William Cook ‘Devil Inside’ Review

Written by: Drake Morgan

William Cook has a wonderful talent with disturbed psychologies. Now normally, this would not be a compliment, but for a horror writer I suspect that he will appreciate it. In his short story, “Devil Inside,” Cook explores the symbiotic relationship between real and imagined horror through the eyes of an abused child.

Child abuse is an often overused trope to frame nightmares, but in this case Cook gives it a fresh spin by blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. He explores those dark places of the mind where real fear churns and morphs into something far worse. Psychologists work very hard to bring abused children back from their nightmares, but Cook examines that place that cannot be fixed. What happens when a child can no longer process the horrors? Where does the fear gnawing in the dark go? Can fears feel so intense, so real, that they in turn become real? This short story explores those deeply frightening questions and like all great horror, leaves us wondering as to the answers.

This story also includes several interesting pieces of dark poetry and a sample of Cook’s psychological serial killer novel Blood Related.  If you’ve never read Cook’s work, start here. This is a fantastic introduction to his skill with dark, twisted minds.

Order Devil Inside right here.

Rating: 4/5