The Cursed Among Us
It has been twenty years since the serial killer known as The Black Heart Killer terrorized the town of Newport in 1979. Life mostly returned to normal after the killer was captured. All the townspeople have to do is stay out of the woods where the bodies were abandoned-their chests ripped open, and their hearts torn out...
Howie Burke and his friends decide rules are meant to be broken. That's what fifteen-year-old kids do. On a beautiful fall day, they decide to go out in the woods to film a horror movie when they stumble across a mysterious grave. What they don't know is that they are about to release an evil on the town unlike anything in their home-made movies. They will soon uncover the secrets of the Black Heart Killer, and what it truly means to be cursed.
Praise for The Cursed Among Us
"Hidden graves, black magic, town legends, and intrepid teenagers - this one has it all, in bloody spades. Durgin's debut manages the impossible: a punchy and gripping horror-thriller sprawled across two decades, crafted with dark obsession and drenched in nostalgia for the golden years of supernatural slasher films." - Felix Blackwell, author of Stolen Tongues
"A remarkably malevolent debut that will leave you reaching for your talisman. Durgin takes all the right risks and proves nobody is safe in this impressive coming-of-age novel about a small town with a dark past." - Joshua Marsella, author of Hunger For Death
"The Cursed Among Us is a horror novel with its heart in the right place-ready to be ripped out! Containing surprising and sometimes stunning emotional depth, this homage to '90s B-movies and supernatural documentaries explores the agony of growing up and holding onto friendships when the world seems determined to rip everything you love apart." -Joseph Sale, author of Dark Hilarity
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Community Reviews
As I was reading I found various spelling and grammar mistakes, so editing left much to be desired. Also, it felt like every female character was used as a prop, and wasn’t fully formed (including Jessica Black).
John Durgin's debut novel, The Cursed Among Us has one of my all-time favorite tropes...well, a couple of them actually: kids filming their own movie AND it's a slasher. Well, I'm calling it a slasher - it fits the formula and I'm sticking by it. These things along with the fact that there was a serial killer loose in this little town years previous are what had me picking this one up. I was also delighted to revisit the 90s as it was in New Hampshire - honestly, it had me at Starter jackets and JNCOs...lol!
We have a group of friends, teenagers, who are film students making their own slasher film for class. They're out by the woods to catch a few chase scenes in the waning light...the woods that are off limits due to it being the burial site of a serial killer from a couple decades prior. (Even though the killer was caught) The group gets caught up in getting the scene, only to accidentally find themselves way outside the limit of where they should have gone....and when they end up scaring themselves and fleeing....well, they're not exactly alone.
I will say I appreciated the author giving these kids common sense. When the proverbial pewp hits the fan, the kids talk to parents/adults and seek help. Seems like in all the movies, the kids try and handle everything themselves (and pay for it with their lives) and never talk to someone who might could actually help them. It made this story seem more realistic and plausible. Well, to the extent a slasher can anyway. :)
This story could so easily be a movie. It played out in my mind's eye just like it was one and it's one I'd love to see adapted.
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