by John Brhel, Joseph Sullivan
Genres: Horror
Source: Author
Purchase*: Amazon *affiliate
A young woman sees an approaching figure in her time-lapse photo project. A small town's strange illness seems to stem from the local cemetery. Two boys make a grim discovery about death and decay when they sneak into a funeral parlor. AT THE CEMETERY GATES: YEAR ONE is an entertaining and eerie short story collection for fans of the strange, macabre, and supernatural.
AT THE CEMETERY GATES by John Brhel & Joseph Sullivan is a collection of fourteen short stories. It shares a nice mix of supernatural, macabre, and urban legend tales. Like most anthology collections it offered a mixed bag of stories. Grab a cup of Joe and read my thoughts on each tale.
A Dark and Desolate Recurrence – This is a tale of husband and wife stuck in a snow ditch. They end up seeking shelter in a haunted cabin. It had that creepy camp site fire tale feel.
A Casket for My Mother – Creepy Go Fund Me story about a young man returning from teaching in China to learn his childhood friend’s mother died. Not really scary, since huge clues were given, but it had an excellent creep factor.
Time’s Harbinger – A young man and his estranged father head to their hometown for his mother’s funeral and end up twenty-five years in the past. A creepy tale with supernatural characters, angels. The ending was a tad weird and left me with questions.
A Tale of Palpable Violence – A twist on a classic urban legend. A young woman and man are fearful when a car following them wants them to pull over.
The Burial Vault – Teenagers, ghost stories and a vault with a terrifying history made for a creepy tale. The twist at the end was clever.
Passion’s Paroxysm – A young married couple begins to have trouble in their third year of marriage when the young man decides he will have no more regrets. This was a very predictable tale.
The Hermit of Russian Lake – Set in the Adirondacks, a young man brings his family to vacation and soon finds himself hiking alone where he encounters a hermit. A strange tale with perhaps a time loop. The twist left me guessing.
A Late Blight – A student sets out to locate the cause of a strange and deadly outbreak in his hometown. Not a bad tale but the twist fell flat.
Delaying Decay – Two brothers are bored as its a holiday and everything is closed. They pass the town funeral home and the back door is open. The temptation is too hard to resist. This was an enjoyable little tale and reminded me of stories from Tales from the Crypt.
The Girl with the Crooked Tooth – This homage to Edgar Allen Poe shared a killer’s first. Weird and macabre.
New Year’s Eve, What a Gas! – I had a hard time accepting the wife’s stupidity when she prepared a German sauce found in an old journal belonging to her grandfather. I was not a fan of this tale at all.
The Call is Coming from Inside the House – In a word, weird. Ancient texts, rituals, and resurrection are usually my cup of tea, but this had twists at every turn and I had a hard time buying into the tale.
An Epistle from the Dead – A clever twist of a tale, and perhaps one of my favorites. Upon her husband’s death, a woman finds a journal with the unthinkable.
Pictures of a Perpetual Subject – Another favorite, this had all the elements I enjoy in these type of short stories. A young girl photographs one subject all tear and when she downloads them makes a startling discovery.
AT THE CEMETERY GATES was an interesting collection and is available for KU and as an ebook. Some of the stories are perfect for sharing around a campfire. All were creepy but none were truly scary.
At The Cemetery Gates by John Brhel & Joseph Sullivan offered creepy fireside tales Share on X
About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
Michele
I love a good anthology! With lots of short stories, you can take what you need and just leave the rest! You know I’m a big fan of the creepy and the weird; and since you say these aren’t really that scary, I’m adding this to my reading pile. Wonderful review, my friend!
kimbacaffeinate
Thank you, Michele.
Angie
I haven’t been able to read a scary book since grade school when I read “Wait Till Helen Comes” and slept with my light on for two weeks. I’ve tried to read Stephen King before in an effort to support local authors, but I haven’t been able to make it through one of his books yet.
I’m glad you enjoyed these. Nice review.
kimbacaffeinate
Awe. I can read them but avoid most movies, especially those horror movies involving chainsaws!
Lampshade Reader
Looks awesome. Will have to remember this when October comes along. 😀 ~Aleen
kimbacaffeinate
Yes, good book to have around during the haunting season 🙂
Melanie Simmons
This looks really good. I love having anthologies to read a story here and there between longer reads. Normally I pick up the books with short stories from a single author or series, but this looks like a lot of fun. Thanks for sharing. I will be checking this out (wish it was on audio, but will try it anyway)
kimbacaffeinate
Some of the stories are memorable.
Melliane
it’s been a while since I haven’t read a horror book. Many stories in this one!
kimbacaffeinate
It was a nice collection 🙂
Michelle
Such an interesting collection of creepy stories. Seems like my kind of read.
kimbacaffeinate
The cover is creepy and it offered a nice mix of stories.
The Bibliophile Babe
Yikes, that cover is definitely creepy!
kimbacaffeinate
I thought it was a creepy cover as well.
Mary Kirkland
I’ve always enjoyed these types of scary stories.
kimbacaffeinate
Me too Mary.
Angela Adams
Over the past couple of years, I’ve gotten kind of hooked on anthologies. It’s the opportunity to read more stories in a short span of time. Thanks for the post, and have a great weekend!
kimbacaffeinate
I love them for bedside reading.
Ethan
I’ve really gotten into reading short story collections lately and love anything spooky. This seems comparable to Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez that I read earlier this year.
kimbacaffeinate
There were some really clever tales in her Ethan
Melissa
I love that cover!
kimbacaffeinate
I like it too Melissa.
Sophia Rose
Campfire creepy stories can be pretty fun. Several of those have me itching to find out the twists or reveals. I can see where a collection like this would be a mixed bag. Loved the mini review thoughts.
kimbacaffeinate
Thanks, Sophia.
Heidi
Such a creepy cover. Some of the stories sound really interesting, Glad to hear they aren’t too scary.
kimbacaffeinate
Nope, they are creepy but won’t give you nightmares..lol
Lily B
well, at least you enjoyed some of them…
kimbacaffeinate
I did Lily.
Cyn
Sounds like an interesting and creepy collection! Glad there was a few good stories in the mix! Awesome review, Kim!
kimbacaffeinate
Me too Cyn.
kindlemom1
Sounds like an interesting mix of stories. That cover, I can’t tell if I like it or hate it. It’s sort of creepy but there is so much wonderful detail too!
Have a lovely weekend Kim!
kimbacaffeinate
It is creepy.
cindy
I used to read these types of short stories as a teen. Thanks for sharing this and bringing back fun memories. I love to be scared sometimes and also love scary , creepy movies!
kimbacaffeinate
Oh me too, I enjoyed them and this had me reminiscing a little
Nadene
Hmmm, the cover is creepy. A few of the stories do sounds interesting. I am curious about A Dark and Desolate Recurrence and A Tale of Palpable Violence.
kimbacaffeinate
It is free on KU and reasonably priced on eBook.
Geybie's Book Blog
I watched a movie similar to this story, plot wise. So scary! Awesome revie, Kim.
kimbacaffeinate
Oh, very neat Geybie These tales were different and perfect for sharing around a campfire.
blodeuedd
Ohhh freaky cover
kimbacaffeinate
I agree it is freaky