STORIES
HIDE AND SEEK
One winter's night two young girls venture out into a snowy neighbourhood to play a game of hide and seek. Only one will return home safely. But which will it be?
Will it be melancholy Clara, the one who lags behind, the one with the runny nose and the terrible secret? Or will it be playful Audrey, the one with the mischievous smile, the one who never looks for trouble because its always looking for her?
From the author of the bestselling novella The Sickroom comes a dark story about the weight of loss the importance of friendship and the courage of letting go. Two little girls: one who wants to be saved and one yearning to be lost. Who will win the game?
THE PLAYHOUSE
Nine-year-old Benjy stalks up to an old house and hammers on the door. He’s looking for his sister. He’s furious with his sister. But the girl who opens the door isn’t his sister, or is she?
From the bestselling author of Come When I Call You and Home comes a dark short story about what it’s like to be a kid in an adult world, and the lengths we’re willing to go to protect ourselves and the people we love from all the dangers and devils lurking inside The Playhouse.
THE DEED OF THE MONKEYS
At a quiet restaurant in an unnamed city, a man and a woman sit across from each other. She is distraught. He is quickly drunk. Neither can stop thinking of what they've just seen—a deed so brutal, so terrible as to leave the woman in tears.
Was it a moment of meaningless urban violence, or was it something more?
From the author of the dark short story Hide and Seek and the bestselling novella The Sickroom comes a tale about the things we do for love and the devilish monkey that dwells within us all.
TOO MACABRE FOR MONTREAL
Stories Deemed too Disturbing for Macabre Montreal
What is too macabre for Montreal? Are you sure you really want to know?
When working on the book Macabre Montreal, a few chapters ended up being cut from the original manuscript because they were felt to be a little too dark, a little too disturbing, perhaps too close to home, and too controversial, to include in the book. These stories that ended up on the "cutting room floor" were tales that included:
-
A murderous exhibitionist using multiple fake social media profiles
-
The most notorious female serial killer and rapist in Canadian history
-
A bizarre tale of historic decapitation
-
Recorded acts of rape, dismemberment, necrophilia and cannibalism
-
The heinous acts of a misogynistic mass murderer
-
And more...
-
They were, in other words, stories deemed too macabre for the original book.
Reader, be warned. These are not lighter ghostly tales. They are stories pulled from the darkest parts of the human psyche, and are only for those who are able to handle darker, more disturbing content.