Now Read This: We All Go Into The Dark

“We All Go Into the Dark” takes readers on a surreal and unsettling journey, where reality bends, nightmares lurk, and the unknown beckons.

The town of Clifton Heights, New York, is, from the outset, a charming little town that no one has heard of. Nestled within the Adirondack Mountains, no one would ever suspect what lies within its boundaries.

We All Go Into the Dark explores the boundaries of reality with four surreal novellas by Kevin Lucia.

From the first story to the last, Lucia delivers an intriguing page-turner. Lucia’s novellas offer an array of horror tales exploring original twists on various horror tropes such as urban legends, haunted and abandoned places, and cults. The stories are unpredictable and surreal.

The first novella, “Zoo Town,” tells the story of a recent retiree, Jim O’Connell, who embarks on a final trip to explore abandoned places in upstate New York. He hears of a spot, located on the outskirts of Clifton Heights, which puts the locals on edge with its mention. Although skeptical, Jim decides he must explore the mysterious Zoo Town.

“Zoo Town” is an original and suspenseful tale inspired by Celtic lore—a rather uncharted territory for horror writers.

Lucia also knows how to make a reader’s skin crawl. His explicit descriptions of death, decay, and rot will stick in the reader’s mind long after turning the page.

Lucia’s second offering, “The Man Who Sits in the Chair,” tells the story of southern attorney David Roth, who breaks down in Clifton Heights on the way back from a convention. What he finds there turns reality upside down for him, and he will never be the same again.

In this gripping tale, Lucia upends reality and flawlessly blurs the edges, inviting us to see from the character’s eyes. This tale is a roller coaster ride into the surreal.

Lucia delivers a thought-provoking twist ending but drops enough hints along the way.

In the third novella, “In the Court of the Spider King,” Lucia invites us into the world of Ras Seager, a retiree and photographer from Kentucky on an Adirondack tour. He finds himself in Clifton Heights, New York. Fascinated with spiders due to a childhood experience, he sees a strange, unidentifiable, and abnormally large one in the yard at the back of the lodge where he’s staying.

While there, he stumbles into an intricate web woven by a bizarre cult.

Lucia weaves in and out of reality, painting grotesque and surreal portraits with vivid descriptions of horrific visions. The story culminates in a chaotic, gripping, and action-packed ending.

Just as in the previous two offerings, Lucia spins an intriguing tale that takes us to the shadowy recesses of the human experience.

In Lucia’s fourth novella, “To Slip the Surly Bonds of Earth,” we meet roller coaster enthusiast Todd Houts. Todd explores abandoned and haunted amusement parks for a living. After posting a video, Todd received a tip from a subscriber about Raedecker Amusement Park, located in none other than Clifton Heights, New York.

He finds out that the park shut down in 1979. After watching some spooky videos of the mysterious subscriber exploring the ruins of Raedecker, Todd decides on Raedecker as his next destination. Keeping with the surreal atmosphere of the other novellas, the park director informs him that there are no ruins of the Amusement Park.

As with all of the stories, Lucia dives in deep, letting us into the world of his main character. He creates relatable and interesting characters, and ordinary people are caught up in paranormal situations. The stories are action-packed and filled with grisly and grotesque images that will stay with you.

Lucia masterfully crafted four imaginative tales that take the reader to the borders of reality and into the darkness of the unknown.