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The Haunted Forest Tour by James A. Moore, Jeff Strand

Series:
N/A

Genre:
Horror, Humor, Supernatural, Paranormal, Monsters, Mystery, Contemporary, Urban Fantasy, Werewolves, Demons, Dragons, Dark, Crytpids, Fantasy, Fiction, Standalone, Novella, Magic, Thriller, Third Person Point of View

Publication Date:
October 1, 2007

Pages Numbers:
369

Read Date:
October 28th, 2023

Date Finished:
October 29th, 2023

Rating:
4.5/5

Blurb:

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Haunted Forest Tour! Sit back and enjoy a smooth ride in air-conditioned comfort as your heavily armored tram takes you through nature's most astonishing creation. The forest is packed to capacity with dangerous and terrifying creatures of all shapes, sizes, and hunger levels, and you'll get to observe these wonders in complete safety.

Howl with a werewolf! Gaze into the glowing eyes of a giant spider! Look right through a spooky ghost! See horrific monsters you couldn't even imagine, only inches away from you! Things with fangs, things with claws, things with dripping red jaws -- you'll see them all!

Not thrilling enough? Well, it's Halloween, and so we're offering a very special tour through the Haunted Forest. The new route goes deeper into the woods than any civilians have ventured before, and you're guaranteed to get a good scare! Rest assured that every possible security precaution has been taken. The Haunted Forest Tour has a 100% safety record, and technical difficulties are unheard of. You will be in no danger whatsoever.

We promise.

Bram Stoker Award-nominated authors James A. Moore and Jeff Strand have teamed up to take you on an action-packed, monster-laden adventure that will make you laugh, scream, and think twice before going near ghastly oversized beasts that want to devour you.

Review:

In the desert town of Cromay, New Mexico, resident Mike Fradella returns home from a day of work and an evening of unwinding downing three beers. A tree meets his return coming up from his porch. At first, he considers this nothing more than a prank done by the local teenagers but there is still something unsettling about this. He calls the sheriff and upon his arrival, things start becoming weird as trees spring from the ground. As these trees appear all over the small town, the body count goes up.

Fast forward a few years later, A Haunted Forest Touring company offers a chance on Halloween to view the forest inside rather than around. Those lucky to manage to get their hands on a ticket will get a once-in-a-lifetime experience of the forest and its monsters up close and personal. But this tour is doomed from the start. Forced out of their tram, the group finds itself dwindling as the forest inhabitants decide to make them a tasty meal.

Honestly, I was surprised that I was able to devour this book so quickly. I won't lie when I say the entire storyline was filled with gruesome deaths, monsters both from the gates of hell to creatures right out of nightmares, and on the edge of your chair as survivors struggle to stay alive inside of being picked off by the monsters.

This was a unique take on the horror genre. I have read a lot of horror books in my past but I am going to say this one will stand out against all the others. The tale is unique. The deaths are filled with gore. The ending was not something I was expecting. Nevertheless, it was a bit satisfying but a bit anti-climactic.