Beyond the Pale
by Brýn Grover

In this chilling collection of short stories, the macabre comes in many forms. A woman’s leg holds the key to keeping a monster at bay. A crochet hook is used for protection. At a rural church ceremony, death waits in the pews. Hoping for improved sight, a child has violent visions. A woman is unexpectedly aided by an unknown entity. A fisherman returns what was once claimed. A man deals with the grief of loss. An alien plague is thwarted without weapons. A man’s life unravels taking everything but giving a new start. A cursed bicycle spans generations to ride again. These ten tales go beyond the pale to explore lines between life and death, fear and sorrow, real and unreal, as characters cling to scraps of hope, thoughts of revenge, or redemption.

5 out of 5 fairies

This was an eerie collection of short stories, reminiscent of things you’d see on The Twilight Zone at times, and at others, just calling deep to primal parts of ourselves. The stories are relatively short, so it’s easy to read one at a time, and come back for more later if you don’t have a lot of time. They’re quite diverse, and while you might not be sure when or where the twist is coming in, you can be sure it will be there before the end. Grover does an excellent job using few words to bring a surreal eeriness to life with each story. While I wouldn’t call this traditional horror, it’s definitely a great read for spooky season!

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