Review | Horrific Holidays by Aiden Merchant (ARC)

May your nightmares be filled with these, my horrific holidays.

– Aiden Merchant

Horrific Holidays is a collection of five horror stories themed around the holidays. It is wildly entertaining! I decided to read the book during a short flight out of state and finished the entire book while on the air. The stories are well-written with dark humour and plenty of gore. They feature ordinary characters who find themselves in extraordinary situations – sometimes of their own choosing.

A girlfriend’s secret plan for her boyfriend on New Year’s Eve leads to the dark side in Fresh Start, Fresh Blood. This story is particularly gory and even though I got a little squeamish I couldn’t help but want more of the universe hinted in it. A man recounts a tale of his romance gone awry on Valentine’s Day in Love You Like Hell. I liked the framing of this story, and the turns it takes. Secret ingredients are prepared as treats for Halloween in Nummy Fingers. This story made me cringe and yet I couldn’t look away. It’s nasty and darkly delicious (pun intended!). Stuff The Turkey features a different kind of Thanksgiving; action-packed and full of surprises. Finally, Awful Gifts brings an unexpected surprise on Christmas morning. This is my favourite story in the collection, it’s has a streak of dark humour that accompanies the horror perfectly.

As a note, there’s an animal death in Awful Gifts but it’s mentioned only briefly. The humans have it worse! If you’re looking for some twisted, gory horror I recommend this collection!

I received an ARC from the author for review purposes.

About the author: Aiden Merchant

Photo by Kelly Sikkema