Easter Eggs & Bunny Boilers: A Horror Anthology Paperback – March 31, 2016

Loved it!

I found this book in my Kindle library right before I planned to go to sleep last night. I say, "Planned",, because, of course, I had to stay awake and read it. I'm not sure how many stories are in the book (I could go count), but the book went by very quickly for me. I didn't "love" all of the stories, but the vast majority were very, very good.There are stories about easter bunnies and easter eggs and people wearing easter bunny suits, all very familiar aspects of easter, but these stories also include a fair amount of blood. There are kids waiting for their chocolate and people hiding eggs, but the kids really shouldn't want much to do with the eggs in this book.Of course, since it is easter, there are also a few stories about resurrection, but none of these stories are like anything from the bible, which is good. I liked the resurrection stories because they were quite different from other stories of this genre, but I have to say my favorites were the easter bunny stories because they were almost exactly opposite of every other easter bunny story you have ever heard. Some were even funny. There were a couple of stories about revenge because, as we all know, the easter season is the time to get back at the people who screwed you over. It's part of the festivities of the season.I really enjoyed this collection from authors I have read before and some others I just discovered. Get this book and make it a part of your new easter tradition.Note: Not for the seriously religious-inclined. Most. Definitely. Not.P.S. The introduction was awesome--very funny, although it had some grammatical issues.

I read this because many people have recommended Matt Shaw based on my own writing. Granted, this is not the type of work he is most known for, but I figured I'd give it a try any way. His story, and many others, were passable, but not great. That is the case with any anthology. There will be standouts and clunkers along with the more standard fare.One incredible piece, Mark West's story, is simply sublime and one of the saddest horror stories I have ever had the pleasure of reading. That story alone makes the book worth reading.

When I saw this book on Amazon, I really wanted to like it, but when I purchased this book in July 2016, I promptly returned it. To be able to submit this review, I had to click on a button, indicating whether the book was "predictable," had some "twists," or was full of "surprises." I chose "surprises," because when I got the book, I was surprised to find that it lacked a table of contents, had no page numbers at all, and had a serious printing flaw throughout half the book. The printing flaw on all the pages in the entire second half of the book created a half-inch wide space, running from the top to bottom of each page. In those vertical spaces, there was no text at all. Also, I read the first page of the first story and was disappointed to see that the story was written at about an 8th-grade level, at best. It was very simplistic.MESSAGE TO SELF-PUBLISHERS: Please include tables of contents and page numbers, and proof the books before sending them out to consumers. Tables, page numbers, and quality control do matter. After all, as a self-publisher, if you do not care enough to do a good job, why should I, as a consumer and reader, care enough to buy your book?

As a huge fan of supernatural fiction, I had to give this anthology a try after seeing it in The Kindle section. It is a very good compilation of much darker, creepier stories than I had anticipated. I would never equate Easter with horror. Horror is the domain of Halloween. But this anthology delivers.

I'm someone who despises spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors in books. There is quite a bit of that in these stories. However I did enjoy it, and that's why I gave it 3 ⭐️'s. Some are a bit gory, so if you don't enjoy that type of thing, skip this one. Otherwise, give it a shot.

I'm not one for short stories..so when I saw this was shorts about Easter I honestly thought ok ill try it but wasn't expecting much..I could not have been more wrong! Every single story in this is crazy good! Even the author's I never heard of were so good that I made a list to read their other work! Good job to everyone involved in making this such an amazingly creepy Easter book!

I was very skeptical of this anthology especially since it was based on Easter which I think is a hard holiday to write horror stories about since they all seem to be done before. I decided to give this a shot since I do enjoy Matt Shaw's work. While there are some good stories in here, most were a miss for me. The stories weren't bad but they just didn't do it for me, but it won't stop me from buying more.

How can I not mention the introduction by Jim McLeod the Don of Horror (Ginger Nuts of Horror) especially as being commanded to do so, it does set the mood for the book as its sassy and a bit rude, with a touch of tongue in cheek humour.I love anthologies, something for every taste usually, I especially enjoy the themed ones as I love to see what different authors do with the same topic/line. However, some of the links were a little tenuous!I really enjoyed the bios at the end of each story and not lumped in at the back where you have to then go back and forth trying to remember who wrote what, Matt Shaw did a brilliant job in gathering up some awesome authors and then showboating their back catalogues.Overall a great anthology some, some old and some very much loved authors. Not all to my taste and that's the beauty of an anthology, I do hope he decides to do a Xmas one!!Desserts by Matt Shaw: A familiar family row at Easter shows the young Justin that's it's not just Santa that's make believe. Short and sharp this pulls no punches, like much of MS work, but this has a tenderness that makes the ending that much spiker.Bastard Bunny by David Owain Hughes: Poor Rev.Henry forced into his Mr Winkle Whiskers costume each year, well this year was going to be a surprise for everyone, a lovely lunch then an Easter hunt!! Hysterical in a gruesome, splatter gore way, the lure in and then the explosion made it a great follow on story.He is risen by Duncan Ralston: A fledgling couple take a romantic trip around the UK and come across a quaint town with a dominating church's, throw in some strange Easter service ritual and you have the story. Very “Whicker Man” in its feel, this is a great story with some in depth characterisation, I felt this could have been a much longer/expanded story.The Chickens and the Three Gods by Kit Power: This has to be my favourite story as I could not stop snorting at the humour. Four chickens name their Gods, that is to say those humans that care for them. How KP manages to get the chicken PoV so well is beyond my understanding and a bit freaky, it also made me a little sad as an animal lover. However, any sadness was soon turned into delight at the brilliant ending, what a concept, what a hoot!Thicker Baskets by Kendra Sowder: Very short, more flash than short story, but some super sharp writing. A clearly loving family are preparing for Easter Sunday with a special gift for their adored son, a late night visitor soon changes things, buts it's the last line that's a bit freaky.My Last Easter by Jack Rollins: JR works in an urban myth really well and slowly builds momentum so that you feel the main character’s emotional pain at the end. Who knew Faberge could be so dangerous.Lepus by Stuart Keane: A disgusting story as you learn about a bunny suit being made and for what purpose as the maker/wearer has a twisted secret. The last line is a kicker, made me wince, perfect!Little Bunny by Ken Rolfe: Very surreal and not really my cup of tea but that's the joy of anthologies you can skip those you don't gel with.Run Rabbit, run by Michael Bray: ?An error in editing or part of the story but a chunk was repeated? A mad and twisted Vicar finally snaps using the message of Easter as a profound lesson. The occasional gross visual really perks this short, but, story up.When a Bunny snaps by Jim Goforth: Set in a 24hr club called Fantasy Dress, that could lend itself to the setting/centre of a bigger story, or new anthology, is this little gem. Scary on many levels this was a uncomfy read but I was waiting for the promised "snap" and it was a good one. A bit of over waffling IMO but the ending was superb.Help Me by Neil Buchanan: A dream? A rebirth? Or A second coming? A barrage of images mostly disgusting and then BAM! somewhere in there I read a short story, only it felt longer (in a good way!). Unrelenting seems to be the word.Educating Harris by Matt Hickman: Not sure how I felt about the story as some very disturbing subject matter, but if you like it too reach the nastier, unspoken corners then this is for you. Basically a pubescent mummies boy comes of age with worrisome help from Mummy. The style of writing was far too character descriptive for me. But as a budding author it was well structured and paced.Deb loves Robbie by Mark West: A sad tale of loves loss at the hands of the Easter bunny. On reflection this is rather grotesque, especially as it reads like a love story, the final paragraph is just plain spooky. MW never fails to get under my skin.Tradition by Kyle M. Scott: Kevin and Billy devoted brothers but something has put fear into the usually protective Kevin and Billy is scare, and what's with the egg painting? As the story unfolds it feels a little cliché until you hit the last line, great suspense in the unsaid, quite chilling.Hey-Zeus by Duncan P. Bradley: A modern day re-enactment of the crucifixion with some twists. What made this story, and writing, stand out was the underlying tongue in cheek humour. Laugh, scare, laugh, scare – always a good mix (for me).Feldmans Rrabbit by Rich Hawkins: A half mad Feldman gets caught in a snow storm and starts dreaming/hallucinating a strange rabbit and keeps craving chocolate. Some great one-liners, I think my favourite was a"throat of stairs". I found this hard to get into, but worth staying focused for as it has a certain something that's just a little freaky at the end.On the Third Day by Graeme Reynolds:!! Joint first place with Kit Power as my favourite story. GR takes the resurrection story and does an alternative with so many humour moments all I kept doing was snorting, in amongst the gore induced cringing. From Mary (mother of God) doing her nails whilst they try to roll away the stone to the desperate needs of a donkey – fabulous.Easter Eggs by Chantel Noordeloos: I enjoyed this twisted pagan folklore tale, however, I was not comfy withsome of the easy get outs for those in peril. That said CN is great at the short story telling, building tension and tends not to fail with crescendo ending.Easter Hunt by J R Park: Mutant bunnies and love lorn pre pubescent children. I was really moved by JRP characters so much I actually gulped at the first kill, what follows is a litany of gore and stolen kisses. Great build up, swift explanation as to why and then a killer last line.The Jesus Loophole by Luke Smithered: Past, present and future "me/you" morality story. A strange tale of remorse and revenge. Flops around a bit, but that shows the insanity of the character. No splatter or gore but an underlying psychological bit of horror.

This is a very good anthology. The stories vary in quality with around half being very good (or excellent) and the others good - there are no duds and some of the really good ones stick in the mind. It's less than a quid for the complete collection so why not a 5-star? Just because the editor could have tidied up a little more. It looks unprofessional to not be able to use the "go to" function on my Kindle because the chapters have not been defined. It looks unprofessional to add ten or more long URLs at the end of each story. These minor presentational points aside, the content is good so it feels churlish to complain about the presentation being a bit scrappy here and there. I will be checking out the work of writers like Chantal Noordeloos and Neil Buchanan because of this book and it was Luke Smitherd who pointed me to it in the first place - so for the writers it has certainly done the job an anthology needs to do.

I bought this book because one of my favourite authors contributed and it turns out that compares to the rest of the offerings this was his (Lynchian) 'Straight Story'. Anyway the best thing I can say is at 50 years old it renewed my interest in a genre I really haven't delved into since James Herbert passed away. There is a lot of good writing in this anthology/collection folks. Like all good short stories, when they are good a few pages cannot be enough. Read, enjoy and then do the authors the honour of searching out at least one of their own stories published in their own right

If 20 cracking stories from some of the best horror writers isn't a total snip for just under £1 then i don't know what is. With an intro from the mighty Jim Mcleod, and the whack job that is Matt Shaw, this book proceeds with an assortment of some of the most original stories i have read. With just the subject of Easter to work with i was most impressed with how each story managed to be so diffierent from any of its counterparts. There isn't a single weak story in this anthology and that is testament to the huge amount of talent that was involved in its creation.

Had to this down a few times to give the stomach churning a rest. It's truely one for the sickest mind or if you looking to throw up.title names I'm terrible for remembering (sorry) but ull encounter some weird Easter related stuff.you'll meet the weird ritual of walkiing in circles around a church for a resurrecting ritual. My favour the guy who made a rabbit suit out of rabbits to try win his ex back! There's so many stories it's hard to pick one out as you won't want to stop reading! Well done to all the authors and Matt Shaw who put it together.my Easter will never be the same again