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The Samhanach
On a Halloween night 300 years ago, something rose out of a Scottish bog to curse the McCafferty clan. Now, in 2010, single mother Merran McCafferty finds her suburban Halloween celebrations torn apart by the arrival of the Samhanach, an ancient trickster demon. When the Samhanach tries to steal Merran's young daughter, Merran is forced to put aside reason and accept that magic is real, and bogies really do exist on Halloween night. The second in Bad Moon Book's annual Halloween novella.
98 pages, Paperback
First published June 22, 2011
57 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Morton
275 books248 followersLisa Morton is a screenwriter, author of horror fiction, and Halloween expert. She is a winner of both the Black Quill and Bram Stoker Awards, and her short stories have appeared in more than 50 books and magazines. Her first novel, THE CASTLE OF LOS ANGELES, was released by Gray Friar Press in 2010, and her first collection, MONSTERS OF L.A., was published by Bad Moon Books in October 2011. She is a native and lifelong resident of Southern California, and currently resides in the San Fernando Valley.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 9, 2011
The Samhanach by Lisa Morton
98 pages
Bad Moon Books
Novella series
I am huge fan of Lisa Morton already, and I becoming a big fan of Bad Moon’s novella series. Morton is a three time bram Stoker award winning author, her first novel “The Castle of Los Angeles,” made my 2010 top ten list and I have been a fan of Morton’s very solid short stories for years.
She is also the author of two non-fiction books about her favorite Holiday – Halloween. This novella is about Halloween and who better to write it. Spanning 300 years of Halloween and Scottish folklore this is the story of family curse, every one hundred years on Halloween night a monster seeks revenge on McCafferty clan. In 2010 Mother Merran McCafferty looks into the family’s history to see if she can avoid the curse.
Morton brings her amazing depth of Halloween folklore to this complex story. When I say complex it’s amazing just how much story is tightly packed into the page count.
That is something I noticed about the last two Bad Moon novellas I reviewed (Jade by Gene O’Neil and Blood Spring by Lee Thompson). All three books I read on flights, and they were perfect plane reads. You can get the whole story in one sitting, perfect length for a short flight. The books are not cheap, but keep this in mind, Bad Moon is an independent press putting out works by authors who fresh, they are worthy of your support.
Another home run for Lisa Morton, fans of Halloween fiction should not pass this one up. Picture a copy and read it on Halloween night!
98 pages
Bad Moon Books
Novella series
I am huge fan of Lisa Morton already, and I becoming a big fan of Bad Moon’s novella series. Morton is a three time bram Stoker award winning author, her first novel “The Castle of Los Angeles,” made my 2010 top ten list and I have been a fan of Morton’s very solid short stories for years.
She is also the author of two non-fiction books about her favorite Holiday – Halloween. This novella is about Halloween and who better to write it. Spanning 300 years of Halloween and Scottish folklore this is the story of family curse, every one hundred years on Halloween night a monster seeks revenge on McCafferty clan. In 2010 Mother Merran McCafferty looks into the family’s history to see if she can avoid the curse.
Morton brings her amazing depth of Halloween folklore to this complex story. When I say complex it’s amazing just how much story is tightly packed into the page count.
That is something I noticed about the last two Bad Moon novellas I reviewed (Jade by Gene O’Neil and Blood Spring by Lee Thompson). All three books I read on flights, and they were perfect plane reads. You can get the whole story in one sitting, perfect length for a short flight. The books are not cheap, but keep this in mind, Bad Moon is an independent press putting out works by authors who fresh, they are worthy of your support.
Another home run for Lisa Morton, fans of Halloween fiction should not pass this one up. Picture a copy and read it on Halloween night!
February 15, 2011
Three hundred years ago the McCafferty clan became cursed by something that rose up out of the bog. During a Halloween party one of the young McCafferty’s boys was murdered out of jealousy. His family chased the perpetrator to a bog where the murderer called up a Samhanach…a bog demon. Now every Halloween the family waits for this demon to show itself and do its worst. A hundred years passes before it comes to fulfill the curse; and another hundred years pass before it shows itself again. Now it’s been another hundred years and Merran has somehow discovered the journal of Connell McCafferty in a fairie ring outside her home. As Merran reads the journal and discovers her family’s dark secret, very ugly and horrible things are happening in her town. When the Samhanach takes Merran’s daughter she will stop at nothing to get Jeannie back.
At just a hundred pages long (done purposely?) The Samhanach is a quick read but a wonderful story. Lisa Morton delves into ancient Celtic folklore to weave an imaginative Halloween tale recalling the real reason we celebrate the holiday and the bogies that lurk in the dark. The story takes on a great dark fantasy twist when Merran has to enter the Sidhe, the dark fairie realm in order to save her daughter from the shape-shifting Samhanach. With vivid descriptions of the fairie world and the devastation caused by the Samhanach, as well as beautiful cover art by Frank Walls, this is a great novella to add to your collection.
At just a hundred pages long (done purposely?) The Samhanach is a quick read but a wonderful story. Lisa Morton delves into ancient Celtic folklore to weave an imaginative Halloween tale recalling the real reason we celebrate the holiday and the bogies that lurk in the dark. The story takes on a great dark fantasy twist when Merran has to enter the Sidhe, the dark fairie realm in order to save her daughter from the shape-shifting Samhanach. With vivid descriptions of the fairie world and the devastation caused by the Samhanach, as well as beautiful cover art by Frank Walls, this is a great novella to add to your collection.
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March 10, 2011Three hundred years ago the McCafferty clan was cursed by something that rose up out of the bog. During a Halloween party, one of the young McCafferty boys was murdered out of jealousy. His family chased the perpetrator to a bog where the murderer called up a Samhanach…a bog demon. Every Halloween the family waits for the demon to show itself and do its worst. A hundred years pass before it comes to fulfill the curse, and another hundred years pass before it shows itself again. Now it’s been another hundred years and Merran McCafferty has discovered the journal of Connell McCafferty in a fairie circle. As Merran reads the journal and discovers her family’s dark secret, ugly and horrible things are happening in her town. When the Samhanach takes Merran’s daughter Jeannie, Merran will stop at nothing to get her back.
At just a hundred pages, The Samhanach is a quick read and a wonderful story. Lisa Morton delves into ancient Celtic folklore to weave an imaginative Halloween tale that recalls the origins of the holiday and the bogies that lurk in the dark. The story takes on a great dark fantasy twist when Merran has to enter the dark fairie realm in order to save her daughter from the shape-shifting Samhanach. With vivid descriptions of the fairie world and the devastation caused by the Samhanach, as well as beautiful cover art by Frank Walls, this is a great novella to add to your collection. Recommended.
Contains: Gore, blood and violence
Reviewed by: Colleen Wanglund
At just a hundred pages, The Samhanach is a quick read and a wonderful story. Lisa Morton delves into ancient Celtic folklore to weave an imaginative Halloween tale that recalls the origins of the holiday and the bogies that lurk in the dark. The story takes on a great dark fantasy twist when Merran has to enter the dark fairie realm in order to save her daughter from the shape-shifting Samhanach. With vivid descriptions of the fairie world and the devastation caused by the Samhanach, as well as beautiful cover art by Frank Walls, this is a great novella to add to your collection. Recommended.
Contains: Gore, blood and violence
Reviewed by: Colleen Wanglund
July 16, 2013
The Sahmanach is a Halloween tale that spans three hundred years and two continents. Merran McCafferty is celebrating Halloween with her daughter when she finds an old manuscript that tells of a tale of her family from 300 hundred years ago, when a man called a monster in Scotland to attack members of the family. Since then, every hundred years, the Sahmanach has been taking children from the direct descendants of the McCafferty family. This is when Merran realizes that her daughter is next. When Sahmanach abducts Merran's daughter, she must go to the land in between to retrieve her.
Lisa Morton's prose is tightly written and intense. The plot is sound, and the mythos that she explores is interesting. It was a captivating Halloween tale. I liked how the story flowed between present and past. The transition was fairly seamless. My only real criticism was that I thought the story could be enhanced if it was longer. The ending in particular seemed a bit rushed. More exploration of the mythos and some additional flashbacks could have aided the story. All the same, this is an enjoyable tale that I would recommend to fans of horror and Halloween.
Carl Alves - author of Blood Street
Lisa Morton's prose is tightly written and intense. The plot is sound, and the mythos that she explores is interesting. It was a captivating Halloween tale. I liked how the story flowed between present and past. The transition was fairly seamless. My only real criticism was that I thought the story could be enhanced if it was longer. The ending in particular seemed a bit rushed. More exploration of the mythos and some additional flashbacks could have aided the story. All the same, this is an enjoyable tale that I would recommend to fans of horror and Halloween.
Carl Alves - author of Blood Street
January 19, 2018
Won this book and couldn’t be more overjoyed. Loved every bit of it. It’s an amazing read for everyone.
November 12, 2019
A fun tale filled with Scottish folklore.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews