Review: Funhouse

Funhouse by Michael Bray

My rating: 5 of 5 stars




I read Funhouse in-between full novels or when I was just in the mood for a quick short story to read. I updated the review as I read each story and give a little detail about my opinion on each below. I have summarised my rating and which are my favourite at the very bottom of the review.

1: Mr Ghoul's Quaint Little Ghost Train - This was a great wee story, never again will I look at a ghost train the same. These are a whole different type of skeletons.

2: 99.9AM - A radio station with a difference. Not as good as the previous story for me but still enjoyed it. It didn't go where I was expecting which is always a plus.

3: The Eye - Ugh now I'm going to be paranoid about checking the toilet bowl when using the little girls room. Thanks for that Michael lol.

4: Scarecrows - Scarecrows have always creeped me out. I grew up spending a lot of time on my great grandparents farm, my pop would hide walkie talkies in the scarecrows when he knew we were playing in the fields, his idea of fun. It's funny to think back on now but even to this day they give me the heebie jeebies. This story is kind of like my worst nightmare.

5: Hangman - This is one game of hangman I wouldn't like to play. I kept trying to work out the answer, no fair!

6: The Boy Who Saw Spiders - Ugh spiders. I was half way through this story and stopped to make a cuppa, when filling the kettle a huge freaking spider fell from it into the sink, scared the life outta me. Now I keep imagining I'm seeing the little sods everywhere! Not too sure of the ending of this one though.

7: The Man in the Alley - I loved this one, my fav so far! The characters and the interaction between them just grabbed my attention. The mixture of curiosity and fear kept me totally intrigued.

8: Sick Day - Ugh that was just yucky. I hope that dinner wasn't what I think it was.

9: Jasper - Poor Jasper. I'm not a big fan of birds and have always disliked crows. Dislike them even more now.

10: Tilly - Ugh creepy dolls, enough said. Gave me the heebie jeebies that one.

11: Long Tall Coffin - Let this one be a lesson to you boys and girls. Never bully!

12: 50/50 - Darn it Michael, you can't leave me hanging like that! Poor choice of words considering the theme of the story but cmon, I wanna know what happened! I really liked this one, so simple yet so effective.

13: Cabin Fever - Cabin Fever is my favourite story in this collection so far. I loved the way it was written, the voice of James was excellent. There are a couple of great twists too. I Really enjoyed this one.

14: The Langton Effect - Hmm not too sure how I feel about this one. I can't say I didn't like it, it just didn't grip me like the others have.

15: The Trial of Edwyn Greer - What a great twist on vampirism. I really enjoyed this one, it was great to read a vampire story that was different from the norm.

16: Candyland - Small towns can be picturesque and welcoming but they can also be far from what you are expecting or what they seem. Candyland is not a place I fancy ever making a pit stop at.

So now that I have finished this great collection of shorts, I can honestly say that Funhouse is the first anthology I can easily give 5 stars to. My favourite in the collection has to be (#13) Cabin Fever, closely followed by (#1) Mr Ghoul's Quaint Little Ghost train, (#7) The Man in the Alley and (#15) The Trial of Edwyn Greer.




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