Days of Utter Dread

The Red Butcher and Other Stories

By: Graham Masterton, Dawn Harris

Narrated by: Rachel Atkins

A collection of highly disturbing and deeply original short stories from the master of horror Graham Masterton and rising star Dawn G Harris. A belt adorned with strange markings has the power to strangle anyone who attacks its owner. A man whose wife has been placed into a portrait at the Tate decides to join her on the other side. A woman burns and mutilates herself to look like her surviving friend in the wake of a horrible car accident. In these and other unsettling tales, master of horror Graham Masterton and his protegee Dawn G Harris explore the dark side of human nature—from the graphic and violent to the spine-tingling and supernatural.

“One of Britain's finest horror writers” DAILY MAIL

“A true master of horror” JAMES HERBERT

©2022 Graham Masterton and Dawn G Harris (P)2022 Head of Zeus

Trigger warning! And mixed review

This book has several stories that reference sexual abuse of children, one very graphically. I think that should be made clear in the description. There is a warning in the intro that the stories aren’t for everyone, but even that wasn’t clear about why it might be too much for some - and if you’re listening to the intro you’ve already bought the book so too little too late in my opinion.

There’s also a lot of sexual activity between adults so I’d say if sex in horror fiction isn’t your thing, this book isn’t for you.

That being said, the stories - even the troubling ones - were well written. It took me a bit to adjust to the narrator but by the end I liked her. Overall, not my favorite horror anthology but I kept listening to the end so that’s something. There were a couple stories that were quite suspenseful, and some moments of true horror but the rest of the time I was hoping for horrors not related to abuse or deprivation.

I’m torn on rating this. I’m not at all opposed to graphic stories about violent things done to people, but if the author takes it there I want it to be part of stories that scare me and on the whole this collection was more unsettling and depressing than spine chilling. Well written, well narrated but not something that would freak me out if I were listening to it alone in the woods at night - which is what I want.