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Three Zombies

the official website for
Scott MacArthur

Thriller novelist and author of nightmares

NIGHT TERRORS

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Landon Harris first experienced sleep paralysis when he was ten years old, back when a monster living in his closet tormented him every night. One with a wide mouth and hollow eyes. His twin sister, Libby, kept the monster away whenever she was near. Her presence also helped unlock him from his body jail. They had an inseparable bond and could even speak to each other inside their heads using their "twin voice." One day, the monster vanished, and so did his sleep disorder.

 

Twenty-two years have passed, and Landon lives alone in a studio apartment in Prichard, Utah. He uses too many drugs and drinks too much. He's lost his dream to become an astronaut along the way, and he's alienated from his sister. Libby has her own life as a psychiatrist in New York, a world away, with a boyfriend who loves her. She's disappointed with his choices and wishes she could help him. But he's too stubborn, and too set in his ways. 

 

One night Landon returns home from partying and chasing women. He falls asleep and awakens the following morning with another case of sleep paralysis. Only this time, he can't free himself. He's trapped in his own body, unable to move. The following night, a demon appears in his room and begins to torment him. Meanwhile, a serial killer on the other side of town learns of Landon's condition. He makes plans to visit him, to save his soul and send him to Heaven like he has his other victims. The race is on for Landon to find a way to free himself before the killer arrives.

Night Terrors Front WIX.jpg

BURIED

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The Northern Cascades stretch across the horizon as newlyweds Barbara and Craig Eberstark drive their Dodge Durango toward a new beginning in Seattle. Barbara battles insecurities about her looks (despite Craig’s reassurances), and she drinks too much to mitigate a traumatic incident when she was sixteen (something Craig doesn’t know about). A record-setting blizzard arrives, forcing them to park and wait out the storm. They fall asleep, and the next morning they find themselves buried under five feet of snow, trapped with no way out. 

 

The exhaust pipe is blocked, and when Craig attempts to start the engine, the cab is flooded with poisonous exhaust. Their only source of heat is a purple lighter and leftover newspaper, and their only food are some soup cans found in the moving boxes behind them. The rest of their possessions are packed away in a moving van awaiting their arrival in Seattle. To make matters worse, a sentient beast of unknown origins stalks the area outside their vehicle, and a ghost from Barbara’s past haunts her on the inside. 

 

When Craig is taken by the predator and presumed dead, Barbara must decide whether to wait inside the Durango with her ghost or escape on foot, taking her chances with the wintery elements and the beast. But these are unforgiving mountains with mysterious secrets that await, some of them as dark and dangerous as her own. 

Image by Rosie Sun

Updates

Check here for the latest news

January 11, 2024

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Third draft of Night Terrors is finished! Ordered some copies to pass around to friends and family, and sent off another

copy to my editor. Hoping to begin querying agents this spring. 

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November 15, 2023

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Finished the first draft of Night Terrors. Very pleased with how clean it came out. Normally I set my stories aside for a 

few months to let them marinate, but I'm excited about this one. Think it's time to start on my second draft!

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July 13, 2023

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Started work on my new novel. Night Terrors. A horror story with monsters, demons, serial killers, twins with special

powers, and an abandoned amusement park filled with its own secrets. 

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June 1st, 2022

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Well, folks, the time has come! I began my first official step toward publication by querying a handful of literary agents! 

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I'm excited, nervous, and hopeful. I am very proud of my novel, and I truly believe it has a real chance at finding its way into a bookstore someday. But I am also attempting to stay grounded in reality. There are a lot of great writers out there, and I am so proud that I can consider myself one of them, in whatever form that may be. 

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I am currently brainstorming my third novel, this one dipping more into the horror genre. It's full of vampires, and zombies, and I'm excited to start writing my first draft this summer. I'm even more excited to be working with my son on an outline. Welcome to my world, Jacob! 

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May 2nd, 2022

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It has been an exciting year, and it's not even halfway over yet! 

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I finished my first novel, Buried, and sent it out for some feedback among my family and friends. After receiving very positive reviews, I am starting my final edit before shopping it around to literary agents. I'm nervous, but mostly optimistic for the possibilities that lay ahead. The idea that a story that came out of my own head could someday be published is beyond exciting! 

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I also finished a first draft of my second novel, Needle, which I hope to have ready for my beta readers sometime this summer. I'm so proud of the work I've accomplished so far, and I have so many more stories to write!

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I hope someday my stories cause you many sleepless nights. My monsters await, and they are hungry. 

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April 24, 2021

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Finishing a third draft of my debut novel, Buried.  So far the feedback from my beta readers has been positive, and I might start sending some feelers out to literary agents in the near future.  My goal is to publish by the fall, either through a publisher or independently.  I'm brainstorming my next novel which I'll begin writing this summer.  Very exciting times!

Notebook and Pen

“Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.” -Stephen King

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Plato

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