The Dark Man by Stephen E. Crockett

A real page turner.

Can where we live affect the person we become? Do such things as dark forces and evil presences exist, and can they remain patiently at a place for a long time, waiting for their next victim?

In the summer of 1972, twelve year old Scott Clemmons lives on a farm with his parents in the small town of Advance, in North Carolina. What goes on behind closed doors stays there, family affairs are nobody’s business but their own, and nobody interferes.

And so, young Scott and his mother live in a state of perpetual fear, bullied, and scared for their safety, under the tyranny of his alcoholic father.

Then, one day he notices a big black bird which speaks to him, and starts to see a mysterious dark man around the farm. Unhappy and scared, at night he has strange dreams… Is he going mad?

As this story unfolds, the tragic events that summer at the farm, and the influence of the big black bird, change Scott’s life forever.

However, despite his childhood, as an adult, he returns to the farm and discovers that Jane, the neighbour’s daughter is still there. As their relationship develops, they begin renovating the old farm together.

Scott soon discovers, however, that the big black bird and the mysterious man are still there, they have just been patiently waiting for him to return. Also, in the barn, he finds his father’s stash of whisky.

From then on, as life spirals into an alcoholic blur and the demons in his head overtake his life, you have to ask yourself is, is Scott imagining it all, or, are there really evil forces at work?

As the horrors increase and his mind begins to lose all sense of reasoning, looking into the mirror, what is he seeing? Is the monster in the mirror really his dead father? The warped imaginings of a mind on the verge of entering insanity? Or, could it be that the mirror really a portal to somewhere even more monstrous?

Well, you’re in for an interesting read. This story is very cleverly written, one would think that the answer is easy, however, there is a twist in the tale, and the answer is kept a secret right until the end…

I look forward to reading more of this authors imaginative stories.

About the Author: The books previewed on this website represent my work in the adult horror genre. My stories are drawn from real life experiences so a good part of each is, in effect, true. Of course I have taken a writer's liberty with each but the truth is never forgotten no matter how I twist the facts. As a result every one of these books can be traced to a specific location and a specific person or group of people. They begin with the horror story "The Dark Man," (2009), which is based on a true story that occurred in Advance, North Carolina and as implied by the narrative is still occurring today. I followed that with "Black Tar: For the Love of Heroin," (2010), a bird's eye view into the daily life of a heroin addict, from addiction to destruction, to a valiant struggle to get clean and live a sober life as a recovering addict.

The personal view of addiction portrayed in Black Tar is followed by a collection of short stories entitled "Wicked Tales from a Twisted Mind" (2011). This book contains five stories which are either very personal or were drawn from the local news. They include serial killers, suicide, homicide, heroin addiction and two tales of occult tragedy. This collection of incredibly interestingly stories range from those who dabble in the occult and unfortunately lose their lives, to murderous newlyweds (It's in the Will) and drug abusers ("Smack") and people so tired of living they just want to die. ("Suicide.")

These are followed by the lovable "Devil's Kin" (2012), a work of total fiction that feeds off the words "wraith and "fetch." "Devil's Kin" is a writer's project. It's just one of those books that wells up inside you and demands to be written. You may find it interesting and it my not be your cup of tea. It was a blast to write, and I laughed the whole way so I hope you enjoy it.

My next offering is another collection of short stories entitled "Skeleton Keys." Skeleton Keys was released in April of 2014. In it I return to the characters and territories of my first two books. "Skeleton Keys" cover subjects ranging from religious fanaticism, to drug abuse, homelessness, suicide, demonic possession and murder. As you can see I stick to my chosen subjects with true stories that can be considered skeleton's in my closet. Understanding these stories is to understand me. Each key opens its own particular door and a possession of one kind or another is waiting behind each one.

"Ocular: the Haunting of Peacock Hill" (2014) is by far the best book I have ever written. It is a delicate blend of truth and fiction and makes for one hell of a read. Editors and reviewers alike describe it as a triumph on my part. "Topping perfection with yet more perfection."

To be honest there are stories in these collections that scare me and when asked about their autobiographical nature I can only say; "I have been writing about one subject or another for as long as I can remember. When you write all the time you never lose anything. You may not know how subjects are going to develop but you have faithfully captured them, in files and folders, and they stand ready to be a part of one story or the other. High School drew the writer in me to the surface and it became an obsession that I have fed every day of every week for as many years as I can remember.

The early years of my life, particularly my late teens and early twenties were heavily influenced by substance abuse and a lifestyle that is best left alone. Living through such danger is no small feat but to emerge with stories to tell is an accomplishment that is almost never heard of. But here I am ready to reveal my treasures. To tell my stories and regale you with tales from which it may seem impossible to survive. Mine is a soul shaped by gritty, life changing experiences. Living it and writing it down as it happened and then weaving its various parts into a whole is not an easy thing to do.

I spent twenty-odd years studying the Kabbalah, The Golden Dawn and all forms of mystical-magical practice. The grandest knowledge I have ever gleaned from active research and practice is the mechanics of Precession and the impact that the Great Year cycle had on Judeao-Christian theology. During this period I sharpened my instincts and developed my writing skills. As a result I produced two books. "The Prophet Code" (2001) and "Bible Prophecy" (2007). The Prophet Code was first, however Bible Prophecy is better so the first is out of print while the second can be found on Amazon.com as a paperback on in Kindle form and on the CreateSpace book shelf. As proud as I am of Bible Prophecy I am not, nor have I ever claimed to be a theologian and while precession is certainly a lofty subject and the wisdom revealed in Bible Prophecy, is a knowledge worth obtaining, I never planned to spend my life writing about religious subjects.

This period instilled in me a strong desire to write stories where truth guided my pen so I weave truth and fiction in every story I write. I am blessed with a keen sense of literary creativity and am able to draw from a reservoir of dramatic experiences that have shaped my world and colored my life. The subjects captured in the books I have published are the result of the last ten years of writing and the last forty years of living. I have always felt it reasonable to assume that experiences and certain veins of knowledge could be turned into books. For that reason I have always felt it critical to write down everything that crosses my path. "Weak ink is better than a strong mind." Nobody can be expected to remember everything - or with time anything - so writing down everything is critical to story telling.

There's a lot of death and substance abuse in my writings and they are mirror images of my life. I have lost a lot of friends to drugs and car accidents and truthfully I am amazed to be alive myself. But that's life when you lose yourself in drugs for a long period of time. Heroin and alcohol are unforgivable and I'm just lucky to be alive. So I'm sharing my experiences and while I may be accused of giving certain stories a romantic slant the truth still comes through and the nasty, gritty side of drug addiction is not lost or forgotten. It is what it is and if your going to write about it you might as well tell the truth. My stories are not precious and light. I spend a lot of time writing about the darkness of heroin abuse and the horrors of being homeless, penniless and friendless. Drugs will do that to you and the road back to soberity is a long one but should you live through it the adventure can only be described as incredible.

The decision to turn my stories into books has been a long, hard road and writing at a professional level takes long hours and patient editors. I've been blessed with good help along the way and while my support has changed from time to time I have a team of editors and artist that make my books the success they are. So read "The Dark Man" and "Ocular: The Haunting of Peacock Hill" because they are both good horror storys and you won't expect what you find therein. You should also read "Black Tar: For the Love of Heroin" because its a cautionary tale that deserves reading. The same can be said of "Wicked Tales From a Twisted Mind" because of the short stories "Smack" and "Suicide" although there are some other interesting stories in that book and these two particular stories don't go like you might think. "Skeleton Keys" is another collection of short stories that deals with the subjects of religious poison, heroin addiction, suicide and homelessness. It marks the end of this portion of my writing. Passions and subjects change so I plan to keep writing and you can look forward to future publications.

Author's Website: http://www.stephenecrockett.com/

About the Book: Scott Clemmons lives in a world of hurt. Abused by an alcoholic father who murders his mother when he is only twelve years old, Scott must deal with his own increasing paranoia and insanity. An hallucinatory crow helps him murder his father to avenge his mother's death and then attempts to protect him from attacks that Scott believes is launched by his father's disembodied soul. As he spirals into alcoholism he must defend himself from a dark man who haunts the farm on which he lives and seeks to destroy everything that he holds dear. Scott fights hard to live a normal life and for a few short years is able to do so. However, as time passes the dark man consumes each and every part of his life, from his sanity to the love of his life and in the end this evil aberration consumes Scott as well.

The Dark Man is available from Amazon in Kindle format http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Man-Stephen-Crockett-ebook/dp/B00D6T8K0E...

and Paperback http://www.amazon.com/The-Dark-Man-Stephen-Crockett/dp/1490392831/r...