The Cursed Among Us

The Cursed Among Us was a gripping story from beginning to end. I breezed through this book in a day or two and enjoyed how Durgin pulls you in from the first chapter and doesn’t let go until the last word. My only complaint is I feel like there was SO much more to the story that could have been explored. Character development was slim, and the story could have used much more detail for me personally. In a story such as this (coming of age/monster rampage on a small town) where the deaths racked up at a staggering rate, I honestly had no care as to who survived at the end. Overall I found the writing style to be very easy to follow and story was original. Would definitely recommend, and John, if your reading this, please add more details in the second!

So well written omg. I love how the characters flesh out and how you're immediately drawn into their world. It has some solid nostalgic themes throughout and touches on a few sensitive subjects. But maaaan my jaw dropped a few times reading this. I love the way this man writes

John Durgin opens the novel with a bang! Readers watch in horror as a man buries his dead wife. Who is he? Why is he doing this? How many times has he done this before? Then, like a movie reel, cut to twenty years later in the same quiet small town where this coming-of-age tale takes place. Fans of Stephen King’s IT and The Body (Stand By Me) will find this modernization of those novels enjoyable. Durgin even manages to fold in elements of Stranger Things!

Twenty years after The Black Heart Killer terrorized the town of Newport in 1979, life has mostly returned to normal. All the townspeople have to do is stay out of the woods where the bodies were abandoned-their chests ripped open, and their hearts torn out...

Howie Burke and his friends decide rules are meant to be broken. That's what fifteen-year-old kids do. On a beautiful fall day, they decide to go out in the woods to film a horror movie when they stumble across a mysterious grave.

What they don't know is that they are about to release an evil on the town unlike anything in their home-made movies. They will soon uncover the secrets of the Black Heart Killer, and what it truly means to be cursed.

The year is 1999. The author does a fine job of placing readers in the time period. The masterful use of themes from that decade include references to pop culture, electronics found in middle class homes, and movies popular at the time.

Howie Burke, the main character, is well-developed and Durgin uses good point of view throughout the story. There is also a strong narrator omniscient voice utilizing exposition that feels active without getting boring. There is never too much telling, and plenty of Durgin showing them what’s happening, which readers will enjoy.

The novel parades a series of murders past readers to demonstrate the main antagonist’s powers. In true horror film style the setups are traditional tropes, the suspense is palpable, and the final moments of the victim are - well - entertaining. There’s Tommy the town drunk stumbling along the train tracks; Lucas the video clerk on a drive in his car; and Ray the school janitor who is brutally attacked. Among others, the encounters provide good tension which builds with moments of the person being alone, scared, threatened, and then attacked - good scenes overall.

As the story progresses, the parent’s old friendships clash and long-buried issues resurface as the evil threat rises from the forest floor to take revenge on the entire town. Everything leads up to the big High School Homecoming event.

Readers will be captivated by John Durgin’s storytelling mastery through the epilogue which contains an exceptional twist ending!

Growing up in New Hampshire, he discovered Stephen King much younger than most probably should have, reading IT before he reached high school—and knew from that moment on he wanted to write horror.

He co-founded Livid Comics in late 2020, and also launched a podcast with fellow Livid founder Joel Vanpatten called The Livid Comics Lair. They talk with many of today’s best horror authors, comic creators, and all things that go bump in the night like UFO and paranormal investigators.

His true passion was always to write horror novels, and in 2021 he started submitting short stories in hopes of getting noticed in the horror community and launching a career. He had his first story accepted in the summer of 2021 in the Books of Horror anthology.

John has multiple stories to be released in the prose and comic world, including a story in the horror anthology Beach Bodies from DarkLit Press. His debut novel, titled The Cursed Among Us, released in the summer of 2022.

Takes place in a small town where a series of murders happened 20 years ago. Even though the killer was captured, kids have still been told to stay out of the woods.

A group of high school film students go into the woods to shoot some scenes. In the process, they inadvertently release something evil and violent.

I don’t want to give too much away. The 4 kids were all likable and I found myself on the edge of my seat rooting for them. John Durgin did an amazing job setting the scene and it played out like a movie in my mind. It was action packed, violent and gory…all things I’d expect in a horror novel. Plus, lots of 90’s references which made it even better. It was a fun read!

This book is a quick read, once it gets going it never slows. I couldn't put it down. It has a great spooky small town setting reminiscent of King. So much nostalgia with video stores, tape recorders and ghost face that spoke to my 30 something soul. It has a forbidden forest, a dark secret, a coven, a demon, meddling kids, a bully meeting karma and lots of action. Enjoy!

This is a debut novel that seeks to blend coming of age with a curse that is unleashed on a quiet, secretive and lets face it, depressing small town. Four boys accidentally stumble, literally, on their worst nightmare while making a horror movie for their high school film project.
Overall it's an okay story with more heart than may have been necessary...although there is a good amount of gore, and violence, the characters seem a bit too cookie cutter clean. Whether it's the big athletic bully, verbally and physically abusive father, or the teenagers- more contradictions in their speech and not everyone rationalizes every decision they make.
It's difficult these days to find a new creative way to scare, unnerve readers, but I think it should lie pretty heavily with the narrator. This would be my largest issue with novel- the narrator seems to be too laxed, passive in their intent.
Although I have my issues, it's is still a novel I could never write, so 3 stars for a story that was nostalgic and easy to understand.

What a fun, creepy, gory, coming of age debut horror novel. I was pulled in from the very first page and easily related to the characters (love of Halloween, horror movies and books). Durgin has done a fantastic job of describing the action/horror scenes and I loved how creepy the “monster” is. I’m looking forward to what comes next from this author.

Oh em gee! This is the future Stephen King! This debut novel was so good! Kept me sucked in and I needed to know what was happening next! And the ending?! If you haven’t read this book yet and are a fan of horror, READ THIS BOOK!!

Great coming of age story!