Horror Review: Skins of Youth by Charlee Jacob & Mehitobel Wilson

Skins of Youth
3 of 5 stars
This is a small chapbook containing two tales filled with grue and gothy goodness.

Immortality by Charlee Jacob was my favorite of the two. It gets four stars. I thought it was genuinely creepy and it kept taking turns that I didn’t anticipate. That coupled with the fact that it was set in a travelling circus-like atmosphere and is about a family with deep dark secrets is a win/win for me.

Mihail was raised, along with his many siblings, to take his place in their acrobatic show and grew up listening to his grandmother’s dark tales which fascinated him. Because of her stories, he develops an insatiable lust to become immortal and as he grows becomes dangerously unhinged. I enjoy stories that feature unstable characters because you never quite know exactly what’s real and what’s imagined and this one worked for me. I’m going to have to look up more from this author because her writing style hooked me.

Growing Out of It by Mehitobel Wilson is about Ted who is the type of guy, though nearly 30, still acts as if he’s 20. He parties like there’s no tomorrow, goes clubbing on goth night, moans and groans over the breakup of his old band and he works in a Laundromat dispensing change and detergent. But he’s not twenty anymore and he just isn’t recovering from his drunken binges like he used to. Lately weird things have been going on with his body piercings and his memory and he’s got an itch that he just can’t ditch.

This story gets 3 stars because it features a Peter Pan type with a rotten personality who I didn’t find very likable. When the awful body horror happens, described in glorious detail, it made me happy. I wonder what that says about me?


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