Length: 103 pages
Genre: Horror
Started: 25 January 2013
Finished: 28 January 2013
Where did it come from? From Amazon
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 2 August 2014
Why do I have it? I just wanted to consolidate all four of my reviews for these short stories into one single review and I have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.
I read Four Spooky Short Stories by Kathryn Meyer Griffith separately in January of 2013. Now that these stories are collected together in one volume, I thought that I should post all my separate reviews as one, so here they all are!:
Kathryn Meyer Griffith's Spooky Short Stories Book 1: Ghost Brother - So what happens after you die? Do you go to heaven...or hell? Or do you go to a special place fashioned just for you and based on the life you had lived; how you had treated people...what you did to them during your time on earth? And do ghosts really exist? Do they roam the earth and torment the living, persuading them to do things they shouldn't do? Two brothers and their tale follow...their journey through life and death. Their ultimate reward for the lives they'd lived.
I have to say that I haven't read that many short stories before. So, when I was able to, I decided to splurge and treat myself by buying two of the four stories in Kathryn Meyer Griffith's Spooky Short Stories Series for Kindle as a Christmas present for myself. These stories were originally released in September of 2012 in celebration of the Halloween season.
I like Kathryn Meyer Griffith's writing style and the characters that she creates. I have read seven books by Kathryn Meyer Griffith so far, and have many more of her books waiting on my TBR shelf. I am avidly looking forward to reading them as soon as I can.
Overall, I enjoyed this story very much. The characters were sympathetic up to a point and I never could pinpoint when Gerald - the 'Ghost Brother' in the story - had actually died. I know that both brothers had gone off to fight in Vietnam together, but it was never entirely clear - at least to me - if Gerald returned physically, or as a wraith from Vietnam to haunt his brother Bobby. I give this short story an A!
Kathryn Meyer Griffith's Spooky Short Stories Book 2: The Banshee and the Witch - What would you do to live forever, stay young forever? To experience true love once more? And if you were a white witch with the magical powers to make it happen...and the secret of how to do it, would you? So when the banshee comes calling for you one rainy night you'll do what you have to do to get what you desire the most...more time.
I have to say that while I completely understand the witch Cleona's motivations to do what she did...and while nothing that she did was technically black magic, I think, I would perhaps say that Cleona practiced 'gray' magic - not actually harmful to herself or to other people, but certainly self-serving and focused on her own personal desires.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story and found it to be well-written, but it did leave me with one last unanswered question on my mind: once you get what you most desire, will you truly be content with it? I give this story an A! and am looking forward to reading the two other stories in this collection.
Kathryn Meyer Griffith's Spooky Short Stories Book 3: Too Close to the Edge - Penelope had been looking forward to going with her husband, sister and brother-in-law on a road trip to visit the Grand Canyon. As an artist who was going through a temporary artistic dry spell, Penelope hoped that seeing the majestic Grand Canyon would enlighten her spirit and give her possible ideas for future paintings. Penelope was willing to try to overcome her terrifying fear of heights to go on this trip with her family. And Penelope was certainly looking forward to the vacation until she got there and couldn't bear to get too close to the edge.
She watched in terror as various sightseers balanced on one foot, acting foolish, taking photos - completely oblivious to the certain death waiting below them at their feet. Their careless antics made her dizzy, took her breath away. Scared her. Especially when the woman beside her relates the tragic story of a small child who fell to her death into the Canyon the day before.
Many people died that way - falling over the edge of the Grand Canyon. Many people also died down inside the Canyon - hikers and other people who are disoriented by the triple digit temperature, people who drowned in the river going through the rapids. Then Penelope witnesses a young girl fall over the edge of the Grand Canyon and no one believes her frantic account. For there was no child who had died - that day anyway. Was she seeing things that weren't there...or was there another explanation?
I really enjoyed this short story. The characters were well-crafted, and I felt that the story's ending wrapped up any loose ends very nicely, in my opinion. I give this story an A+!
Kathryn Meyer Griffith's Spooky Short Stories Book 4: Running With the Train - Sarah has been lonely most of her life. She's been searching for a love that she has begun to believe will never come to her. Her family and friends back home depend on her, need her...but they can't give her what she truly wants. True, eternal love. Like wolves have.
So, as a solitary traveler, desperate to try something new and get away, Sarah goes on the adventure of a lifetime to the Grand Canyon; rides the train from Williams to the South Rim and sees several huge wolves running alongside the train. Sees them in the evening twilight scurrying unbelievably along the ledges of the Grand Canyon among the trees. She's told that there aren't any wolves living in the region anymore but at night she hears their haunting cries.
No one else sees them and no one else hears them. Just Sarah. Have her senses left her; her loneliness made her crazy? For these are wolves...unearthly prowling creatures that follow and achingly call to her...and in the end Sarah must decide what she will do when she finally comes face to face with one of these phantom wolves.
I enjoyed this short story very much. Like all of Kathryn Meyer Griffith's stories that I have read, I found that the characters were well-drawn and very believable. If I did have one problem with this story, it would be that the ending was almost too quick and easily wrapped up for me. I give this story an A! and I am eagerly looking forward to reading more books by Kathryn Meyer Griffith in the near future.
A! - (90-95%)
May you read well and often
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