During a blizzard, a man hears a scream. He finds a dead body outside his home. Rushing inside to call the police, he discovers the phone is as dead as the corpse bleeding out on the snow. As he waits out the storm, he hears noises. How can this be? He is alone—or is he?

Confession. I read this book on a bright sunshiny morning. Afterwards, I thought I heard the door upstairs creak. The murmur of voices. The rustle of curtains. This short story scared me so much that I had to search the house from top to bottom—TWICE.

Even without the Poe reference, EAP’s influence is abundantly evident. As a child, my cousin three grades ahead of me read the eerie short stories out loud. I felt that same shivers down the spine sensation when reading Stone Storm that I felt all those years ago.

Moquin has crafted an excellent horror, skillfully building the tension to a shocking revelation. I’m no newbie to this genre, so believe me when I warn you, don’t read this at night.