Nightmare“The Golden Hour” by Erica Ruppert
“Skins” by Pedro Iniguez
“The First Year” by R.L. Meza
Reviewed by Kevin P Hallett
There are three first published stories in the 114th issue of Nightmare, including one flash story. Overall, it was an entertaining collection.
“The Golden Hour” by Erica Ruppert
Timothy isn’t a normal boy in this short horror tale. When his brother shows him a special golden light he found in a stream, Timothy is jealous that the light prefers his brother. But even after drowning his brother, the golden light doesn’t come to Timothy.
Now, Timothy’s life is about finding that light again. It seems to exist in other boys who mistakenly wander onto his farm. So, he takes the light from each boy that enters his realm.
Though the plot was familiar, the author has created an original and entertaining way to portray it.
“Skins” by Pedro Iniguez
In this piece of flash horror, Marlon is on sea ice, hunting for baby seals. He hates doing it, but he has debts he must pay. His uncle points out a group of five plump baby seals, saying their skins would be perfect. But Marlon and his uncle aren’t the only ones hunting for skins that day.
The author wrote this snippet as a what-if proposition about how aliens might regard humans.
“The First Year” by R.L. Meza
As a new mother, Olivia is ambiguous about her new son in this short fantasy/horror story. She and her husband are social influencers, but it’s quickly apparent that Liam, the baby, will hijack their sites. People are only interested in watching streaming videos if they include Liam.
By the time he’s six months old, people show up at their house to peer in through the windows, while Olivia begins to feel herself fading away. Soon Liam is making electronic sounds and making up new words. Before he is one year old, hundreds of people jam the front yard every day. Olivia feels she has to escape the endless scrutiny, but can you ever outrun the web?
Meza’s story is hard to put down and left to the reader to decide what was happening between mother and son.
You can follow Kevin P Hallett’s writing on www.kevinphallett.com