Her. Home. By Jo Kaplan
We start strong, with a decent haunted house story. This is a terror tale that I desperately wanted to like, but it ultimately fell a bit flat for me. We have a simple premise well-known to the genre: a ghost hunter and their girlfriend are spending the night in an abandoned mansion that is supposedly spook ridden (or at least, according to Reddit). Honestly, the prose is great, and we get some strong introductions to a believable couple, one of whom is a real fanatic for spoopy places. The buildup is just about perfect, and we rapidly find ourselves launched in uncanny territory. And then it all just kinda..ends. No, there’s a climax, and a pretty eerie one at that, but it lands right when better stories are only getting things warmed up. I see what the author was going for, and they succeed by three-quarters, but it just doesn’t have the same punch if there had been a little more time building the tension. This story is a lovely dinner with lots of hot foreplay under the table, concluding in ten seconds of passionate sex and no cuddling afterwards.
Pretties/Serpent by Baba Jide Low
Now this one ought to tickle your blood! Imagine being a secretary for a cosmic evil, and you have the premise of this rather prosaic tale! The prose is excellent, and full of ambiguities that easily solicit a second reading. The ending is exceedingly gory, and involves a terrible comeuppance executed by snakes. Overall, a chilling tale that is exceptionally well-told!
Never Better by Michael Harris Cohen
I really enjoyed this story of love and shroom trips! Another story about a couple, this one a pair of restaurant short-orders who take pleasure in sabotaging the food of pernicious customers. But things take a rapid turn for the worse when they decide to start lacing the meals of unpleasant persons with shrooms. Very nice prose, and I really like the build-up. The nightmarish dreamscapes that begin to unfold at the climax are particularly terrifying, and the ominous ending is a nice cap to this uncanny story of two lovers who encourage each other’s bad side just a little too much.
The Kid in the Ambulance by Suki Lichfield
So much promise, for almost no payoff. An ambulance driver picks up his best friend who went missing decades before…and his friend is still ten. And then, literally nothing happens. No buildup, no explanation, everyone just goes on with their lives. Read Ellison’s “Jefty was Five”, it’s the same premise but about fifty times better. And things actually, you know, happen.
Discovery of Blanks by David O. Godfrey
A fine story with a fascinating premise. An English parapsy nut develops a theory about some people being empty vessels (“blanks”) meant to spy on and observe humanity. Our hero sets out to test the theory, and comes a bit too close for comfort to some deeply unsettling truths about the universe. I really liked this, and found it an adequate call back to writers like Machen and Hodgson. One problem though: the narrative is delivered by a friend of the protagonist as if to a crowd of onlookers and witnesses. This technique works some of the time, but comes off as hokey far too often to be completely effective. There’s an excellent idea here, but the execution doesn’t quite work for me.
Holder City by Garick Cooke
A short, simple story about a kid who picks up a girl on the side of the road and takes a detour into the ruins of a forgotten settlement. It’s more unsettling in its implications than its execution, but I thought it was a pretty interesting story with some nice, eerie buildup. The prose weaves a tale that escalates nicely into a climax that leaves more questions than answers. Personally, I would have liked to know a bit more about the abandoned settlement and its clearly troublesome history, but I think the narrative works well enough to give us some dark clues about what has gone on in the shadowy corners of this remote little town.
In the Valley by Bentley Little
Now THIS one was absolutely incredible! A great coming of age story about a mysterious community and a young boy caught in what feels like a bizarre pagan ritual centering around a mysterious woman and dolls made from animal parts. The suspense builds magnificently, and the climax drops like a pile of bricks. I really loved the folksy narration, which enhances the sense of desolation while adding some charm to an otherwise bizarre and grizzly tale.
Death Republic by H. Pueyo
This is a sadistically fun story about everybody in America suddenly and inexplicably losing their fear of death…and thus setting about to ending themselves in a variety of splattery ways. My only complaints are: 1) its less a story and more a concept for a story, lacking any actual plot beyond a narrator watching people make cosmic confetti out of themselves and 2) it’s a bit too much like The Happening. Regardless, I have to confess, I did enjoy reading it.
Neon Showgirl by Brady Golden
An excellent character-driven story where a bar owner is menaced by an amorphous midget man with superhuman strength. The only problem is that the mutation talks like a car salesman, which detracts from the horror. Still an excellent tale of survival, and one of my favorites in the collection!
Abandoned by Alex Woodroe
American tourists follow their Romanian friend into an abandoned village, all the while listening to an eerie tale of ghosts and curses. There are several examples of creepy “stories within a story” that I really enjoyed, and in this case, these mini-tales within the tale enhanced the horror significantly. The descriptions of decay and emptiness, coupled with snippets of Romanian folklore weave together to create an effective atmosphere of dread. I also really enjoyed the ending, which was particularly spooky.
Ring Rust by Gene O’Neill
As exciting as a horror story about boxing ought to be, I found this piece to be dull, tropey, and as stiff as the protagonist. You’ll see what I mean if you bother reading it….but I can’t say I’m sure it’s worth a bother.
Just Keep Walking by David Afsharirad
I like the execution here far more than the story itself. The short, prosaic style excited me at first, but unfortunately the writer has little in the way of anything creative or different to offer. Ultimately, we have a standard zombie apocalypse story written in a clipped stream of consciousness style. Think Dawn of the Dead as penned by William S. Burroughs, but minus Burroughs’ love of word play and creative phrase-turning. There’s a twist of sorts at the end, but it did little to salvage the plot. Ultimately, I found my eyes glazing over like one of the undead hordes our narrator must dodge.
Skandelopetra by Rex Burrows
A very well-written story about a grandson and grandpa team of sponge divers who rely on a mystical diving stone…and a dangerous ritual that is about to go horribly wrong. Full of well-crafted imagery and hints of eldritch things, this tale was simply a joy to read!
Hand of Glory by Cody Goodfellow
A story of a con trying to stay connected to his wife via astral projection. His newfound power comes at a price, but then again, it always does. I really liked the idea of the story and the slow progression as our hero learns to use his latent psychic abilities is effective at building tension. The ending felt like a bit of a cheat, a “screw you over just because we can” ordeal, but I suppose such endings are expected in the horror genre.
The Riverman by Charles Hughes
In this terrifying tale, an empath widower finds himself connecting with a vicious serial killer who starts to use his gifts for twisted purposes. The narrative was engaging, the concept riveting, and the plot cold as ice as we plunge into the darkest depths of what humanity is capable of. Don’t read this one if you’re feeling depressed or “down”, folks, it really is horrifying, all the more so because the monster is all too human.
The Mouth by Natalia Theodoridou
This is some Kafka-esque stuff! A man’s apartment grows a mouth that he must fed, and all goes well until he loses his job…and the mouth starts to go hungry. This story is both clever and oneiric, with an ending that felt both sad and creepily poignant.
Gateway to Oblivion by William Meikle
A story that pays clear tribute to Barker, in which a detective with supernatural tattoos goes looking for a missing father who has developed a taste for the occult. Our Scottish Harry D’Amor has few leads, save that the lost patriarch has recently joined a cult of necromancers in the hopes of reuniting with his dead wife. This is a pulp story, oh yes, but pulp at its best, with a fast plot that climaxes in a dark ritual where our hero is saved in the nick of time thanks to a little mystical deus ex machina. Cliched to death, yes, but overall, an enjoyable read!
In the Devil’s Foosteps by Liam Hogan
Now this one is the stuff of nightmares! The narrator wins an infernal steed from the devil (who is female) that carries them through a scene of desolation wrought by man’s prejudice and hate, forced to confront the nature of human evil. The corpse-strewn scenery reminded me of Bruegel’s The Triumph of Death, and is fraught with a similar sense of man’s hopeless insignificance in an impersonal and hostile universe.
Like Old Rope by Trevor Zaple
This one features a great character study! An antique dealer in a rut encounters an old couple who offer to buy a mysterious copper ring off him in exchange for a wish. The whole story is exceedingly surreal, and the antique dealer’s backstory is as heart wrenching as his fate is unsettling. Be careful what you wish for, folks!
Giant and Child by Scotty Milder
A teenager named Skylar is on a road trip with her abusive, recently divorced mother and her mother’s latest squeeze, Owen. Too bad their outing is cut short by an injured giant, who immediately connects with Skylar. This was a very strange and visceral tale focused on a very tragic main character. My only complaint is that the giant’s presence is never explained and it seems to be…well, a bit of an elephant in the room, as it were. But overall, it’s a fun story with a satisfyingly vindicative ending.
February Thaw by Kristi Schoonover
This one is another one of my favorites! A mother notices that her son’s skin is melting, and has to fight to keep him alive. The explanation for this, and what follows, is something wonderful that the reader will simply have to experience for themselves. I’ll not say much, except that the mother’s backstory and heartfelt sacrifice for her child really warm an otherwise chilling bit of body horror.
The Apartment by Christi Nogle
A very surreal story about a narrator who gets tied to a very generous apartment gifted through a cantankerous aunt. It’s a tale of the big city rat race, with some very grim implications. I really like the descriptive language: one can easily feel the disgust and horror that the narrator experiences living in their grimy, tainted environment.
The Burning Heart by Colin Leonard
An excellent story of two brothers fighting over a girl. To get a leg up, one of them is willing to enlist the devil’s help. This was a fun little spook tale, but I felt the ending was a bit anticlimactic, even if the reader can guess what is going to happen just by reading my brief description. That said, I’m a guy who likes his nastiness delivered slowly, and I found that this story drops its key moment way too fast. Seriously folks: if you’re going to build tension, don’t’ break it in one bloody paragraph. Let it all unfold gradually, so that we the reader can relish the gory details.
If You Touch Me, I Can Cry by Lucy Taylor
This tale of plague and loss takes place in a world ravaged by a deadly virus spread through touch. We see the lives of an elderly couple trying to survive and deal with the impact that a lack of physical contact has had on their marriage. As bodies pile up, a strange fungus starts to consume the world, and…ooof, I dunno folks. I wanted to like this, but it feels like there’s too much going on. I really like the main character, a guy who has never been too touchy-feely, and yet finds himself missing contact with his wife. That alone was enough: but now we have to have some kind of odd sentient plant taking over as well? The ending is about what you would expect, and given the emotional roller coaster that is some parts of this admittedly well-written story, that’s a bit of a let-down. I think less is more when it comes to short stories, and something simple but impactful works better than burying your reader under layers upon layers of different elements, memories, and in this case, deadly infectious agents. Not a bad story, but it feels less like a comprehensive tale and more like two ideas shoved together and held loosely in place by two very compelling characters with a very human problem.
The Test by Zoe Kaplan
This is a rather grotesque story about a game show where contestants perform disturbing feats for a chance at nabbing a million dollars. Our narrator is some schmuck who needs dosh for his cancer-ridden girlfriend. His challenge: eat ten pineapples in one sitting. Rarely has something so seemingly innocuous become so tortuously horrifying. Even before Squid Game I’d read about ten or so Creepypastas about killer game shows and the various snuff VHS tapes associated with them, so this is hardly a new concept for me. But rarely have I seen this trope handled so creatively with a task that looks relatively easy and yet rapidly escalates into the stuff of nightmares. Hats off to the writer: I can’t speak for the audience of this gruesome spectacle, but the whole thing certainly had me on the edge of my seat!
Ring Road by Matt Thompson
A story of paranoia in which a woman finds herself being followed by a mysterious white car. I really liked the anticipation of this story, but the actual climax came off as a dud. Even so, it was still a very exciting read with a lot of strong scenes in which our protagonist is stalked by an eerie motorist.
The Tooth Butcher by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
With a name like that, you know it’s got to be good! An ancient alchemist posing as a family dentist uses powdered teeth to extend his own life while distributing an addictive substance to ghosts that allows them to attain a moment of corporeality. One day, a young girl with a recently deceased mother charms our aged sorcerer and convinces him to make her a special batch. This story isn’t horrifying so much as it is cute and comfy, with a heart-warming ending that feels strangely at odds with the intimidating title. Gore hounds and fear freaks probably won’t get the adrenaline fix they’re after, but this was nonetheless a very fun story to read.
8-Ball by Darren Todd
You got a question? Ya ask the eight ball! The story of a lawyer who encounters a magic 8-ball from his childhood, and learns the cost of knowing more than any mortal ought to. This story is simple and sweet, with a moral that is often repeated. Despite it being a bit basic, I think its simplicity works in its favor. Should you give it a whirl, dear reader? All signs point to yes.
Attention by Michael James
This one reminded me of Stephen King’s Thinner, in which a main character is cursed by an injured party with a serious case of poetic justice. A narcissist’s girlfriend dies while he bangs another broad, and her grandmother curses our self-centered young friend to be constantly be the center of attention. This leads to some harrowing scenes where our protagonist finds themselves surrounded by wide, staring eyes. I really like the idea, but the story feels too short. It ends just as it really gets going, and I felt the concept could have used more exploration than we are given.
The Key to Mabella by Terry Dowling
This was a long one, but well worth the investment of time! A cemetery caretaker takes over the responsibilities of his dead boss, and sets about to matching sparsely labeled keys to their appropriate mausoleums and internment sites. But there’s one key too many, simply labeled “Mabella”. Where does it go? Well, dear reader, to explain would cheat you of a story that features one of the darkest revelations I’ve seen yet. In this collection, they really have saved one of the most exemplary stories for last, and while it was a bit of a slog, this story really does reward a patient reader with an absolutely chilling payoff!
So is this anthology worth a read? In my estimation, folks, you’re guaranteed to find at least one or two stories that tickle your terror taste buds! I certainly have my favorites, of course, but most of the tales inscribed within this collection were at the very least interesting, with quite a few that stood out as truly unique pieces of dark fiction. There was also a lot of variety when it came to the nature of the chills delivered: haunted houses, a zombie apocalypse, surreal situations, serial killers, devil worship, and even mutant midget people, just to scratch the surface! Overall, I found this anthology to be oodles of fun to power through, and I think most readers will easily discover something to enjoy.