This book is introduced as an intermission in the bedlam bible series- however, this is anything BUT a filler.

“We must remember there are some reading these books who have yet to face this terrible beast head on. Surely, in the eyes of these fortunate souls, these sacred texts are but a bundle of bizarre musings and nothing more - weird for the sake of being weird.” Those who get it, GET IT.

If you had told me when I started this series that one of these books would make me cry, I would have thought the radiation in the walls was starting to get to you. This starts off strong with a deeply moving authors note and transitions into a beautiful story that reads more like poetry to me than anything else.

Pauley’s writing is so fucking genius. There is no other way for me to explain it.

Man, for such short reads these books pack a lot of punch! Nothing wrong with some lunch hour horror!

Big thanks to Netgalley and William Pauley iii for the audioARC in exchange for a review.


I was very much expecting something different because I wasn't paying attention to the description. This was a short story as one of several in a series. Some of the context was maybe lost because I didn't realize that

It has a very ethereal vibe, with a mid century modern type feel. Not currently day but close, with a demonic is-he-the-real-devil story line.

I'll give it a 3, but I think with more context (reading the rest of the series) it would likely be higher.

I loved this. It's creepy. It's strange. It has echoes of Poe if he meet the Devil when he was in Georgia. The narrator is amazing. is voice matches perfectly with this ballad.

"A bundle of bizarre musings" if the perfect way to describe these stories and the horrors the Eigth Block has to go through. After reading this one I realized I was definitely reading this out of order so I now have to go back and read 2 and 4 I believe. This was a short(15 minutes at 3x speed), eerie ode, sort of read like a diary or confession maybe? Either way the narrator does a wonderful job bringing these stories to life.

3.5 ⭐️ . This story is similar to other stories in the “BB” series - just as creepy and weird. This is a separate very short story. In the “Bedlam Bible”series it's more like an interlude.
It's poetic and creepy. What I liked most, was the atmosphere. But the ending is kind of odd.
Amazing narrator’s job!
Thanks to NetGalley for the free audiobook.

Okay. I think this might be the most crucial piece to the Eighth Block stories as a whole. The Ballad of Old Joe Booth is exciting to read if you’re already familiar with Pauley’s growing universe of stories, but would serve as a perfect jumping in point if someone doesn’t mind going out of order. I think that’s part of what makes it so special.

There’s some titles referenced here that could be exciting or intriguing depending what you’ve read prior to this.There’s also a cool intro by the author! As a segment it’s hard to review but yeah, check it out!

Every Tale I read in this series has been wonderfully dark and eerie and vivid with imagery. I feel as though this could be its own TV series like Tales of the Crypt. The stories are creative, short, and thorough. All slowly linking together. This is a very interesting series I have stumbled in on and i like every eerie minute.

The Ballad of Old Joe Booth is creepy and atmospheric. This is a terrifying eldritch kind of horror, made somehow beautiful through Pauley’s prose. The narrator brings a nice preachy vibe. I would highly recommend for fans of Old Gods of Appalachia or the Magnus Archives.

The Ballad of Old Joe Booth by William Pauley III Narrator Connor Branigan was a great quick listen and was creepy great for Halloween sitting in a woods around a camp fire with ya friends, A great audiobook to impress your friends lol. I loved listening to it with my sister in my garden on a summers night the atmosphere was brilliant!

Part of a series. Horror at its best. This one gave me the creeps, definitely going to get other books in the series. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook

I’m really loving this series and anything by this author lately. Each book can be read by itself and there is always interesting characters! This was a quick listen and I was left wanting more.

I received the audiobooks version of this story thanks to NetGalley

Connor Brannigan as narrator = chef’s kiss 👨‍🍳💋

This book was about half the length of the others in the series possibly even shorter, but it makes sense for it to be that way.

It’s all starting to come together for me. Each book in the series adding in the details and highlighting the connections.

Can’t wait to get into the next one.

First, I enjoyed the narrator for this book. The voice was calming. Which made the book a bit more eerie.

Second, I picked up this series on this book. I really NEED to read the ones before this. I NEED to know what lead up to this.

Now, onto the review. I am glad I didn't listen to this book when I trying to go to sleep (I usually fall asleep reading). It would definitely color my dreams something fierce if I had. This book got to me the way Stephen Kings It did when I was 13. Crabs will look different to me now.

This is another installment of the Bedlam Bible Series. I think it may be the shortest.

As with the other books in the series it’s very atmospheric. It reads like a fever dream.

Only issue with the book being so short is I didn’t feel like I had much time to connect with the story.

It was still a decent quick read though.

Creepy and super quick! I enjoyed the narrators voice throughout the audio book. This creepy tale is told in a lyrical fashion

This is a nice little intermission in the Bedlam Bible series by William Pauley III. I listened to the audio book and it was super quick. It mentions the lost books of the Bedlam Bible. I’ve read a couple of those and all excellent bizarro fiction.

I wish to thank NetGalley and Doom Fiction Audio for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

A short, surprisingly eerie audio telling of the Ballad of Old Joe Booth with a stunning narrator who really manages to draw the audience into this story. Dipping a little bit into horror, this entertained me for the short span it holds and I'm sure I will revisit this shortstory again for the vibes and the storytelling. Would recommend!

This was an interesting listen, like a creepy stream of consciousness in ballad form. The chosen narrator was very good, and the horror element nice and eerie.

I listened to this book not knowing it was a part of a series until I got into it. It made me want to go back and read the rest of the series! Beautiful poetry and imagery.