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HORROR STORIES #1
HORROR STORIES
Over 15 years in the making, this is a mid-career retrospective by Malaysia’s prince of darkness Tunku Halim.
Featuring twenty of his best short stories such as Biggest Baddest Bomoh, Mr Petronas, The Rape of Martha Teoh, Night of the Pontianak, Malay Magick and Gravedigger’s Kiss, this is a collection that will make you tingle in all sorts of places.
Featuring twenty of his best short stories such as Biggest Baddest Bomoh, Mr Petronas, The Rape of Martha Teoh, Night of the Pontianak, Malay Magick and Gravedigger’s Kiss, this is a collection that will make you tingle in all sorts of places.
428 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2014
39 people are currently reading
189 people want to read
About the author
Tunku Halim
35 books55 followersTunku Halim has lived in the UK, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia. He worked as Legal Counsel for a global IT company before turning to writing.
Twenty books later, he is dubbed Asia’s Steven King. By delving into Malay myth, legends and folklore, his writing is regarded as ‘World Gothic’.
His novel, Dark Demon Rising, was nominated for the 1999 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award whilst his second novel, Vermillion Eye, is used as a study text in The National University of Singapore’s Language and Literature course.
His short story has also won first prize in a 1998 Fellowship of Australian Writers competition. In Malaysia, he has had three consecutive wins in Malaysia's Star-Popular Readers’ Choice Awards between 2015 and 2017.
Twenty books later, he is dubbed Asia’s Steven King. By delving into Malay myth, legends and folklore, his writing is regarded as ‘World Gothic’.
His novel, Dark Demon Rising, was nominated for the 1999 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award whilst his second novel, Vermillion Eye, is used as a study text in The National University of Singapore’s Language and Literature course.
His short story has also won first prize in a 1998 Fellowship of Australian Writers competition. In Malaysia, he has had three consecutive wins in Malaysia's Star-Popular Readers’ Choice Awards between 2015 and 2017.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
January 10, 2016
this book suck. I am sorry. it just not something that I can read with pleasure, not that because it was horror stories, it wasn't scary after all. regret buying it. dont think im gonna buy any bukufixi after this. Not even finish. To some people, it might be a worth read, but naah, not my cup of tea.
September 24, 2016
2 stars to be exact. 1 star for the writing. 1 star for a few stories that managed to interest me. First of, a big congrats to Tunku Halim for this book :)
I knew the writer (he's the dad of my lecturer's friend). However it does not affect my review. I think a few early chapters were great. I liked vampire stories but when too many chapters are about vampires, I get bored. Feel like reading twilight tbh. Just a darker version. Better if titled vampire stories.
This book is titled horror stories. Yes, some of the book does terrified me, some are just mehh. Not because the stories are not good. But a few stories (especially halfway through the book), idk where the plot is going, like what are the writer trying to tell me? That the characters made out almost every stories?
Halfway through the book, it gets really lengthy, with lots of descriptions that idk whether it contributes to the plot or not. Idk. Maybe I'm wrong. I'm not an expert in writing.
I'm SO SORRY but I can't help feeling like reading a porn book. If this is a horror and romance genre, doesn't mean every stories is about making out. Please kids, stay away from this book hmmm..
However, I'm sure Horror Stories 2 will be better. Thanks again to Tunku Halim for sharing :)
I knew the writer (he's the dad of my lecturer's friend). However it does not affect my review. I think a few early chapters were great. I liked vampire stories but when too many chapters are about vampires, I get bored. Feel like reading twilight tbh. Just a darker version. Better if titled vampire stories.
This book is titled horror stories. Yes, some of the book does terrified me, some are just mehh. Not because the stories are not good. But a few stories (especially halfway through the book), idk where the plot is going, like what are the writer trying to tell me? That the characters made out almost every stories?
Halfway through the book, it gets really lengthy, with lots of descriptions that idk whether it contributes to the plot or not. Idk. Maybe I'm wrong. I'm not an expert in writing.
I'm SO SORRY but I can't help feeling like reading a porn book. If this is a horror and romance genre, doesn't mean every stories is about making out. Please kids, stay away from this book hmmm..
However, I'm sure Horror Stories 2 will be better. Thanks again to Tunku Halim for sharing :)
June 13, 2016
It's very Malaysian. And old stories. Cliche, I mean.
May 12, 2015
Once again, we are shown that Malaysia is still 50 years behind the rest of the modern world in regards to its literature, music, and film. Even China has more talented authors, directors, and musicians than the gem of Southeast Asia, and they live under much greater censorship and oppression.
This anthology is fraught with grammatical, spelling, and vocabulary mistakes. Its stories are predictable, stereotypical, racist, and completely bereft of any scares or clever twists. Further, to call these characters cardboard caricatures would be an insult to cardboard and caricatures everywhere.
I hated this book. Hated it, hated it, hated it.
Malaysia, you may have natural beauty, but you are lacking in in the arts.
Jesus. I'd be embarrassed to loan this book out to friends.
This anthology is fraught with grammatical, spelling, and vocabulary mistakes. Its stories are predictable, stereotypical, racist, and completely bereft of any scares or clever twists. Further, to call these characters cardboard caricatures would be an insult to cardboard and caricatures everywhere.
I hated this book. Hated it, hated it, hated it.
Malaysia, you may have natural beauty, but you are lacking in in the arts.
Jesus. I'd be embarrassed to loan this book out to friends.
April 14, 2015
Initially, having finished the first three stories I was excited. Ooh, this gon' be good, I tell myself. Boy was I wrong. I only liked the first three stories. As I carried on the only motivation I had was to finish the book. I wasn't even hoping the next story would be good. Other than the first three stories I did like the author's style of writing. He made my reading experience a breeze, apart from his stories. Also I liked that the titles of his stories are short and simple, not long and pretentious. However I don't get why this book is always on the Top 10 Bestsellers shelf in the bookstores..now that's horror for me. Haha I kid I kid.
June 6, 2017
Bored. Not scary at all. Not thrilling. Some chapters are personification of real issue like gambling or adultery. Another chapters are about madness. And few stories represent dislike or disgust over gay people. Really dude, you used sex to create stories with gays? That's not good. All the stories are typical. The writing though is good. Stories, no.
May 13, 2014
I'm hoping for a wow, ewww, ahhh feelings but all I got were hmmm and meh. Pretty frustrated really. Kekangan bahasa mungkin. Glad finally I got to the last page without skipping. But most of the stories were original indeed.
September 3, 2022
"Don't worry," I said as I passed her the sugar, "I don't believe in ghosts."
"Oh, that's good," she said as she sipped her tea.
"We Malays say if you don't believe in ghosts then they won't disturb you."
"That's interesting," I said as I helped myself to
another piece of cake, "but it might not be entirely true you know."
- The Haunted Apartment (Horror stories by Tunku Halim)
.
.
4 stars would be too high for this compilation of horror stories - it certainly a mixed bag of cliché ghost stories but some did pull through and giving me a twist. Hence to give this 3 stars would be unfair as i did enjoy quite few stories in this book. 3.5 would be a perfect score, at least for me. I bought this book long time ago and let me say it has been on my shelf for quite some times. Once the year of reading Malaysia started this year, i knew i had to get to it soon. I have not much to review as many has pointed out that it has typical ghost stories- some revengeful tales, some weird monsters hidden somewhere among the living beings, some unavoidable nightmares that haunted you and some black magic that finally unleashed its true cost. If you are fan of horror and it is your go to genre, it highly likely you can guess the plot and ending. However, if you dont really read horrors and just want to try it for the sake of diversify your genre - maybe you will end up enjoying this one. The stories that i rated 5 is weirdly not really about horrifying ghosts or monsters. One is about the thought of having your dead father as your protector is comforting. Another one is just the wretchedness of man. The rest, while it was fun reading it, is not that scary. Overall, a perfect throwback of ghost stories that you have heard when you were just a kid. It gives you that sense of familiarity. It was not scary at all but i enjoyed it for old time’s sake.
.
.
Individual rating for each stories :
Biggest Baddest Bomoh(1997) : 4/5
Night of the Pontianak (2001) : 4/5
Haunted Apartment (1997) : 5/5
A Labor Day Weekend (2001) : 3/5
The Rape of Martha Teoh (1997) : 3/5
Mr Petronas (1999) : 3/5
Four Numbers for Eric Kwok (1999) : 4/5
Plane Load (2007) : 5/5
44 Cemetery Road (2007) : 3/5
The Width of a Circle (1997) : 3/5
Gravedigger's Kiss (2007) : 3/5
Malay Magick (2001) : 4/5
The Laughing Buddha (1997) : 3/5
Mr Insurance Man (1997) : 4/5
Strangling the Soul (1999) : 4/5
Ladiah(1999) : 3/5
The Woman who Grew Horns (2001) : 3/5
Watching the Doll (1997) : 3/5
A Sister's Tale (1999) : 4/5
This Page is Left Intentionally Blank (1999) : - 3/5
"Oh, that's good," she said as she sipped her tea.
"We Malays say if you don't believe in ghosts then they won't disturb you."
"That's interesting," I said as I helped myself to
another piece of cake, "but it might not be entirely true you know."
- The Haunted Apartment (Horror stories by Tunku Halim)
.
.
4 stars would be too high for this compilation of horror stories - it certainly a mixed bag of cliché ghost stories but some did pull through and giving me a twist. Hence to give this 3 stars would be unfair as i did enjoy quite few stories in this book. 3.5 would be a perfect score, at least for me. I bought this book long time ago and let me say it has been on my shelf for quite some times. Once the year of reading Malaysia started this year, i knew i had to get to it soon. I have not much to review as many has pointed out that it has typical ghost stories- some revengeful tales, some weird monsters hidden somewhere among the living beings, some unavoidable nightmares that haunted you and some black magic that finally unleashed its true cost. If you are fan of horror and it is your go to genre, it highly likely you can guess the plot and ending. However, if you dont really read horrors and just want to try it for the sake of diversify your genre - maybe you will end up enjoying this one. The stories that i rated 5 is weirdly not really about horrifying ghosts or monsters. One is about the thought of having your dead father as your protector is comforting. Another one is just the wretchedness of man. The rest, while it was fun reading it, is not that scary. Overall, a perfect throwback of ghost stories that you have heard when you were just a kid. It gives you that sense of familiarity. It was not scary at all but i enjoyed it for old time’s sake.
.
.
Individual rating for each stories :
Biggest Baddest Bomoh(1997) : 4/5
Night of the Pontianak (2001) : 4/5
Haunted Apartment (1997) : 5/5
A Labor Day Weekend (2001) : 3/5
The Rape of Martha Teoh (1997) : 3/5
Mr Petronas (1999) : 3/5
Four Numbers for Eric Kwok (1999) : 4/5
Plane Load (2007) : 5/5
44 Cemetery Road (2007) : 3/5
The Width of a Circle (1997) : 3/5
Gravedigger's Kiss (2007) : 3/5
Malay Magick (2001) : 4/5
The Laughing Buddha (1997) : 3/5
Mr Insurance Man (1997) : 4/5
Strangling the Soul (1999) : 4/5
Ladiah(1999) : 3/5
The Woman who Grew Horns (2001) : 3/5
Watching the Doll (1997) : 3/5
A Sister's Tale (1999) : 4/5
This Page is Left Intentionally Blank (1999) : - 3/5
April 21, 2016
*sigh* I literally felt FORCED to read this (since I bought it with hard cash and don't wanna to waste it) Worse is I spend like 6 weeks to finish and felt expressionless throughout reading the stories. Some of the stories are just borderline atrocious and grotesque (not in a good way) i.e "Malay Magick" . But anyhow, some of the stories are quite interesting i.e. "The Girl Who Grew Horn" . Overall, it's not a great book, or good book to be frank, but it is still "readable".
Read
October 19, 2016I don't like the book simply because it didn't meet my expectation. The storyline is too predictable.
March 7, 2017
The first three stories were average . the rest stank!
October 22, 2017
Overall, the book was ok lah for Malaysian standards. I would've given this 3* even after I nerfed my high standards of books, but since I cannot say I actually liked it as in 'I'll reread this!', I guess not. An A for attempt is given though. I've thrown the idea around of buying this since I like horror.
So what went wrong? The writing did seem amateurish at times (like a SPM candidate trying too hard), and there was an ABUSE OF SIMILES!!! Is there no other gaya bahasa which can be used, like proverbs and metaphors? "He gripped the metal grilles like an orangutan in a zoo" That was only one of the cheesiest similes ever. Only a few were fitting to their stories, but most were localized. The book claims to use American English, but the 'bloody' term was overused here. I've mostly read British English books, btw. Also, there was a lot of filler in most stories before you get to the important parts. I'm all for details, but nobody wants to read about the characters yum cha-ing in the introduction!! Get to the point alrdy!! Furthermore, obvious grammatical errors were spotted. In Facebook comments, I'd let that pass, but in a published book! Do they not QC?
Story-wise, you can expect typical plots of Malay literature (e.g: guy uses a bomoh to get his crush) and their supernatural beings like orang minyak and pontianak (the titles make it so obvious). I could see the twists/revelations coming from afar, which kills the moment. Some characters do stupid things which could prevent their problems in the first place, like clinging to gold-diggers, taking home unusual items, going ghost-hunting, etc. Typical horror movie cliches like black figures, delays when entering the car in dangerous situations, moving shadows, the whole 'Haunted Apartment' concept, door locks in critical times, generally abnormal/stalker ppl, etc. Some things are not even explained well, like in 'The Width of a Circle'. Martha Teoh's story made no sense.
Ok la, I shall say what saved this book for me. Support local talent ma! My favourite stories were 'The Woman who Grew Horns' and 'A Sister's Tale'. Maybe it's because I'm a sucker for revenge stories and they portray how treacherous humans can be. Some weren't even supernatural, and that's where my A for attempt comes in. I think they were better than those which were in their own ways. I think the scariest part of all in the book is .
Conclusion: If you're expecting serious horror, DON'T buy this. I shivered not. I would return to True Singapore Ghost Stories (it does have Malaysians' contributions too) or Stephen King. I've even seen better (and got scared) on Creepypasta. I've alrdy donated this book to the less fortunate (in good condition, mind you), in the hopes that others may appreciate it better than I did.
So what went wrong? The writing did seem amateurish at times (like a SPM candidate trying too hard), and there was an ABUSE OF SIMILES!!! Is there no other gaya bahasa which can be used, like proverbs and metaphors? "He gripped the metal grilles like an orangutan in a zoo" That was only one of the cheesiest similes ever. Only a few were fitting to their stories, but most were localized. The book claims to use American English, but the 'bloody' term was overused here. I've mostly read British English books, btw. Also, there was a lot of filler in most stories before you get to the important parts. I'm all for details, but nobody wants to read about the characters yum cha-ing in the introduction!! Get to the point alrdy!! Furthermore, obvious grammatical errors were spotted. In Facebook comments, I'd let that pass, but in a published book! Do they not QC?
Story-wise, you can expect typical plots of Malay literature (e.g: guy uses a bomoh to get his crush) and their supernatural beings like orang minyak and pontianak (the titles make it so obvious). I could see the twists/revelations coming from afar, which kills the moment. Some characters do stupid things which could prevent their problems in the first place, like clinging to gold-diggers, taking home unusual items, going ghost-hunting, etc. Typical horror movie cliches like black figures, delays when entering the car in dangerous situations, moving shadows, the whole 'Haunted Apartment' concept, door locks in critical times, generally abnormal/stalker ppl, etc. Some things are not even explained well, like in 'The Width of a Circle'. Martha Teoh's story made no sense.
Ok la, I shall say what saved this book for me. Support local talent ma! My favourite stories were 'The Woman who Grew Horns' and 'A Sister's Tale'. Maybe it's because I'm a sucker for revenge stories and they portray how treacherous humans can be. Some weren't even supernatural, and that's where my A for attempt comes in. I think they were better than those which were in their own ways. I think the scariest part of all in the book is .
Conclusion: If you're expecting serious horror, DON'T buy this. I shivered not. I would return to True Singapore Ghost Stories (it does have Malaysians' contributions too) or Stephen King. I've even seen better (and got scared) on Creepypasta. I've alrdy donated this book to the less fortunate (in good condition, mind you), in the hopes that others may appreciate it better than I did.
January 31, 2019
I felt surprised by the low rating and a lot of negative reviews about this book on 카지노싸이트 since both the book and the author are quite famous in Malaysia. At first, I was thinking whether I should read it, but I feel everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I will never know how good or how bad the book will be if I don’t read it.
I quite enjoyed reading the first two stories, and I couldn’t find any problems with the writing style as what other reviewers mentioned on 카지노싸이트. However, I have to admit that the author has included too much of irrelevant sexual descriptions as a simile or sexual words to describe certain situations which are not related to any sexual actions. That was the only part which I felt slightly disturbing so far after reading the first two stories.
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I quite enjoyed reading the first two stories, and I couldn’t find any problems with the writing style as what other reviewers mentioned on 카지노싸이트. However, I have to admit that the author has included too much of irrelevant sexual descriptions as a simile or sexual words to describe certain situations which are not related to any sexual actions. That was the only part which I felt slightly disturbing so far after reading the first two stories.
.
August 9, 2018
After finishing the first couple of chapters, I had concerns whether humor was going to be a recurring theme. Sadly, this was the case.
Tunku Halim has the tendency to drag and drag the narrative unnecessarily long all the way to an unsatisfying climax. The Rape of Martha Teoh is a perfect example. The whole ordeal could have been two pages tops. Speaking of sexual assault, what’s with all the rape? Male on female rape. Male on male rape. Male on weird creature rape.
In short, this was a tense and dreadful read all for the wrong reasons. None of the tales were remotely suspenseful.
A special message to the publisher for having the gall to put a blurb of an entirely different book on the front cover - F*ck you for the deceptive blurb!
Tunku Halim has the tendency to drag and drag the narrative unnecessarily long all the way to an unsatisfying climax. The Rape of Martha Teoh is a perfect example. The whole ordeal could have been two pages tops. Speaking of sexual assault, what’s with all the rape? Male on female rape. Male on male rape. Male on weird creature rape.
In short, this was a tense and dreadful read all for the wrong reasons. None of the tales were remotely suspenseful.
A special message to the publisher for having the gall to put a blurb of an entirely different book on the front cover - F*ck you for the deceptive blurb!
February 22, 2015
I was expecting to be terrified as I am a scaredy-cat. But, I wasn't. Hrm.. I guess it is titled Horror Stories instead of Ghost Stories.
It was a good read but not my cup of tea.
The quote on the cover saying that the book is unpleasant (though it was a quote from another book by him) is by far the most accurate description. It does the book justice.
Would I recommend it to a friend? No.
Did I waste my time reading it? No.
So, you decide for yourself.
It was a good read but not my cup of tea.
The quote on the cover saying that the book is unpleasant (though it was a quote from another book by him) is by far the most accurate description. It does the book justice.
Would I recommend it to a friend? No.
Did I waste my time reading it? No.
So, you decide for yourself.
November 19, 2014
A bit disappointing, really. Didn't give me the slightest feeling of eeriness. It was just a pleasant read that didn't give the genre horror justice. Maybe I expect too much from it as at times I feel annoyed of some short stories in it.
July 30, 2015
Rape, check. Shamans, check. Forbidden lust, check. Murder, check. Not much of ghost and paranormality though, which is what I was really hoping.
This book is entertaining enough. Just don't keep your expectation too high.
This book is entertaining enough. Just don't keep your expectation too high.
August 17, 2014
It has it's moment but generally it was quite boring.
Read
April 6, 2015It IS an unpleasant read. Not the good kind of unpleasant though.
March 9, 2017
Read the stories. It was written by an immature writer.
May 2, 2020
Aku dah makin kerap komen sekarang. Meaning dah membukit la aku punya perasaan tak puas hati tu 😂 Tapi untuk naskah ni, lain. Okay je bagi aku. In fact, worth it. Aku tak menyesal beli. Buku ni antara buku-buku terawal Fixi yang aku beli. Tuhan saja yang tahu tahun bilalah tu sebenarnya 😁
Sekali lagi aku harap ini komen terakhir aku jadi lantaklah nak panjang pun 😄😄
Aku rasa buku ni best. Aku baca dari Intro jadi aku faham cerita-cerita yang bakal disampaikan serta intention penulis. Makanya aku tak ada komplen pasal pengisiannya(secara umumlah). Malah, dari Intro sajapun aku dah rasa suka.
Penulis suruh baca dalam suasana lewat malam dan suram gitu. Aku mula baca selepas jam 9 malam. Satu tindakan yang silap! Bagi aku yang bersendirian dalam kediaman yang letaknya di pinggir hutan pulak... memang choii !
Aku boleh layankan naskah seram lain sampai awal pagi tapi naskah ni, aku tak boleh. 2 cerpen pertama dah buat aku tutup buku. Lazimnya setiap hari dan setiap kali sebelum tidur, aku akan baca koleksi unpublish stories dalam henpon(padahal dah baca beratus kali) tapi kali ni aku paksa diri baca banyak2 supaya tidur aku nanti tak terganggu 😂😂
Aku breakdown jumlah bintang untuk setiap story supaya aku sendiri tahu mana yang aku betul-betul suka, mana yang kurang.
Biggest Baddest Bomoh - 5⭐ Creepy as hell 😰
Night of The Pontianak - 5⭐ Damn scary. I can relate. That's why
Haunted Apartment - 3⭐ Because I think some part didn't contribute to the story. The story best be continued but of course, it would become a novel instead 😂
A Labor Day Weekend - 5⭐ I'd give more stars if 5 is not the limit 😁
The Rape Of Martha Teoh - 1⭐ For it was well-written. However, I don't get the message nor the purpose of this story. Just a pure evil piece lurking within this book. Lol
Mr Petronas - 3⭐ Hahaha. Very funny. But I found it very disturbing as well. Like an insult to women. Can't the ending be better?
Four Numbers For Eric Kwok - 5⭐ I would wonder if people think this piece is no good
Plane Load - 4⭐ HAHAHAHA 🤣🤣🤣 HAHAHAHA. VERY VERY VERY FUNNY! This is another level of terror, a different angle of horror. ROFL. I gave 4⭐ because although again, it was well-written, the horrorness is less and the purpose of this piece... 🤭🤭🤭 Somehow it was brilliant and out of the box. It was indeed a good read as a gentle reminder. As a frequent solo traveller, this creepy story gave me bad dreams 😂😂 Parents might need to get their child off this piece though. AVOID READING IF YOU ARE IMMMATURE 😬 Tunku Halim, you are very naughty 😝
44 Cemetery Road - 5⭐ This is actually very common including in Malay seramshit.
The Width Of A Circle - 5⭐ A predictable story but I think it was lenghty. What I like most about this piece is it truly brings back memories. Lots of memories about some people I knew whom also went to schools at overseas. St. Christopher somehow reminds me of those clock towers and massive churches I used to see.
Gravedigger's Kiss - 5⭐ This is another piece which I would want to give more than just 5⭐.. hehe 😁 The story might seems pointless but observe the writing style. Beautiful!
Malay Magick - 2⭐ Another funny and wonderfully written story. But unlike the previous one, this seems like a pure pointless piece. I can't even bring myself to relate the title, the store and the secret within with Malay mystique or tales. It is true though that in this world, there are some imaginary things which lead you out of your mind if you are not careful.
The Laughing Buddha - 3⭐ I am not quite sure to call this a horror story at first. But then I remembered Fixi's boss definition of horror. Something like; "Horror doesn't mean there must be appearance of ghost." Also, I remember that this is the same thing as Plane Load 😂
Mr Insurance Man - 4⭐ I hate this story at first. I feel angry to the point I stop reading for a while. But in the end, turn out it is truly satisfying 😬 I would also kill my cheating and greedy partner without any hesitation. Garbage don't deserve to live 🤭
Strangling The Soul - 5⭐
Ladiah - 5⭐ Scary. This reminds me of my past. And my uncertain present and future. I have always been so confident. But my own experiences teached me that it is not easy to counter black magic. Black Magic is real and dreadful 😣
The Women Who Grew Horns - 5⭐
Watching The Doll - 5⭐ I love this piece. Really 😊 I don't know why but it reminds me much to Hantu Macabre, another book from Fixi which release within last or 2 years ago.
A Sister's Tale - 5⭐
This Page Is Left Intentionally Blank - 2⭐ Unlike other piece, I'm not sure where actually horror lies in this one.
I have various reasons to love this book. It reminded me to a lot of things, made me realize important stuff I'd left behind. Beautiful writing, wonderful and variety of stories. A satisfaction. I wish I can frequently read this book. Sadly there are lots more book in my TBR 😂
Oh and... since I will only give 5⭐ to books with acceptable mistakes or lacking, then I shall give this book a 4⭐... 😁
Sekali lagi aku harap ini komen terakhir aku jadi lantaklah nak panjang pun 😄😄
Aku rasa buku ni best. Aku baca dari Intro jadi aku faham cerita-cerita yang bakal disampaikan serta intention penulis. Makanya aku tak ada komplen pasal pengisiannya(secara umumlah). Malah, dari Intro sajapun aku dah rasa suka.
Penulis suruh baca dalam suasana lewat malam dan suram gitu. Aku mula baca selepas jam 9 malam. Satu tindakan yang silap! Bagi aku yang bersendirian dalam kediaman yang letaknya di pinggir hutan pulak... memang choii !
Aku boleh layankan naskah seram lain sampai awal pagi tapi naskah ni, aku tak boleh. 2 cerpen pertama dah buat aku tutup buku. Lazimnya setiap hari dan setiap kali sebelum tidur, aku akan baca koleksi unpublish stories dalam henpon(padahal dah baca beratus kali) tapi kali ni aku paksa diri baca banyak2 supaya tidur aku nanti tak terganggu 😂😂
Aku breakdown jumlah bintang untuk setiap story supaya aku sendiri tahu mana yang aku betul-betul suka, mana yang kurang.
Biggest Baddest Bomoh - 5⭐ Creepy as hell 😰
Night of The Pontianak - 5⭐ Damn scary. I can relate. That's why
Haunted Apartment - 3⭐ Because I think some part didn't contribute to the story. The story best be continued but of course, it would become a novel instead 😂
A Labor Day Weekend - 5⭐ I'd give more stars if 5 is not the limit 😁
The Rape Of Martha Teoh - 1⭐ For it was well-written. However, I don't get the message nor the purpose of this story. Just a pure evil piece lurking within this book. Lol
Mr Petronas - 3⭐ Hahaha. Very funny. But I found it very disturbing as well. Like an insult to women. Can't the ending be better?
Four Numbers For Eric Kwok - 5⭐ I would wonder if people think this piece is no good
Plane Load - 4⭐ HAHAHAHA 🤣🤣🤣 HAHAHAHA. VERY VERY VERY FUNNY! This is another level of terror, a different angle of horror. ROFL. I gave 4⭐ because although again, it was well-written, the horrorness is less and the purpose of this piece... 🤭🤭🤭 Somehow it was brilliant and out of the box. It was indeed a good read as a gentle reminder. As a frequent solo traveller, this creepy story gave me bad dreams 😂😂 Parents might need to get their child off this piece though. AVOID READING IF YOU ARE IMMMATURE 😬 Tunku Halim, you are very naughty 😝
44 Cemetery Road - 5⭐ This is actually very common including in Malay seramshit.
The Width Of A Circle - 5⭐ A predictable story but I think it was lenghty. What I like most about this piece is it truly brings back memories. Lots of memories about some people I knew whom also went to schools at overseas. St. Christopher somehow reminds me of those clock towers and massive churches I used to see.
Gravedigger's Kiss - 5⭐ This is another piece which I would want to give more than just 5⭐.. hehe 😁 The story might seems pointless but observe the writing style. Beautiful!
Malay Magick - 2⭐ Another funny and wonderfully written story. But unlike the previous one, this seems like a pure pointless piece. I can't even bring myself to relate the title, the store and the secret within with Malay mystique or tales. It is true though that in this world, there are some imaginary things which lead you out of your mind if you are not careful.
The Laughing Buddha - 3⭐ I am not quite sure to call this a horror story at first. But then I remembered Fixi's boss definition of horror. Something like; "Horror doesn't mean there must be appearance of ghost." Also, I remember that this is the same thing as Plane Load 😂
Mr Insurance Man - 4⭐ I hate this story at first. I feel angry to the point I stop reading for a while. But in the end, turn out it is truly satisfying 😬 I would also kill my cheating and greedy partner without any hesitation. Garbage don't deserve to live 🤭
Strangling The Soul - 5⭐
Ladiah - 5⭐ Scary. This reminds me of my past. And my uncertain present and future. I have always been so confident. But my own experiences teached me that it is not easy to counter black magic. Black Magic is real and dreadful 😣
The Women Who Grew Horns - 5⭐
Watching The Doll - 5⭐ I love this piece. Really 😊 I don't know why but it reminds me much to Hantu Macabre, another book from Fixi which release within last or 2 years ago.
A Sister's Tale - 5⭐
This Page Is Left Intentionally Blank - 2⭐ Unlike other piece, I'm not sure where actually horror lies in this one.
I have various reasons to love this book. It reminded me to a lot of things, made me realize important stuff I'd left behind. Beautiful writing, wonderful and variety of stories. A satisfaction. I wish I can frequently read this book. Sadly there are lots more book in my TBR 😂
Oh and... since I will only give 5⭐ to books with acceptable mistakes or lacking, then I shall give this book a 4⭐... 😁
December 19, 2017
"Horror Stories" is a collection of 20 short stories, written by Tunku Halim between the years 1997 and 2007. As the title suggests, they're all focused on horror, usually of the supernatural variety (think black magic, vampires and ghosts).
The protagonists vary quite a lot in age and background, but unfortunately never have much of a unique voice of their own. The resulting repetitive storytelling style makes reading several of these stories in a row somewhat tedious.
Despite some of the wonderfully vivid descriptions*, Halim never really succeeds in building up a feeling of dread or suspense before the actual 'horror' starts. Several stories rely on highly predictably plot twists and none of them have much psychological depth.
In short, this is not the sort of horror that lingers, that stays with you late at night when your mind refuses to go to sleep.
So why the 3 stars? Because I love camp-fire stories and urban legends, and these are basically more detailed and well-written versions of such stories. Not all that scary, but still entertaining and spooky when read in the dark with nothing but a fire or a candle or a night-light.
And that's just how I read them. One or two at a time, before going to bed. The book weighs very little, so it's easy to take with you when travelling or camping.
They're also a good length for reading out loud if you're into scaring friends who never watch or read horror.
*I was pleased to find that, unlike many horror writers, Tunku Halim fully seems to understand how important the sense of smell is in our daily lives, in our memories and our ability to feel (un)ease in our environment.
The protagonists vary quite a lot in age and background, but unfortunately never have much of a unique voice of their own. The resulting repetitive storytelling style makes reading several of these stories in a row somewhat tedious.
Despite some of the wonderfully vivid descriptions*, Halim never really succeeds in building up a feeling of dread or suspense before the actual 'horror' starts. Several stories rely on highly predictably plot twists and none of them have much psychological depth.
In short, this is not the sort of horror that lingers, that stays with you late at night when your mind refuses to go to sleep.
So why the 3 stars? Because I love camp-fire stories and urban legends, and these are basically more detailed and well-written versions of such stories. Not all that scary, but still entertaining and spooky when read in the dark with nothing but a fire or a candle or a night-light.
And that's just how I read them. One or two at a time, before going to bed. The book weighs very little, so it's easy to take with you when travelling or camping.
They're also a good length for reading out loud if you're into scaring friends who never watch or read horror.
*I was pleased to find that, unlike many horror writers, Tunku Halim fully seems to understand how important the sense of smell is in our daily lives, in our memories and our ability to feel (un)ease in our environment.
February 14, 2021
a couple of years back (maybe 2-3 years ago), i would have rated this as one of my favourite horror books to date. 'horror stories' by tunku halim is a compilation of some of his 'top' short stories, most of which is set in malaysia and revolves around malaysian characters, myths and the language. i've read this book 3 times now, this being my third read and i have to say... i am utterly disappointed.
the first 2 stories started out fine: 'biggest baddest bomoh' and ‘night of the pontianak'. and i was thinking to myself, 'yeah! i knew this book deserved to be one of my favourites,' but as usual, i was wrong. the rest of the book was a horrible drag. excluding 15 other stories that didn't go too well, there are 3-5 stories that are pretty exceptional.
since this is a compilation of short stories with themes and characters that are independent of each other, i figured it wouldn't be too fair to review the book as a whole. so i decided to create a ranking system based on two main characteristics: 1) the story, writing style, characters (mainly focusing on the contents of the story here) and 2) the scare factor. from there, each story gets an overall score out of 10 points and a corresponding grade.
bear in mind, this ranking system was developed spontaneously and is not exactly the most valid/reliable system. apart from that, this is also MY opinion. some stories which I find irksome may turn out to be one of your all-time favourites so my only word of advice to you if you haven't read 'horror stories' yet is: borrow the book first. and only buy the book if you like it lah. can?
here goes my system:
a) contents of the story (0-6)
- 0: lousy, shitty, a disgrace to the horror community that it shouldn't even receive a score! please get this out of the book, sir!
-1: horrible. i would have to say the stories with a score of 1 were pretty much irrelevant. the contents were pretty jumbled up and i don't see much point and purpose of the story being written.
-2: um, i mostly don't know how to feel about this. but I'm bordering on a 'nah' on this one.
-3: there's potential but it's not used. bordering between a below average to a close average/pass.
-4: mediocre. average, but getting there. a score of 4 or more is already considered to be an achievement, in my opinion. i've seen some pretty angry, critical reviews made of his book as a whole which isn't completely wrong but i feel that these stories demonstrate how the author's ability shouldn't be completely undermined.
-5: good! i like it. maybe a few tweaks here and there but otherwise, well done!
-6: one of my favourites. pretty damn good. these are the stories YOU need to read!
b) scare factor (0-4)
*DISCLAIMER*: my rating is pretty simplified in terms of how scary a story can be. i don't like to complicate things either, so i've more or less decided to go for a shorter scale compared to the story content scale.
i have also decided to exclude 'this Page is left intentionally blank' from my review as the author had said in the preface, it was meant to be a light story just placed in there for a change of mood. having to give it a 0 on the scare factor wouldn't be too fair as well, hence another reason for the exclusion.
-0: is this even considered to be horror? sir, you can’t be serious. i mean, this is probably on par with a kid’s show or something.
-1: little to no scare.
-2: slight chills, could have been scary if developed more. nonetheless, the chills are there.
-3: creepy. now this is what I consider as horror!
-4: this is the real deal. chills, goosebumps… i actually had to look behind my back after reading this. although it’s unfortunate that this score is extremely rare as you’ll see later on.
c) grade (just like your exam results)
80-100 A
70-79 B
60-69 C
50-59 D
40-49 E
<40 BLACKLISTED AND BANNED. nope, nope, nope. never reading these stories ever again in my life.
with the explanation of the ranking systems done, we’re good to go.
i hereby present you the final ranking from best to worst.
night of the pontianak 100% 6/6+4/4 (A)
ladiah 95% 6/6+3.5/4 (A)
mr petronas 90% 6/6+3/4 (A)
strangling the soul 75% 4.5/6+3/4 (B)
malay magick 70% 5/6+2/4 (B)
plane load 60% 5/6+1/4 (C)
the woman who grew horns 55% 4.5/6+1/4 (D)
a sister’s tale 55% 4.5/6+1/4 (D)
biggest baddest bomoh 50% 3/6+2/4 (D)
watching the doll 40% 3/6+1/4 (E)
the width of a circle 40% 4/6+0/4 (E)
a labor day weekend 30% 2/6+1/4 (BLACKLISTED AND BANNED)
four numbers for eric kwok 30% 2/6+1/4 (BLACKLISTED AND BANNED)
the rape of martha teoh 20% 1/6+1/4 (BLACKLISTED AND BANNED)
mr insurance man 10% 1/6+0/4 (BLACKLISTED AND BANNED)
gravedigger’s kiss 10% 1/6+0/4 (BLACKLISTED AND BANNED)
the laughing buddha 0% 0/6+0/4 (BLACKLISTED AND BANNED)
44 cemetery road 0% 0/6+0/4 (BLACKLISTED AND BANNED)
haunted apartment 0% 0/6+0/4 (BLACKLISTED AND BANNED)
i cannot stress enough on how difficult it was to seriously rank the last three stories on this list. i understand they all scored a big fat zero but the stories were just so terrible i couldn’t and didn’t know which was the ultimate WORST. finally, i decided to leave haunted apartment as the last on the list. that’s the only title this story is going to get.
choosing the BEST story was a far easier process. even from the first time i read this collection, i already knew night of the pontianak was already going to be top on the list. i actually love ladiah just the same but because the story doesn’t actually focus on real classic scares, i decided to leave it this way for the sake of this review.
overall, the collection of short stories get a total score of 830/1900 which is a 43.7%. barely reaching a grade E there but better than getting BLACKLISTED AND BANNED.
the first 2 stories started out fine: 'biggest baddest bomoh' and ‘night of the pontianak'. and i was thinking to myself, 'yeah! i knew this book deserved to be one of my favourites,' but as usual, i was wrong. the rest of the book was a horrible drag. excluding 15 other stories that didn't go too well, there are 3-5 stories that are pretty exceptional.
since this is a compilation of short stories with themes and characters that are independent of each other, i figured it wouldn't be too fair to review the book as a whole. so i decided to create a ranking system based on two main characteristics: 1) the story, writing style, characters (mainly focusing on the contents of the story here) and 2) the scare factor. from there, each story gets an overall score out of 10 points and a corresponding grade.
bear in mind, this ranking system was developed spontaneously and is not exactly the most valid/reliable system. apart from that, this is also MY opinion. some stories which I find irksome may turn out to be one of your all-time favourites so my only word of advice to you if you haven't read 'horror stories' yet is: borrow the book first. and only buy the book if you like it lah. can?
here goes my system:
a) contents of the story (0-6)
- 0: lousy, shitty, a disgrace to the horror community that it shouldn't even receive a score! please get this out of the book, sir!
-1: horrible. i would have to say the stories with a score of 1 were pretty much irrelevant. the contents were pretty jumbled up and i don't see much point and purpose of the story being written.
-2: um, i mostly don't know how to feel about this. but I'm bordering on a 'nah' on this one.
-3: there's potential but it's not used. bordering between a below average to a close average/pass.
-4: mediocre. average, but getting there. a score of 4 or more is already considered to be an achievement, in my opinion. i've seen some pretty angry, critical reviews made of his book as a whole which isn't completely wrong but i feel that these stories demonstrate how the author's ability shouldn't be completely undermined.
-5: good! i like it. maybe a few tweaks here and there but otherwise, well done!
-6: one of my favourites. pretty damn good. these are the stories YOU need to read!
b) scare factor (0-4)
*DISCLAIMER*: my rating is pretty simplified in terms of how scary a story can be. i don't like to complicate things either, so i've more or less decided to go for a shorter scale compared to the story content scale.
i have also decided to exclude 'this Page is left intentionally blank' from my review as the author had said in the preface, it was meant to be a light story just placed in there for a change of mood. having to give it a 0 on the scare factor wouldn't be too fair as well, hence another reason for the exclusion.
-0: is this even considered to be horror? sir, you can’t be serious. i mean, this is probably on par with a kid’s show or something.
-1: little to no scare.
-2: slight chills, could have been scary if developed more. nonetheless, the chills are there.
-3: creepy. now this is what I consider as horror!
-4: this is the real deal. chills, goosebumps… i actually had to look behind my back after reading this. although it’s unfortunate that this score is extremely rare as you’ll see later on.
c) grade (just like your exam results)
80-100 A
70-79 B
60-69 C
50-59 D
40-49 E
<40 BLACKLISTED AND BANNED. nope, nope, nope. never reading these stories ever again in my life.
with the explanation of the ranking systems done, we’re good to go.
i hereby present you the final ranking from best to worst.
night of the pontianak 100% 6/6+4/4 (A)
ladiah 95% 6/6+3.5/4 (A)
mr petronas 90% 6/6+3/4 (A)
strangling the soul 75% 4.5/6+3/4 (B)
malay magick 70% 5/6+2/4 (B)
plane load 60% 5/6+1/4 (C)
the woman who grew horns 55% 4.5/6+1/4 (D)
a sister’s tale 55% 4.5/6+1/4 (D)
biggest baddest bomoh 50% 3/6+2/4 (D)
watching the doll 40% 3/6+1/4 (E)
the width of a circle 40% 4/6+0/4 (E)
a labor day weekend 30% 2/6+1/4 (BLACKLISTED AND BANNED)
four numbers for eric kwok 30% 2/6+1/4 (BLACKLISTED AND BANNED)
the rape of martha teoh 20% 1/6+1/4 (BLACKLISTED AND BANNED)
mr insurance man 10% 1/6+0/4 (BLACKLISTED AND BANNED)
gravedigger’s kiss 10% 1/6+0/4 (BLACKLISTED AND BANNED)
the laughing buddha 0% 0/6+0/4 (BLACKLISTED AND BANNED)
44 cemetery road 0% 0/6+0/4 (BLACKLISTED AND BANNED)
haunted apartment 0% 0/6+0/4 (BLACKLISTED AND BANNED)
i cannot stress enough on how difficult it was to seriously rank the last three stories on this list. i understand they all scored a big fat zero but the stories were just so terrible i couldn’t and didn’t know which was the ultimate WORST. finally, i decided to leave haunted apartment as the last on the list. that’s the only title this story is going to get.
choosing the BEST story was a far easier process. even from the first time i read this collection, i already knew night of the pontianak was already going to be top on the list. i actually love ladiah just the same but because the story doesn’t actually focus on real classic scares, i decided to leave it this way for the sake of this review.
overall, the collection of short stories get a total score of 830/1900 which is a 43.7%. barely reaching a grade E there but better than getting BLACKLISTED AND BANNED.
August 1, 2025
I just finished Horror Stories (Book 1) by Tunku Halim. It’s a collection of short horror stories, and I’d say it was… not bad.
About half of the stories didn’t really make sense to me, especially the ones where the character dies but somehow tells the story anyway. But a few of them? Properly creepy. The kind of creepy that made me wonder if something like that could happen in real life and that’s what got into my head.
The writing was simple, the local settings made it feel too real sometimes, and I liked the creepy vibes when they worked (but please, let it stay in the book, not in my life 🙃).
Would recommend to: anyone who enjoys short creepy stories and doesn’t mind if a few don’t make much sense.
About half of the stories didn’t really make sense to me, especially the ones where the character dies but somehow tells the story anyway. But a few of them? Properly creepy. The kind of creepy that made me wonder if something like that could happen in real life and that’s what got into my head.
The writing was simple, the local settings made it feel too real sometimes, and I liked the creepy vibes when they worked (but please, let it stay in the book, not in my life 🙃).
Would recommend to: anyone who enjoys short creepy stories and doesn’t mind if a few don’t make much sense.
October 17, 2017
I personally liked two story from all of the titles; The haunted apartment and A sister's tale
That particular story has some good values and story line in it, but the rest are pretty
much the same, 'hackneyed' stories. Though I can't really follow on
some of the stories (I had to read it a couple of times even when I knew what
the whole picture is); for instance, 'The rape of Martha Teoh' and 'The laughing Buddha'.
Overall, there was a lot of 18SXes (not that its super, super obvious), murder, grudge, and of course, the 'legendary ghosts'. Great for those who loves the typical Malay horror stories.
P.S.: I'm hoping to see some "ah, that's much better!" on the second book
That particular story has some good values and story line in it, but the rest are pretty
much the same, 'hackneyed' stories. Though I can't really follow on
some of the stories (I had to read it a couple of times even when I knew what
the whole picture is); for instance, 'The rape of Martha Teoh' and 'The laughing Buddha'.
Overall, there was a lot of 18SXes (not that its super, super obvious), murder, grudge, and of course, the 'legendary ghosts'. Great for those who loves the typical Malay horror stories.
P.S.: I'm hoping to see some "ah, that's much better!" on the second book
January 20, 2025
Omg this book sucks big time. I cant believe he took 15 years to write it. 15 days should have been enough. The stories suck. None of it is scary. The writing sucks. He writes like a 14 year old. He keeps writing things such as “he stared lustily at Zani”, “black silk dress flowing against her small breasts”, “surprisingly ample cleavage”. It’s disgusting. And tell me why the protagonist of The Gravedigger’s Kiss was leering at an underage teenage girl’s breasts when it had nothing to do with the plot at all? Pedo alert. Tunku Halim should stop writing and focus on his law/finance career if he’s not already retired.
May 23, 2017
I'm giving it 5 stars because it literally lived up to it's title. In it are the most horrible things I have ever read. I'm not exaggerating or anything but this changed my life and some of the stories I have read stays with me till this day. It wasn't scary or anything it was just plain horrible ( in a good way i guess)
December 19, 2017
So I've decided to give this publisher another try.. and again to be disappointed. Not as bad as my first try but not as good that I will recommend to a friend. What he meant by horror stories include those stories that is scary and could happen to anyone. But mostly is supernatural stories and they are not scary. Maybe a little tensed for a few but mostly meh...
June 29, 2017
A compilation of short stories. Not scary at all but they are quite interesting, reminded me to the Steven Spielberg's The Amazing Stories TV series. Even though most stories have predictable ending but I still enjoyed reading it. I give 4 stars as this book did entertain me.
October 1, 2017
The cover is the first thing i saw and i was attracted. I read, the writings was good but the story is so-so. The bomoh and pontianak are good enough to make me going. I lost interest in the middle but determined to finish it so i rest between the stories. Yeah, i made it!! Finished
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