What does it mean to be human?

Thirteen strange tales of suspense and psychological horror in the tradition of Roald Dahl's stories for adults

✓ Twist endings

✓ Quirky characters

✓ Uncanny settings

✓ Kinky humour

✓ Reality turned upside down

The Animal Inside is a collection of thirteen strange and twisted stories that will take you for a walk along the fine line between insanity and reason, the peculiar and the prosaic, and the animal kingdom and human society, then leave you wondering where one ends and the other begins. These tales will confuse, amuse, shock, and intrigue, but they will also cause you to contemplate your very own animal inside.

The Strange Tales

Cleopatra’s Mystery Box
The Church of Asag
Old Mabel’s Stray Cat
Veronica’s Dogs
The Crows of Eildon Hill
Lauren
Milk
Horror at Hollow Head
Declan’s Fantasy
Forgotten Falls
Animal
Like Sisters
It Starts with Insects

Excerpt from Cleopatra's Mystery Box

‘Put your hand inside my box and tell me what you feel.’
It was the first time Cleopatra had invited Andrew back to her house. Her father was out west on a field trip, tracking desert lizards, and her mother and younger sister were down the coast for the weekend. They were sitting on her bed, he cross-legged at the foot, and she nestled at the head in a cloud of velvet and patchwork cushions. Her Egyptian eyes watched him intently and her porcelain face was so stern it simply had to be fighting back a smile.
‘Is this foreplay?’ he asked, hoping to make her crack.
She pursed her purple lips.
‘It’s a game,’ she said eventually.
‘What kind of game?’
‘My game.’
‘So, you’ve played it before?’
‘Well, it wouldn’t be my game if I hadn’t, would it?’ She frowned. ‘You can ask pointless questions or you can play. It’s up to you.’
‘I want to play.’
‘Just put your hand inside and tell me what you feel. If you guess correctly, you can ask me to do something for you.’
He stared into her dark brown eyes, full of childish mischief and timeless mystery, then dropped his gaze to the box in her hands.

"The thirteen stories included in the book will be ones you remember, and that, friends, is a sign of a good short story collection...If this is your first taste of Cameron Trost, you've come to the right place. I will remember the name." - Bruce Blanchard, Goodreads