THE IMPELLED
AND OTHER HEAD TRIPS

"I am not in the habit of entertaining envy. It's a loathsome thing. But the work of Gary Fry makes me envious. Reading it has left me feeling inadequate to such a degree that punching him in the nose seems the only logical course of action. But I would never do such a thing. Instead I intend to recommend this book to all and sundry, in the hope that they might feel similarly envious, and we can band together and rain blows down upon the suspiciously and fiendishly talented skull of Mr. Fry . . . . Then we can feel secure in our mediocrity while Fry, limping, and a little worse for wear, basks in the respect and critical adoration that is due him."

— Kealan Patrick Burke, Bram Stoker Award winning author of The Turtle Boy.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Impelled
(originally published in Evermore)
Single Hit
(originally published in Brutarian Quarterly 42)
Pulp Friction
(originally published in Bare Bone 5)
Kiss and Tell
(original to this collection)
Illuminations
(originally published in Bare Bone 8)
Illusio
(originally published in Florida Horror: Dark Tales From The Sunshine State)
Peeping.Com
(originally published in Peep Show Vol. 1)
0.05
(originally published in Bare Bone 7)
The Haunted Doll's House
(original to this collection)
Inside Out
(originally published in Thirteen Stories)
The Trip
(originally published in Lighthouse 4)
Home From Home
(original to this collection)
Now and Then
(original to this collection)
Lest Spirits Darken
(originally published in Black Petals 29)
Myself: A Fiction
(originally published in Supernatural Tales 9)
The Sunken Garden
(original to this collection)
Both And
(originally published in Gathering The Bones)
The Unmoored (a novella)
(original to this collection)

REVIEWS

The Zone

Strange Horizons

Whispers of Wickedness

"Psychological horror, the unreliable narrator, the interdependence of the psychological and the supernatural: if Poe didn’t invent them, he certainly brought them so up to date that his use of them remains exemplary today. Gary Fry is a master of all these elements and has developed them in his own strikingly personal way within the rare field of philosophical horror...an important book."
— Ramsey Campbell

"Read your book THE IMPELLED & OTHER HEAD TRIPS on hols - what a great read. Kiss and Tell, I found extremely disturbing - in fact it is the first story in a very, very long while which literally kept me awake at night. It churned up my soul! No, really. I also loved Illuminations and Illusio. The Trip was also terrific. Home from Home very vivid and strange. The Unmoored had similar disorienting effect - truly memorable. At their best your stories have real three dimensional, believable characters combined with a deeply disturbing thematic dimension - the gaps you leave unexplained are where my heart misses a beat. A fantastic collection to be treasured - by me at least.
Well done indeed."
— Stephen Volk