Last week I let you all know about a new-to me anthology series that released it’s 3rd book Tuesday, State of Horror: North Carolina, and my excitement over said series.
Since Tuesday, I have finished reading this installment of the series, and I thought this would be a great time to share my review of State of Horror: North Carolina with you.
State of Horror: North Carolina includes stories by: Nathaniel Gass, Frank Larnerd, Randal Keith Jackson, Kathryn M. Hearst, Spencer Carvalho, Kenneth W. Cain, Frank J. Edler, Stuart Conover/Kerry Lipp, Susan Hicks Wong, Matt Andrew, L.J. Heydorn, Margaret L. Colton, and Armand Rosamilia. It is edited by: Jerry Benns
WHAT IS YOUR STATE OF HORROR?
The State of Horror series makes another stop on the tour of the United States. This time we visit the Tar Heel state—North Carolina. Come with us as we find out if the Grey Man truly brings warnings of impending forces of nature. Meet Alice, a visitor to the state who has a knack for picking the numbers in a game of Chicken Bingo. How far will a man go to find his beloved cat? What is the link between a dog and a transient? Ghosts visit the living, ancient entities come to collect their due, a unique neighborhood where things are not as they seem, and the realization that some monsters are of the human kind, are all stops along the tour.
Melanie’s Review
State of Horror: North Carolina is an anthology full of horror stories that all take place in my original home state of North Carolina. Some of the authors I have read before and really enjoyed in the past, and some are new to me, and I will be sure to read more of their work in the future.
The stories in SoH: NC will creep you out. Maybe not all of them, but some of them will definitely make you want to think twice before you wrong someone. There are all kinds of horror stories in this edition of the series. Where some of the stories were creepy, others were funny, or just downright wrong. Some of the stories are variations of classic urban legends that have been told for generations in probably every state. There is one story that reiterates the classic lesson of not having sex in sacred places (duh!). Stories of irony and revenge, there is a little bit of something for any horror fan.
One of the things I liked about this book, as immature as it sounds, was seeing places I’ve been mentioned. I used to live near Lake Norman, and one of my favorite places on earth is the Biltmore Estate. Anyone who has spent any time in western North Carolina can tell you some of these stories don’t sound too far off from things they may have heard of occurring.
My one complaint could simply be my own misinterpretation. I expected stories that were a little bit closer to traditional local lore. Now, I’ve lived on both sides of the state, but never in the center. And I obviously don’t know every story ever told, so maybe I just didn’t hear the same stories these authors did. I almost wish I could have told the authors some of the stories I heard (and experienced) while living there, but I wouldn’t want to scare them too badly 😉
This book is a great read for any horror fan. It’s not overly gory, at least not in my opinion, so if you love horror but are squeamish, this might be the perfect book for you. The stories are interesting and fun (who doesn’t love a story about Chicken Bingo?!). The length of each story is good, not too long or too short. Most of the stories have characters that we can relate to in one way or another which brings a level of reality to them that make them even scarier.
I would recommend this book to any horror, paranormal or urban fantasy fan. There is a small amount of romance in a few of the stories, but it’s not flowery and sweet. It’s horror romance.
Check out the other Titles in the
State of Horror Series:
State of Horror: New Jersey
Amazon
B&N
Kobo
iBooks
Goodreads
State of Horror Illinois
Amazon
B&N
Kobo
iBooks
Goodreads
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