When fourteen year old Ryan Perry moves to his grandmother’s coastal home in South Carolina, he is haunted by a malevolent entity masquerading as his double – a specter of ancient evil intent on destroying Ryan. As the hauntings become dangerous, Ryan encounters an additional threat: two menacing feral boys and their caretaker somehow connected to this other twin. Ryan soon realizes that in order to save himself and his family, he must confront the all-to-real presence of an unimaginable evil.
Birth Offering is a horror novel about a boy thrust into a living nightmare, and the cumulative psychological impact of evil actions by multiple past generations.
Anthony Hains is a professor emeritus of counseling psychology with a specialization in pediatric psychology. He retired in May 2018 after thirty-one years at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. He is the author of a number of horror novels including Nightshade’s Requiem, Sleep in the Dust of the Earth, and The Disembodied. Anthony lives with his wife in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin. They have one daughter.
This excerpt was fun to write. I was able to showcase what the two "feral" boys really were - something supernatural - but also portray the actions of one of them as a 10 year old boy who was behaving just like, well, a boy.
Book Excerpt
Birth Offering
Despite the inherent dangers, she was fascinated by the movements of the younger boy. He had clearly transformed into…something. Yes, a dragon could describe it, so could a dinosaur or even a bird. His gait had a hop to it, while his legs and arms extended unusually long with claws capable of ripping a person in two sprouting at the end of his arms and legs. He could pounce across the length of the second floor porch in four steps. When he had done this three times, he jumped onto the railing, landing on his feet which were actually talons. He stood firmly and comfortably watching what was going on in the front yard. After a few second, he would gracefully launch himself off the second floor and land easily on the lawn…after which he would jump and scamper up to the second floor porch. He would then repeat the pattern.
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