There is an allure to the ruins of past civilizations, but perhaps some things are better left buried…. Archeologists Amara Thornton and Katy Soar explore this notion in a new collection, Strange Relics: Stories of Archeology and the Supernatural, 1895-1954, which came out from Handheld Press last month. Y’all know I love a themed anthology, and I’ve been particularly enjoying the collections of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century weird/horror/ghost stories from this publisher, which so far have also included Women’s Weird (volumes one and two), The Outcast and the Rite, and From the Abyss. If you’re a fan of ancient civilizations or the people who study them, this collection provides some fascinating insight into how the boom in archeology influenced our horror literature. Continue reading Review of Strange Relics—Haunted Archeology
Category: Short story
Review of Screams from the Dark: 29 Tales of Monsters and the Monstrous
If you’ve been a long-time follower of this blog, you’ve probably noticed by now how much I love anthologies—especially anything edited by the inimitable Ellen Datlow. So of course I had to pick up her latest horror collection, Screams from the Dark: 29 Tales of Monsters and the Monstrous, which came out back in June. If you love monsters, this book has quite the selection! Continue reading Review of Screams from the Dark: 29 Tales of Monsters and the Monstrous
Review of The Outcast and The Rite—Interwar Supernatural Stories
I love discovering new-to-me authors from centuries gone by, whose works could sit comfortably alongside those of Poe and Lovecraft but haven’t received quite the same attention. And no one provides better opportunities for such discoveries than Melissa Edmundson and the folks at Handheld Press. Over the last few years, this team brought us two volumes of Women’s Weird collections. Now, they are focusing in on one such weird fiction writer: Helen de Guerry Simpson. The Outcast and The Rite: Stories of Landscape and Fear, 1925-1938 contains thirteen tales of weird, supernatural horror published during the period between the two World Wars by this underappreciated Australian writer. The collection came out from Handheld Press earlier this month. Continue reading Review of The Outcast and The Rite—Interwar Supernatural Stories
Review of Dark Stars: New Tales of Darkest Horror
Horror has really been having a moment lately! This was part of the thought 
process of editor John F. D. Taff when he decided to compile the short story anthology that became Dark Stars: New Tales of Darkest Horror. This collection, which came out last month, was created in the spirit of the seminal 1980s horror anthology Dark Forces, edited by Kirby McCauley, and is meant to do for our current moment of horror what Dark Forces did in the ’80s. Continue reading Review of Dark Stars: New Tales of Darkest Horror
Review of Vampires Never Get Old—Giving the Genre New Life
“Vampires are dead.” People have been saying this ever since the overwhelming popularity of the Twilight series led to an explosion of young adult paranormal fantasy in the mid-2000s that saturated the market. But as a life-long vampire fan, I’ve always felt that these denizens of the undead still have more to teach us. There is something universally appealing about the vampire that isn’t going away anytime soon, and there are still infinite new angles from which the topic can be approached. Instead of telling everyone that the genre has been done to death already, why not open it up to a diversity of fresh new voices that haven’t yet had the chance to tell their story? That’s exactly what Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker do in their new anthology Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite, which came out back in September. Continue reading Review of Vampires Never Get Old—Giving the Genre New Life
Christmas Ghost Stories, Part 2
A couple years ago, I wrote about the tradition of the Christmas ghost story—which became an indispensable part of the festive season after Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol in 1843. The heyday of the Christmas ghost story overlapped with the Golden Age of the ghost story more generally, and many celebrated spooky authors began incorporating Christmas into their haunting tales. Last time, I highlighted several stories by male authors, but women were equally if not more involved in the festive ghost story game. Check out the stories by women below for a seasonally appropriate scare!
Review of Women’s Weird, Volume 2
Last Halloween season, I reviewed a delightful collection called Women’s Weird, which sought to highlight female authors of Weird fiction in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This year, the same folks have brought out a second volume, giving us more stories from this under-appreciated area of literature. Women’s Weird 2: More Strange Stories by Women, 1891–1937, edited by Melissa Edmundson, comes out tomorrow, October 27. Continue reading Review of Women’s Weird, Volume 2
Review of Castle of Horror Anthology Vol. 4: Women Running from Houses
If there’s one thing I’ve discovered from this blog, it’s that I love themed horror anthologies! Whether it’s one of Ellen Datlow’s preeminent collections, an indie press striving to highlight diverse voices, or a scholar dredging up forgotten classics, there’s something irresistible to me about many different authors coming together to bring their unique voices and interpretations to a shared subject. So you know my ears perked up when I heard about a new anthology coming out from the creator of the Castle of Horror podcast that would be inspired by the classic illustrations on the covers of pulpy Gothics from the ’60s and ’70s. Castle of Horror Anthology Volume 4: Women Running from Houses, edited by Jason Henderson, comes out tomorrow, October 13, just in time for Halloween season. Continue reading Review of Castle of Horror Anthology Vol. 4: Women Running from Houses
Ghostly Animals in Gothic Literature
It’s officially spooky season! Now that it’s October, everyone’s got ghosts and ghouls on the mind. Of course, most of my Halloween décor is up all year round, including this delightful art print of spectral kitties by Heather Franzen Rutten. Staring at it the other day got me thinking: Do animals have ghosts? There’s been plenty of philosophical and religious debate on the subject (often hinging on whether animals have souls), but if we turn to Gothic literature, the answer is a resounding “yes!” Below are a few of my favorite stories that feature spectral animals:
Review of Unspeakable: A Queer Gothic Anthology
The Gothic has always been a place where marginalized gender expressions and sexualities could be explored—though in the past, this was often either done through deeply buried subtext or in a way that punished transgression and reasserted the prevailing societal norms. Today, however, queer Gothic is one of the most lively and prolific areas of the genre, and many authors are writing stories where queer identities are overt, accepted, and even celebrated. Unspeakable: A Queer Gothic Anthology, edited by Celine Frohn, collects a whole set of stories that do just that. The anthology came out back in February from Nyx Publishing after raising money through a successful Kickstarter campaign. Continue reading Review of Unspeakable: A Queer Gothic Anthology