Lore

In his first collection of short fiction, Justin Webster offers a selection of macabre, bold, and haunting tales. Forbidden lovers and lost souls, vengeful spirits, and horrors lurk closer than they should. In “Dean Lake,” a woman trapped in an isolated cottage whose love life recently came to an abrupt end may not be as alone as she thinks; in “Harvest,” a childhood friend, long dead comes back to play one more time. And in “The Trip,” evil is just a short distance away. In all, the forty tales are bound to rattle the reader.

Webster cranks up the nightmarish bad that exists in the natural and supernatural worlds and brings it right to your back door. He takes what is sacred and constant and turns it upside down before giving it a shake. Lore is a deliciously chilling collection with the sole intention to scare. And the stories do so in surprisingly few pages. Your vested interest in the characters and their inevitable downfall comes fast and hard, but stays with you long after you’ve put the book down.