Castle Heights, the place, is the type of inner-city tower block familiar to many of us. Some may even live in a similar place. We hope, though, that you don’t experience anything like Castle Heights, the book. It’s an anthology in which eighteen different writers tell a horrific tale set on the eighteen floors. Some will get under your skin more than others, but we’re happy to reveal there isn’t a bad short story amongst the collection.
Throughout the stories presented, there’s a whole gamut of horror styles. Murder, monsters, and mayhem are the order of the day. Several entries involve strange occurrences in the hallways, be it people-eating doormats or oozing waste that devours an unfortunate tenant. Ghosts, mutilating birds, and the most awkward works get-together you’ll ever experience are the basis for some of the eighteen accounts of the seemingly ordinary folk living in the building.
There’s a cohesive thread that flows through many of the stories, amplifying the fact they all take place on the same night. The power cut, the boxing match, and even the nifty product placement of a particular film give the reader the impression that the whole edifice is about to implode with all the nastiness that is taking place. The tales complement each other perfectly, although we quietly wish there would have been a unifying coda, perhaps with the condemning of the site?
Several of the contributors work in the independent film industry and they certainly know how to spin a twisted yarn and prove the worth of seeking things away from the mainstream.
Castle Heights – published by Red Cape Publishing – is available in print and as an eBook from Amazon.