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The Children's Horror book cover
The Children's Horror
Cursed Episodes for Doomed Adults
2024
First Published
3.87
Average Rating
218
Number of Pages

Keep watching. No matter how weird it gets, DON’T change the channel. Imagination is a wonderful thing, opening doorways of creativity and possibility. But what about the other doors it can open? The ones revealing twisted passageways of corrupted innocence and unfathomable cosmic nothingness? In an elementary school auditorium, on a TV set playing weird and sinister versions of today’s popular kids’ TV programs, YOU will experience the dark side of imagination firsthand. The Children's Horror is a themed short-story collection from horror author Patrick Barb that presents today's most-popular kids TV franchises through a darker lens. From cities controlled by dogs to possibly dead children acting as would-be heroes and from infant sharks to the strange fates of written-off sitcom characters, this collection offers must-read thrills perfect for a perfectly unsettling Saturday morning. Whether you’re a parent, caregiver, teacher, or a kid at heart, you’ve probably watched some children’s shows wondering what it would be like if things were a little different and a little darker. The time for wondering is over. Come, take a seat, the TV is on and the children have something they want you to see. Praise for The Children's Horror "What Robert Coover does for (and to) classic film in A Night at the Movies, Barb does for children's TV here. This is childhood programming warped and deformed to reveal its true dark core, but also cross-pollinated with other genres in ways that make it startling, unsettling and revelatory." —Brian Evenson, author of Good Night, Sleep Tight "The Children's Horror is at turns gruesome and horrifying, wacky and weird; but always wholly original and boundlessly creative." —Emma Berquist, author of Devils Unto Dust and Missing, Presumed Dead "Patrick Barb is a deranged Mr. Rogers, dragging you into an uncanny valley where childhood whimsy meets unsettling horror. This collection is a treasure chest teeming with terrifying retellings that will leave you begging for your night light." -Brian McAuley, author of Candy Cain Kills and Curse of the Reaper

Avg Rating
3.87
Number of Ratings
31
5 STARS
39%
4 STARS
32%
3 STARS
16%
2 STARS
3%
1 STARS
10%
goodreads

Author

Patrick Barb
Patrick Barb
Author · 13 books
Patrick Barb is an author of weird, dark, and horrifying tales, currently living (and trying not to freeze to death) in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He is the author of Gargantuana's Ghost (Grey Matter Press), The Nut House (currently serialized in Cosmic Horror Monthly), and the collection Pre-Approved for Haunting (forthcoming, Keylight Books/Turner Publishing, Summer 2023). In addition, he is an Active Member of the HWA and a Full Member of the SFWA.
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