Image obtained from http://www.themidnightbookshop.com
TALES FROM THE BEAUMONT HOUSE
Author: D.F. Holland
Genre: Horror, Short Stories
Publication Date: 2014
Length: 112 pages
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
* I received a free
copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Beaumont House is an apartment building that has been around for a very long time. As with any old building it is full of stories. It just happens that the Beaumont House has more than it’s fair share of ghost stories.
MOONGLOW introduces readers to Nathaniel, a ghost who predates the building of Beaumont House. After watching the tenants for many lonely years, a young computer programmer senses Nathaniel’s presence. The video game he is creating may never be the same.
In AWAKEN TO THE NIGHTMARE a young man just beginning his adult life is forced to face an incident from his past.
GATHERING OF SOULS reminded me of a ‘Twilight Zone’ episode. Holly has only been living in Beaumont House for six months, but she loves it. She is an interior decorator and is thrilled to stumble on an eclectic antique shop in town. She finds the perfect painting for her new apartment and hangs it up proudly. But the painting may include more than just paint.
THE 1940s was a cute story about love and the fact that we don’t always choose who we love. My only complaint about this story is that it should have been at the beginning of the collection to make the timeline of Beaumont House flow better.
CYBERSPACE tells of the tale of Beaumont House’s own version of the “The Long Island Medium”. Mike Andrews was a psychic medium who had a booming business passing on messages from those who had passed away to the loved ones they left behind. Searching for someone to talk to online he connects with someone very far away who has a message to pass on; a message like nothing he has ever dealt with before.
HEIR TO A NEW WORLD is a much longer story than the previous five. Beth and Sam’s daughter had been having nightmares for weeks. Ella dreamed that she was going to be “taken away”. Beth did her best to reassure her daughter of her safety and to assure her that nightmares are not real. However, she starts to question her approach when Ella disappears one day while at school. What happened to Ella? Where did she go? Who took her? Could Beth have prevented it? Will they ever see Ella alive again?
When they learn that other children have also been abducted and the facts start to become clear, they realize that this is no ordinary abduction.
OUTRO – Wraps up all the previous stories.
These stories are reminiscent of old ‘Twilight Zone’ episodes and are well written. Using an old gothic looking apartment complex to tie all the stories together was a terrific idea and opens up the possibility of a second collection of stories.
I found quite a few editing errors in HEIR TO A NEW WORLD. It is due to these errors that this book will receive a 4 star rather than a five star rating from me.
HEIR TO A NEW WORLD is the longest story and arguably the best of the bunch. I can easily see this story being expanded into a full length novel and in fact I think it would be even better as a novel. It would give the author the chance to build more on the theme and delve more deeply into exactly what happens to the abducted children. I do not want to give too much detail because I do not want to include any spoilers with this review.
If you enjoy tales of the strange, the unusual and stories of the supernatural you will definitely enjoy TALES FROM BEAUMONT HOUSE. It is very much worth reading and it’s short length of only 112 pages allows the reader to complete it in a single afternoon.
I recommend this book. My rating is 4 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Image obtained from http://www.themidnightbookshop.com
TALES FROM BEAUMONT HOUSE is author D.F. Holland’s first book. She currently resides in New York and is working on her next project.
For more information visit http://www.TheMidnightBookshop.com
and
https://www.facebook.com/people/DF-Holland/100007499416125
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