Release date: November 20, 2018
Subgenre: Horror collection
About Kaleen Rae and Other Weird Tales:
Take a walk into darkness with nine tales of the weird and macabre...
Just how far would you go to win someone's heart? Would you gamble with your soul?
Jonathon is a good man, but he struggles with body issues and bad skin. When he meets the beautiful Belinda he realizes he would do anything to be with her. With no other options, he turns to the mysterious Kaleen Rae in the solitary Gothic house on the far side of the meadows.
In the Welsh countryside, a werewolf is spurred into action by an alluring scent. But is it ever wise to hunt in daylight?
For Pvt. Eddie Coates, surviving Afghanistan is looking increasingly unlikely. The few remaining members of his unit are pinned down under heavy fire. All seems lost, and then they hear wings beating in the darkness…
A troubled youth plots his revenge. But what price would you pay for retribution?
Hellish demons, haunted houses, shape-shifting monsters, and genetic mutations, make up this unsettling collection, which also includes the original short story version of The Strange Case at Misty Ridge.
Jonathon is a good man, but he struggles with body issues and bad skin. When he meets the beautiful Belinda he realizes he would do anything to be with her. With no other options, he turns to the mysterious Kaleen Rae in the solitary Gothic house on the far side of the meadows.
In the Welsh countryside, a werewolf is spurred into action by an alluring scent. But is it ever wise to hunt in daylight?
For Pvt. Eddie Coates, surviving Afghanistan is looking increasingly unlikely. The few remaining members of his unit are pinned down under heavy fire. All seems lost, and then they hear wings beating in the darkness…
A troubled youth plots his revenge. But what price would you pay for retribution?
Hellish demons, haunted houses, shape-shifting monsters, and genetic mutations, make up this unsettling collection, which also includes the original short story version of The Strange Case at Misty Ridge.
Excerpt:
They had walked halfway across the
valley before finally deciding to set themselves down among a clearing in the
long grass, where they drank lemonade, and enjoyed the selection of freshly
sliced fruits and sandwiches Belinda had packed for the expedition.
It had been Belinda’s intention for them to venture right up to the
front gates of the property. Thankfully, at least as far as Jonathon was
concerned, they never made it. He hadn’t wanted to get anywhere near the place.
This was the reason he had been so reluctant to enter the meadows.
Belinda and Jonathon were sitting on the ground nibbling sandwiches when
Harry, who was prone and resting on his elbows, suddenly sprang to his knees.
Reaching for the binoculars, he began scanning the distant house.
“Hey, I think that’s her!”
“Let me see, let me see,” Belinda pleaded.
They took it in turns to look through the binoculars at the hooded figure
stepping out across the front courtyard of the property. Though even using the
naked eye, it was impossible not to be troubled by the weird events which
followed. They all agreed that the form moving slowly across the courtyard,
before coming to a stop amid an unmanaged area which should have been the property’s
front lawn, was definitely female; being both slight of nature and graceful in
movement.
She stood deathly still for what seemed an age, although, realistically,
it was only a matter of minutes. Belinda, who had commandeered the spy glasses,
noted that the woman’s mouth appeared to be moving in a manner suggestive of a
chant or mantra. As they continued to watch, birds began gathering around the
property; all were of a certain ilk; ravens, magpies, jackdaws and crows. This
swathe of aerial cousins amassed on every aspect of the building and
surrounding trees and outhouses. Every fence, gate, wall and statue occupied by
feathered visitors. The roofs on both the main house and its outbuildings were
lost beneath a moving, squawking, blanket of dark birds.
Harry commented that there must have been hundreds of the creatures
blanketing the property.
In truth, there were thousands.
And then, as rapidly as it had begun, it ended. The woman suddenly raised
her arms above her head, rotating her wrists as she did so, and the birds began
to take flight. They flew a tight circular formation, directly above the busy
arms of the woman beneath them. A narrow vortex of living creatures formed,
giving the impression of a huge black funnel emanating out from the daunting
figure below. Until, for no obvious reason, the birds began to break rank and
fly away. When the skies were finally still, the hooded woman walked slowly back
across the courtyard. She turned just once to cast her eyes over the landscape,
before disappearing inside the house.
Harry beamed. “Holy shit, that was weird!”
Amazon
About David Brian:
David Brian is
an internationally published author of several novels, novellas, and short
story collections. He writes Mystery/Suspense/Horror and Dark Fantasy. His
novels include the Amazon bestseller The Strange Case at Misty Ridge.
He is inspired by authors such as Richard Matheson, Clive Barker, James
Herbert, Daphne Du Maurier, Lisa Tuttle and Stephen King. A father of four, he
lives in Northamptonshire, England, with his partner Karen and
a Staffordshire terrier named Ralph. Now that the children have reached
adulthood, he gets to spend more time relaxing down by the ocean. When he is
not writing or reading, you’ll often find him down on the beach, watching seals
playing in the shallows along the North Sea
coast.
