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Hell Cat of the Holt (a Novella): Supernatural Horror in the Shadow Fabric Mythos by Mark Cassell
vondav's review against another edition
5.0
Living in Mabley Holt, Anne’s only concerns was to make her accountancy deadlines and to find her missing cat. Hearing rumours of a black cat roaming the village Anne starts to investigate, but finds herself embroiled in an ancient legend
Although Anne had only heard of the black cat from her grandad, she still decided to walk for miles looking for her missing cat. Whilst most of her walks were uneventful, on one occasion she meets a new neighbour Leo, who was knowledgeable of the local legend. Using him to learn more about the mysterious happenings in the village and the black cat.
This story starts with Anne’s grandad and grandma and the end of chapter 1 sets you up for a turbulent journey. As well as the black cat, there is a black fungus appearing all over the village and with the appearance of ghosts makes this a chilling read. As soon as Anne met Leo, the pace of the story changed. The illustrative way the author wrote made this story intense and once I started this story I had to finish it in one sitting. Whilst reading this you can imagine the fungus growing at a pace suffocating the light and the black cat creeping in the shadows. An added story at the end The Artist and The Crone tells the story of Leo a year before Anne arrived in the village and ties up this novella perfectly.
This was the first story I have read from this author and looking on my kindle it won’t be the last. A great chilling read and a good companion to The Shadow Fabric Mythos
Although Anne had only heard of the black cat from her grandad, she still decided to walk for miles looking for her missing cat. Whilst most of her walks were uneventful, on one occasion she meets a new neighbour Leo, who was knowledgeable of the local legend. Using him to learn more about the mysterious happenings in the village and the black cat.
This story starts with Anne’s grandad and grandma and the end of chapter 1 sets you up for a turbulent journey. As well as the black cat, there is a black fungus appearing all over the village and with the appearance of ghosts makes this a chilling read. As soon as Anne met Leo, the pace of the story changed. The illustrative way the author wrote made this story intense and once I started this story I had to finish it in one sitting. Whilst reading this you can imagine the fungus growing at a pace suffocating the light and the black cat creeping in the shadows. An added story at the end The Artist and The Crone tells the story of Leo a year before Anne arrived in the village and ties up this novella perfectly.
This was the first story I have read from this author and looking on my kindle it won’t be the last. A great chilling read and a good companion to The Shadow Fabric Mythos
lauriereadslohf's review
4.0
A solid 4 1/2.
I shallowly chose this as my next read because of the title and the cover. I live with a hellcat who chews laptop cords, Ipads, electrical wiring, hapless and short lived mice and human legs. He likes the legs best of all but only if they’re hairy so I’m usually safe. He also takes great joy in lazing about on the stairway awaiting the human stupid enough to dare pass him. You know the type.
Here’s the devil’s furry son we call Patrick.
Here he is in action:
Anyhow , this story turned out to be about a potentially demonic cat and a whole lot more. It’s part of the “shadow fabric mythos” which consists of several connected stories set up by the author. I haven’t read any of the other work set in this mythos but I can tell you that I’m going to change that and that you can go into this one without feeling left out, confused or aggravated. Hell Cat of the Holt stands alone quite well and is one of those atmospheric stories that creeps under your skin pretty quick.
I was taken in by the opening scene which was nearly a complete unsettling short story all on its own. I even had to flick back to the blurb to make sure I hadn’t accidentally picked up another short story collection. Nope, I was safe! I hadn’t just accidentally agreed to read another [b:Nightmares: A New Decade of Modern Horror|28957353|Nightmares A New Decade of Modern Horror|Ellen Datlow|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1457528264s/28957353.jpg|49183055]. Phew.
Anne has recently returned to the home of her childhood with her cat Murphy. Soon after, Murphy goes missing and she spends most of her time wandering about the small town in search of him. She worries that the rumors may be true, and that there is indeed a big, black monstrous cat terrorizing the locals, causing accidents and she fears that it may have done something terrible to her beloved Murphy! Nothing hooks me like a sweet kitty in peril and hooked I was. With the help of a neighbor named Leo, Anne digs deep into the secrets of the demonic cat and discovers something far more insidious and frightening than an overlarge cat with red eyes (but yeah, that’s scary enough!).
This short tale paints an excellent picture of a small town gripped by something not quite of this world. It’s a little gory and the atmosphere is as much a part of the story as the characters and I always love an author who can do that and do it well. There is a bonus story at the end that ties in with Hellcat and adds an even creepier undertone to everything.
If you’re a fan of atmospheric horror and cats you’ll most definitely want to read Hellcat of the Holt.
I received an ARC of this story from Confessions Of A Reviewer promotion. Thanks for sharing!
I shallowly chose this as my next read because of the title and the cover. I live with a hellcat who chews laptop cords, Ipads, electrical wiring, hapless and short lived mice and human legs. He likes the legs best of all but only if they’re hairy so I’m usually safe. He also takes great joy in lazing about on the stairway awaiting the human stupid enough to dare pass him. You know the type.
Here’s the devil’s furry son we call Patrick.
Here he is in action:
Anyhow , this story turned out to be about a potentially demonic cat and a whole lot more. It’s part of the “shadow fabric mythos” which consists of several connected stories set up by the author. I haven’t read any of the other work set in this mythos but I can tell you that I’m going to change that and that you can go into this one without feeling left out, confused or aggravated. Hell Cat of the Holt stands alone quite well and is one of those atmospheric stories that creeps under your skin pretty quick.
I was taken in by the opening scene which was nearly a complete unsettling short story all on its own. I even had to flick back to the blurb to make sure I hadn’t accidentally picked up another short story collection. Nope, I was safe! I hadn’t just accidentally agreed to read another [b:Nightmares: A New Decade of Modern Horror|28957353|Nightmares A New Decade of Modern Horror|Ellen Datlow|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1457528264s/28957353.jpg|49183055]. Phew.
Anne has recently returned to the home of her childhood with her cat Murphy. Soon after, Murphy goes missing and she spends most of her time wandering about the small town in search of him. She worries that the rumors may be true, and that there is indeed a big, black monstrous cat terrorizing the locals, causing accidents and she fears that it may have done something terrible to her beloved Murphy! Nothing hooks me like a sweet kitty in peril and hooked I was. With the help of a neighbor named Leo, Anne digs deep into the secrets of the demonic cat and discovers something far more insidious and frightening than an overlarge cat with red eyes (but yeah, that’s scary enough!).
This short tale paints an excellent picture of a small town gripped by something not quite of this world. It’s a little gory and the atmosphere is as much a part of the story as the characters and I always love an author who can do that and do it well. There is a bonus story at the end that ties in with Hellcat and adds an even creepier undertone to everything.
If you’re a fan of atmospheric horror and cats you’ll most definitely want to read Hellcat of the Holt.
I received an ARC of this story from Confessions Of A Reviewer promotion. Thanks for sharing!
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