Shaun Jeffrey - Voyeurs of Death

[dem bones]

Shaun Jeffrey - Voyeurs of Death (Doorways Publications, 2007)

Zach McCain

The Flibbertigibbet
The Watchers
Paranoid
The Tunnel
The Quilters of Thurmond
Sin Eater
Voyeurs Of Death
Life Cycle
Dark Inside
Clockwork
Venetian Kiss
Peacock Lawn
Envy
Snake Charmer
Park Life

Blurb:
In the macabre, terrifying world of Shaun Jeffrey, things are not always what they seem. A young boy 'fixes' dead things. A fairy tale has a far from happy ending. Clothes bring out the best - and worst - in the wearer. True love mutates into hatred and violence. Heroes become villains in the blink of an eye. Scenic vacation spots hide ancient evils. And a date at a secluded parking spot produces dire consequences.

Voyeurs of Death delivers 15 tales of the macabre and surreal.

Take a look inside ...if you dare.

Endorsed by none other than Guy N. Smith, appropriately so as these nifty tales are not short on sex and violence. The Flibbertigibbet is a memorably ghastly creation, a centuries-old ghoul with Ed Gein's dress sense. Envy is a must for recent Fashion Victims' thread. Snake Charmer originates from what appears to be an anthology of Peeping Tom stories. Accomplished interior illustrations by the cover artist, Zach McCain.

The Flibbertigibbet: (Walt Hicks [ed.] DeathGrip: Legacy of Terror, HellBound, 2003). Ethan Silverman travels to Inchkullen on behalf of his company to obtain permission for a multi-complex leisure facility. Unknown to Ethan and colleague Janet, his employers have already cut a deal with Pagan God, the Flibbertigibbet, who guarantees success in exchange for the occasional human sacrifice. "Partial tae a bit of Sassenach it is."

The Watchers: (James R. Beach [ed.], Dark Discoveries, Summer, 2005). Geraldine and Luke park at the local dogging sight and get down to business - except Luke is too self-conscious to perform before creepy strangers. Annoyed at his reticence, Geraldine abandons the car to go catch some action. Luke wants out of there, but it wouldn't do to leave her at the mercy of perverts - or worse.

The Sin Eater. Taking Confession has become a labour of love to Father Finnegan until he's hideously swollen with delicious sin. No matter how much he gorges, it's never enough. Tonight it's Frank's family's turn to receive the dreaded home visit.

Envy: "The dresses will react badly if you alarm them." B-movie actress Vivian Murphy bribes a shop assistant to steal her the most exclusive designer gown for tonight's premier. The dress is of a unique fabric whose texture and colour won't keep still for a moment. Vivian's killer look provokes a riot on the red carpet.

Voyeurs Of Death: (Adam Bradley [ed.] Black Tears #7, 1995). When his car is involved in a fatal collision, Daniel has an out of body experience in which he sees his wife, Mandy, lying dead on the bed, and a man desperately fleeing the scene ...

Snake Charmer: (Paul Fry [ed.], Peep Show Vol 1, Short, Scary Tales Publications, 2004). Six years into their marriage, Simon Wagner insists Deon participate in a wife-swapping orgy, only to turn violent when, much to her astonishment, she enjoys herself. Their relationship is dead from that night onward, but Deon's sex life has never been so active. When Simon learns from work colleagues that his wife is entertaining all-comers, he gives her another beating, but this time she hits back. Without wishing to spoil the ending, it's fair to say the odious Mr. Wagner is in danger of blowing a fuse.

Park Life: (Angela Challis [ed.] (Shadowed Realms #4, June 2005). A pleasant family afternoon out, but the zoo is no fun for those the wrong side of the bars.

[dem bones]

Clockwork: (Brian Yount [ed.], Wicked Karnival # 7, 2006). Alex, precocious MAD SCIENTIST, utilizes his Mechano kit and a small motor to rebuild and reanimate a dead cat.

Paranoid: Dark day at the hospital when a little girl receives a visit from the Tooth Fairy. "Nurse! The screens!," etc.

Dark Inside: A luxury liner pick up a drifting vessel off the coast of Haiti - and take aboard an army of rats infected with the zombie virus. No need for me to elaborate on what happens next.

The Tunnel: (L. Marie Wood [ed.], Hauntings, Cyber-Pulp Press, 2004). The teen gang bully little Aaron to investigate the tunnel beneath the abandoned Victorian house in the woods. Twenty years later, his elder brother returns to find him. Downbeat ghost story, similar vibe to William Sanson's The Vertical Ladder.

[dem bones]

Venetian Kiss: (Diana Bennett & Anthony Cain [eds.], Monsters Ink, Cyber-Pulp Press, 2005). A gondolier and his fellow ghouls take advantage of carnival to conceal their ghastly features behind full face masks. Jade, fresh from a narrow escape, warns Alex that they are among monsters but he laughs in her face. Truth be told, she's better off without the smug git, so no great harm done.

The Quilters of Thurmond: David Logan [ed.], Grotesque #3, 1993). "I'm not taking that mangy piece of cloth with me to London. What would people think?"

Amanda is furious when, despite assurances to the contrary, mother craftily conceals the runic bedspread in her suitcase before she departs for the mainland. What a load of superstitious nonsense these old timers go in for! Amanda comes to be thankful for mum's foresight when Matthew the hotel manager, a Rohypnol rapist, comes onto her. 1-0 to the Thurmond Womens Guild.

The Peacock Lawn (THWN Presents: New Voices in Horror, Cyber-Pulp, 2004). Alex Collins lures his overbearing, universally despised father onto the marshland at back of the site, looks on as the bastard is sucked down screaming. This being a book of horror stories, it's a false dawn.

Life Cycle (Surreal Magazine #1, Winter 2005). Frances, a prostitute, shoots up a new drug, gives birth to an egg the size of a rugby ball. A week later, it hatches ...

An impressive début collection. Stand outs for this reader, The Flibbertigibbet, The Quilters of Thurmond, Venetian Kiss, The Watchers and the "my erection is killing me" torture nasty, Snake Charmer.

[Swampirella]

Great stuff, thanks for bringing it to everybody's attention, Dem! I just started it after enjoying another short story collection "The Mutilation Machination"

[dem bones]

Jun 3, 2018 18:27:08 GMT Swampirella said:

Great stuff, thanks for bringing it to everybody's attention, Dem! I just started it after enjoying another short story collection "The Mutilation Machination"

Thanks Swampi. Hadn't realised he'd published a second collection. Shame it's only available as an e-book as that kind of rules me out. For the record:

Shaun Jeffrey - The Mutilation Machination (Deshca Press, 2012)

The Algae
Sweet Music
Not So Different
Phantasmagoria
The Mutilation Machination
Clockwork
The Neighbours From Hell
In Darkness

Blurb:
A collection of eight tales that delve into the darker side of human nature. What happens when a sex doll malfunctions? Sit back and listen to an orchestra with a difference. Sometimes self help can work too well. A boy who brings dead things back to life. And what happens when the devil moves in next door? Now sit back and enter a world of nightmare and illusion.

The sex doll story - The Algae - sounds right up my street. Clockwork is repeated from Voyeurs Of Death unless he's rewritten it?

[Swampirella]

"Clockwork" is the same, as far as I know, since I skipped the one in VofD. For those with Kindles, both books are 99p on Amazon.co.uk and .84c or 76c on A.com., a very good price for such entertaining stories.