Suburban Legends by Sam Stall: Review

Title: Suburban Legends: True Tales of Murder, Mayhem, and Minivans
Author: Sam Stall
Publisher: Quirk Books
Publication Date: August 2006
Number of Pages: 240
Series: Stand Alone
Reason for Discovery: Galley

This book was generously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

From GoodReads:

It's a Terrible Day in the Neighborhood. They told you the suburbs were a great place to live. They said nothing bad could ever happen here. But they were wrong. This collection of terrifying true stories exposes the dark side of life in the ’burbs—from corpses buried in backyards and ghosts lurking in fast food restaurants to UFOs, vanishing persons, bizarre apparitions, and worse. Consider:

     •  The Soccer Mom’s Secret. Meet Melinda Raisch of Columbus, Ohio. She’s the wife of a dentist. A mother of three. A PTA member. And she has enough murderous secrets to fill a minivan.
     •  Noise Pollution. More than 100 residents of Kokomo, Indiana, claim their small town is under attack by a low-pitched humming sound that erodes health and sanity. Too bad they’re the only ones who can hear it.
     •  Death Takes a Holiday Inn. There’s nothing more reassuring than a big chain hotel in a quaint small town—unless it’s the Holiday Inn of Grand Island, New York, where you’ll spend the night with the spirit of a mischievous little girl.

So lock your doors, dim the lights, and prepare to stay up all night with this creepy collection of true tales. We promise you’ll never look at white picket fences the same way again!


Just like the blurb suggests, this book is a collection of true stories that range from funny to fairly scary. Most of the stories take place in the suburbs but some of them take place in slightly more rural areas. There are 66 stories in the book (I have to wonder if that was intended or not) and are each less than five pages.

This book is perfect for an October afternoon or evening when you want to curl up in some blankets and scare yourself silly. During the Halloween season, I love reading scary stories that are going to keep me up at night even when I read the book in the afternoon. I enjoyed reading these books; however, some of the tales were fairly gruesome (the events that the Amity Horror movie are based on are discussed). Although some of the tales are a bit, well, horrifying, I didn't feel anything was too over the top in terms of graphic details. At the same time, I wouldn't hand this book to someone who wasn't at least a teenager.


I give this book 3 out of 5 kitties.




6 comments:

Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer said...
November 4, 2013 at 5:43 PM

This is the perfect book for my bedside. I like to read short stories or novellas especially when I finish a full length novel, and haven't started a new one. I am really bad about the "just one more chapter" thing and if I start a new book between 11 and midnight..I have been known to be up reading until 4 and then have to drag my behind to work dragging my coffee IV. LOL Great review :)

Unknown said...
November 5, 2013 at 8:38 PM

Just be careful with this one! I would hate for you to be up until 4AM, because one of the stories scared you! :)

Chanzie said...
November 6, 2013 at 4:30 AM

Great Review Pam! I am not sure I will be touching this book as I know how quickly things freak me out... but you never know how your tastes change as you read. I don't even watch horror movies like the Amity Horror as I cannot sleep for weeks!

Chanzie @ Mean Who You Are.

Unknown said...
November 6, 2013 at 11:45 PM

I am not a horror movie fan either. I can read scary books, but I cannot watch scary movies. My imagination runs away from me. After watching the Dawn of the Dead remake, I slept with the lights on for a couple of days!

Berls said...
November 10, 2013 at 12:58 PM

This sounds fun - and I love the cover - perfect for quick little reads. I love finding good short stories to read, but these would definitely not be a night - I would never sleep! Thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...
November 10, 2013 at 11:09 PM

I love these quick little reads too. They are great for when I want to read, but I only have a few minutes before I have to run off somewhere.

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