Southern Terror is a recently released horror anthology written by Award-Winning Journalist A.J. Dugger III. Today, we will get to know the characters and plots of each story a little bit better. But first, check out the brief 43 second teaser to set the mood. Go ahead. Click it.
Alerts From The Grave
Writing about a fictional porn star was an interesting task, but for all you horny freaks out there, porn is not the focus of this story. It's just her job. A job that she hates. A job that has her family, friends and church ashamed of her. A job that gets her harassed nearly everywhere she goes. But I must warn people that the opening paragraph is very...um...intense and climactic.
This is the story of Christa, known commonly as "Kinky Christa." Performing in adult films is the only way to pay her bills since her husband was murdered. A year later, she is still grieving and living alone with her cat, Area Code. But things take a turn when her dead husband starts to communicate with her through texts and emails. Needless to say, it freaks her out. There's a lot of comedy and suspense in this one. It's an entertaining thrill ride from beginning to end.
This is the story of Christa, known commonly as "Kinky Christa." Performing in adult films is the only way to pay her bills since her husband was murdered. A year later, she is still grieving and living alone with her cat, Area Code. But things take a turn when her dead husband starts to communicate with her through texts and emails. Needless to say, it freaks her out. There's a lot of comedy and suspense in this one. It's an entertaining thrill ride from beginning to end.
The Dark Road
Ridiculous things happen in these stories. Sometimes paranormal and supernatural events occur, but most of the characters are grounded in realism. You'll inevitably find a character that you can relate to, or another that reminds of you someone you know.
An example of this is the sibling rivalry between two teenage sisters named Lisa (13) and Stacy (17). They can't stand each other. Stacy is obviously much older, a senior in high school, and, well, let's just say she "gets around." She also bullys her younger sister, who is more reserved and childlike, but doesn't hesitate to speak her mind.
We meet them on the way home from their cousin's college graduation with their cheery Uncle Steve, but he decides to take a shortcut through the woods to avoid traffic. Things get worse for all of them shortly after. Much worse.
An example of this is the sibling rivalry between two teenage sisters named Lisa (13) and Stacy (17). They can't stand each other. Stacy is obviously much older, a senior in high school, and, well, let's just say she "gets around." She also bullys her younger sister, who is more reserved and childlike, but doesn't hesitate to speak her mind.
We meet them on the way home from their cousin's college graduation with their cheery Uncle Steve, but he decides to take a shortcut through the woods to avoid traffic. Things get worse for all of them shortly after. Much worse.
The Magician And The Beast
Well, here we're introduced to our first major villain. In fact, the main antagonist of this story (The Magnificent Charley) may just be the most horrible, despicable person in the entire book. (And that's saying a lot).
The Magnificent Charley is a former criminal who starts his own traveling freak show tour. He uses orphaned children and animals in his shows, but his main attraction is a werewolf. Every full moon, his audience watches a scrawny man named Noah shapeshift into a "demon hound from hell." Children in the audience are allowed to feed raw meat to the creature, who is trapped in a steel cage.
It's implied in the story that The Magnificent Charley sexually and physically abuses the children and animals he enslaves. (Like I said earlier, he's a terrible human being). This is one of the longer stories in the book because I originally wrote three different versions and then combined the best of all three. This actually works out great because it results in lots of twists and turns throughout the story. It's hilarious (and sometimes violent) entertainment.
I don't want to give anything away, but let's just say that Charley's greed and use of an exotic pet may come back and bite him in the ass. Perhaps literally.
The Magnificent Charley is a former criminal who starts his own traveling freak show tour. He uses orphaned children and animals in his shows, but his main attraction is a werewolf. Every full moon, his audience watches a scrawny man named Noah shapeshift into a "demon hound from hell." Children in the audience are allowed to feed raw meat to the creature, who is trapped in a steel cage.
It's implied in the story that The Magnificent Charley sexually and physically abuses the children and animals he enslaves. (Like I said earlier, he's a terrible human being). This is one of the longer stories in the book because I originally wrote three different versions and then combined the best of all three. This actually works out great because it results in lots of twists and turns throughout the story. It's hilarious (and sometimes violent) entertainment.
I don't want to give anything away, but let's just say that Charley's greed and use of an exotic pet may come back and bite him in the ass. Perhaps literally.
Giggling In The Dark
"The Gremlin." Illustrated by Deshae Johnson-Dugger Copyright © 2017 A.J. Dugger III and Deshae Johnson-Dugger. All rights reserved.
A young couple in their early '20s buy their first home together. Francis and Martin are the opposite of the stereotypical couple. Francis is the leader; she wears the pants in the relationship. But she often wishes her boyfriend would "man up." Their first week at their new home, they hear high-pitched giggling and movement coming from their basement. Well, one day they decided to investigate and were in for quite a diabolical surprise.
The Power Of The Punch
This was another of the first stories I worked on. Like "The Magician and The Beast," this story underwent a lot of different drafts and rewrites. I am a huge boxing fan, and if you follow my career you'll see that I've interviewed former heavyweight champions like Larry Holmes and Shannon Briggs. I was itching for a great boxing story, and it took me two years to get it perfect.
Rebecca McCrary is a terrible boxer having no success. She has lost all eight of her fights by knockout. One day her experimental cousin gives her breast implants injected with huge amounts of testosterone. The result is that, although Rebecca looks exactly the same (only with bigger boobs) she can punch as hard as three men put together. Her career now goes in a completely different direction as she puts her opponents to sleep in the opening seconds of each fight, thus becoming an athletic media sensation similar to the early days of Mike Tyson and Ronda Rousey.
But people soon realize that she's downright dangerous to fight as she literally cripples her opponents. As Rebecca punches her way to a title shot, she soon learns that everything has a price.
Rebecca McCrary is a terrible boxer having no success. She has lost all eight of her fights by knockout. One day her experimental cousin gives her breast implants injected with huge amounts of testosterone. The result is that, although Rebecca looks exactly the same (only with bigger boobs) she can punch as hard as three men put together. Her career now goes in a completely different direction as she puts her opponents to sleep in the opening seconds of each fight, thus becoming an athletic media sensation similar to the early days of Mike Tyson and Ronda Rousey.
But people soon realize that she's downright dangerous to fight as she literally cripples her opponents. As Rebecca punches her way to a title shot, she soon learns that everything has a price.
Last Thoughts
"Last Thoughts" was fun to write. It's about a womanizing politician who is cheating on his wife. But everyday, his wife catches him in the act and murders him a different way. It's like he's trapped in an endless loop where he's doomed to die at the hands of his enraged wife. Can he escape?
7 PM
This one is perhaps the most psychological tale in the book. Marco is a drug dealer who spends more time in the streets than with his girlfriend and their infant son, Pedro. He finds himself at a crossroads after almost getting killed during a drug deal robbery attempt. He struggles between doing the right things and the wrong ones. It's a lot more deep and interesting than I can reveal here, but the ending is very psychological. I think Christians and Psychology professors would especially like this one.
Dirty Underwear
A grieving divorcee is being humiliated by her ex-husband on social media. In the meantime, she is secretly a necrophiliac working at her father's funeral home. I can't really reveal too much about the plot without giving away a lot surprises, but you'll love this one. It's hilarious. Also, a character from a previous story makes a cameo appearance here in a shocking plot-twist. Click HERE to read the story for free! Feedback is always appreciated, or else I'll sick that gremlin on you.
Mail-Order Bride
"Alegra Illstitchyou Ishingrma." Illustrated by Deshae Johnson-Dugger. Copyright © 2017 A.J. Dugger III and Deshae Johnson-Dugger. All rights reserved.
Both the comedic and dark parts of my mind were in full swing when I wrote this one. "Mail-Order Bride" centers around Ernie, a sad old man with no family, but a secret past. His best friend is a supportive, wise-cracking buffoon named Duncan who is slowly dying of cancer. Duncan convinces Ernie to look for love on the internet. It doesn't take Ernie long to find an exotic beauty named Alegra from a small pacific island called Togana.
Two weeks later when she arrives, she is more than a little strange. She will spit on your hand instead of shaking it. She'll piss in your food. She even refuses to wipe her ass. I mentioned earlier that Ernie had a secret past. Well, Alegra has a secret of her own...
Two weeks later when she arrives, she is more than a little strange. She will spit on your hand instead of shaking it. She'll piss in your food. She even refuses to wipe her ass. I mentioned earlier that Ernie had a secret past. Well, Alegra has a secret of her own...
The Intruder
This was another of the early stories I wrote from top to bottom in late 2014. It's an exciting, unpredictable and violent affair, but unfortunately there's not much I can say about the plot without giving it away. All I can say is that a family is under attack from someone who appears human from the distance, but doesn't appear human up close. And it's up to a short-tempered 10 year-old boy and his bratty sister to save the day....
The Special Child
This is another one I can't give too many details on. But a youth counselor named Al is concerned and creeped out by a new child at the facility he works at. The kid doesn't blink, doesn't really talk, and never changes his stoic facial expression. What's worse is that everyone at the facility, both the kids and the staff, are getting sick at an alarming rate. What's going on? Things get far worse one night when the kid surprises Al by arriving at his house.
The Scarecrow
The Scarecrow was the very last story I wrote. It's about a young hot-shot reporter named Simon who is ready to enter the big leagues and would do ANYTHING to see his name in the byline for a headlining news story. He gets his chance when he's assigned to interview and write about an old former alcoholic and meth addict farmer named Mr. Lakeman. But Mr. Lakeman is no ordinary farmer; his scarecrow gets off the pole and walks around at night. Most people are too afraid of the legend, but not Simon. Like some of the other stories in this collection, this one will keep you on your toes because there are so many twists and surprises in the plot.
SOUTHERN TERROR IS AVAILABLE NOW ON KINDLE AND PAPERBACK
See The Press Release Here.
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