Half Past The WITCHING HOUR by Terry L Vinson    Books by Terry L Vinson     View all 20 · DESOLATION Outpost · Sidekicks Incorporated · Recluses · DESOLATION Island · Bone Chills
Category:	Horror	Publisher:	Ebooks on Disk	ISBN-10:	1932157409	Type:	Fiction
Pages:	336	Copyright:	March 2005

Buy your copy! Amazon Amazon Barnes & Noble.com EbooksonDisk Booksamillion EbooksOnDisk Between TIME and TERROR lies... 'THE WITCHING HOUR'. Twenty-eight terror tales in all. 'Night Gallery' meets 'Creepshow'...on steroids.... “ Half Past The Witching Hour ” is a psyche jarring collection of suspenseful short stories that combine old-fashioned ‘bare bones’ horror, Sci-Fi, mystery and suspense with ‘O.Henry-style’ surprise endings sure to keep those brave souls willing to indulge glued to the printed page. Unlike Terry's other short story collections, "BONE CHILLS", "BLOODLINES", "SKELETAL REMAINS" or the more recent "PASSPORT TO HELL", this novel contains 'stand-alone' tales in the 'Night Gallery' tradition that aren't tied together by a framework story. From 17th Century horrors (‘Edge of The Scythe’) to parasitic terrors found in the deepest, darkest corner of outer space (‘Bottom Feeders’), to a group of misfit malcontent superheroes of the near future facing down the ultimate evil (‘Fall of The Sentinels’), the face of fear has never been so intrusive, yet strangely enticing. Each tale contained within has its own unique twist that sets it apart from the usual thrill-read, from creatures born from myth and legend (‘DreadNet’), to haunted hotel rooms seemingly constructed upon damned grounds (‘Room 22’), to a futuristic ‘Reality TV’ program geared towards an audience of walking cadavers (‘You Are Who You Eat’). Twenty eight fright-fests in all, running a chilling gamut in covering a vast cornucopia of genre staples such as vampires (‘Generation Flesh’), werewolves (‘Shredder’), psychopaths (‘Heads Will Roll’) and the most vengeful of phantoms (‘Eternal Rewind’), this frightful collection leaves no bone…um, stone unturned in its relentless quest to shock, repulse, and leave the reader’s flesh crawling as the clock on a nearby wall chimes in at ‘Half Past The Witching Hour ’… Other Tales within include: Dead Heads– One of the eve of a permanent format change from Classic Rock ‘N Roll to Rap, one of the last self-proclaimed ‘dead head’ DJ’s bares witness to a global meltdown of epidemic proportions… Passing The Torch – Within a cramped interrogation room, a grizzled detective comes face to face with evil personified, only to find that not all is truly what it seems within a twisted realm filled with smoke and crimson-stained mirrors… Daddy Long-Legs – At an isolated cabin retreat deep within a desolate forest, a vacationing family discovers a terrifying new meaning to the term ‘bug hunt’… (Fall of) The Sentinels – In the very near future, a fragmented group of second-rate, ragtag 'Super-heroes’ attempt to quell the systematic slaughter of their own kind by a mysterious, powerhouse villain whose sole agenda seems to be an extreme case of ‘hero’ eradication… Two on a Raft – Drifting atop the open sea in an inflatable life-raft, the lone survivors of a cruise-ship disaster soon find themselves locked in a psychological death-match for what little previsions remain... Bottom Feeder(s) – Marooned on an uncharted planet, the crew of a space supply vessel discover the very grounds they walk upon infested with an all-too-familiar internal parasite with a hunger for warm, human flesh… Nick-Nightmare – They say too much TV can rot the brain…witness proof to that well-worn adage while traveling a nightmarish landscape littered with familiar, albeit strangely contorted, faces from televisions ‘golden era’… Seasonal Specters - As they frolic from home to home collecting ‘trick’s or ‘treats’, did you ever wonder who (or what) was hiding behind the cleverly designed masks and costumes of the Halloween season? Alas, some mysterious are better left unsolved… You Are Who You Eat - Unlike most popular trends, the ‘Reality TV’ craze refuses to fade into oblivion, even in a post-apocalyptic world where Nielson Ratings mean little. So grab your favorite snack, then sit back and discard that remote, as ‘Living Dead TV’ fills the screen… DreadNet – 21st Century Law Enforcement meets 18th Century mythology as the dedicated men and women of the New Orleans PD come face to face with a legendary beast of Lupine origin… Shredder – An old west bounty hunter follows a bloodied trail of death and dismemberment in a quest for the ultimate prize, and soon discovers the quarry he seeks is much closer than originally thought… "Half Past The Witching Hour" is now on sale at Ebooksondisk.com in both paperback and ebook format. Also available at AMAZON.COM and BARNES & NOBLE.COM.

Paperback

Professional Reviews
Another Horror-fic Collection...
Half Past the Witching Hour is another book of short horror stories from Terry Lloyd Vinson. If you are a horror junkie you will certainly get your money's worth out of this 300-plus-page fix of a book. These are stories for fans of good old-fashioned horror; think of the Twilight Zone, Stephen King, George Romero and Dario Argento. Terry excels at creating sympathetic - or at least interesting -- characters and effective settings, and also has the richness of imagination to plunge his protagonists into the kinds of goosebump-raising situations that you don't easily forget. He turns up the techno-color gore, as well. He has practically invented his own genre, which I would label Apocalyptic or get-my-toe-tag-ready-cause-I-am-about-to-become-some-ghoul's-lunch. This form can be seen in a story like Dead-Heads, about a DJ who tries to stay on the air despite an unrelenting "manmade" catastrophe that renders the world outside the thin walls of his studio bleaker by the minute. In Daddy Long-Legs, Terry transports you to the world of 1950s sci-fi horror, where giant mutant bugs want to eat you - only don't wait for a happy ending when Terry is writing the story. Shredder, a take on the werewolf legend, takes place in John Wayne country and has a twist that will make you want to reread the story from the beginning. Desolation Highway, about a hearse driver missing some cargo, is one of my favorites in the whole batch, the kind of story that keeps you awake at night listening to what you hope is nothing more than the house creaking and settling. Reminded me of an M. Night Shamalyan story only with a Romero-esque ending.

Ed Lieber
NYC

Reader Reviews for "Half Past The WITCHING HOUR"

Reviewed by Doug Boren	10/6/2006
A fine collection in the tradition of Rod Serling! Anyone familiar with the macabre and horrifying tales of Terry Vinson knows that he is the master of the short story, who some have compared to the likes of Stephen King. In this latest book one is reminded of another master who marveled and amazed fans for years. This collection is very much like Rod Serling’s Night Gallery or even The Twilight Zone. Unlike his previous works where the stories are bound together by a wrap around connecting theme, these exciting tales are introduced separately, making a veritable gallery of nightmarish and thought provoking excursions into the dark side of life. There are twenty-eight tales in all, and as a special surprise, some are not pure horror, but nifty sci-fi, while others could be considered almost philosophical. True, Mr. Vinson indulges himself sometimes in a gore fest, as in You are who you Eat, but at other times he shows an almost tender side, as in Chain Letter. The never ending suspense is drawn out into eternity in Eternal Rewind, and anyone who secretly harbors feelings of revenge at their job can identify with Heads Will Roll. A cute, if bloody reminder of our internet manners is amply demonstrated in BREECH OF NETiquette. Perhaps my favorite was a frighteningly sad little piece called Brain Matter(s) where it is true, that a mind, however hopelessly demented, is a terrible thing to waste. I highly recommend this book where Mr. Vinson shows his talent extends beyond simple horror, but can catch you by the throat on a myriad of other levels as well. This is perhaps his best work to date.
Reviewed by Nickolaus Pacione	3/23/2005
HELL YES -- Way to go Terry. Bottom Feeder(s) is the one distinctive story in this collection by the man behind Bone Chills. This one is definately on my list to get within the next few months. This is the first for you to do a book that doesn't have a framework story connecting them all together.
Reviewed by Robert Montesino	3/23/2005
Been waiting for this one Terry!!! Send me the cover...

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