The Feast: And other Horrifying Tales

By David Vorhees

a collection of short stories that take place on different holidays over the course of the year. The collection opens with "A New Year, a New Day, a New Life." Grant Curtis is arrested on New Year's Day and charged with the murder of his wife Carla. In "Easter: The Resurrection," a resurrected Kyle Gardner seeks vengeance on Pastor Brian. "The Vengeance of Cassidy Clay" is a narrative poem that takes place on Halloween. The poem tells the story of a slave-hunter who haunts the woods long after his death and many more spine chilling tales.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1670514587
• ISBN13: 9781670514585
• Release Date: December 2019
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 207 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Your holidays can't be worse than these.

The Feast and Other Horrifying Tales gives us the major USA holidays full of ghoulish fare. What I really appreciated about this collection; there was no last minute happy endings created out of glitter and sunshine. If the story was on track to end stark and violent, guess what? These situations do not lend themselves to a hug at the end, queue the theme song. The author held true to the way the story was unfolding, he didn’t shirk away from his duty to give the dark endings. This was dark fiction done right in my opinion. I rated this 5 stars. I came to this decision because I thought each story was unique; I like the author’s writing style. I would recommend this to readers of dark fiction, if you like a little gore with your horror, and a realism that makes it stick with you after your done. I could see giving this as a gift. New Year’s Day : A New Year, A New Day, A New Life – The Tell Tale Heart for the modern man. I feel that anytime someone thinks, “I can kill without getting caught,” they’re going get caught. You can plan for every thing, but what how do you plan for human emotion? I liked this story. Valentine’s Day : Necrophilia- A Love Story – So with the title, you have to know this has a little illicit, illegal, and gross lovin’ going on, no spoilers required. I know that there are people who exist in their own type of reality, but seeing it written out so smoothly gave me a sense of disconnect. It makes you wonder how many times you have made eye contact with a person, and gone on to have a whole strange life, lived out with them. The difference being, here, there is necrophilia. Easter : The Resurrection – So this one I could see being a Law & Order: SVU episode. Ice-T would look very concerned as he said something like, “He was on an Easter egg hunt with his best prizes, but worst delivery. People ain’t like IKEA furniture.” This was a tense, fast paced story. I really enjoyed it. Fourth of July : American Hero? - This one was probably the hardest to read in terms of making me uncomfortable. I think everyone who is old enough has a “where were you” story for the towers. Mine, I was packing what clothes I could into a trash bag while my mom watched the news of the attacks. I can only imagine the feelings of guilt surviving the towers attack if you were supposed to be there that day. This is written in such a way, I could see it happening. That makes it an especially chilling read. Halloween : The Vengeance of Cassidy Clay – Told in the form of a poem, this relays the evil nature of Cassidy Clay and how it led to his death. And if you feel brave, much like those that call on Bloody Mary, on Halloween night one can call on him for a badge in bravery. But I would beware, some spirits are more restless than you would like. Thanksgiving : The Feast – I think this one was my favorite in the collection, because it is a trope that can be done so many different ways, to different reactions from the reader. This one made me think of the French film, Frontier(s); both have people in trouble kinda out in the middle of the rural land, and they seem to get help from a nice family. I am convinced that if I am ever out in the country somewhere, and I encounter a too friendly family, they will be cannibals. My mom and I lost my dad outside of an art shop in Dripping Springs, Texas for almost thirty minutes; happened over a decade ago. It was off in the boonies, surrounded by trees and drop offs. We had talked ourselves into a giggling fit over how the inbred, Texan cannibals had taken the strongest in our group, so we were screwed. He was sitting somewhere behind the building, a rest area for husbands. But still, for a bit, we were sure that was the end of us. This was a hard read, because the author’s cannibals seem so nice, but they are not your friend. It was dark, no punches pulled ending that I loved. Christmas : Dear Santa – They say confession is good for the soul. Counterpoint: I am not so sure that all sou