The Smashed Man of Dread End, by J. W. Ocker

I recently wrote about The Smashed Man of Dread End at Substack:

Book cover: The Smashed Man of Dread End, by J. W. Ocker

On the day that she and her family move into their new house, Noe Wiley is met by a welcoming committee comprised of all of the other kids who live on the same cul-de-sac. But this is not your usual welcoming committee—these kids, Noe’s new neighbors, they aren’t there to deliver cookies.

They’re there to deliver a warning.

They tell her not to go into her basement at night.

They tell her to keep her little sister out of the basement at night.

And then they scatter.

That’s it.

So, what does Noe do?

Well, she does the thing that people have done for as long as we’ve told one another horror stories: She ignores the warning.

And, because such is the way of horror stories, she realizes that she should’ve listened.

Subscribe to my newsletter here.