Palace Of Wrinkles
A Horror Anthology
“Be careful what you wish for . . .”
In this 5-part anthology, people seek profound physical change but do not fathom the horrors that await them on the journey to realize their dreams. They seek solace by going to the Excelsior Club, known by Miami locals as the Palace of Wrinkles.
Tale #1: A wrinkled woman lures young men to her mansion on a romantic pretext, but she and her ancient servant ritually kill them, drain their blood, and bathe in it to become rejuvenated.
Tale #2: The bored wife of an aging couple seeks excitement at the Palace. Her husband holds the only key to a secret locked trunk. His wife meets a young man who convinces her to get the key and unlock the secret fortune. When they do, they unleash an age-old evil family spirit that destroys them and sets the husband free of the spirit.
Tale #3: An aging TV personality desperately needs to reverse his aging to save his flagging career. He goes to a religious practitioner who promises to restore his youth. In his zeal for it, he neglects to say how young; she takes him back to infancy.
Tale #4: A young woman obsesses about her body. To make her happy, her older boyfriend invests all of his money for numerous plastic surgeries. She becomes gorgeous and no longer wants him. When she tries to leave him, he turns her life into a deadly nightmare.
Tale #5: A woman trapped in a man’s body meets four mature women at the Palace. Determined to get enough money for gender reassignment surgery, he goes to their house where the women, really witches, transform him into a woman but a very old, wrinkled one.
Reviews
5 Stars – Congratulations on your 5-star review!
Reviewed By Pikasho Deka for Readers’ Favorite
Palace of Wrinkles by Pablo Zaragoza is a collection of five interconnected short horror stories following the lives of the people who frequent an exclusive nightclub in Miami. Armando, general manager of Club Excelsior, starts relating extraordinary tales upon his mysterious boss’s request. In “The Old Woman”, Gustav, a loyal servant of Countess Elizabeta, introduces two young men, Frank and Eduardo, to her. Seduced by her lavish mansion and historical anecdotes, the men never see what’s coming to them. “The Conqueror Worm” follows Lola and her lover as they scheme their way to dupe her seemingly naïve husband, George, of his secret trunk, only to bring out a shockingly ugly side of him. “Ambiguous” sees Bernard, a man who wishes to be a woman, having his wish granted with disastrous results.
Filled with suspense, horror, and hair-raising moments, Palace of Wrinkles is an absorbing supernatural thriller anthology bound to entertain fans of the genre. Author Pablo Zaragoza brings a sense of dread and tension to each gripping narrative that will have you biting your nails in trepidation, putting you on the edge of your seat for the duration of the book. Each story feels unique and authentic. But they all share the same central themes, such as the ills of vanity and the never-ending desires of the human heart and how they can destroy a person’s life. Every character has a distinct personality and fulfills their roles to move the plot forward. I thoroughly enjoyed Palace of Wrinkles, and I highly recommend it.