"The Crying Monster" by Vlad Rayber, summary

This book is a chilling collection of mystical stories, published in 2024. The plot revolves around terrifying creatures from parallel dimensions. They feed on human fears, destroying the established order of things. They are opposed by special people capable of destroying these deadly anomalies.

The story begins with a father’s confession to his son, Miron. Many years ago, a lonely man visited a mystical empty floor in a prefabricated building. Cruel wish-granting creatures dwell there. He naively asked for true love. The girl reciprocated. The woman turned out to be a disguised carnivorous monster. Her pregnancy painfully killed her, as the child drew dark energy from her. Thus, Miron was born. The boy grew up to become an invincible hunter of evil spirits. He finds monsters invisible to others and consumes their flesh.

Ordinary people constantly encounter otherworldly horrors. Schoolgirl Polina suffers from constant visits from aggressive debt collectors. She comes to an empty floor and makes a wish. The pursuers disappear without a trace. Polina soon discovers their torn bodies in an alternate reality. A creature in the form of a plastic mask forces its victims to experience eternal agony. It gives Polina the keys to the bandits’ expensive car.

A similar misfortune befalls a teenager. His parents constantly argue, making their life miserable. A neighbor downstairs offers to quiet them. The boy agrees. His parents turn into cold, emotionless zombies. The hero goes down to the mysterious benefactor. It turns out that the deformed monster has trapped his parents’ brains in a jar, forcing them to constantly clash in the water. In despair, the boy smashes the glass vessel. His parents die instantly in their apartment.

Ghosts of the Past

Evil takes various physical forms. A student rents an inexpensive, cozy apartment. The previous tenant was the missing bandit Timka. Soon, the boy begins seeing mutilated ghosts in the stairwell. Then Timka himself returns, appearing as a stretched, twisted corpse. The monster instantly coils around the elderly neighbor and mercilessly breaks his bones. The student, terrified, flees the cursed house.

Another young man regularly sees a non-existent yellow carousel at night. A creaking ghost with a huge pumpkin head rides on it. Local residents remember the mentally disabled man Pasha Golova well. In the 1980s, he was brutally beheaded right in the courtyard. It turns out the killer’s spirit constantly watches over the carousel. It stands in the apartment’s kitchen window, triumphantly holding the victim’s severed head. The young man quickly moves out, fearing imminent reprisal.

Another young man keeps a close eye on his old neighbor. He notices a black Phantom lurking behind her hunched back. His friend Alina discovers that the old woman is slashing car tires and breaking tombstones. The old woman deliberately commits evil acts to appease the curse that haunts her. The young man infiltrates her apartment disguised as an electrician. The old woman commands, "Take him!" Soon, she closes her eyes forever. The Phantom takes up residence in the young man’s apartment, insistently demanding that he commit abominations.

An equally terrifying fate befalls Volodya. He rapidly goes mad, seeing a living eye in the sink and a severed head in the washing machine. His brother commits him to a closed psychiatric hospital. Volodya cunningly persuades another insane patient to saw him into pieces and flush the remains down the toilet. Soon, his brother discovers a living corpse in his living room. Volodya himself has become the monstrous, stitched-together monster of his nightmares.

Support group

People who have experienced traumatic encounters with demons form a secret, anonymous club. Miron regularly attends the weekly meetings. He listens attentively to the stories of the afflicted victims and tracks down the secretive monsters. One of the frightened participants complains about an old communal apartment in St. Petersburg. Every night, small, warty demons scurry noisily. The neighbors behave like lifeless corpses. When the trusting musician Vitya moves in, the demons tear him to pieces and voraciously consume him. Miron immediately goes to the address provided. The hunter engages in an unequal battle with the demons. One confident touch from Miron reduces the aggressive demons to dust. He greedily absorbs their dark energy.

Meanwhile, the story of another frightened student unfolds dynamically. He accidentally discovers an old children’s slide telescope. A cursed entity with a terrifying smile lurks inside. A haunting ghost steals years of life every night. A classmate, Vika, selflessly helps the student. Vika has a special dead eye that allows her to clearly see invisible demons. They lock the evil spirit away forever in a small pocket mirror.

Vika openly reveals her personal secret. As a child, she was in a terrible car accident. She was on the brink of certain death. To save herself, she allowed a cunning looking-glass entity named Verenia to enter her. Now, Verenia permanently resides in glass mirrors, replacing Vika’s usual reflection. She eagerly devours captured monsters, which the student skillfully hunts down.

Hunters unite

Among the vile monsters, the Weeper stands out. This dangerous creature masterfully hides in dark apartments and rips out functioning human hearts. The Weeper mercilessly kills his cruel, alcoholic father. The son of the deceased victim is filled with deep gratitude to the monster. They form a secret, unspoken alliance. Suddenly, a stern, bearded hunter named Nikita appears in the basement. He skillfully uses scorching holy oil and throwing silver. Nikita seriously wounds the weak Weeper. The rescued boy secretly pulls the knife from the groaning monster’s back.

The Weeper hides safely in an abandoned forest estate. A bloodthirsty maniac and two terrifying ghosts live there: a pale, dead girl and a voracious corpse-eating slug. A child fearlessly comes to visit his wounded friend. The maniac decides to brutally murder the little boy. The Weeper swiftly rips out the serial killer’s heart and saves the devoted child.

Nikita is blindly obsessed with righteous vengeance. In his distant childhood, the ticking monster known as the Executioner cold-bloodedly burned his aunt with poisonous kerosene and staged the tragic death of his mother in a falling elevator. Nikita became a professional police officer to uncover traces of the aggressive evil spirit with impunity. He doggedly tracks the Executioner to an old, crumbling estate. There, the surprised hunter encounters Myron and Vika. The Executioner cunningly sets a massive trap, bringing down the entire building with a roar. The trio miraculously survives amidst the falling bricks. The hunters firmly resolve to combine their disparate efforts.

The final battle

Miron confidently finds the Weeper hiding in the apartment of the boy he rescued. The monster sincerely repents of his serial murders. The crying child begs for mercy for his newfound friend. Miron remains coldly adamant. The Hunter indifferently touches the surrendered Weeper. The creature instantly turns to gray ash. Miron greedily absorbs the thick, dark energy. He suddenly realizes that he cold-bloodedly killed the repentant monster solely out of an uncontrollable physical hunger.

Nikita hurriedly calls his trusted friends. He successfully lures the elusive Executioner to an abandoned roadside cafe. The dilapidated building is tightly surrounded by scattered salt and paper security seals. Nikita’s friend Daniil quickly delivers thick paint. Vika and Daniil carefully paint the dusty windows a thick black color. The glass magically transforms into makeshift mirrors. Verenia grasps the Executioner’s distorted reflection tightly. The ticking monster completely loses its former mobility.

Miron boldly enters the cold café. He firmly grasps the torn chest of the resisting Executioner. The body of the damned monster begins to rapidly decompose. Verenia holds the evil spirit in a dark mirror-world with a steel grip. The Executioner lets out a piercing death scream. The deafening sound shatters the painted windows with a clang. The monster breaks free in fury. All that remains is one mangled arm with protruding needles. The Executioner desperately crawls toward the cramped kitchen and pierces a steel propane tank. A deafeningly powerful, destructive explosion thunders.

The roadside building is completely engulfed in roaring flames. Myron is violently thrown back by the dense blast wave. The fearless hunter’s body is deeply riddled with glass shards, but the Executioner’s colossal dark energy instantly heals the fatal wounds. Nikita is deeply shaken by the frighteningly incredible healing. He says, "Leave it all behind and live." Myron and the adamant Vika firmly refuse. The team silently leaves the burning café. Their long, bloody journey on the fresh trail of evil is not yet over.