Guests

A child who can turn your reality into an unspeakable nightmare. A monster from childhood with wire-hangers for hands. A baby blanket that will suck the breath from your lungs. And a tour bus full of elderly visitors in search of a new life—even if it isn’t their own. These are the guests that occupy the mind of author Kealan Patrick Burke. Now, he invites them into yours.Guests is a collection of four novellas by Kealan Patrick Burke, complete with new introductions to each story and illustrations by the author himself. “Jack and Jill” is a harrowing story of childhood trauma and how the scars it leaves behind can manifest into adult-sized nightmares; “Sour Candy” is a twisted and unnerving tale of psychological terror that holds readers as captive as its characters; “Blanky” is an emotionally charged study of loss, grief and rage; and “Guests,” a brand new story exclusive to this collection, is a chilling exploration of what makes a monster, what makes us human, and how the weak will always run rather than face their own reflections.In each of these four novellas, Burke shows us that real horror lies in life’s tragedies. Guests is Kealan Patrick Burke at his most hauntingly lyrical and original, with four fear inducing tales of terror that will leave readers breathless. After the death of the woman who raised him and the realization that the girl he loves will never love him back, young Mark Callahan decides it's time to leave the small harbor town of Miriam's Cove for good. All that remains is one last shift at The Windcrest Hotel, a seaside resort that has seen better days. Tonight, with a ferocious winter storm bearing down on them, there are few staff and fewer guests, until a last-minute booking takes everyone by surprise. There's a small yellow tour bus bound for The Windcrest and soon the hotel will find itself under siege by something much worse than the storm.