Last Cast at a Baggage Auction

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By Eric J. Guignard

Publisher Description

1963 Detroit is a hotbed of gambling, and the weekly baggage auctions keep a busy trade. Charlie Stewart and Joey Third are skilled in the art of successful bidding, but when Joey lands a mysterious suitcase, the thrill of winning turns to terror once they realize they've opened something sinister.

Inside the suitcase is an antique gramophone, and the music it plays is unlike anything they've heard before. A chanting voice speaks to them in strange words, evoking visions of a dark, frozen land. It's a voice that makes them sick with addiction, and it continues chanting in their heads even when the record stops playing.

Charlie sets out to solve the mystery of the unholy music and how to turn it off forever. But the urge to listen grows stronger, and the more it plays, the more the aural virus spreads, until people begin to vanish . . . feeding an apparition that seeks immortality.

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6 Reviews

4.0

Shar Reads All Day

Created 11 months ago

Reading Wryly

Created over 1 year ago

Sadie Hartmann “Mother Horror”

Created almost 4 years ago

“It's strange, Charlie. Even when I'm not listening to a record, the music keeps playing in my head. It's like it won't turn off. But I don't want it to turn off either. It makes me feel good like it's supposed to be playing, like it's sharing a great secret." -- One of my favorite horror tropes is cursed objects or found footage. I love it when characters stumble upon an old book or some strange artifact and then weird stuff starts happening. It's so entertaining! In LAST CASE AT A BAGGAGE AUCTION, Joey Third wins a mysterious suitcase at an auction, inside is a gramophone and some records. Hearing the music is a different experience for both men, not entirely unpleasant, but not normal either. This was a very appealing concept for me because I have a real fascination with bargain shopping and "junking". I love to explore antique stores, oddity shops, thrift stores, and estate sales. My family also watches those Storage Wars shows sometimes and I'm always waiting for the winners to find something cursed! The "music" the records play was creepy and believable. I enjoyed how the sinister experience for both men was different and they handled it in their own way. I appreciated the way the author developed a new bond between Charlie and Joey--an evolution in their friendship-- as they wrestled with their growing problems spiraling out of control. The illustrations by Steve Lines are a special, added bonus and I wish more horror stories utilized artwork to help tell the story. My favorites were the stack of suitcases and the man at the bookstore. Guignard's narrative is perfectly paced and his characters felt like they were from the 1960s-I could almost hear their accents when they were talking to each other. I could see this as an Alfred Hitchcock movie, actually. It has that vibe. Especially with the scenes involving Gail. Not a full five stars because even though this book is like 100 pages, give or take, I felt like the chapters should have been consistently the same size. The longer ones needed to be broken up with some kind of hook at the end, I found myself flipping through a few times to see how much I had left in a chapter--just to get a change-up in the narrative. A small complaint. I think this novella will appeal to readers who enjoy character-driven, "quiet horror", cosmic horror and cursed objects.”

Horror DNA

Created about 4 years ago

“Occasionally I stumble upon a novella which is so beautifully formed, I instinctively imagine how it would transfer to the screen; not necessarily cinematic, but an episode of The Twilight Zone or similar show. From its enigmatic title to its authentically chatty 1960s pulp style, Last Case at a Baggage Auction immediately sucked me in, and I was as keen to discover the contents of Charlie and Joey’s lost-luggage purchases as the two gamblers were! This story is framed around this outstanding and very original hook which I am convinced would look truly great as an episode on Shudder’s new version of Creepshow, seen as The Twilight Zone is no longer with us. You can read Tony's full review at Horror DNA by https://www.horrordna.com/books/last-case-at-a-baggage-auction-eric-j-guignard-book-review .”

Well Worth A Read

Created about 4 years ago

“This was a short and spooky read. I had actually heard of these auctions before. I think I saw it on some reality show my husband may have been watching. People bid on abandoned or unclaimed property, forgotten or left behind by their owners or sometimes just lost by baggage handlers. You never know what is inside or what you've won until you open it later. Charlie and Joey are pals who live in the same run down apartment building and attend these auctions together. Occasionally they make some money off their finds, but more often than not the suitcases and their contents just pile up in their messy apartments. After one such auction, they open an antique gramophone and some strange looking homemade records. The music is horrible and the chanting is quite unnerving, but the more they listen, the more they feel compelled to keep listening. Charlie takes a record to someone who may be able to decipher what the chanting is saying, but Joey stays holed up in his apartment with the gramophone and other records, and the more he listens the more he begins to change. Even though Charlie is a good person with a big heart, he does have a habit of being late and a bit absent minded so I'm not sure I would want to count on him in a situation where time is of the essence. Just ask his girlfriend who has often been left waiting for him, or the neighbors in his building who can hear the chanting coming from Joey's apartment and are now compelled to keep listening. As a reader who loves both horror and historical fiction I found this ominous tale to be right up my alley. 4 out of 5 stars I received a complimentary copy for review.”

About Eric J. Guignard

Eric J. Guignard has twice won the Bram Stoker Award, been a finalist for the International Thriller Writers Award, and is a multi-nominee of the Pushcart Prize for his works of dark and speculative fiction. He has over one hundred stories and non-fiction author credits appearing in publications around the world; has edited multiple anthologies (including the current series, The Horror Writers Association’s HAUNTED LIBRARY OF HORROR CLASSICS with co-editor Leslie S. Klinger); and has created an ongoing series of author primers championing modern masters of the dark and macabre, EXPLORING DARK SHORT FICTION through his press, Dark Moon Books. His latest books are his short story collection, THAT WHICH GROWS WILD (Cemetery Dance) and novel, DOORWAYS TO THE DEADEYE (JournalStone). Visit Eric at: www.ericjguignard.com, his blog: ericjguignard.blogspot.com, or Twitter: @ericjguignard.