Sarafina was the first book of Fracassi's I've read, earlier this year. As with Sarafina the stories in this collection were dripping with suspense and dread. Fracassi creates such a creeping sense of unease amongst a miriad of settings, time periods, and characters. While not all of the stories resonated with me, they all carried a central theme of trepidation and foreboding that often left me hesitant to turn the page out of apprehension for what might be lurking just around the corner. As someone who reads a good amount of horror novels, to be able to invoke these feelings in me is a feat in and of itself.

This set of stories cements Fracassi into one of my top horror authors and I will definitely be circling back to read some of his past works while I await his next tantalizing story.

Some of my favorites, and those which gave me goosebumps were, The Visitor, My Love, Do Not Wake, and I Think My Treehouse Is Haunted.

3.75 ★'s rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Shortwave Publishing for this ARC.

As a collection, some entries were stronger than others and just one or two I didn’t connect with which is to be expected. I will say I found this collection versatile and it covers a number of genres and topics - science fiction, horror, adventure, dark humor, romance, mummified celebrities…
It really does have a bit of everything.

Some of my favorite entries -
Point Oh One (science fiction/time of death technology)
My Love, Do Not Wake (body horror with a side of romance)
Dream of Me (psychological and so so good!)
Red Leather (just… disturbing)

It’s difficult to review and rate this collection because each story really is so unique in tone and content. The content is often dark and the endings rather bleak or open-ended. If that doesn’t throw you off, I’d confidently recommend.

Really well done.  I enjoyed this collection and really appreciated that each story was both spooky and relatively open-ended.  

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review.

What an amazing collection of stories. Philip Fracassi delivers some big time hits in this one, My Tree House is Haunted will rest inside my head for a long time, wow what a banger! Philip proves again he is one of the top horror writers writing today

Wow! I haven't read a book of short stories in a hot minute. The intensity of these stories felt tangible as I was holding my breath frequently. I'm very grateful to the publishers and NetGalley for giving me access to the ARC of Philip Fracassi's newest release. All fourteen stories are very intriguing, but I have 6 that I particularly liked.
1. The Visitor-I NEED to know more about Father Hall's backstory. I know he was pegged as the weird Father due to his extra sensory abilities, but I need more. The tension in the house. The imagery upstairs. I love a good WTF is going on with this house and family. I need more!
2. Point Oh One-I don't think I'd want to know when I was going to die. I especially wouldn't want to know if I was a POS. I didn't see that ending coming at all and it was brilliant! The tension towards the end was insane.
3. Betrothed-While kind of eerie, I felt like this was a nice comedic break that I maybe needed. My notes say "Your wife won't forgive you even beyond the grave. Best not to test her."
4. My Love, Do Not Wake-Ok, what? I can't stop thinking about this story. What a weird fantastical tale of horror, treachery, and irony. I was playing the scenes out in my head and could not stop cringing at imagery of the back of her husband's head developing into more human than the front. I could not understand the mechanics of his walking and day to day life after they killed her husband. How did they think this was going to work? Then the end, how did they think it was going to work. I assume they will just wither away as back of the head people or join a circus. Grass isn't always greener.
5. Dream of Me-Why is this granny holding a grudge? A grudge big enough to try and kill her granddaughter? This is another story that I would love more background on. Why did grandma blame her daughter-in-law? Where did she learn whatever sort of witchcraft to create the dream(nightmare) journal. I'm glad jaded granny didn't win in the end. That poor family had been through enough.
6. I Think my Treehouse is Haunted-Saving the best for last. What a great creepy story told from the view of the preteen. I never get scared reading stories but this got really close. I felt so scared with the little girl ghost showing up and talking to someone that wasn't there. Even worse when the bleeding man appears at night. I put myself in the kids shoes and felt dread in my chest. We all knew this wouldn't end well for the kid and his mom. I think the realtor is in on this one and this is another story that I'd love to have fleshed out. I need more!

This is a great collection of short stories. Philip Fracassi already won me over with "Boys in the Valley" and "The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre". I can't wait to see what he'll do next!

Philip Fracassi is one of those authors I’ll start picking up without really hesitating after reading this collection. Not every story hit the same way; some definitely worked better than others, Even the ones I didn’t fully love still had something going for them, whether it was a cool idea or just a really strong mood. The standout stories lingered after I was done reading, and I appreciated that there was a good mix here without it feeling messy or uneven. If you’re into horror that leans creepy but still has heart and actual characters behind it, this is an easy recommend from me.

Traps and Specters by Philip Fracassi is basically fourteen different ways to ruin your sleep, your trust in ordinary household objects, and possibly your relationship with treehouses.

This collection is DARK. Creepy. Weird. Occasionally hilarious in that “I probably shouldn't be laughing while someone is being horribly traumatized” kind of way. Fracassi throws everything into the horror blender: haunted objects, ghosts, exorcisms, technology behaving badly, creepy family members, tombs, talking corpses, and enough general nightmare fuel to make me question why I willingly do this to myself.

And the variety? Fantastic. Just when I thought I knew what kind of horror I was getting, Fracassi basically smacked me with something completely different. “D7,” “The Visitor,” “Dream of Me,” and “I Think My Treehouse Is Haunted” were some of my favorites. There is something wonderfully unhinged about this collection. You never quite know what kind of nightmare is waiting on the next page.

And then there is The Mummified Corpse of Reese Witherspoon. Yes, you read that correctly. I have no idea what conversation led to that title, but I would have loved to be a fly on the wall. 😂

My only issue is that, like most short story collections, not every story hit me equally. There were a few where I was more intrigued than terrified, and a couple where I wanted just a little more development. But when the stories hit, they HIT. Some of these little nightmares crawled directly into my brain and apparently decided to stay there rent-free.

Fracassi also has a talent for making you think you know where a story is going before casually pulling the rug out from underneath you. Rude. Effective, but rude.

Overall, Traps and Specters is a wonderfully twisted, imaginative collection with plenty of genuine scares, bizarre ideas, dark humor, and “well, I certainly didn't see THAT coming” moments. I didn't love every story equally, but there were enough standouts to make this a very enjoyable horror read.

Would recommend to horror fans.

Would NOT recommend reading it alone at midnight and then staring suspiciously at your treehouse.

Especially if you have a treehouse. 👀

Thank you to NetGalley and Shortwave Books for the ARC!

TRAPS AND SPECTERS by Phillip Fracassi

4.5/5 ⭐

Philip Fracassi's short story and novella collection is filled with macabre and tragedy. There's a story in here for fans of every single genre of horror. From paranormal to body horror to medieval horror. Philip Fracassi is easily becoming one of my favorite authors to blind buy.

My favorite stories in the collection reminded me of Malignant and Hereditary (hence the inspiration behind the graphic). Let's just say, I'm glad I never had a treehouse. Philip Fracassi has a vivid imagination and his storytelling flows beautifully and so unpredictable. This collection is filled with stories about how terrible people can be and how tragic life can be and those are my favorite types of stories to read.

The first novel I read by Phillip Fracassi was The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre, which is what made me seek out more of his books and I'm glad to say, I'm a huge fan and can't wait to read more.

#horrorbooks #horrorbookstagram #PhilipFracassi #TrapsandSpecters

Traps and Specters is a creepy, atmospheric collection that really shows why Philip Fracassi is such a strong voice in horror. The stories are unsettling in different ways, with plenty of darkness, tension, and that lingering feeling that something is very, very wrong.

I especially loved how the stories get under your skin rather than relying only on shock value. There’s a great mix of psychological unease, supernatural horror, and genuinely disturbing moments. Some stories hit harder than others, but overall, this was a wonderfully creepy read.

If you’re a horror reader who enjoys short fiction that leaves you uncomfortable long after the story ends, definitely give this one a try.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wonderful collection of short stories, and I enjoyed every one. Philip Fracassi is a gifted author whose writing works across multiple genres, and this book really showcases that talent.

What a wonderful collection of stories. I thoroughly enjoyed every one of these stories. If I were to choose my favorites? I loved I think my Treehouse is Haunted, Red Leather and The Resident were my favorites. I was late to the game for reading this author’s work when The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre came out and then have been working my way through his books since and I just cannot wait to continue.

I very much so look forward to reading everything he’s put out at this point.

I really fun horror short story collection. A couple gets trapped in a bar, a priest is summoned to bless a house, Reese Witherspoon’s mummified corpse (????), a young man guards a tomb, two brothers try to rob the wrong house, an anniversary dinner, a woman celebrates her husband’s transformation, and a lot more! Those were a few of my favorites, but there really weren’t any bad ones in here. The whole collection has an old-school type of feel, which I really loved. Creepy, bizarre, morbid, and sometimes funny, too. Highly recommend if you like short stories!

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Fracassi continues to demonstrate why is at the forefront of modern horror and a must-read author for me, personally. This is an excellent collection of stories that showcases the breadth of tone and topic that the author is able to explore. This is a great addition to his body of work, and I'd say an excellent entry point to check him out and see if his style works for you (but honestly, I don't see how it couldn't be). I enjoy it when authors are able to change up the format from something I'm more familiar with (novels/novellas) and still achieve the same emotional impact with even less material, and this is a prime example of a writer doing that.

This was a new experience for me, I don't think I've ever read a short story collection, and I've also never read Philip Fracassi's horror (though I did read his take on Sci-Fi in The Third Rule of Time Travel).

And I LOVED this book.

Some of these stories were genuinely creepy. Others left me wishing I could spend more time in the worlds Fracassi created. Every tale makes the most of the time it has, delivering a punch without feeling like it needed to be longer. Some of the stories are downright fun, while others are genuinely unsettling and scary.

What I enjoyed most was how much variety there is throughout the collection. Each story has its own flavor, but they all showcase Fracassi's ability to build an atmosphere, pull you in quickly, and leave you with something to think about - or, occasionally, something to be afraid of.

I think this is a perfect entry point into Fracassi's body of work. If you've never read him before, Traps and Specters gives you a fantastic introduction to his style and just how much he can accomplish in a short amount of time.

Highly recommended for horror readers, especially anyone who enjoys short fiction that packs a punch.