This cover is goofy, seemingly by intent. It also features a few things that actually feature in the stories like the gecko on the left. I love the skull pendulum especially, and a cuckoo bat is nice and weird. You'll spend so much time looking at the clock you won't even notice the spider pattern on the wallpaper. A real sense of going all out with a memorable cover as opposed to anything that would actually invoke fear. A smart decision to go out on.
: Our unnamed protagonist talks about their friend Lara, who at first they thought was going crazy. That is until Lara mentioned the voices. This all started during an English class where Lara looks like she witnessed, or is about to witness, a murder. The protagonist asks via notes, to which she responds that there's going to be a terrible accident. The next day in class, their normal teacher, Mr. Dudley, isn't in and there's a substitute instead. Turns out that Mr. Dudley and his wife were in a car accident. His wife is on the verge of death and his injuries are severe as well. The class is mortified, but Lara seems less freaked out as the protagonist begins to suspect that she predicted it.
On the way home, the protagonist runs into Lara who has another prediction. There's going to be a terrible fire that night. Sure enough, the movie theatre catches fire. The protagonist calls Lara's house, but learns she's terribly ill all of a sudden. So sick is Lara that she ends up in the hospital, asking for the protagonist. She tells the protagonist that the voices are saying she'll die soon. The protagonist is tired of this since this all sounds crazy, only they hear the voices as well. And we end the book with the protagonist mentioning that since then, the voices haven't stopped, and like Lara, they know who's about to die.
A strong opener for the book. I like the concept of the voices, even for as little actual information we receive about them. They clearly possess someone and torment them with horrific visions of the future that come true. And I guess they torment someone to an early death and move on to another victim. Unstoppable, unavoidable. That is the hell that awaits the victim. Might be the frontrunner for one of the better stories in terms of feeling actually haunting and feeling like a more imaginative take on a Dead Zone style concept. I approve. Also, Randy Orton. There, reference made.
-THE GECKO: Jason lives in an apartment in New York. Unfortunately he's not the only tenant in the apartment as it's filled with roaches. If his name were Joe, I'd have thought that Stamper was the one seeing the future. So tormented by the roaches, Jason needs to find something to get rid of them. His answer lies in an ad in the paper. Geckos at the pet shop, advertised as a cockroach killer. He buys one and lets it out every now and then, the reptile eating as many as possible each night. One night, while annoyed at seeing the roaches, he lets the gecko loose, only for it to run into the walls. So now not only are there roaches, but now a hungry gecko on the loose.
Jason tries to sleep it off, but hears loud crunching and a strange bark coming from the gecko. The next day, he sees the gecko has gotten bigger. He leaves for work, sees a double feature to get out of the house, then returns to see the gecko now even larger and hungrier. Less crunching noises are heard overtime, meaning that the roaches are all killed off. Though Jason realizes that means the gecko will want some fresh meat. And sure enough, some time later, police arrive to Jason's apartment on reports of loud screams and a struggle coming from inside. The police find no sign of Jason, nor of the giant gecko under his bed.
Two for two in terms of actually good stories here. There's already the ick factor of the roaches, but you add in the gecko getting larger and more deadlier and you have a legit creepy story about how sometimes it's not wise to go with the quick fix. Especially if that quick fix is a rapidly growing reptile who might have man on the menu sooner rather than later. So far this book seems to be trying to offer more in terms of dark scenarios, and two stories in have succeeded. Hope I don't jinx that.
-THE HEAD: Jenny isn't fond of living in a creepy old house with her parents in the woods. But they moved out of the city as it would be better for her. On the first night, she sees a figure out of the window. A woman without a head. Was she wearing a furry collar or a black ribbon, because that would be a bitchin' callback. She tells her parents, but of course, they don't believe her. After it happens again, the family head to town and meet with a woman named Mrs. O'Leary who offers to watch Jenny while her parents go to a parent teacher meeting. Jenny asks about the headless woman and why the house was abandoned. Mrs. O'Leary says that realtors never stay for long and even she used to live here. Jenny goes to bed, but heads back downstairs to find Mrs. O'Leary's head on the coffee table and the headless body running towards her.
This one feels a bit rushed, but that's three for three on really dark endings. Kind of feels like what The Headless Ghost should have felt like. Less scavenger hunt for a head, more hauntings of a headless being. Unsure what's the deal with Mrs. O'Leary, but it probably seems like a Princess Mombi style thing. Collecting heads for her collection. Jenny's being a perfect new head. And if you're going to make me remember the continual nightmare fuel that is Return to Oz, then congrats on being an actually creepy story.
-BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: John O'Rourke is wandering the streets. He's confused and disoriented, he seems to have flakes of blood peeling off his head and his watch is missing. He checks his reflection and there's a weird bruise and his face is pale and white. He tries to ask people for answers, but they scream and panic. He thinks to call his wife, but when he calls, he finds out that Mrs. O'Rourke is at his funeral. See, he actually died to days prior in a car accident. John realizes what's become of him, and because he's a stickler for being on time, rushes to the cemetery.
The twist was obvious from the second the blood flakes were brought up, but the execution is still really good. How is John even moving if he's dead is an interesting question to ask? Is he a zombie? It would explain some of it I guess. But regardless, like I said the execution works really well, being the POV of someone who doesn't realize they're dead. Especially someone like John who is a stickler for punctuality. So even him realizing it's rude to keep the people at the funeral waiting is a hilariously dark way to end the story. Another solid effort.
-THE GOLDEN ARM: Hey, do you remember Quibi? I mean when it actually existed? And one of its weird shows featured an episode about a woman with a golden arm? How on paper it's a bat shit insane idea for a show? Anyway, a woman has lost her arm in an accident. Despite her husband not being rich and only saving a meager enough sum, she demands he buy her a golden arm with plenty of jewelry. Thus he does just that, buying her a replacement arm made of gold with fancy jewelry all around it. She's appeased, but he hates the mere sight of it. But he's also too meek to fight back. One night, after reading about the death of an old friend, she tells her husband that should she die before him, he'll bury the arm with her.
Sure enough, one year later, the wife dies and at first the husband plans to leave the arm buried alongside her like she requested. But given how resentful he's gotten, he digs up her grave and steals the arm. That night, he hears a ghostly wail calling for the golden arm. Eventually, the figure enters his house and again asks who has the arm. The man springs up and says that he took it. Not long after the events of that night, the man dies and is buried next to his wife.
So, I mentioned Quibi at first for a reason. Quibi adapted this for their 50 States of Fright show. Both the show and this version of the tale were based on a classic piece of folklore. Like I've said before, many of the stories in these books base themselves on classic tales of horror. This one in particular dates back to the days of Mark Twain who made the story famous as an example of storytelling. And it does work well as a parable about greed and resentment. How acting on those inhibitions can lead to one's undoing. The version in this book is pretty much a standard fare take on the tale, and it works just fine. Especially if you read it for the first time. I think it works best as a told tale and not one used in a visual medium as, like the Quibi show proved, it's a bit too out there when you just literally do a show featuring a legit golden arm.
-DEAD MAN'S CAVE: Jake Lucas is taking his cousin Peter to Dead Man's Cave. It's named as such for an accident years ago where a group of miners died. Since then there have been stories of the cave being haunted. Peter's worried, but Lucas doesn't believe such superstition. So he drags Peter with him to the cave. Jake is also after something that apparently nobody has ever gotten out of the cave before. As they arrive at the entrance, a whispery voice can be heard telling them to get out. That's enough for Peter to leave, but Jake's not scared. Sure enough, he goes inside and grabs what appears to be a skull. He celebrates it, before the skull starts laughing just as rocks fall and bury Jake in the cave.
Well that explains the skull on the cover I take it. Very simple horror story with the basic moral being how curiosity can lead to one's demise. Other than that, not much to really say on this one. It's short, but not too short. Basic, but not so basic that it's boring either. I guess "boilerplate" is as good a descriptor as any.
-THE MIDNIGHT FEEDING: So, if you're guessing what I think you're guessing by title alone, you're probably right. But still... Our unnamed protagonist gets a call at random from a woman named Mrs. Barloff. She and her husband have to go out for a dinner and need someone to watch their six month old son Nicholas. Despite this being a total stranger, the protagonist takes the job given it's a better pay than usual. The Barloffs mention that Nicholas is asleep, but will be awake in time for his midnight feeding. Also, don't open the curtains in his room either. The protagonist sleeps and wakes up to the baby's cries, so they feed Nicholas their bottle of reddish liquid. Then, because they're stupid, they open the drapes, where bats can be seen outside. Nicholas cries, so the protagonist picks him up, only for the baby to bite their neck.
If you guessed this would be our vampire story of the book, you are correct. Also, I guess that's the bat on the cover attended to as well. I like this one, but it also feels the most padded out story of the book, feeling like it takes more time to build to the feeding and vampire reveal than it really needed to. That being said, it's still a decent enough vampire tale, I guess.
-WHEN DARKNESS COMES: Matthew Cooper enters an antique store in the middle of a storm. He searches around the place until he spots a painting of a castle on a hill. One of the castle windows aglow with something inside. Intrigued, Matthew buys the painting and heads home. He has the painting restored, and when he talks with the restorer, they notice a sentence in Latin that reads "Every century, darkness comes". He doesn't quite get it, but the restorer says that the painting is of a Scottish castle where a young lord was killed atop the highest tower. Though nobody knew if it was murder or an accident. But it's believed that a curse was placed on the painting.
Matthew takes the painting home and shows his friends. However, when he brings up the light in the window, there is no light in the window, which causes his friends to laugh at him. Thinking this must be what the line meant, he stares at the painting later that night, only for the lights to go out. The next day, his friends find the corpse of Matthew on the floor and the painting now shining its light above him.
This one's interesting. Not perfect, but definitely interesting. I think the fault lies more in a very rushed ending, so the mystery feels muddied. So, was it always the painting? Was that what killed the lord? Is it just a cursed painting that kills whoever owns it? Or was Matthew's obsession what ultimately just broke him until his inevitable demise? This is the opposite of the previous story in that it actually needed more time to say what it needed to say. Still, it's a decent one.
-KING OF THE CATS: A gravedigger is busy preparing the grave for a woman named Mrs. Witherspoon who just recently died with her family ready to dump her in the ground the next day. As the gravedigger digs, he hears a strange meow. Soon, the meow gets even louder, as if from some sort of large cat. This all reminds him of his cat at home, Old Tom. And then, things get weird. Nine black cats arrive, eight carrying a coffin with a crown on top led by a larger cat carrying a lantern like he's Bray Wyatt. They stop at the gravedigger to tell him that Tim Toldrum has died and that he's to tell Tom Tildrum. The gravedigger panics and returns home, asking his wife who Tom Tildrum is. Then his cat Old Tom says he's Tom Tildrum and that if Tim Toldrum is dead, he's the new king of the cats. Then Tom leaves.
I think these stories are finally breaking my brain, man. What-what was this? I guess I can at least say it's a unique story and the visual of the cat pallbearers being led by a large cat with a lantern is a really cool visual. The ending, while predictable, is also fine. It's just... I don't know if this or Wait Til Max Comes is weirder, but given this one has an actual ending where something happens, I guess it at least wins in quality? Four stories left. Can't imagine this gets topped.
-THE WHITE DOVE: Wesley Reynolds is at the bed of his dying wife. As her time is fleeting she asks him to never remarry, to which he promises. Wait, we already did this last book but it was Civil War times. Also, before she dies she says that he will see her again but she will have returned as a white dove. Some time after she dies, he waits to see the dove, but never does. And he ultimately decides to get married again to another woman. On the night before the wedding however, he sees the white dove at the window, staring at him menacingly.
The wedding goes through and as Wesley and his new wife are about to enter the carriage, there's the white dove on the seat. The bride goes to shoo it, but the dove responds by violently pecking at her arm, drawing blood. I guess the dove's got squatter's rights. They leave for a six month honeymoon. When they return however, the dove is there in their garden, cooing at them menacingly. Eventually it drives both of them to the point that Wesley's new wife leaves him. Finally sick of this, Wesley grabs a shotgun and shoots the bird who screams and flies off. Eventually the fear and panic sets in and Wesley soon is found dead. He's buried next to his first wife and the dove still shows up.
Okay, I don't think I like this one as much as The Ghost's Revenge, but it's still a pretty messed up story. I mean again, technically Wesley broke the promise, but it again seems unfair to hold him to that promise. Essentially not even allowing him the chance to be happy again. So he gets punished for a promise his wife forced upon him on his deathbed. Though it is also just funny that here's this dove of his ex-wife just staring at them and being all pissy about being corpse cucked. More silly in terms of its horror than the creepier ending the previous book offered.
-CEMETERY HILL: Our unnamed protagonist, alongside their friends Rick and Jimmy, are spending Halloween Night at Cemetery Hill. Their treat is the trick as the protagonist uses a piece of wire they got from their father to lower down and knock off the hats of nearby pedestrians, scaring them due to, you know, CEMETERY Hill. They pull the prank on several people and await one final person to prank. A tall man with a Sherlock Holmes hat. Just as the protagonist lowers the wire, clouds block the moonlight, making it pitch black. They then hear a choking noise in the darkness. The moonlight returns and sure enough they just decapitated a man.
Quick and to the point seems to be the case for a lot of these stories and this one is no exception. Decapitation is definitely another calling card of this book series, along with vampires and campers. So what we get is a rather dark example of a prank going horribly wrong. Although we're left wondering "what now"? Do they stay with the corpse or run off? Because either way, these kids are murderers.
-CLAUSTROPHOBIA: Derek has claustrophobia, meaning he hates being in small spaces. That's also bad considering he has to care for his Aunt Edith who being too old and too obese (book's words, not mine), she's pretty much stuck in a small, narrow room. She calls him in to tell him that she's dying soon (Haven't mentioned it like I did the woods in the second book but this is definitely a recurring thing in these stories) and there's something hidden in the fireplace in her room that she needs to be brought out. Her late husband Peter, who was thin (giving us a Jack Sprat dynamic I guess) was able to get into the fireplace to hide it, now only Derek can bring it out. Which, being claustrophobic, oh goody goody gosh. Oh, and the contents are a box full of stolen diamonds. Okay then.
To get the box, Derek has to climb up the flue about fifteen feet to grab it. He tries to run off, but Aunt Edith says that she'll make sure he doesn't get out alive now that she blabbed about the baubles. So up the chimney he goes like a reverse Santa Claus. He gets her the box, but vows revenge. Aunt Edith dies, with precise instructions to bury the diamond with her. I mean, that's more plausible than a golden arm I guess. Before her body is to be put in a hearse, Derek tries to grab the diamonds off the corpse, only to be grabbed somehow and shoved into the casket to be with her forever.
I think this is a better version of The Golden Arm. Mainly in that there's far better tension and build throughout. Though the twist was pretty predictable, but still feels more well built up than the weaker ending with The Golden Arm. Solid enough pace and the horror is strong. Another solid penultimate tale. One more to go and you know what that means...
-ISLAND OF FEAR: It's a camping story with a kid named Ty! Six campers, including the youngest one named Ty, are about to camp on the six islands across the lake with their leader Mr. Conklin and another man named Mr. Anderson. But one of the boys, a kid named Mark, says there's stories that one of the islands is home to a deadly monster. A shapeshifter, kind of a werewolf, that can assume human forms. And it's going to be the campers having to spend thirteen hours there. One to an island with no supervision because this is the early 90s and I guess camper corpses aren't a deal breaker.
They row to the islands and each are dropped off, including Ty. Mr. Conklin is about to drop him off, but another boy named Eric takes it instead, meaning that Ty has the final island to himself. Ty sets up camp, but soon sees his island has far more animal bones than normal. Also there's another camper on the island. His name is Roger and he's totally not a shapeshifter, honest. Oh, then he reveals he is the shapeshifter and attacks Ty. When Mr. Conklin returns the next day, no sign of Ty, but plenty of human bones at least.
Okay, this one might be the weakest if only because the twist is so telegraphed early, but I still think it was a decent enough ending to go on. I wonder though if Eric knew the last island was the one with the shapeshifter and screwed Ty over. Hell, does Mr. Conklin know? Are he and the shapeshifter in cahoots? Aside from a fast forward ending after a longer build, this was otherwise fine for a final story. Gooney Birds is still the OP when it comes to these camper tales.
BOOK 4 CONCLUSION
I'm more mixed on this final book. No real bad stories or anything, just I don't know, less of a punch to most of them. We still get weird ones like The Golden Arm and King of the Cats, but a lot of very by the numbers horror stories without too much variation. But it's hard to really complain about them either given they are all fine for what they set out to accomplish. And that's being scary stories. Though when you get to like the sixth story where the twist is the protagonist dies, it does wear very thin. But that's just my feelings on it. It still is a solid enough book to recommend and is another example in the marked improvement of J.B. Stamper.
For a final compilation it's a good one to go out on. Best story this time is Voices as its implications and twist are actually the best of the bunch. Weakest is probably When Darkness Comes for feeling like it has the most "it just ends" ending of the book. The book also gives us the weirdest visual of all of these books with the cat pallbearers. Though for as weird as it is, it's no gorilla on the boat. Overall, a solid enough way to say farewell to this series. I think the third is my favorite book overall, but we'll see when I finally rank all of the stories, but that will be for a later time. Even More Tales for the Midnight Hour gets a B.
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