Sometimes what keeps us awake isn’t the things that go “bump” in the night, but the thoughts that say… her daughter’s body. A bedridden widow can hear the thoughts of plants, and they aren’t pleasant. And a struggling painter will stop at nothing to claw his way to the top of the art world, even if it means losing himself in his art. These are just some of the tales of woe and spite that will gnaw at your psyche and make you do the Demon Dance.
Stories include:
Ball and Chain
Lock Box
The Keepsake
Hang in There, Baby!
Do You See What I See?
The Wild Hunt
The Ball Pit
Flesh and Blood
The Song of My People
Your Number Is Up
more
You know how some short story collections grab your attention and you have to keep reading because each one is good and you haven’t been disappointed, yet? Well, I honestly couldn’t say that happens to me very often. In fact, as a rule I avoid short story collections. That is until I heard Vanessa Ravel put one out.
I enjoyed her novel, Four O’Clock Alice, so much I had to read her new book, Demon Dance. And, yes, I can honestly say every story was good…engaging, compelling and a whole lot of CREEPY fun!!
Dark secrets and hard-edged psychological terror drive the guilty in this disturbing short story collection. Demon Dance starts with a bang and doesn’t let up.
Deliciously Demented!
If Tales from the Crypt and The Twilight Zone had a baby, it would be DEMON DANCE. Spawned from the twisted mind of Vanessa Ravel, this anthology of deliciously demented tales is not only macabre and creepy, it’s downright disturbing. It will give your willies the willies.
When this short story collection came available to review, I jumped on it. I hadn’t read any of Vanessa’s other work but had heard great things. The cover and title looked intriguing and grabbed my interest.
Immediately this collection pops. The first few tales are written really well and the twists and turns are unexpected. She has a gift of getting you attached to the characters right away, which allows you to become invested early on.
Vanessa takes a few tried and true things (a reality show and working at a kid’s play place) to different avenues of horror. Watching the worker break down over the death of a kid in a ball pit was fascinating. The tale of the lady excited to be chosen for her favourite reality show only to find out it isn’t what she expected was great, and the action was fast and furious. Her story following a family as it tries to pick a Christmas tree would be a fantastic Tales From the Crypt Xmas special.
There is one story in here that I need to highlight. Flesh and Blood. This story is one of the best things I have ever read. The story follows a painter as he tries to return to his former status in the art world and his wife, who wants to return to their former wealth. Flesh and Blood is without a doubt superb. Intertwining the couples six year old daughter into the story as things grow darker and more depraved adds such an extra layer to the tale, it really made me feel uncomfortable and for that I am truly thankful. I hope in the future this becomes a stand-alone novella or full length work and the characters are expanded on.
Sadly, this was the last tale that strummed any chords for me. I found myself disengaged and unable to really connect with the rest. The ideas were interesting, but because of the high of Flesh and Blood, I had reached the mountain top, and was now finding myself annoyed that I still had to walk back down.
I would definitely recommend you all check this one out, simply for how good the start is, and how utterly phenomenal Flesh and Blood is. Unfortunately the rest of the shorts couldn’t compare..