Crevasse

by Clay Vermulm

November 11-14

High altitude climbing is difficult enough without supernatural creatures thrown into the mix. Unfortunately for Greg and Quinn, they may have stumbled into just such a situation. A few days into their week-long trek, they begin noticing strange occurrences. Voices outside their tent, a mysterious hiker off in the distance, and a predator that might be the end of them.

When they don’t arrive home as expected, Greg’s godmother, Ellie Jensen, starts to worry. A search and rescue veteran with years of expertise in the Southern Picket Mountain Range, she sets off in pursuit of the young mountaineers.

Five hundred feet above safety and one thousand feet below it, can two young climbers manage survive long enough for help to arrive, or will they become yet more mysterious disappearances on the high mountain peaks?

Universal link for the book on Amazon

My Review
Crevasse is a relatively quick, easy read that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It's creepy and disconcerting, and if you're anything like me, that opening will horrify you and make you want to sleep with the lights on.
The story starts with a man (whose name I've forgotten at the moment) who is a seasoned climber. He's all alone, in the mountains, pushing himself to the limit. Until he sees a bear. Or what seems to be a bear. But, considering this is a horror novel, said bear is also the most HORRIFYING CREATURE EVER DESCRIBED IN A HORROR NOVEL. Ok, so maybe not THE MOST HORRIFYING, but it's still pretty traumatizing (at least for me). Have I mentioned I have some crazy fears (including goats/sheep/deer) that now include weird, zombie-esque demon bears that DON'T DIE WHEN YOU HIT THEM WITH AN AX??!! Ok, so that's a bit spoilery, and I apologize. But trust me, just... just trust me.
Anyway...
Fast forward a bit, and now we're following Greg and Quinn, a couple who plans to scale Mt. Terror together and push themselves to the limit. Can I just say, I'm all for adrenaline rushes, and doing things that get the heart pumping, but for real? Isolation. Deafening silence. Cold. The mountains are just...no. Nope. Not for me. Not one bit. But more power to those who enjoy that sort of thing.
Anyway...
Greg and Quinn are on their climbing adventure, but Greg's dad is worried. It's been longer than he expected for Greg to return, so Greg's godmother, Ellie, goes on a search and rescue mission. She's a seasoned vet and believes she can track the couple down. But what none of them bargained for is what's lurking in the mountains.
I really enjoyed this novella. It's spooky. It's tense. And it will freak you out. The ending is interesting, but it also made me wish this was more of a full-length novel, with a bit more backstory for things. I liked it, but I would have loved a bit more.
If you're looking for some seriously creepy mountain horror, give Crevasse a go. You won't be disappointed.
4.5 stars!

About the author

Born on the frigid, windswept plains of Cut Bank, Montana, Clay has now set down proverbial stakes in the Pacific Northwest where he likes to climb rocks on the days it's not raining. For the other ninety-eight percent of the year, he enjoys writing, reading, and playing board games with his partner Deanna as his cat criticizes his every life decision from her carpeted tree palace.

Clay decided to turn his writing hobby into a writing career in November of 2020. Since then, he has written thousands of words, eight short stories, two novels, and his novella Crevasse, which was picked up by City Stone publishing in November 2021 (November is apparently a good month).

Aside from writing, Clay has also created and produced one season of his podcast Sinister Soup, climbed Half Dome in Yosemite Valley and gotten engaged to the love of his life (also in November, for the record). If you want to know more than that, you'll have to join his newsletter (clayvermulmfiction.com).