Book Review: Dark Tales- Ghost Stories from India by Venita Coelho

 

Book: Dark Tales: Ghost Stories from India 

Author: Venita Coelho 

Pages: 184

Read on: Kindle 

Read in: ~2.5 hours 

Publisher: Penguin 

Plot Summary: A collection of 10+ dark, horror, paranormal stories based on ghost stories from India, you won't want to read these in the dark

Two men with dangerous secrets find that they have an uninvited guest staying with them . . .
A cursed bride forced into an unlucky marriage . . .
A mysterious child with an angelic face seems to have misfortune follow him around . . .

In this collection of eleven very dark and twisted tales, Venita Coelho lays bare the underbelly of contemporary India. Get ready to gasp and cringe in horror as you have the rug pulled out from under you! This is a book you won't want to read after dark.

Things I Liked: 

1. This collection of short stories had me at 'ghost tales'! Long time readers of this blog will know of my undying (pun unintended!) for all things horror! So, when I found this book on Amazon, I had to quickly grab the Kindle copy and start reading it! 

2. The short stories in this book are varied and of different sub-genres within the overall horror genre. I don't want to spoil anything too much, but there are your garden variety ghosts and then there are also some supernatural creatures made very cool by some teen movies and series in the 2000s! *wink wink* So, the mix of horror sub-genres in this book makes it a very engaging and interesting read. Never a dull moment!

3. The stories themselves are pacy and well written. The author does a good job of world and character building even within the limits of a short story!

4. Some of the short stories are inspired from real-life events and familiar situations that we can find ourselves in! For instance, being a girl alone in a local train compartment with only some drunk men for company or encountering someone known to be 'cursed' or 'manhoos'. So, these stories are a nice spin on some of these situations and events. 

Rating: 4.5/5 

This is a great little collection of ghost stories and are also a little tongue-in-cheek! Definitely recommend this book if you, even mildly, enjoy horror as a genre!