By Ian Hunter

(For concatenation.org)

April 25, 2025

October ...

An aged magician arrives in a small New England town in 1970 to recreate a magic trick that had tragic results years prior. When he accidentally opens a doorway to sinister evil just in time for the Halloween season, four boys on the cusp of becoming teenagers and a reclusive horror writer attempt to save the town from unimaginable horrors.

True confession time, I hadn’t read any of Gregory Bastianelli’s previous work until I read his novel Snowball concerning a group of travelers who get trapped by a blizzard at Christmas. Sadly, for them, there are worse things lurking beyond the driving snow and it soon becomes apparent that those who are stranded are connected and caught in a bigger, deadlier game. Bastianelli could clearly write, and Snowball exhibited a great imagination and narrative flare. That might have been enough to attract me to October, but no it wasn’t that exactly. What did attract me was the description of the novel and the main characters: an old magician, a reclusive pulp horror writer and four boys who are about to become teenagers. I immediately thought of the works of Ray Bradbury, and those big horror novels I used to love reading by the likes of Stephen King, Peter Straub and Robert McCammon. Therefore it comes as no surprise that in the acknowledgements section after the novel Bradbury, King, and Straub get a mention along with the likes of Poe, Stoker, Lovecraft, Mathieson and Campbell. Clearly we are in safe hands here ... hold on tight!

What follows is a 373-page long novel divided into each day in October, with each day further divided into different sub-sections. Some chapters are very short, made up of only one sub-section, but other are longer until we get to the last day of the month, Halloween, which is almost 60 pages long divided into 14 sections. So open the book at October 1st and visit Maplewood, New Hampshire in 1970 where four boys have noticed the arrival of an old magician who funnily enough is staying in a boarding house where an old, pulp horror writer lives, someone who is too scared to go outside, perhaps with good reason as strange things start to happen around town. These strange things include children going missing, mysterious sightings, mysterious warnings, and odd people arriving in the town, and much more. The boys know that something strange is going on, but no-one wants to believe them, no-one except the old magician and the reclusive horror writer, but are two old men and four young boys enough to stop the darkness spreading over the town?

Bastianelli has delivered his own love-letter to Halloween and more than a nod to the writers he loved to read. It’s a shame that Robert McCammon isn’t listed in his favourites as McCammon’s “Boy’s Life” springs to mind here, as does King’s “IT”, Straub’s “Shadowland” and Bradbury’s “Something Wicked This Way Comes”.

Bastianelli has combined a love of those meaty horror novels of the 1980’s, the Halloween season, small town America and the everyday “stuff” of boy’s lives into a heady brew chronicling strange goings which build in intensity and turn the novel into something that is more than autumn and Halloween and streets lined with piles of autumn leaves, or flickering pumpkins sitting in windows or doorsteps, or even children dressing up. In many ways October is like King’s “Salem’s Lot”. There is oddness, there is strangeness, there is nastiness, but what is actually happening? Then it clicks into place, with a revelation taking events into a dark and bloodier place while leaving the reader holding on like grim death. I think horror readers, like me, of a certain age, are going to love this, and hats off to Flame Tree Press again for bringing great books by horror writers from around the world to the attention of UK readers ... keep up the good work!

By Thenobody

(For “A Reviewer Darkly”)

April 10, 2025

Gregory Bastianelli Brings And End To The Innocent In October ...

Life sometimes gets in the way and a book slips to the bottom of the “to be read” pile. This happened for me with October by Gregory Bastianelli. It is really a shame this was the case as I have enjoyed the author’s other novels, but I just could not seem to get to it for one reason or another. I finally was able to get into the novel a season or two too late.

Something is very wrong in Maplewood, NH. It is not a new thing, the evil has been there all along, but it has been lying dormant for a long time. Then one night in 1970, a retired magician comes to town and takes up residence in a boarding house. It may seem innocuous at first, but there is something sinister about him. He has come to Maplewood for a purpose. Unfortunately for the residents of the town, he has unintentionally brought something with him to the small town and it is ready to unleash Hell on Earth.

When children around town start to go missing, a group of four teenage friends find themselves pitted against the evil that no one wants to believe is real. Years ago, the magician had unwittingly banished his son into a dark land. Now that the son has returned with an evil force bent on taking over the town, it is kidnapping children to further its evil plot. The children are disappearing, and the clock is ticking. Halloween lies right around the corner and when the clock strikes midnight on the dark night, nothing and no one will ever be the same again.

While this is a seasonal book in that it focuses on Halloween, October is simply a very good horror novel that can be read and enjoyed any time of the year. Bastianelli strikes the right chord with the characters and the book never feels like a young adult novel even though the main characters are teenagers. There are chills and thrills aplenty throughout the novel as well as some sequences that are truly horrific and even leaning toward the more extreme side of horror. This is not a story for the weak of heart or stomach and there are times in which it left me a little queasy. I think that this is due, at least to some extent, to the fact that most of the characters are so young, but it is also due to the fact that the novel is very well-written and hits home on a personal level. It is easy to care for the characters and this makes the horror all-the-more real.

October is a very strong horror novel, but the emotional impact of the novel is what makes it work. This is a coming of age story that is somewhat idyllic at the beginning for the friends even as the terror begins to grow. The reader knows that it is only a matter of time until they lose their innocence. And really, this is what makes the novel so terrifying. Yes, there are satisfying monsters and plenty of action, but that is not the true point of the story. Much like many of Ray Bradbury’s works, Bastianelli takes the reader on a journey back in time to their own childhood and then rips the innocence of those memories away. That is the true terror of the novel. This novel is life. It is unrelenting in its approach and takes a small piece from the reader that can never be replaced. October will have the reader running the gamut of emotions, and that is a very good thing. Highly recommended even if that recommendation is coming late, and you definitely should not wait until next Halloween to pick this one up.

I would like to thank Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for this review copy. October is available now.

By Erica Robyn

(For “Erica Robyn Reads”)

September 10, 2024

October by Gregory Bastianelli is a book that serves as a perfect love letter to the Halloween season. It wraps nostalgia and terror beautifully within its crisp fall pages.

Let’s dive in!

My Thoughts on October by Gregory Bastianelli —

When an odd man steps off a train, something strange begins to spread like ink spilled on the map of this small town. Following the perspectives of various characters, readers follow this tale of horror through the month of October.

When things start getting spooky, the terror is sprinkled into the story in quick little bursts. So small that each character tries to convince themselves they’re seeing or hearing things at first. But they all soon learn it wasn’t just their imaginations.

My goodness! What starts as a quiet and creepy tale quickly ramps up to some seriously terrifying bloodshed! Some of these scenes are branded in my brain ...

This would make a killer horror film or series! I’m so grateful I was able to give this an early read as it really helped me get into gear for fall!

AND THAT ENDING!

My Favorite Passages from October —

His heart felt like ice in his chest, as if he sucked in a great gulp of the fall air.

Time had no meaning here. There was no light, no days, only darkness blurring into more darkness as the house floated on a sea of black.

Eddie’s heart leapt into his throat so he couldn’t scream. He jumped up and raced across the bridge, not caring that the boards rattled beneath his pounding feet and felt like they were going to collapse and pitch him down into the grasp of whatever crawled along the underside.

He began to pant as his chest heaved up and down, air sucking in and out of his open mouth. He spun around looking for anyone. The plaza was empty. No one around except for the library gargoyles, but they didn’t see him, their lifeless eyes focused on the books held in stone hands.

My Final Thoughts on October —

What a perfect read for the ‛ber months! This one will have you reaching for your favorite fall beverage and perhaps an extra light to light up that darkened corner of your room.

By David Pitt

(For Booklist)

March 3, 2022

Something strange is going on in Kidney Island, Maine. People (and even some livestock) are behaving erratically, experiencing brain-splitting headaches, seeing visions. Is it all due, as some of the residents claim, to “shadow flicker”, the disruptive effect of the shadows cast by the enormous blades on the nearby wind turbines? Or is there something darker at work?

Insurance investigator Oscar Basaran is given the assignment of determining what’s happening at Kidney Island, but is he prepared for what he might find?

Bastianelli (Snowball, 2020) taps into a much discussed issue, the effects of wind farms on residents in the area: some say “shadow flicker” is a myth, others that it’s a real phenomenon and quite harmful. The author, of course, comes up with another explanation, and it’s a scary and surprisingly believable one.

This is a gripping horror story from an author who deserves a wider audience.

By Bob Pastorella

(for This Is Horror.com)

February 24, 2022

“With his latest novel, Bastianelli taps into the real phenomenon of ‘shadow flicker’, spinning a frightening story of madness and paranoia ...”

Reviewed by Publishers Weekly

February 17, 2022

Strange phenomena and dark mysteries hide within the flickering shadows cast by the windmills at the center of this chilling horror novel from Bastianelli (Snowball).

Bastianelli creates a spooky, claustrophobic small-town atmosphere but leaves the exact nature of the strangeness unexplained, a lack of resolution that will frustrate some but for others will only enhance the horror.

It’s a dark, disturbing treat.

By Matthew Johns

(for the British Fantasy Society)

August 2021

It’s Christmas Eve, and everyone is rushing to get home to their families. As the song goes, snow is falling all around, and an unlucky bunch of travellers are (unlike the song) simply not going to have a wonderful Christmas time.

I enjoyed the action in the book and the way that he builds the tension as the travellers gradually start to realise that they are in danger. All in all, an enjoyable read from an author to watch in the horror genre.

By Toni V. Sweeney

(for New York Journal of Books)

Like the butterfly’s wings causing a storm thousands of miles away, SNOWBALL reveals how one small act can affect so many people’s lives. It also points out that no matter how cruel an individual may be, there could always be one person who loves them.

As gently as falling snow, it’s a story piling layer upon layer of horror, until the reader is weighed down by all that’s happened but continues hoping for a Happy Ending, that everything will turn out all right. After all, it’s Christmas Eve, isn’t it? Bad things can’t happen on Christmas Eve.

Can they?

By Shawn Macomber

(for Rue Morgue.com)

August 2020

New Hampshire author Bastianelli follows up a pair of clever, underappreciated shockers, LOONIES (2015) and JOKERS CLUB (2011), with this delightfully deranged tale that reads like a Greatest Hits of Yuletide horror: Modern-day Donner-Party-esque stranding in a blizzard? Check. Ghosts in the squalls? Check. Mystical snow globe? Check. A gang of characters on the Naughty List? Check. "Twisted toymaker"? Check. Murderous supernatural creatures stalking? Check.

SNOWBALL isn't going to be optioned as a Hallmark holiday movie of the week anytime soon, but if you want a Halloween-infused Christmas terror tale to help get you through this long, hot quarantine summer, Bastianelli has got you covered ... with several feet of bloodsoaked snow.

By Thenobody

(For “A Reviewer Darkly”)

January 12, 2020

Gregory Bastianelli Crafts A Blood-Soaked Holiday Treat In Snowball ...

Flame Tree Press has become my go to publisher for horror with many of my favorites having their books published with this great publisher. Sometimes, however, a new name comes along and a trusted publisher behind that name gives it a gravitas it may not otherwise have. This was the case with Snowball by Gregory Bastianelli and I was happy to give the novel by a new author (at least to me) a read.

Everyone thought they could beat the storm and make it home for Christmas. That was how the group of motorists found themselves stranded on the highway in a blizzard that came on much quicker than anticipated. Now they knew that their Christmas plans may be ruined but also that they would have to struggle to survive the elements that many of them were unprepared for. If it was only the storm that was stalking them in the night, they may have had a chance.

A group of the stranded travelers get together in a motorhome and begin to exchange tales of their worst holiday stories. Once it becomes apparent that the storm may be worse than first thought, and also getting creeped out by one traveler who foretold doom, a group of them decide to brave the storm and head for a cabin they had spied nearby in search for help. Little do they know that the denizens of the cabin are well aware of their plight. In fact, they are responsible for the storm and the dangers it holds. Thinking the cabin may hold assistance for their plight, they find themselves in a deadly struggle to emerge back into the storm alive.

Snowball starts out with a bang when a killer snowman attacks a mired snowplow. Bastianelli uses that as a tease, though, as the character and narrative development kicks in. Even with the storm and the danger it holds raging, the novel becomes almost idyllic for a little while as the stranded motorists begin to come together and their stories entwine. There is still some light horror here dished out as a harbinger of what it to come but the novel almost becomes a holiday novel for a while. It is too good to last and the terror kicks back in as the storm becomes more oppressive. Bastianelli has set the reader up, made the reader care, and suddenly comes in for a fierce, violent assault.

The payoff in this novel is a very good one. After Bastianelli gets the reader to care about the characters, he puts aside the eggnog and begins pouring blood over the pages. The ending stanza of the novel is quick and violent but also steeped in twisted Christmas imagery. This was very good horror as I have come to expect from this publisher. Snowball is the first novel that I have read from Bastianelli but it is not going to be the last. He proves in this novel that he not only has the writing ability to craft a strong story that can draw the reader into his world but that he also has a keen sense of horror and knows when to hit the accelerator and when to ease off. The pacing in this novel is excellent and even the calmer passages were not boring in the least. I cared about what was going to happen and was shocked and scared along with the characters as the story unfolds. Snowball is not a themed novel that relies upon that trick to find an audience. It is a very good horror novel and one that can be enjoyed any time of the year. The first five-star read of the year.

I would like to thank Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for this review copy. Snowball is scheduled for release on January 16, 2020.

By Seven Jane

(for The Nerd Daily)

January 2020

In "Snowball", an upcoming holiday horror/thriller from author Gregory Bastianelli, the ghosts of winters past come out to play when a group of weary travellers find themselves snowbound on Christmas Eve. The only problem is: the road they thought they were travelling has just taken them somewhere very different than they expected, and there are no gifts waiting on the other side of the blizzard for this unlucky caravan.

Bastianelli has assembled an ensemble cast of holiday commuters for his trip to holiday hell-including the quintessential executive, the freshly-engaged college couple, a single mother towing her kids, a trucker, an elderly couple in an RV and more. Giving unique voices and winter torments to each traveller is something of a speciality for Bastianelli, who manages to create holiday torments that ring true for each passenger ... and each reader.

The story's shtick is in its title, "Snowball", a process that starts from something small and builds upon itself, becoming graver through the inertia of its own momentum as it becomes disastrous. It's a clever pun for the tale's delicate if unrelenting tension-building arc, which not only connects all the seemingly unrelated travelers, but dooms them to share the same unfortunate fate as the weight of their past indiscretions bears down in an avalanche upon them all. Each of our travellers is on their way to the same frozen end, with some particularly chilling surprises in store for the naughtier on Bastianelli's list. A word of warning to the reader: don't get too cosy with any characters you meet on this journey home for the holidays ... some don't last, and most are not what they seem.

At times seeming to borrow heavily from recent holiday horror film "Krampus", "Snowball" brings together contemporary interpretations of some of the darker folktales of the Yuletide, along with modern-day horrors and a sprinkling of Jack the Ripper-esque brutality to tie the festivities together. Whether it's the Scrooge and Marley-like strained (or, I could say, more precisely, chained) business relationship between a twisted toymaker and his former business partner, carnivorous snowmen, a certain birch switch-swishing, children-snatching beasty of legend, or the Iceman, a murderous, ice tong wielding madman, Bastianelli serves up the perfect holiday monster for every reader (Frankly, there's a couple travellers that this reader found a mite creepy, too).

It's all in good spirit, though, because what would Christmas be without a little bit of fun to brighten revellers' appreciation of the season? For a holiday that comes only once a year, there's no time to waste; the game is already afoot.

If you're looking for something to keep you cosy on cold winter nights, then find something else to read because there are no warm holiday tidings to be found here. But, if you'd prefer to spend the darkest nights of the year shivering as you await the temps to rise and the sun to return, then this is the holiday horror you've been waiting for.

Reviewed by Publishers Weekly

November 2019

Dark memories return to haunt a group of strangers stranded in a deadly blizzard in this chilling Christmas-themed horror novel from Bastianelli (Loonies).

After a snowplow driver is murdered by something hiding in the vents of his plow on Christmas Eve, it leaves a pileup of strangers stuck in their cars on the highway in the middle of a terrible storm. They seek shelter in one couple's RV, passing the time sharing grisly stories of their worst winters. As the night progresses, figures from their stories begin appearing in the storm—among them ghosts, animated snowmen, and Krampus, the horned Christmas goat demon from European folklore—and the motorists realize that they have more to fear than just the blizzard as nightmares of Christmases past come back for revenge.

The vivid, terrifying imagery of each of the character's story makes up for a confusing resolution to the frame plot. Readers will be riveted by this genuinely scary holiday phantasmagoria.

By Frank Errington

2015

I love a good opening line and Loonies opens with this one, "Smokey Hollow had the appearance of a quiet and quaint New England town, until the trunk in the attic was opened." I was drawn in immediately. Part horror, part crime drama, and part mystery, Loonies kept me turning pages right to the very end.

Brian Keays and his wife Darci are new to town. Brian has taken the job of editor at the community's weekly paper while Darci spends her days at home preparing for the upcoming birth of their first child. It's a quiet life until the discovery of a trunk in the attic that when opened reveals a mystery that will envelope the entire town.

Even with all the craziness in this story, the plausibility factor remains very high. There are many unforgettable characters in Smokey Hollow, some of my favorites being the assistant fire chief, Simon Runck and his ventriloquist's dummy Marshall, and the town Somnambulist, Sherman Thurk. I can't help but think this story was a lot of fun to write, but at the same time, a lot of work. Loonies is a bit like a giant jigsaw puzzle with so many pieces, yet very satisfying when you put them all together.

I found Loonies to be wickedly imaginative and a fun read. It's available both in paperback and a variety of ebook formats from Journalstone.

By JG Faherty

2015

Loonies—the latest novel by Greg Bastianelli—is definitely a fun, fast, exciting read with equal amounts mystery and humor. The author does an excellent job of amping up the thrill factor as the book moves along while not sacrificing plot or characterization. The mix of chills, oddball characters, and surprising twists will keep you reading right to the very end. If you're looking for a fresh, slightly twisted suspense novel with a dash of horror thrown in, this is your summer book.

By Sheila M. Merritt

(for Hellnotes)

February 2012

“He loved writing horror stories, loved letting his imagination loose where it would reach its tentacles out into the world and gather up the dark twisted things that existed out there in the night.”

Crystallized in that quote, author Gregory Bastianelli reaches into the heart of horror scribes and readers alike; and squeezes hard. In his novel Jokers Club, Bastianelli blazes into Stephen King territory: an It-like premise of youths who share a terrible secret and reunite years later. He also indulges in ambiguity that would make Henry James beam with pride. The narrative vacillates between the supernatural and psychological; depending on how one chooses to interpret the words of the protagonist — a writer with a facility for fabrication, and a brain tumor. Psychic games abound: The deck seems stacked against the main character, and the joker is indeed wild. The story simmers with a febrile intensity which comes to a boil several times during the course of the yarn. What’s real and surreal meld as guilt and repressed feelings surface, culminating more in chaos than catharsis.

Severely ill Geoffrey Thorn is grasping at straws and memories. An unpublished writer from New Hampshire, he returns to his hometown after living in New York City where he had hoped (and failed) to ignite inspiration. At a reunion with the boyhood friends who formed the Jokers Club, Geoff gets artistically stimulated. There is fertile material in the community; many local eccentrics and much history. It’s the club, though, that sparks his creative core. Once again in the company of the comrades of his youth, Thorn is stirred by contrition to compose a tale based on a deadly incident. Boyish revenge went horribly awry. Geoff has long wondered if there wasn’t a lethal calculation behind the nasty prank. Conjecturing about the past collides with mysteries of the present. Someone is murdering the remaining club members, and the serial killer could very well be one of them.

Faulty recollections and misconceived perceptions cloud the protagonist’s ability to process what is happening. The tumor may be causing hallucinatory fantasies; or perhaps it is merely Thorn exerting literally license. Such ambiguous possibilities permeate the narrative, which also has its share of irony. In a trenchant and reflective passage, a friend of Geoff analyzes the collapse of his marriage: “I think the real problem is that I love her, but I don’t really like her. And I think she likes me, she just doesn’t love me.”

The plot of Jokers Club is like Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None”, reinterpreted by Franz Kafka. This requires an intelligent equilibrium to be successful. Gregory Bastianelli accomplishes the symmetry without sacrificing the suspense. Rather like a sequence in the novel in which a house of cards is constructed, Bastianelli shrewdly knows how to achieve a complex and delicate balance. The consummation hinges on a holding of breath; carefully suspending the tenuous along with the tension.

By P. Zomb

(for Pissed Off Geek)

January 2012

Stories about writers returning to the towns in which they grew up are quite a well-trod path in not only fiction but also television and even movie games nowadays. The memories of childhood are quite a catalyst for stories that the writer wants to get out, not only in the actual story but from the actual author that is writing the novel itself.

Jokers Club is one of these types of stories. Geoffrey is a writer who is dying of a brain tumor, crushing headaches were not only the first sign of this but are now his constant friend as he waits for the inevitable death that is on its way. This is when he gets an invitation from old friends to come to a reunion of the Jokers Club. These men, who were once boys who shared a dark secret in their past have come together to think of old times and to rekindle friendships that were destroyed in the past by what they had done. Each have their own little thing, there is the over achiever, the drunk, the quiet one and the writer; Geoffrey is the writer. Little love is lost between the group and when they start to be killed off one by one paranoia sets in and Geoffrey fears he will be next, even wonders if he could be the killer, has his tumor started to effect his sanity? This is when his muse returns, the Joker himself. The jester like figure helps him to work out just what is going on in the small town and who is to blame for the deaths of the Jokers Club and what part Geoffrey has to play in it.

As I stated this type of story is a well-worn path and has been used many times, this is not a bad thing really though because if done well this type of story can provide interest and a strong story. Jokers Club keeps you guessing up till the end, as the main narrator Geoffrey leads you by the hand through his home town and tells you the stories from his past. You learn of such characters as the Tin Man, and Carrot Head, about how the Jokers Club were well known as being the practical jokers of the town and often got in troubles. Looking back into the past like this provides the reader with an interesting insight not only into the characters of the story but also what took place between the members of the club and the outcomes of their actions.

The inclusion of the "Joker" himself as Geoffrey's muse is an interesting plot device and adds an edge to what is going on. The character is often maniacal and shows a psychotic nature that often has you wondering about Geoffrey's sanity and just how the tumor has taken hold of his actions, being that it is a brain tumour that can affect people like that. Or even is the Joker a manifestation of the tumour in his sub conscience pushing his actions into the world of the insane. I did feel though that the jester itself was a bit of a simplistic character who needed more of an edge, this does improve as the story goes on but of all the people in Geoffrey's life the jester was the more two dimensional of them, he needed a little fleshing out more.

Even though the story of the Jokers Club is not as original as it can be Gregory Bastianelli creates an engrossing tale of a childhood that is forever changed and a mystery that does actually keep you guessing. He writes in a style that pulls you into the story and keeps you turning the page out of interest where it will go next. The book is short and for myself personally I would have loved some of the characters to be fleshed out a little more but other than that Jokers Club is a good read that will keep you guessing, even to the very last pages.

By Brett Talley

(Author of “That Which Should Not Be”)

2012

Dark secrets are like dead bodies—sometimes, they refuse to stay buried. It isn't often I read a book that I have trouble putting down, but the Jokers Club grabbed my attention and wouldn't let go.

Gregory Bastianelli is a master at creating rich and fully-developed worlds and then inviting us to explore them with him. In Jokers Club, Bastianelli weaves what is seemingly a straightforward tale—years ago a group of friends were involved in a horrible accident, one that they have kept secret for all their lives. But now, at their first reunion in a decade, they begin to die, killed one by one at the hands of a mysterious assailant. Is one of their members the killer?

Even on its own terms, the tale that Bastianelli presents is rich and detailed enough to make a fine story, but he is not content to let us off so easily. Instead, he gives us a narrator in Geoff who is haunted by both the past and a tumor that is slowly consuming his brain. The story that he tells us—both in the form of his contemporary thoughts as well as his writings about the things that happened when he and his friends were boys is often uncertain. The pictures Bastianelli expresses through Geoff only adds to the other worldliness of the book's style, creating a setting where even a stroll down the town boardwalk is a mysterious mystical adventure.

I recommend Jokers Club without reservation. My only wish is that Bastianelli had written more, for when we take the last turn and absorb the final twist, you are left wanting the story to continue.

5-Stars ...

By Publishers Weekly

Link to "Jokers Club" Review

January 2012

The novel "Jokers Club" was reviewed by Publishers Weekly, a leading news website of book publishing and bookselling.

By Dave Gammon

(for Horror News)

December 2011

Jokers Club has made me proud to be a horror fan again. No longer is there a need to endure sneers, snickering and low brow comments at social gatherings. Granted an interest in the macabre comes along quickly in tow with the stereotype of being unabashedly disturbed. Make no mistake about it even the disturbed do have integrity.

In an era where we're force fed contrived remakes such as Piranha, Friday the 13th and The Step Father is it any wonder why our love for the dark side is balked at? I cannot count how many red faced episodes I'd sustained in recent years to an unexpected early return of my wife at home. Scrambling for the remote or television off button with trembling hands, one could only pray to be caught in the act of something more sophisticated or dignified like watching porn.

Instead guilty pleasures are exposed in watching yet another sequel to Saw, some different spin or another on the Exorcist, trumped up 'reality but not really reality' fan fare of the paranormal and for the love of god yet another rehashed, refurbished teen vampire rip off. The true humiliation is being asked by others, why do you watch this garbage?

My common elected response is simply I don't know. At times it would be more practical and productive to continuously grind a rusty file into my eye while repeatedly watching infomercials on Slap Chop or Sham-wow.

I realize these films are not literature. In certain realms our once chilly and harrowing authors have been deduced to mediocrity as well. Anyone else tired of reading about the sarcastic characters with their token trusty dog in some sort of government conspiracy or cover up exposed? Anyone else bored to tears being trapped in perpetual Bangor or Castlerock, Maine? Certainly last but not least some masterpieces are far behind them having frolicked in bliss once out of the closet or been (with all due respect) born once again in the eyes of God. I cannot help but ponder would the greats Bradbury, Lovecraft, Serling or Hitchcock settle for second best?

Praise the Lord of Darkness we need not ponder further. Bastianelli's tale is brilliantly crafted beginning with aspiring author Geoffrey Thorn returning to his New England town upon invitation to be reunited with his boy hood chums. The six some has a male adolescent clan of sorts aptly called Jokers Club. They'd assemble regularly in their custom tree house to read comics, chew that fat and scheme about what mischief they could concoct. One devilishly sinister prank included digging up folklore legend the Colonel out of the town's mausoleum. Egging one another on, peer pressure prevails as they transport the body to the rural town police chief's house. The door bell is rang, running and hilarity ensues. Harmless good fun right?

Paul "Woody", Dale, Lonny, Martin, Geoff and their self appointed leader Oliver make up the pack. A new pledge is presented in the form of Jason Nightingale, recently moved into town with his folks. Oliver dislikes the 'newbie' from the get go but decides not to force the issue against majority rules.

The pivotal point of our exposition is when cigars are passed out in curious custom fashion in the tree house. Not long after the youths inadvertedly set the club house a blaze. Fearing the worst possible wraith from their parents, each flees the scene. Ultimately the new kid confesses the horrific episode to his folks, causing a rippling affect of epic proportion in each boy's household. Oliver is punished by means of a physical beating by his drunken, abusive father.

To extract revenge the Oliver instigates a game of hide and seek. Upon the ruins of a scrap yard they instruct Jason to hide in one of the obsolete, discarded freezers. Once inside Oliver aggressively demands each of the boys leave, promising he'd let out oblivious Jason later once he's learned his lesson.

Needless to state it takes not a respirologist to determine the exact cause of death. In sheer horror the boys swear on an unholy pact to never divulge the exact sequence of events in their friend's untimely demise.

Twenty years later the remainder of Jokers Club reunites in their alma mater. Each is confused as to who had dispatched the invitations and why each was assembled there once again to surface their repressed terror. One by one the adult club members are found brutally murdered. Our lead protagonist Geoffrey Thorn delves back into his writing in desperate attempt to find answers to the frightful questions being asked and acted out before them. He struggles with dementia and reality in this gripping tale of whodunit that will keep you guessing until the very end.

Jokers Club is an excellent read to rejuvenate the passion for all that goes bump in the night. Classic indication of an effective horror is one that keeps you thinking long after the fact. Images of a gnarled, decomposing Jason Nightingale will render you screaming in fits of cold sweats throughout the night.

Ladies and gentlemen there is a new messiah of macabre and his name is Gregory Bastianelli.

By Amy Eye

(for JournalStone Publishing)

September 2011

Ever do something you were not proud of as a child? Did you ever dream that one blunder would haunt you for the rest of your life? Ever think a mistake you made as a child could leave you paying the debt with your life years later? I made more of my share of mistakes growing up, I'm just happy I wasn't a part of the Jokers Club.

Once upon a time, there was a group of pleasant, young boys. They had meetings trying to decide how to better their community, how to help their fellow man, and how to lift the self-esteem of all those around them.

This is NOT their story.

The Jokers Club had a different agenda.

Instead of planting flowers, walking the old lady across the street, and smiling at the dork in class, the Jokers Club is smoking (oh no!), removing dead bodies from the grave (NO JOKE!!), and something much, much worse (DUN DUN DUN!!!).

The group of young men disband, as most do as they grow up (or until something tragic happens), and years later a reunion is underway. Each of the members has their own agenda when attending the get-together. One wants to rekindle old friendships, one wants to regain lost inspiration, one wants to borrow money, and yet another wants to show how powerful he has become.

The sleepy little town they come from is not too happy to see the return of these fellows, and when tragedy strikes the Jokers Club once again, the police are more than happy to keep an eye on these known troublemakers. But is it fair to judge these men based on their past?

Just in time for Halloween comes a brilliant horror novel that keeps you guessing the end until the very last page. When I started reading this, I was instantly drawn in by the rich detail and a clever introduction. I kept reading because of the characters, the plot, and the never ending twists and turns. The events that unfold in this book are truly horrifying, heartbreaking, and disturbing.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves horror. This horror is good for everyone, it leaves you knowing what happened but without the extreme gore and icky bits flying all over. You can add in as much or little detail in your own head as you want. The author gives you enough to paint any kind of picture you want. Like a bit of mystery with your horror? This provides 110%. I KNEW what was going to happen. I KNEW who did it, who the terrible nightmare was. This is one of the only times I will say I was perfectly okay with being DEAD WRONG.

This Halloween season, or anytime you want a good spine-chilling thrill, grab a copy of this and settle in. You will not want to get up until you have finished. (Keep a flashlight handy and maybe a favorite teddy?)