Title: Ankle Snatcher
Author(s) Name(s): Grady Hendrix
Published in: September, 2023
Why You Might Like This Book: Read this book if you enjoy
- paranormal horror,
- comedic horror,
- funny/silly/witty banter,
- superstitions,
- plots related to psychological delusions,
- fast-paced horror, and
- short horror stories.
Who Should Avoid This Book: Avoid this book if you are triggered by or dislike
- alcoholism,
- delusions,
- supernatural beings,
- paranormal beings,
- murder,
- guilt,
- death, or
- grief and loss.
Marcus is on his second date at a bar with his fellow volunteer Tess. He is in his third year and she has finished her masters in social work. At the place where they work, their supervisor is an annoying man, so they went for a coffee to just talk about how he pisses them off the first time, and this is the second time they meet, for the same reason. Marcus asks for a beer and she doesn’t drink. When he asks her why, she hesitates to tell him anything, but he feels uncomfortable drinking alone when she doesn’t want to drink, so he suggests that they can go elsewhere, and finally she opens up and tells him the truth. She does not drink at all, not just today but never, because her father was and still is an alcoholic. When she was a child, he did some crazy things, and her mom kicked him out. He would still meet her at the local park and ask for money, so she left her hometown to come and pursue a career here.
While the two of them seem to enjoy good banter and teasing each other often, Marcus feels that they are a perfect macth for each other. Tess seems to have no interest in dating him, at least not seriously, and she does not even consider these dates as dates. Now that she has shared some intimate details about her past, he can read from her face that she has decided that they won’t be dating anymore. But he really likes her, and she was honest and bold enough to confide in him, so he decides to open up and tell about his past as well. His father had killed his mother when he was just ten years old. His father had told him that it was the “Ankle Snatcher” who killed his mother and that happened because she would not turn on the lights before getting out of bed at night. He had also warned Marcus that if he wanted to not be killed by the Ankle Snatcher, he should follow this rule for life. Even though he was raised by his uncle and aunt and did well in school and had a supportive family, he still remains superstitious until this day, following his father’s advice.
Once Marcus confesses his side, it appears to him as if both of them were meant to meet each other and connect with each other, given their crazy fathers and dark past. After listening to him, she empathizes and says kind words. The next thing, they end up at his place, in his bed, making love. Quickly he realizes that he is in love with Tess and wants to spend the rest of his life with her, protetcing her and taking care of her. And that’s when something really strange and scary happens! He had vowed to himself that he would protect her against anything and right in front of his eyes, there is a supernatural thing, with many hands, attacking her. Will he be able to protect her from the supernatural force? Or is he just deluded?
The writing by Grady Hendrix is good and the story is fast-paced, wasting no time on unnecessary details. Even if the plot may not be engaging enough, his writing would still convince you to turn page after page and keep reading. Hendrix is known for comedic horror, as in his books contain light, silly, and witty dialogue and imagination along with horror plots. The ending of this story, though, can come across as abrupt, unsettling, and intentionally unclear, as if provoking the reader to arrive at their own conclusions after building up a detailed horror plot. Some readers speculate that this may be just the intoduction for a proper story that may be published later, but as of now, there is no confirmation for that. I would give this a 3.2-star rating; if the ending were better, I would have definitely enjoyed the story more.
