The Roots Run Deep
by C.M. Forest

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GENRE: Horror Short Story Collection

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BOOK BLURB:

Dug from the twisted mind of C.M. Forest, the acclaimed author of Infested, comes a collection of 15 horror stories that will drag you into the abyss of fear and despair.

A fast-food playland with a nightmarish secret, a greenhouse with a bug problem, a busload of kids lost in the woods, a trip through the solar system to investigate a strange comet, and many more.

Brace yourself for an unrelenting journey through a world where evil knows no bounds, and darkness consumes all.

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EXCERPT TWO:

The truck door swung open with a painful groan. Gordon kept his gaze locked on the barn as he climbed out. A cool breeze wafted across the field to grab and tussle his long, unkempt hair. Ahead, the barn door swayed as if in anticipation.

In the bed of the truck were two gas cans. The fuel sloshed as he pulled the red, plastic containers free. The weight of the cans felt comforting as he approached the structure.

He caught the barn door with his foot and kicked it open enough to enter. He thought he might feel a twinge of nostalgia, or maybe even horror, at returning to the old building, but the truth was, it looked just like every other barn he had ever been in. Spinning the caps off one of the cans, he began dumping the gasoline.

A low, creaking sound pulled him away from his work. He stared around the darkened structure, trying damn hard to convince himself it was just the wind, but failing. Despite his darkest imaginings, he could not wrap his head around what could be living within the old, warped walls of the barn. What malevolent force was animating the ancient boards and struts?

When nothing materialized from the gloom, he returned to his business.

With both cans empty, Gordon stood in the door and fished around in his pocket for his lighter. As soon as it was free, he began thumbing the flint wheel. A few angry sparks jumped from the end, but the flame was stubbornly absent. Once again, he heard the creaking. This time, it seemed to come from everywhere all at once. With his lighter forgotten, Gordon stared ahead as something started moving, opening, along the floor. A spike of cold fear chilled him to the bone. He turned to run.

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GUEST POST:

Create a Playlist That Inspired The Roots Run Deep

I always listen to music while writing, but it is a very specific kind of music. It has to be something ambient and spooky. No lyrics. I have a nasty habit of writing what I hear. For instance, if the song is about, oh, I don’t know, cars, then I am likely to start writing about cars. Not in any coherent way, mind you. More like, in the middle of a sentence about a spooky house, the words Toyota Camry might appear. To stop that from happening, I stick to stuff like soundtracks (mostly from video games or lesser-known horror movies).

But I do listen to a lot of traditional music while plotting for inspiration. I’ve pared a song from my playlist to each one of the stories in The Roots Run Deep. Hopefully it will give you an idea of where my head was at as each story took shape. Also, worth mentioning, these songs don’t necessarily reflect the story in terms of lyrics, but rather vibe.

Home – The Lighthouse - Halsey

What the Storm Brought In – Rough Hands - Alexisonfire

Born of Death – Right Where It Belongs – Nine Inch Nails

On a Dark Road – If Rain is What you Want - Slipknot

Glass Weavers – Dark All Day - Gunship

Hunger – Almost Again – Strapping Young Lad

Playland – Come On – Mushroomhead

Reggie vs. the Moths – Search and Destroy – The Stooges

Gone – Stinkfist - Tool

The House in the Ground – House of a 1000 Corpses – Rob Zombie

Time to Make the Donuts – Gaslight! – Maggie Lindermann

We Called It Mother – Change (In the House of Flies) - Deftones

Blood and Snow – Black Honey - Thrice

Transmissions – Black Sabbath – Type O Negative

The Roots Run Deep – Garden of Suffering – Sarah Kivell

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AUTHOR BIO:

C.M. Forest, also known as Christian Laforet, is the author of the novel Infested, the novella We All Fall Before the Harvest, the short story collection The Space Between Houses, as well as the co-author of the short-story collection No Light Tomorrow. His short fiction has been featured in several anthologies across multiple genres. A self-proclaimed horror movie expert, he spent an embarrassing amount of his youth watching scary movies. When not writing, he lives in Ontario, Canada with his wife, kids, three cats and a pandemic dog named Sully who has an ongoing love affair with a blanket.

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