Mister Tallbones

Mister Tallbones

Curiosity can be dangerous—especially when the legend turns out to be real.

When late-night horror host Professor Tim Decker offers a $10,000 reward to anyone who can find the legendary box of Mister Tallbones, broke friends Mike and Josh see an easy opportunity. The challenge is part of Decker’s entertainment show, Mystery Hunter, so how real could it be?

Their search leads them deep into online occult forums and a strange website run by Bruce “Redstone” Hobson and the mysterious Callie—purveyors of forbidden spells and arcane knowledge. Most of the spells are far beyond Mike and Josh’s budget, but a single phone call changes everything. Suddenly, they have the ritual they need.

What starts as a joke becomes terrifyingly real when the summoning works.

The black box appears in Mike’s apartment—proof that could win them the reward. All they have to do is keep it sealed until they can claim the money. But when Mike’s curious sister opens the box, she unleashes an ancient spirit once sealed away after a horrific massacre in 1875.

Now Mister Tallbones is free.

Drawn to violence and fear, the skeletal nightmare feeds on chaos and tragedy, slowly consuming everything in its path. With Professor Decker far away and night falling fast, Mike and Josh must rely on half-remembered lore, late-night TV knowledge, and sheer desperation to stop the evil they invited into the world.

Jesse Wilson’s Mister Tallbones is a modern horror tale of curiosity, greed, and the terrifying consequences of opening the wrong box.

Discover the legend—and the nightmare—today.

Excerpt from the book

The fire roared, sending countless sparks into the air.

A group of four friends sat around it. The guys had beer, the ladies had cans of cheap red cola. It was a good vibe in the autumn night. The stars overhead and a cool breeze kept the group closer to the fire. “Man, why does the smoke always come at me?” Darren asked, coughing. The wind was doing its best to keep the fumes away, but its best wasn’t quite good enough.

“Well, they say smoke follows beauty,” Mike replied. Darren chuckled at that. “Not true. It follows you because smoke always follows the biggest thing. Something to do with a vacuum in the air,” Kristen replied, a sly smile on her face.

“True, it’s science or something. There isn’t anything pretty about you,” Lisa replied and took a long drink from the can, emptying it, tossing it into the trash and letting out a slight shudder as the wind cut through the green hoodie she had on.

“He isn’t so bad,” Kristen replied. “See, not so bad,” Darren repeated, but those words did the one thing everyone tries to avoid in times like these. An awkward silence fell on them as they looked into the fire.

“Hey,” Mike said, breaking the silence. “Anyone got any scary stories?” he asked. The others looked at one another. It became clear in a hurry that no one had any, and no one was interested in telling one.

Mike was determined not to let the night end like this, so he pulled out his phone. “Fine. I’ll find one,” he said and started flipping through it. “Dude, come on, you’re going to find one of those stupid creepypasta stories?” Darren asked, complaining about it.

“No way, I’m gonna find something real. Something from Mystery Hunter TV,” Mike replied.

“Oh, God, that’s even worse,” Lisa replied. “No, it’s all real. Remember the Ghost Bear episode? You liked that one. That was good,” Mike said.

“The episode was good. The effects were cheap CGI, but the story was good, I guess. Ghost Bear isn’t real,” Kristen added. “Yeah, I still don’t know why you turned it into a special event. I only showed up for the pizza,” Darren said with a smile.

“Ah, got one,” Mike said, ignoring everyone. “Not the phantom rest stop clowns, is it?” Lisa asked. Darren laughed. “Rest stop clowns. I’ll never think that’s not funny,” he said. “Okay, everyone shut up. I found a good one,” Mike said a bit too loud.

“The Legend of Mister Tall Bones, a new one, I think,” Mike said, and the other three looked at one another with side glances, unsure what to think of the name but deciding not to interrupt.