Beast Read online

  PRAISE FOR BEAST

  ‘In Beast, Matt Wesolowski brilliantly depicts a desperate and disturbed corner of north-east England in which paranoia reigns and goodness is thwarted. It’s a big ask to come up with a new vampire tale, but Wesolowski achieves it magnificently. He is an exceptional storyteller.’ Andrew Michael Hurley

  ‘Endlessly inventive and with literary thrills aplenty, Matt Wesolowski is boldly carving his own uniquely dark niche. I’m always excited to see what he does next’ Benjamin Myers

  ‘Matt Wesolowski writes some of the darkest, most inventive crime fiction available today, and Beast is his best yet. Disturbing, compelling and atmospheric, it will terrify and enthral you in equal measures. Simply superb’ M.W. Craven

  ‘Beautifully written, smart, compassionate – and scary as hell. Matt Wesolowski is one of the most exciting and original voices in crime fiction’ Alex North

  ‘Such a fantastic, creepy read! I love the sense of place – and the combination of ancient horror and modern technology is very compelling’ Elodie Harper

  ‘A fantastic book that ticks all of my favourite boxes; it is creepy, exciting and very well written to boot’ Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

  ‘I get so excited when a Wesolowski comes out, and he always goes RIGHT TO THE TOP of my book pile. And this was worth putting everything aside for. He is a genius. He always takes a traditional legend or tale and tells it with a shocking or surprising modern-day slant. This time we have vampires. And boy, do they live among us’ Louise Beech

  ‘Beast is a flawless thriller, but once again Matt Wesolowski does not hesitate to turn the spotlight on human flaws: the need for attention, to be liked and get likes, the total disregard for other people’s feelings … Creepy, edgy and dark, Beast is another must-read’ From Belgium with Booklove

  ‘Each book Matt Wesolowski writes is imaginative, captivating, and cleverly constructed … as good if not better than the last. Once again he’s written the epitome of a page-turner’ The Book Review Café

  ‘Matt’s incredible talent to create a novel is awing, his ability to steer the reader in the exact directions he wishes is brilliant … The concept is absolutely haunting … a contemporary take on classic horror’ The Reading Closet

  ‘Gothically inspired and deliciously dark. I had all the feels, the chills, the horrors mixed with excitement and trepidation. Visually stunning and chillingly complex. Five stars are not enough’ The Book Trail

  ‘If you love a good thriller and haven’t read Matt’s books before then I definitely recommend them … love the style’ Independent Book Reviews

  ‘Full of creepy atmosphere, completely gripping and with ingenious plotting, Beast is another spectacular read from Matt Wesolowski’ Emma’s Bookish Corner

  ‘By blending contemporary issues with a rich pagan folklore, steeping it in darkness and presenting it in the setting of an episodic crime podcast, Matt Wesolowski has created something truly special with his Six Stories series’ Book Worm Hole

  ‘Beast doesn’t disappoint, once again finding Wesolowski on addictive, chilling and macabre form … a compelling journey down dark paths and through stormy waters with a palpable sense of creeping unease that courses through the pages’ The Tattooed Book Geek

  PRAISE FOR THE SIX STORIES SERIES

  ‘Bold, clever and genuinely chilling with a terrific twist that provides an explosive final punch’ Sunday Mirror

  ‘This is the very epitome of a must-read’ Heat

  ‘Haunting, horrifying, and heartrending. Fans of Arthur Machen will want to check this one out’ Publishers Weekly

  ‘A genuine genre-bending debut’ Daily Mail

  ‘Impeccably crafted and gripping from start to finish’ Big Issue

  ‘Thanks to Wesolowski’s mixture of supernatural elements and first-class plotting, this is one of the most addictive of new crime novels’ Sunday Express

  ‘Fans of Ruth Ware will enjoy this slim but compelling novel’ Booklist

  ‘A dazzling fictional mystery’ Foreword Reviews

  ‘A genuine chiller with a whammy of an ending’ C.J. Tudor

  ‘Original, inventive and brilliantly clever’ Fiona Cummins

  ‘Wonderfully horrifying … the suspense crackles’ James Oswald

  ‘Wonderfully creepy … Inventive, unnerving, bold. Loved the story structure and the use of forest folklore. EXCELLENT’ Will Dean

  ‘This is a creepy, chilling read that is ridiculously difficult to put down. The ending is just incredible’ Luca Veste

  ‘Frighteningly wonderful and one of the best books I have read in years’ Khurrum Rahman

  ‘Wonderfully atmospheric. Matt Wesolowski is a skilled storyteller with a unique voice. Definitely one to watch’ Mari Hannah

  ‘Wonderfully clever and chilling … a series which just keeps on getting better and better, it surprises, thrills and enthrals in equal measure’ LoveReading

  ‘They’re all brilliant, very different despite following the same format and prove that Matt Wesolowski is one of the best emerging horror/crime writers’ Off-the-Shelf Books

  ‘This is bold and clever story-telling at its best and it fulfils that much used phrase “a must-read novel”’ Books are my Cwtches

  ‘Dark, incredibly intense, full of supressed rage and emotionally gut wrenching. It blew me out the water. I rather think Matt Wesolowski is destined for stardom’ Live & Deadly

  ‘An intense, dark and utterly absorbing book. The pages crackle with tension, the characters have real depth and the writing is truly stunning’ Bibliophile Book Club

  ‘A dark, emotional and honest book and to my mind, the best Six Stories yet’ Hair Past a Freckle

  ‘Another outstanding addition to this series. The writing will pull you in from the first page, and you won’t be able to stop reading until you find out the truth about what has happened’ Hooked from Page One

  ‘Intensely dark, deeply chilling and searingly thought-provoking … an up-to-the-minute, startling thriller, taking you to places you will never, ever forget’ Segnalibro

  ‘Matt has once again created a chilling plot that blurs psychological thriller with a touch of the paranormal; suffice to say you will never look at a wood in the way same again’ Random Things through My Letterbox

  ‘Completely unique, with a tight narrative, dominated by unnervingly atmospheric tension and with a magical blend of crime, thriller and a trace of horror’ Jen Med’s Book Reviews

  Beast

  MATT WESOLOWSKI

  ‘He believed that a vague, singular aura of desolation hovered over the place, so that even the pigeons and swallows shunned its smoky eaves. Around other towers and belfries his glass would reveal great flocks of birds, but here they never rested.’

  —HP Lovecraft, The Haunter of the Dark

  Contents

  Title Page

  Epigraph

  DISD CHALLENGE: Day 1 | Lizzie B 217,327 views. 26 Feb 2018

  Episode 1: What Have We Done?

  DISD CHALLENGE: Day 2 | Lizzie B 229,957 views. Feb 27, 2018

  Episode 2: The Flying Monkeys

  DISD CHALLENGE: Day 3 | Lizzie B 478,452 views. Feb 28, 2018

  Episode 3: Statues and Snowmen

  DISD CHALLENGE: Day 4 | Lizzie B 698,234 views. March 1, 2018

  Episode 4: Old Photographs

  DISD CHALLENGE: Day 5 | Lizzie B 895,111 views. March 2, 2018

  Episode 5: The Lost Boy

  DISD CHALLENGE: Day 6 | Lizzie B 988,987 views. March 3, 2018

  Episode Six: The Quiet One

  The REAL Ergarth Vampire | Lizzie B 5 views. February 1, 2020

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Copyright

  DISD CHALLENGE: Day 1 | Lizzie B

  2
17,327 views. 26 Feb 2018

  * * *

  Lizzie B

  3,045 subscribers

  * * *

  So in six days, I’m going to meet a vampire.

  That vampire is going to kill me.

  I’m going to die in six days’ time.

  Well then, I bet that took you by surprise didn’t it? I think you’ve probably guessed: today’s video is going to be something very different and I’m just so excited to do this one, it’s such a departure for me, but I’m totally up for this and you’re going to love it.

  No one else is doing this. Everyone round here is too scared. Parents and teachers are all freaking out, but I’m not. I’m the first person who’s daring to do it and you’re coming with me. I’ll be with you all the way!

  Oh my God, have you seen the snow? It’s like Christmas has come all over again, but it’s February! I mean, what the hell is going on, weather? Honestly, winter. I’d thought we’d put the cold behind us now and here you are, again. I’m freezing!

  There we go. Heating’s on. I’ve got one of those, like, mini radiator things, which I’m frickin’ cuddling more or less. My mum reckons they’re a waste of energy but, um, have you seen it out there? They’re calling it the Beast from the East: a ‘polar vortex’. Whoa there with the drama, guys, it’s just a bit of snow! I’d make a snowman, buuuut I can’t be arsed!

  Let’s get right into it, shall we? Last week’s shopping haul video is still available and thank you so much, I think that’s the biggest number of views I’ve had yet – it’s ‘effing brilliant, if you’ll excuse my French.

  You can still see all my shopping hauls and unboxing archive by clicking the links below and don’t you forget to hit ‘like’ and ‘subscribe’.

  Thanks guys! Let’s go do some vampire-bothering shall we?

  Admin done, let’s get dark and spooky, because today, guys, I’m going to be doing the – drum roll please – DISD Challenge. Yeah, that’s right, I’m going to be…

  DEAD. IN. SIX. DAYS!

  So for those of you who haven’t heard of it, this challenge is all over my hometown. No one knows exactly where it started but that’s how these things go, right?

  If you’ve been locked in a box or whatever, the Dead in Six Days challenge is pretty simple. Six days, six challenges, and if you don’t pass it on, you’re going to meet a vampire who ‘vonts to drink your blood!’ Simple as a pimple, right?

  Let’s do this.

  OK, as you can see here, I’ve got WhatsApp up on my phone. Sorry, it’s not my actual phone; so don’t be trying to get in touch. No, I got my mum to get me this old one just for the challenge.

  So what you do is … look here … you send a message to this number. Which I’m totally gonna blank out – sorry guys! And you’ll get a message back. So I’m doing it now – live, right now. You have to use the magic words, apparently, so let’s type it out:

  Creature of the night,

  Listen to my plight,

  Your challenge is my goal,

  Let us battle for my soul…

  And here it is … sent!

  Now let’s wait a few minutes. I’ll put my phone here so we can all see and hear if it replies. It doesn’t take long, apparently.

  So guys, what’s going to happen is the vampire’s going to send me a challenge; something I have to do. It’ll be a prank of some kind, that’s what everyone’s doing round here. You have to do the prank, upload it onto YouTube and pass on the vampire’s number to the next person.

  What if you don’t pass it on? Well then you get another prank. A harder one. And so on … for six days. At the end of the six days, you have to go and meet the vampire.

  And it kills you.

  But the thing is, it’s not going to kill me.

  Why? Well, you’ll have to subscribe to find out, won’t you?

  So … guess what? The vampire’s replied. It has a name too! ‘Vladlena’ – is that, like, the female form of Vlad? Who knows? If only there was some sort of information superhighway, accessible at the click of a button to find out…

  Yeah, it’s female. It means ‘to rule’. Ooh, feisty.

  Let’s have a read of what Vladlena has to say, shall we?

  ‘Hi Elizabeth’ it says – how did it know my name? That’s spooky as hell. I told you, didn’t I? It’s probably a subscriber, to be honest; most people round here are!

  Yeah I’ll be doing an unboxing of fresh virgins’ blood next week, hun. Chill your little undead beans!

  ‘Your challenge is: “Play Lurky in the Dene”.’

  Wow. OK. So Vladlena wants me to hang round Ergarth Dene in the frickin’ snow? Fine. No problem, mate. Oh look, she’s sent another message. Hang on.

  ‘This is your first challenge, it will also be your last, pass my number on or your days are numbered and your soul will be claimed in six days.’

  Oh, it’s like that, is it, Mrs Vampire? Well don’t you worry your undead little head, because this will be one game of lurky you’ll not be expecting.

  Bring. It. On.

  If you want to join me in a game of lurky that no one’s ever going to forget, just hit ‘like’ and leave me a lovely comment and I’ll hand pick a few of you lovelies to help me out.

  OK, guys, so that’s it for now. Don’t forget to raise your thumbs, give me a big thumbs-up if you liked it. Hit that subscribe button – then you’ll be able to see as soon as I upload the next video. Also, hit the bell icon; that way, wherever you are, you’ll be able to see if I survived day one!

  Keep leaving some love in the comments section, guys. Let me know if any of you out there have met the vampire. Is she hot? Can she handle a girl like me? What do you reckon?

  Ha! Thanks guys and I’ll see you soon!

  Episode 1: What Have We Done?

  —We’d like to warn viewers that there are details in the following report that some may find disturbing.

  —This is Matthew Manning for BBC News in Ergarth. A grieving family awoke this morning to find a terrible, taunting and sick message scrawled on their garden wall.

  The Barton family are shocked and appalled to discover someone has spray-painted the words ‘Who locked Lizzie in the tower?’ on their property overnight. This simple message has reopened a still-raw wound, both for the Barton family and the small town of Ergarth on the North-East coast. As viewers will know, Elizabeth Barton was the young woman found murdered in Tankerville Tower two years ago, in 2018. Tankerville Tower a thirteenth-century ruin on the clifftop just outside the town, has been described by locals as an ‘eyesore’ and a ‘death trap’ with countless petitions put to Ergarth Council begging for its demolition.

  Elizabeth, just twenty-four years old when she was callously murdered, was a popular and high-achieving young woman, with a burgeoning career in video blogging or ‘vlogging’. Elizabeth’s ‘shopping-haul’ and ‘unboxing’ videos attracted thousands of subscribers.

  It was her participation in a deadly Internet challenge known as ‘Dead in Six Days’ that ultimately led her to her death. A death that prompted warnings to parents, countrywide, to be extra vigilant around their children’s Internet use. Many schools in Ergarth and the surrounding area have since banned students taking part in any such challenges.

  This new graffiti has, yet again, drawn attention to Elizabeth Barton’s killers; most notably, Solomon Meer, Barton’s former schoolmate. Meer, twenty-four, was sentenced to a minimum of thirty-three years behind bars. His two accomplices, Martin Flynn and George Meldby, twenty-three and twenty-four and also former school-mates of Elizabeth Barton, were sentenced to a minimum of twelve years each for conspiracy to murder.

  The three killers used the Dead in Six Days challenge to lure the young vlogger into the local ruin before imprisoning her inside. As temperatures plummeted during one of this country’s worst cold snaps in two hundred years, she passed out and died of hypothermia.

  A deleted video was recovered from Solomon Meer’s phone showing the three
men standing around Elizabeth’s body as Meer’s voice repeats ‘What have we done?’ This, combined with the perpetrators’ DNA, which was found on the council-erected barricades that surrounded Tankerville Tower, provided the crucial evidence that condemned the three.

  The most disturbing aspect of the case was the decapitation of Elizabeth Barton’s lifeless body. This was said to have been performed at some point after the video was taken. The implement used was never found, and is presumed to have been thrown into the sea. None of the suspects would admit which of them committed this depraved act. The jury on the case took exactly two hours of deliberation to find all three guilty.

  Solomon Meer and his accomplices did not defend or explain their actions during their trial at Newcastle Crown Court, save to describe the killing as a ‘prank gone wrong’. Since the trial, however, there are those who have suggested that the decapitation of the corpse could have been an ‘apotropaic practice’ – something performed on dead bodies in post-medieval Poland to prevent ‘vampires’ rising from the grave. This has, of course, brought Ergarth’s own vampire legend to light, a story relatively unknown in the national consciousness. Until now.

  It is considered unlikely by those who were close to the case that the graffiti found on the Barton family’s wall will raise new questions about the guilt of the three convicted men. Instead it serves as a stark reminder of what the Bartons have lost.

  This is Matthew Manning, BBC News, Ergarth. Back to you in the studio.

  —Thanks Matthew. Earlier, we spoke to a number of Ergarth residents, to get their thoughts and feelings about the scrutiny this terrible event placed on their town.

  ‘That poor lass, she had her whole life ahead of her. Pretty little thing, wasn’t she? Them lads: monsters, all three of them. They weren’t happy to just let her die. Doing that to her afterward. What’s wrong with people? I tell you what it is; there’s no moral guidance anymore. All that rap music and the nonsense on the Internet. They all thought they were vampires or something, didn’t they? If that’s not the result of a damaged mind, I don’t know what is. Bring back national service. That’ll soon get it out of them. What are they teaching them at those schools?’