The Winter Box

Todd and Heather's marriage has been on the rocks for some time. When they get trapped at home with no power during a blizzard, they're forced to confront their problems by the terror that lurks within the Winter Box!Okay, I made The Winter Box sound like a Twilight Zone episode. I guess it could be but it's more like a ghost story/cautionary tale.Todd and Heather have drifted apart over the years and the specter of divorce is lurking in the background. When they get snowed in, weird things star [...]

4.5 stars! THE WINTER BOX, by Tim Waggoner was a shorter novella that took me by complete surprise with the sheer depth of emotion and mental complexity it imparted. I didn't really know what to expect going into this one, but I ended it almost reluctantly--such was the intense connection I felt with the characters.On the surface, THE WINTER BOX is about a couple, Heather and Todd, who have been married twenty-some years. Their anniversary plans end up getting cancelled by an unexpected, severe [...]

*3.5 Stars*A winter storm that has trapped everyone in their homes for the night. An unhappily married couple struggling to keep up appearances to each other even though they both know it's been a futile effort for years. Biting cold that seems to get worse by the minute. And an unassuming box that might hold more than just relationship memorabilia.The stage is well set as the book begins; the atmosphere quickly and effectively developed. I loved the idea of telling what is essentially a simple [...]

This mini hardcover is number 95 of 100 signed and numbered copies , signed by Tim Waggoner.

I suspect that anyone who has been married for some length or in a long-term relationship will find plenty to relate to, perhaps uncomfortably so, in Tim Waggoner’s latest novella, The Winter Box.Waggoner does a beautiful job of taking a twenty-plus year long marriage and casting it at the center of a ghost story. After so long together, Todd and Heather’s union has hit a snag. Neither will speak the dreaded D-word, even if both think it, and Todd oftentimes finds himself deliberately puttin [...]

A very good short short from Tim Waggoner. A marriage deteriorated. Youth lost. Love worn down. Memories locked away in The Winter Box.Tim does a great job with this one. You can feel the biting frost throughout this one and there isn’t a thaw in sight.

This was the ninth book by Tim I have read. The Winter Box is a ghost story centered around a couple( Todd & Heather) that have been married over twenty years. It was their anniversary today but they cancelled their plans because of the blizzard. Every year on their anniversary they put something in this Winter Box that has some meaning of them and their marriage. The power goes out and all they have left is the gas fireplace. It starts getting colder in the house and strange things start to [...]

I received an advance copy of this title from the publisher, Darkfuse, in exchange for an honest review. Darkfuse, as I have said many times before, is a great source for horror and dark fiction that is deeper and more literary (and at times disturbing) than most other in this genre.I thought this was an interesting novel. The premise is quite original. I have read in other places (I think it was Jim Thompson but that may be because I have been reading him a lot recently) that we tend to think o [...]

Can a relationship that died have its own ghost?This is one of the intriguing pieces in Tim Waggoner's latest novella, the Winter Box.A couple that has been together for years gets shut in on a stormy, winter night. For years. they have kept a box (The Winter Box) that they add items to with significance to their relationship. The box was something Heather picked up somewhere along the way. They traditionally add their items on their anniversary. We back and forth from Todd's thoughts, to Heathe [...]

3.5 stars.I had a hard time rating this one. I like the way that Tim Waggoner writes. I really liked the last book I read by him, The Last Mile, but The Winter Box didn't do it for me. There are some aspects of this book that I really liked, but I didn't care for the general premise. I found the cheesy-turned-supernatural Winter Box to be a bit over the top. I didn't feel any sympathy for the characters because other than the fact that they were once young (like everyone else) and that they have [...]

Heather and Todd have been together nearly a quarter of a century and have plans for sushi and "Phantom", but a blizzard cancels those plans. They end up at home with crackers and nothing on On Demand and wind up not very happy with their remaining choices. Then the power goes out.Tim Waggoner gently steers the reader down a path of horror that gets worse with twist the story takes. By the time I reached the end, I was in tears.I highly recommend this novella. I received my copy from the publish [...]

4.5 Stars This is a fantastic novella by Tim Waggoner that reads like a Graham Joyce adult fairytale.

The winter box was an antique wooden box purchased by Heather when her and Todd were first together and they would put one object in the box on their anniversary that represents something about their relationship. Twenty one years later, their relationship is in peril of collapsing. Snowed in on their anniversary, they're close to throwing in the towel when an outside force reveals how bad life can be apart. The Winter Box has a nice atmosphere and Waggoner has an easy writing style, but somewhe [...]

Heather and Todd are snowed in on their anniversary, so Heather pulls out "The Winter Box", a box of mementos they have added to almost every year of their relationship. She's hoping for a trip down memory lane, but Todd is not in the mood. It is obvious right away that there are problems in the relationship, but we don't come to fully understand the depths of them until the details are revealed gradually throughout the story.The details of what transpires between Todd and Heather after that, wh [...]

A short love story under the disguise of horror. What happens when  you question the relationship of the one you thought you would share you life with forever? Todd has grown tired and complacent with Heather and she in her turn does little to try to stop the breakdown of their teenage love. Both have indulged in random pointless affairs and yet both refuse to have a conversation that includes the D word. When Heather produces an old winter box that contains precious memories from each year th [...]

A feuding couple's strange night by the fireplace during a blizzard and centering on a Pandora's box of mementoes. I liked it and recommend it.

In The Winter Box, a box of tiny treasures commemorates special moments between a married couple. But as the years have weathered the relationship, the box becomes a device to taunt them, point out how they've failed each other.Waggoner's prose is descriptive in a wonderful way, leaving the reader bitterly cold. The opening scene lends an air of suspense to an ordinary anniversary night. Plans are dashed by an unusual storm. While this couple has lost their initial spark of love, they've decided [...]

This story had an interesting premise and was fairly well executed, but left me unsatisfied. As many others have noted, it has the feel of a Twilight Zone episode, which isn't a bad thing for me, however, TZ episodes either seem to show characters their own flaws so they can change them, or let characters play their faults out to an eventual hell of their own making. Neither seems true for this story. The characters begin with a relationship which is essentially dead and after enduring this unna [...]

This novella has lovely, crisp writing and engages in turning real emotional turmoil into metamorphic supernatural dread. I thought the concept and execution were great but I also felt vaguely unsatisfied with the end results, which didn’t quite live up to its potential. Also, I wish the author had the courage start with a slow build up instead of using the ending as prologue to catch the reader with a moment of horror.

This book won the Bram Stoker award and I’m sure it deserved it. It’s really good, maybe even special.

A frightening tale of love and marriageA marriage floundering.Quite nights, once filled with happiness and love, and now of just quiet and avoidance of each other.A winter storm that becomes progressively worse than forecasted.

Unnerving Magazine - ReviewLove over the long run is not easy and in Tim Waggoner’s The Winter Box a couple discover, or rather, are forced to face this by a force demanding retribution for broken promises.The idea itself is fairly thin. Happiness from the past made physical is haunting the present by means of collected marital contraband. It doesn’t exactly roll off the imagination with ease. It’s not a manifestation wholly fascinating or terrifying, then again, perhaps facing the truth a [...]

An anniversary to be celebratedor tolerated. The blizzard outside was no match for what was going on inside the hearts of married couple, Todd and Heather. After being married for 21 years, the marriage seemed to have run its course. The "fake" fire in the electric fireplace spoke loudly of what was left of this relationship.After a couple half-hearted attempts at celebrating, Heather had one last trick up her sleevea tradition the couple had started years ago they named The Winter Box. Filled w [...]

This story had me from the beginning, and it didn't let go until the bitter end. A couple whose marriage is on the rocks are confined at home on their anniversary due to one hellacious snowstorm. But, is it natural? They're about to find out. This story was eerie, and the cold and snowy weather just compounded it. I do love cold weather stories, as being stuck out in a blizzard is one of my greatest fears. Excellent writing. Yep, I'd recommend this story.

A quick and satisfying read. Much like Mr Waggoner's other short story, Deep is the River, it's not quite clear what exactly has happened until the very end. On their anniversary, an insecure and flawed couple try to remain warm in their home during a blizzard. While they struggle to accept that their marriage is failing, they are haunted by the memories of their love.

Excellent, and very original.This is a great story! Once I started it I had to continue and finish it and it went quickly. Too quickly. This is the kind of story that Rod Serling would've appreciated.

A great little read.

great book. the only bad thing is it was too darn short.

Fantastic novella. Waggoner delivers again. Scary, sad and ultimately satisfying.