Witches of Wildwood: Cape May Horror Stories and Other Scary Tales from the Jersey Shore
A Collection of Contemporary Horror Fiction
Mark W. Curran
Genre: Horror/Speculative Fiction
Publisher: NMD Books
Date of Publication: Sept 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-936828-51-7
Number of pages: 300
Word Count: 83,365
Cover Artist: Robert Gonzales
Book Description:
Werewolves... vampires... swamp beasts... zombies... even a Jersey Devil... all of these chilling creatures and more await you in this haunting collection of 11 contemporary horror fiction stories by Mark Wesley Curran.
Uniquely set 'down the shore' in South Jersey's Cape May County, these scary tales are sure to terrify and entertain both adult readers as well as young adults.
Excerpt:
There was no
doubt among the sisters that the murders were increasing their power. Each felt
the surge of energy that coursed through them with each kill.
doubt among the sisters that the murders were increasing their power. Each felt
the surge of energy that coursed through them with each kill.
“I feel so
alive!” Zoey exclaimed on the morning after they’d tied Harlan Clemmons to a chair
and stabbed him multiple times through the heart, “like I’m
alive!” Zoey exclaimed on the morning after they’d tied Harlan Clemmons to a chair
and stabbed him multiple times through the heart, “like I’m
plugged into some
bitchin’ electrical source!” she marveled.
bitchin’ electrical source!” she marveled.
The other girls
felt it too. Both Jaz and Ali would lay awake at night and feel it running
through them - bringing them even more vitality and strength than even their
young ages provided.
My Review: 4*
This year for vacation we went to Wildwood and Cape May New Jersey. It was my first trip there. I learned a lot about the places we visited and I also heard some of the ghost stories about the place. I thought this would be a fun set of stories to add to the ones I had heard while I was there.. The stories I heard in New Jersey are lore and these stories are fiction. But it was still cool to read them.
Some of the stories tend to get a little long winded. There is a very long back story to some of them and nce you get to the ghost part it is quick and done. The book does take you through all the horror villians. Ghosts, Sirens, vampires and more. I would of thought the first story int he book would be about Witch's being as it is titled Witche's of Wildwood though, but you have to wait for th elast story for that.
My favorite story in the book was Captain Harvey's Wildwood Seafood palace. The story is about an ex tv star turned restaurant owner. A hard nosed food critic Blemus K. fritch comes into the place and Capt Gus Harvey will never be the same. Gus is so worried that the he will give his place a bad review he decides to go talk to him before the article is published and beg him to please give him a good review. When he finds Fritch's apartment he knocks n the door, During their talk he gets mad over something Fritch says and ends up killing him. After that he sees Fritch's dead body everywhere. You are gonna have to read the rest of the story for yourself.
felt it too. Both Jaz and Ali would lay awake at night and feel it running
through them - bringing them even more vitality and strength than even their
young ages provided.
My Review: 4*
This year for vacation we went to Wildwood and Cape May New Jersey. It was my first trip there. I learned a lot about the places we visited and I also heard some of the ghost stories about the place. I thought this would be a fun set of stories to add to the ones I had heard while I was there.. The stories I heard in New Jersey are lore and these stories are fiction. But it was still cool to read them.
Some of the stories tend to get a little long winded. There is a very long back story to some of them and nce you get to the ghost part it is quick and done. The book does take you through all the horror villians. Ghosts, Sirens, vampires and more. I would of thought the first story int he book would be about Witch's being as it is titled Witche's of Wildwood though, but you have to wait for th elast story for that.
My favorite story in the book was Captain Harvey's Wildwood Seafood palace. The story is about an ex tv star turned restaurant owner. A hard nosed food critic Blemus K. fritch comes into the place and Capt Gus Harvey will never be the same. Gus is so worried that the he will give his place a bad review he decides to go talk to him before the article is published and beg him to please give him a good review. When he finds Fritch's apartment he knocks n the door, During their talk he gets mad over something Fritch says and ends up killing him. After that he sees Fritch's dead body everywhere. You are gonna have to read the rest of the story for yourself.
About the Author:
Mark Wesley Curran is a writer of contemporary fiction, specializing in the horror and suspense genre. Born and raised in Suburban Philadelphia, he spent many summers living and working in Wildwood, New Jersey during its heyday. He now resides in Los Angeles where he enjoys creative pursuits as a writer, filmmaker and musician.
Website: http://www.witchesofwildwood.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarkWesleyCurr1
Interview with Mark W. Curran
Where do you get inspiration for your stories? - Inspiration can come from anywhere. You might be driving and you see somebody through the windshield of a passing car and they have a look. You start to wonder about that person. What if they were a vampire? What if they were a robot? Perhaps they are no there at all – maybe all we see is a mirage. I get so many ideas that they drive me crazy.
How did you do research for your book? - Back in the 1980's I lived for quite some time in Cape May down at the shore in Southern New Jersey. Wildwood New Jersey is a kind of carnival-town, and back in the 80's it was in its final days.
During that period I was reading a lot of Stephen King and I've always loved horror movies, so I began to outline ideas for movies, stories and novels.
The short stories and the novella from this book were set during, and inspired by, that time period.
So I guess you could say my research happened naturally because I was living there.
It was a great place. Lots of teenagers and partiers and night clubs against the backdrop of these old Victorian houses. Some of the older houses were starting to really show their age and not being kept up so the decay had set in and the condo developers were starting to come in. There was this sense of history being erased. As the seasons went by, the crowds began to thin, and eventually it became a ghost town. Thought it to be a perfect setting for horror stories!
Do you have another profession besides writing? - Yes, I do but I'm keeping it a secret.
If you could go back in time, where would you go? - Rome, before the Fall of the Roman Empire. Or maybe Woodstock in 1969. Back then love was free. There seems to be so much anxiety now. It seems like we never learned from our mistakes made in the past about wars, greed and violence. As time goes on man continues to make the same errors over and over. But was there ever a time that was better than any other time? I mean, history shows us that brutality has always existed, so I would imagine that if I were to be transported to any other time or place I'd find the same basic reality.
What is your next project? - I am working on several projects, but one I can speak about is I am researching making an historical documentary about Gettysburg.
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