Long before the film there was the written word. Long before we settled down in
front of video or now DVD players for our fright-fests, we would read tales of 
terror by candlelight.
For most, this has been lost, however there are still those that prefer the pages
to celluloid or even both and why not?
This section then is for you. To help you to search through the rubbish and find
stories worth your time to read. If you're an avid reader of horror novels then
why not join 'Castle Dracula' as an official 'staff member' reviewing them.
To do so, just click on the 'Join My Staff' link in the menu to the left for details
of this and other vacancies.

- Stereo Sanctity -
- Mike E. Purfield -

'Daryl Hersh' was discovered on a train when he was just a child. He had no recollection 
of his friends, family or past. He had amnesia. Somehow he managed to wing it through life
and end up as a best selling children’s author and the husband of the band "Paw Pad’s" front
woman 'Belinda Kastner.'
Just when you begin to assume life is peachy it was all but that. The friendly, “Being’s” 
that visit him at night while he sleeps and shower him with warmth and playfulness turn 
ugly. Their once welcoming arms lunged out at him, trying to harm 'Daryl.' There were 
countless nights when 'Belinda' would wake up and find Daryl sleep walking, chasing and
laughing with 'the Beings' she could not see, running amuck throughout their living room
as if he were playing a game of “Hide and Seek”. 
Everything changed when she found him bleeding and paranoid from his attempts to try and 
stop the demonic figures, when in reality he was harming himself. 
But what is reality?
This is the question I kept asking myself as I read this book. 
When pregnant 'Belinda' can take no more of her husband’s acts of violence towards himself,
she has him admitted to a “Clinic”, or at least what 'Daryl' thinks is a clinic. During his
stay in this new, safe haven, he realizes the place that is supposed to make him well, is
actually the sanctuary of his inner demons. 
He finds himself lured out of his bed in the middle of the night by a young boy who points 
out the perverted and twisted masquerade that is going on within the clinic’s walls. His 
travels with the boy unravel the mystery behind his angelic tormentors and shed light on 
his forgotten past, his blood line tainted by the man who destroyed his ancestors before him.
'Stereo Sanctity' kept me glued page after page; a whirlwind of suspense, perversion and 
horror plagued my mind. Not only does Mike E. Purfield have the gift of a great storyteller,
he describes his characters in a way where I felt myself growing close to them, as if I had
just met them at the B.G.C.B to catch a show and his knowledge of music gives the book a 
fresh feel. Recognizing many of the bands he mentions, I could easily relate to the lifestyle
of the characters in this tale.
Drew. Wrote. Ate. Shit. Pissed. Ejaculated.
This is one way he describes Daryl’s boredom in the book. Purfield has a great uniqueness in
his writing. One minute I felt terrified and a page later I found myself laughing at his wit.
He doesn’t drag on like some writers, putting you to sleep before you reach the third chapter
of their book. He bluntly gets to the point, which makes it easy to read, his “in you face” 
style of story telling, keeping you compelled.
I’m definitely proud to add 'Stereo Sanctity' to my collection. Just when you think the genre
is slipping, along comes Mike E. Purfield, spooks blazing and ready to open a new porthole
to the world of Horror.

Reviewed By Stephanie Simpson-Woods.

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