VISITED BY DREAMSCAPE

These are well-written stories that put a fresh take on typical gothic settings alongside expected tropes such as madness, loss and death. I loved The Fashion Show in particular told by a menacing machiavellian fashion designer, and The Haunted Night is both unsettling and emotive. A very entertaining collection of tales full of creepiness and surprise endings.

This book was very entertaining and a nice easy, quick read. Some of the stories I thought could've been longer but overall I enjoyed this book.

Visited by Dreamscape is a creative, chilling and dark collection of gothic-inspired short stories which deliver killer endings.

The Haunted Night –an atmospheric tale of despair and melancholy as a mother searches and finds her missing daughter in the neighbouring wood.

The Ailment – a wry tale about the repulsive and unspeakable journey made by Greasy Pete and his ‘third eye’.

The Haunted Nightclub – a chilling night of men, mystery and misery at Haunted, a local nightclub, doesn’t end well.

The Doll’s House –Child’s play gets dark when a younger sister receives a second-hand doll’s house complete with an unusual doll.

The Haunted Fairground – a widow and her two children experience more than they bargained for at the visiting fairground on Choices Meadow.

The Fashion Show - the deliciously dark and playfully malevolent fashion designer Richard Layman delivers The Cut Walk as his macabre swansong.

The Haunted Farm – a psychological and emotive tale about a brother and sister required to spend one night at their dead father’s farm as a condition of their inheritance.

I’m still struggling to fall in love with short stories but this was a collection that I actually really enjoyed (for the majority).

My fav reads were:

The Haunted Night - the torment and pain felt by the mother in this story was so visceral and the ending was shocking and disturbing (a great way to kick off the collection).

The Haunted Fairground - this one was terrifying in an emotional and ‘real’ way. The fear of death and loss permeated this story and it was a stirring read.

The Fashion Show - this one was my FAV! Hannibal Lecter of the fashion world - the concept was so wrong it was right and highlighted the raw (pardon my pun) horror of the lengths people will go to for art!

Worthington is def a writer I will be checking out again in the future.

#bookreviewsbymrsc #visitedbydreamscapes #louiseworthington

Chilling and Disturbing
Visited By Dreamscape by Louise Worthington is a fantastic work of horror fiction. My favorite story in the book is The Ailment and The Haunted Fairground. Although, these are short stories and I was hoping to read more of them. The author has done a remarkable work and I am looking forward to read her other works also.

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Gothic style short stories, all with twists the reader will not see coming. I thoroughly enjoyed it; it grabbed my interest quickly and is easy to read. The author is British so there is some slang that I did not understand but it did not deter me. Recommended for those that enjoy short story horror.

This is an enjoyable selection of quick to read Gothic horror stories. They are all pretty solid and all have plenty of unsettling atmosphere. Recommended.

Beautifully crafted with arresting imagery, weaving the everyday with the horror of our deepest and darkest nightmares, these stories are perfect for those who enjoy the works of Stephen King, Clive Barker, Angela Carter, Shirley Jackson, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

A blend of Gothic-style stories placed in modern settings, that mix in our deepest, scariest nightmares.

The Haunted Night –an atmospheric tale of despair and melancholy as a mother searches and finds her missing daughter in the neighboring wood.

The Ailment – a wry tale about the repulsive and unspeakable journey made by Greasy Pete and his ‘third eye’.
This one was simply gross but had an underlining morality tale swirled in. Imagine if every careless and thoughtless act you performed, was shown on your body and face for all to see...

The Haunted Nightclub – a chilling night of men, mystery, and misery at Haunted, a local nightclub, doesn’t end well.

The Doll’s House –Child’s play gets dark when a younger sister receives a second-hand doll’s house complete with an unusual doll.

Having a doll phobia, this one was pretty damn scary. A poor grandmother is left two girls to care for when their parents die. She does her best to give them both what they want but eventually does treat one with more love than the other. She gives to the youngest, her favorite, even if it means taking from the oldest.
The gift of a dollhouse with an odd-looking doll included is the biggest mistake she makes.

The Haunted Fairground – a widow and her two children experience more than they bargained for at the visiting fairground on Choices Meadow.
Not sure about this one. It was not exactly scary, but more disquieting. A woman who has lost her husband is trying to give her time and herself to her two children but her own grief is making it hard. Deciding that even little gestures might help, she agrees to take the children to a small local fair. The adults and the children are made to enter by different entrances, something that would make me say “Never mind...”
In their separate areas, they are asked to make a choice; a choice that will change life as they know it forever.
Left a feeling of unease with me that I can’t really explain.

The Fashion Show - the deliciously dark and playfully malevolent fashion designer Richard Layman delivers The Cut Walk as his macabre swansong.
Another gross one. Fashion for the idiotic rich made from those who have meant an unspecified end. This could actually make a rather gruesome full-length novel. I want to know where and how Richard Layman is getting his materials. Take me from when he decides his style of fashion designing is what he wants to do, show me how he started and how does he find out there are buyers for these sick items.

The Haunted Farm – a psychological and emotive tale about a brother and sister required to spend one night at their dead father’s farm as a condition of their inheritance.
It’s hard when your parent wants you to take over the family business, to love it and need it as he did, but you have other dreams. Doesn’t help the parent is a sadistic, cruel, A-hole either. So what do you do when the entire package is left to you and your sibling. Follow the once rule, spend the night in the dead father’s farm, and plan how you will dispose of it and split the profit.
Just be careful who, or what overhears your plans. They may not be too happy...

Overall a great selection of horror stories. Perfect for those who like their scares in small doses.

Thanks to @Netgalley, BooksGoSocial, and Louise Worthington for this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Visited by Dreamscape is a collection of short stories inspired by gothic literature darkened by modern fears and regrets. The most brilliant and harrowing, heart-hammering anthology includes stories about a woman who finds the body of her missing daughter, a grown pedophile who receives the punishment of which I wish was possible, an evil doll, a fashion show coming to your television featuring black market fetishes, a family struck by grief who have to make a choice, a not-so-human girl and her dead exes, and two siblings who deal with the deadly aftermath of their farmer father come back for revenge.

Each short story had me holding my breath for each one, unable to open my mouth until the last sentence. Each one left me wanting more. But, unlike any anthology I've ever read and ever will, the shortness of the stories don't irk me, because the writing is so vivid, emotional and captivating that I don't mind when they end. They feel complete.

This is the sort of stuff I want to include on my death-bed, the sort of style I dream of crafting in my own work. This is the masterful writing of someone who has gothic and horror literature pegged, like this author OWNS this style of haunting art.

Each story was more orgasmic than the other, I simply wanted to devour more. I must confess, I want to read everything the author as ever written, right now!

These stories are short but completely worth the read. I simply beg anyone who sees this to give it a shot. So well crafted, immersive, haunting, just incredibly poised. Everything about this is perfect. Well done.

Visited By Dreamscape by Louise Worthington is a fantastic work of horror fiction. My favorite story was the fashion show one with the flesh fashion, it was really interesting.