- Recommended Age Range: 12 and up
- Formats: E-Book
- Approx. Length: 5,329 Words
Have you ever wondered about your neighbors? A teen learns the terrible truth about the house next door in this comically chilling Halloween frightfest.
Home alone on All Hallows Eve, Kat Mandou is being creeped out by the family that lives next to him. Why is a child often screaming over there? And what’s with those crazy signs in their front yard? Feeling alienated from peers and parents, intimidated by his new pet, he decides to get to the bottom of the weirdness of his neighbors. What he discovers will haunt him. A fun and humorous horror story that proves you never can tell what might lurk in the house Next Door. From The Macabre Mind Of Lori R. Lopez, a collection of thirteen bizarre tales.
Samples
“THE FINAL DAY of Kat Mandou’s life commenced as tedious as most. The only thing out of the ordinary was that something peculiar seemed to be going on at the house next door.”
Kat noticed the tree because pomegranates were his favorite food, scoring three on a scale of ten. All else rated zero. He was generally indifferent about everything, meals included.
~ from Next Door
An interlude of tense biding. A suspenseful aching hush.
Hinges creaked upstairs. Eyes bulged in terror. A dervish spiralled to the base of the steps.
~ from Next Door
THE FINAL DAY of Kat Mandou’s life commenced as tedious as most. The only thing out of the ordinary was that something peculiar seemed to be going on at the house next door.
Not that he was inclined to snoop. Quite the opposite. He preferred to ignore the world, and seldom heeded the inhabitants of the dreary olive-planked eyesore — accidentally glimpsed on occasion because they left the drapes wide like they had no secrets, no skulking chain-rattling embarrassments to hide. Kat doubted it. Everyone had a skeleton or two.
Impressions consisted of a couple always grinning at a toddler. If they were so happy, why did he hear so many blood-curdling wails? A decrepit geezer toward the rear of the abode was a permanent fixture, seated on a musty-dusty tattered-battered sort of chair. Kat wondered in an especially idle moment if the fossil might be stuffed like a museum exhibit, the victim of a mad Taxidermist.
Today their drapes were inexplicably drawn, which seemed stranger than the disturbing signs. (Actual signs, spelling trouble in capital letters!)
Praise
“As always, Lori R. Lopez gripped my interest with her technique of writing after about five paragraphs in.”
“As always, Lori R. Lopez gripped my interest with her technique of writing after about five paragraphs in. Maybe from now, I'll learn to keep the neighbors to themselves, not like I relate much anyway. It was a steady and interesting read. Might need to be reread before completely grasping the situation.
Well done, Lori. I'll always love your work.”
Artie Margrave
Smashwords Review
♥
“Next Door is a short horror story by Lori R. Lopez that tells the chilling tale of what one young man experiences during his encounters with the strange house next door. The neighbors have always seemed a little odd ever since they moved in. There are always weird noises, and the baby never seems to stop screaming. Kat Mandou is alone with his crazy name on Halloween, and he has no plans other than to stake out the neighbors' house. They always put out signs with unusual messages; the newest one invites Kat to come and get a new pet. Kat has been keeping up with all the signs, but they seem to be getting weirder and weirder. In his attempts to find out more about the neighbors, Kat might learn some things that he never expected.
The chilling, hand-drawn cover art captures the tone of Next Door perfectly. Using a literary writing style that is rich in descriptive language and imagery, Lori R. Lopez also draws a picture with her words so that it is easy to imagine every scene, both internally and externally. Every emotion and sense of touch, sight, smell, and sound is put on display in vivid detail. With a little bit of humor thrown into the mix, this tale is both haunting and fun to read as you await the creepy moments that are sure to come. As a quick read, this book would be the perfect tale to read aloud at a Halloween party or to scare yourself late at night.”
Reviewed by Amy Powers for Readers' Favorite
♥
“Creepy. Who lives next door? Sometimes it's better not to know. There [are] strange things going on next door to Kat, a kid with no interest and no emotions, but his curiosity is peaked. After hearing noises coming from the house and never meeting the neighbors, Kat goes to investigate. What he finds... Read on..”
Grace Guerra
Goodreads Review
♥
“This story is an interesting affair, a mix of understated bizarro and good old-fashioned ghost story that starts with a physical, sickening vibe, before veering off sharply into the realms of chilling suspense — something I am all in favour of. Crucially we see a well-rounded character in the story’s hero (for want of a better word) Kat. He embodies that general malaise that I think most of us experienced in our teen years, where he feels an outcast, but lacks the drive to do anything about it. The first half is well-anchored in the weird side of the horror spectrum, but the second buries the needle in the macabre, sending unmistakable shivers down my spine.”
Kevin Bufton
THE BLOODY BLOODY BOOK REVIEW; Goodreads Review
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