Welcome to Smileyland by Spencer Hamilton

Apr 10

Welcome to Smileyland is a ‘90s queer slasher novella by Spencer Hamilton. It was published on July 12, 2021 by Nerdy Wordsmith, and it weighs in at 138 pages.

Spencer Hamilton is another author I’ve found thanks to reading Slice of Paradise: A Beach Vacation Horror Anthology from DarkLit Press. I went to Hamilton’s website to sign up for his newsletter, and I stumbled upon a link to a free download of Welcome to Smileyland. I’m so glad I grabbed a copy.

You won’t find this novella on sites that sell books, but you can learn more about it on Goodreads. Here’s a brief description of the novella:

This '90s queer slasher novella follows Ramirez and friends to the abandoned amusement park nobody's heard of: Smileyland! It's all fun and games until the bodies start piling up.

The book starts out following a young family. The husband is obsessed with Smileyland, an amusement park that’s been abandoned for decades. Its mascot is Mr. Smiley, and the only rule is to never stop smiling. No matter what. The story changes to follow a group of high school friends also on their way to Smileyland thanks to another person, Chad, who is obsessed with the place. It starts out a little slow, but once the groups arrive at Smileyland, buckle up.

I absolutely fell in love with Ramirez, the main character in this story. Maybe it’s because I also was a “military brat,” but Hamilton just plain did a great job creating the character. The kids in the group with Ramirez are fun to follow, as well, but they’re more surface characters compared to them.

The group arrives at Smileyland, which is located up a mountain where cell reception is nonexistent, and that’s when the real fun begins. Once you enter the movie theater, it’s on. Hold onto your hats, because it is one wild ride (pun intended!) - and you haven’t even gotten to the carousel yet! Hamilton doesn’t hold back, and the scenes are gory, shocking, and absolutely fantastic. Hamilton deftly ended each chapter to leave the reader wanting a little more, so prepare to get totally sucked in to this story. I stayed up way too late, because I just couldn’t put it down.

As the fear and action grow, so does the gore. Readers with weak stomachs or those who don’t enjoy more graphic scenes might not enjoy this book. There were a few scenes that legitimately freaked me out, which was great. It reminded me of when I read Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare, which also had me looking over my shoulder when I found myself in dark places.

Speaking of the carousel, it was one of my favorite scenes. Hamilton’s writing and descriptions made the action seem so real. I felt like the carousel itself was alive.

Another scene that really got my jaw dropping involves an old-fashioned popcorn machine. I’ll never look at one the same again.

I can’t seem to stop reading Spencer Hamilton stories. I recently finished Terror in the Trench from Dead Sea Press, a collection benefiting The Shark Trust, which includes his short story “Werewolves and Tentacles.” I also realized I’d purchased Welcome to the Funhouse shortly before I’d even gotten a copy of Smileyland. I’m very excited to read more of his works and hope you will, too!