knows how to grab you and keep your attention.
You don’t just read these tales, you are there and a part of them from start to end. You can smell the grass, feel the moonlight, get goosebumps with a cool breeze – and your hair will stand on end. And death – sometimes you can smell death.
Spook Lights delivers 12 gothic stories that will take you to places and beliefs peculiar to the southern United States. These are not just ghost stories, these tales hit you in places you never knew you had. Here are a few of those stories to whet your appetite:
“The Watered Soul” – do you think you would like to live forever? A man who comes back to see the woman who cursed him tries to force her to take the curse away. He finds that easier said than done. Does he really know this woman who controls his soul? Be careful what you wish for…
“Hand of Glory” – A murder suspect in an interrogation room refuses to cooperate. A policewoman, who wears a glove on only one hand, continues to push him for information. All attempts to get him to confess don’t work. As a last resort, she pulls off her glove….
“Hag Ride” – Frieda knows her husband goes to other women for sex. He promised her that he was done with that. He lied. She goes to Big Mama, a local Gullah lady. Big Mama spends time trying to talk Frieda out of her request to summon the Hag to take care of her husband, to make him want only her and no one else. Anything could happen. When her husband walks into the bar, he sees a beautiful woman he’s never seen before. He walks over and starts his come on. Frieda gets what she wants, just not in the way she wanted it. But, at least, her husband will now stay by her side. This one stills your heart. Remember to breathe.
All these stories will terrify you – each in their own unsettling way. And you do want to be terrified, don’t you?
- Spook Lights – Book Review - August 14, 2015
