Author: Scott Thomas, Author

Scott Thomas, author of Kill Creek, has penned movies and teleplays for television networks including MTV, CMT, CW, VH1, ABC Family, and Nickelodeon. (2018, insert and back cover) He co-authored an MTV horror series (My Super Psycho Sweet 16) that garnered him a nomination for a Daytime Emmy Award. (The Haunting Hour with R.L. Shine) He lives in southeastern Kansas. The small town of Coffeyville, Kansas (where Scott Thomas was born) was his inspiration for the novel Kill Creek.

In this cleverly written horror, Kill Creek, there are five main characters. Four of those main characters are fictitious writers in the horror genre (T,C, Moore, Sam McGarver, Daniel Slaughter, and Sebastian Cole) and the other one is a dilettante by the name of Wainwright who finds interesting macabre material for his website because he can. He has a huge audience and following by doing things just under the level of actual honesty.

The four horror authors know of each other and have even read some of the works of their comrades, but are not, at least in the beginning, friends in any form. However, Wainwright seeks to change that by introducing these giants in their genre to a haunted house on Kill Creek on Halloween eve where he plans to interview them collectively. Not keen to this idea they all, rather reluctantly, agree.

Wainwright arranges everything for this spectacular interview that he hopes to post live on Halloween night. He brings along a generator for power and comfort, lots of food and drinks, his girlfriend, Kate, who doubles as photographer and videographer. The one proviso is that all must actually spend the night in this haunted house which Wainwright figures ought to be a breeze for this horror author quartet.

Wainwright has Kate photographing the arrival and all portions of this trip and webfest. The various authors learn a bit about one another and what Wainwright wants from them in this group interview beforehand. Wainwright has taken the liberty to pick them up from the airport and drive them out to the house on Kill Creek which has seen a few disasters in her past. Word on the streets is that it is haunted. It was lovely when first built and was lovingly restored a number of years later, but nobody has lived there or maintained this house for decades now. The paint is chipped and peeling. The lawn is overgrown. The once vibrant creek-bed is bone dry. There are awful stories about what may have happened to her various owners and inhabitants. Wainwright wants to know if there is any truth to that lore.

Each writer is assigned their own rooms by Wainwright. They settle into their various rooms, unpack, and relax over some nicely presented food and libations that Wainwright has so generously brought along and offered to share.

There is a third floor of this home that was the room for a handicapped twin sister of one of the past owners. The stairs and elevator access have been bricked off. Nobody knows why this is the case, but all are curious to know the answer. Wainwright bandies about a few theories for them to contemplate and either accept or reject. All find it strange.

At the appointed hour they meet in the large, comfortable living room with just the light from the burning fireplace for ambiance. Wainwright dives in deep and has the authors rapidly running for cover with his rapid fire on the spot questions. In the short length of time these authors have met and spoken they have managed to become somewhat friendly and supportive of one another despite their very differing approaches to writing the horror genre. So as one gets stuck or hung up on a question hurled at them from Wainwright or perhaps even angry another steps in to save the day. Wainwright is in his element and loving this moment of their collective discomfort even more than Kate’s pictures and video can portend.

Once the Halloween interview and video sessions are done and the computer closed for the evening each goes up to their rooms to sleep, theoretically. However, Wainwright remains downstairs for a while and he notices something is amiss. Each of the writers also experiences some things that they cannot quite place, but write off as their minds playing tricks on them. They do not share these mind games with one another, at least not then.

The following morning they go back to their prior lives with the exception of Daniel Slaughter who has learned that his only daughter was hit and killed in an automobile accident Halloween night. He is broken with grief.

Each author experiences marked changes after this evening at the house on Kill Creek. For instance, Sam had a bit of writers block before this trip and he is now working night and day on a new novel. Kate is perhaps one of the most changed and it is not long before she commits suicide. What other dark secrets will be revealed as you read this magnificently written novel?

I never ever read horror. I loved this book and would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone who likes a bit of a dark book with lots of unknowns and gore.