Diabolical Plots #59, January 2020
“This is What the Boogeyman Looks Like” by T. J. Berg
Reviewed by Kevin P Hallett
There are three new short stories in the 59th issue of Diabolical Plots.
“This is What the Boogeyman Looks Like” by T. J. Berg
Aiden fears closets because of the Boogeyman in this horror short. Years after seeing his little brother taken by the Boogeyman, Aiden still cannot function well. No one, including his ex-wife, realizes how justified his fears are.
A psychiatrist suggests confronting his fears in the same room where he imagines something stole his brother. Aiden goes there and waits outside the closet, armed with a baseball bat.
This was an engaging horror snippet that peeled away the truth like an onion. A nice structure to the story.
“Beldame” by Nikolas Furr
In this short fantasy, a college student is travelling through Kansas by bus. Sleeping in his aisle seat, he wakes when the bus stops at a strange town where the houses on one side of the road show their front doors, and the homes on the other side show their backyards.
With ten minutes to stretch, the student goes to buy a soda where, outside the door to the store, a local woman advises him to buy a lottery ticket and walk out the back to a new world. He buys the ticket, but then chickens out on leaving through the back. For years, he regrets his decision to stay in this world, but can he find this mysterious town again?
This short morsel of a story had enough mystery and pace to keep it interesting.
“Gorilla in the Streets” by Mari Ness
Sitting in a coffee house near Central Park, a journalist is interviewing Stanton in this short horror/fantasy story. Stanton is a multi-billionaire hedge fund manager. An accomplishment in itself, except he is also a lowlands gorilla.
Throughout the interview Stanton describes how he overcame the understandable hurdles in being the first gorilla on Wall Street. As he talks, Stanton’s clumsy and heavy-handed ways break several teacups. Rumor has it that he’s heavy-handed in his business dealings as well.
This was a light and slightly whimsical story about a Tarzan in reverse situation.