Review: Shadows Edge edited by Simon Strantzas

Simon Strantzas is a name that weird horror fans should be familiar with. To date he has had three excellent collections published: Beneath the Surface, Cold to the Touch, and Nightingale Songs. Shadows Edge marks Strantzas's first foray into the realm of anthology editing. According to the afterword, the idea for this book has long been fermenting in the dark depths of the Canadian author's mind. This month marks the end of the long wait, and Strantzas's dream project will be shipping within a few weeks.

Shadows Edge is an anthology dedicated to exploring the concept of thin places. These are spots where the barrier between our world and another world is thin enough to allow a parting of the veil. The place that just doesn't feel right, the place where a shadow is not just a shadow and things may or may not be hiding in the corner. Breaks in reality. These are the types of places that Strantzas is interested in. He has assembled fifteen authors, many of which should be known to regular readers of weird horror, for the purpose of taking readers on a tour of these shadowy, in-between places. I admit I was rather taken by the theme of the anthology, and was quite looking forward to digging into this one. With this in mind, it's safe to say that Strantzas and crew delivered the goods quite admirably.

The anthology opens with Prologue: The Nineteenth Step written by Strantzas himself. This short piece of fiction keeps the horror vague, and serves to set the stage nicely. A couple move into an old house with the intent to flip it for a nice return, but it isn't long before they notice something odd about the staircase. What is initially a curious observation quickly becomes a source of real terror. The ability to take something as mundane as a staircase and turn it into something so ominous is something only a master can pull off, and it's a shame Strantzas's wonderful opener has to be so short.

Joel Lane's Echoland follows a young musician named Diane and her growing obsession with a land glimpsed  during a childhood bout with fever. She joins with two other men who have also glimpsed the mysterious place (all during close calls with death), and together the three of them decide to do whatever they can to reach the city. The story follows their growing obsession with reaching the city and their descent into a drug-filled, sedentary lifestyle. It's a moody tale, and by the end it becomes clear that sometimes finding what we seek is not always a cause for celebration.

Michael Cisco writes The Penury, a strange tale of two childhood friends and their reunion. Cisco's writing is strong, and the story is not as straightforward as some of the others in the book, but is quite rewarding with rereads. Cisco is definitely not a writer for everyone, but his masterful way with words makes for an enjoyable read.

Tinder Row is a fine example of Richard Gavin's style of weird horror. Gavin has an easy style of writing and a wicked imagination which are both on full display here. Reid returns to his hometown only to come across a woman from his past, now a derelict. Taking pity on her, Reid coaxes her to lunch, but feels trepidation when she requests to be dropped off at Tinder Row, a dead-end street by the town's viaduct. The street has become as derelict as the woman, and Reid sticks around long enough to see if there's any validity to the local legends surrounding the place. The horror strikes true, and Gavin sets the stage well with the decrepit section of town. Definitely a favorite.

Daniel Mills is an author who has been featured on The Arkham Digest before, and for good reason. Typical of Mills's tales, The Falling Dark takes place in the past, and centers on a lonely man who has a bit of an obsession with a neighbor girl. It's quite a superb tale, with moments that are quite intense, and more going on under the surface of things.

The Old Church is a story that should appeal to anyone who finds it uncomfortable to attend church services. Gary McMahon takes readers to a church service which at first glance seems pretty normal. As the main character begins to pay attention to his surroundings things start to become altogether more sinister. McMahon is a powerhouse of British horror, and this story is one of the more frightening stories in the anthology. McMahon ratchets the suspense expertly. One of my favorite stories here.

D.P. Watt is the first author in the anthology of whom I am not familiar. After reading ...he was water before he was fire... I am now determined to become more familiar with his work. The story concerns a city man who decides to go camping, which is rather uncharacteristic of him. He becomes enchanted with a certain cove, and it isn't long before the place's magic has a hold on him. Watt's story is masterfully narrated, and shows a rather dark imagination. Another favorite.

False North by Ian Rogers is another story about a man going out into the wild. Some people prefer to go for a drive to clear their head, while some prefer the go for a run. The narrator prefers to go hiking, by pulling over his car and just going off into the woods. False North chronicles what happens when he hikes where he shouldn't. The narrator stumbles across an empty cabin holding nothing but a compass that doesn't seem to work properly. The story is short, chilling, and has an air of mystery throughout.

Lisa L. Hannett is the second author in the book of whom I am not familiar. Morning Passages was definitely an eye-catching story to mark my introduction to her work. The story is confusing, and I'm honestly not sure I can say what exactly happened, but it is written with great skill, and is very disturbing. Hannet definitely made my skin crawl and I look forward to rereading this one and finding more of her work.

R.B. Russell pens what may be my least favorite story in the book. At The End of the World takes place at a carriage house located on a shingle beach. A man's estranged brother returns to England and moves into the small dwelling, where he relates his story during a heavy coastal storm. The story itself is not bad, but compared to the others failed to really make an impact on me.

Within One Ruined Realm is a story by W.H. Pugmire, the prose-poet of the Lovecraft Mythos. As usual, Pugmire writes a dreamy short story that's dripping with gloom. This time around Pugmire brings readers to a certain street in Paris (and a perfect example of a thin place) that any Lovecraft fan should be familiar with. Short, and beautiful.

Livia Llewellyn has the distinction of being the author of my favorite story in the collection. Stabilimentum is a story that seems eerily familiar. Maybe it's the shudders that come whenever I see a spider invading my living space, or Llewellyn's uncomfortable play on apartment living, but this story gave me the chills from the first to the last page. Llewellyn builds the tension from the first moment Thalia notices a spider in her bathroom. As the horror builds it also becomes more and more surreal, and by the time the story reaches it's final moments it has become something else entirely. Excellent.

Some Other You by Michael Kelly features a protagonist suffering from extreme paranoia and depression. Things come to a head when he sees his ex-girlfriend walking with a man who in every way resembles himself. Kelly does a great job of building the paranoia and giving readers a glimpse into the gray, tense world of the protagonist.

Steve Rasnic Tem writes a story that seems touching when compared to the horrors of all the others. Lost in the Garden of Earthly Delights features an interesting narrator who seems unsure of himself. This narrator relates a few strange events that have lately occurred in his life, one of which involves black mold in the shape of his father constantly reappearing in his shower and the other involving his encounter with a homeless man at the shelter he volunteers at. It's an interesting story, and Tem's talent as an author is on full display although the story lacks the horrific punch that many of the others have.

The True Edge of the World takes readers to a misty Scottish island. Peter Bell writes an impressive story of a couple who takes their vacation in a land of ancient mystery, where folklore and myth are based in truth. This was another story which really stood out to me as a great example of a place where the border between our world and another is stretched to the thinnest. Bell utilizes Gaelic folklore to craft his dark tale, and the setting is perfect.

The anthology closes strongly with John Langan's Bor Urus. Langan's story toys with the thin places concept not by looking at the where of thin places, but by looking at the how. The narrator becomes fixated with the idea that the chaos of thunderstorms is when the wall between worlds is breached, and this is when it's possible to glimpse or even cross over into this other place. The narrator has a few experiences and as he grows so does his fixation. After one near encounter he becomes a different man, until a hurricane hits and he finally gets the validation he has always been seeking. It's a powerful story, and another favorite.

These sixteen stories make for a powerful journey into the shadowy corners, the in-between places. Strantzas wisely chose the fifteen authors present in the book to be a part of the anthology, and every one of them brings a worthwhile story to the table. Some of the horrors are more vague than others, but they are horrific nonetheless. A true horror fan should have long ago felt the attraction to the thin places of the world, and therefore can't do without Shadows Edge on their bookshelf. I couldn't recommend this one enough.

Shadows Edge can be ordered from Gray Friar Press: HERE

Review: Hauntings edited by Ellen Datlow

When purchasing an anthology, the first thing that readers typically look at is the table of contents to see which authors are represented. I admit, this is one of the things I look at when picking up an anthology as well, but not the first thing I look at. The very first thing I check? The editor. Each editor is different, and has his/her own tastes. When a reader reads an anthology that they find to be exceptional, they should not only remember which authors blew them away, but which editor compiled the satisfying volume. And when a reader finds an editor whose tastes align with theirs then they found something special.

What I am getting at is simple. Ellen Datlow has long ago caught my attention as one of the premiere editors working in the genre today. Whenever I see an anthology with her name on the cover I scoop it up without even looking at the contents, because I've come to trust her judgement. Hauntings is one of her latest offerings, a reprint anthology of twenty-four stories dealing with ghosts and the afterlife. In the introduction Datlow points out that many of the stories involve children and that with this anthology she hopes to broaden the readers understanding of what a haunting is. And in this she was successful, as these are not typical ghost stories.

And now for some stories. Keep in mind this was an ARC and the layout of the stories could change between now and publication.

Pat Cadigan's Eenie, Meenie, Ipsateenie opens the collection with a truly chilling tale concerning a childhood game gone wrong. The story goes back and forth from the present (well, 1983 when the story was written) and the past. The narrator is revisiting his old neighborhood and reminiscing, all while strolling and chatting with a young boy from the neighborhood. The man's recollections are not pleasant, and are about his last night in the neighborhood as a small, anxious boy, and a game of hide and seek that goes completely wrong. There is a darker undercurrent here as well, and by the end it seems apparent that the man has become a child predator of some sort. One of the things that really struck me about this story was how it can be interpreted not just as a ghost story, but also as a story of a man whose mental issues stem from that night long ago, and drive him to do what he now does.

The next story is quite similar in a few ways. Dale Bailey's Hunger: A Confession features a child narrator whose state of mind is also called into question. The young boy is tormented by horror stories told by his older brother, but the tables are turned when they move into an old house with a gory past and the young boy finds a bundle of rusty, old butcher tools under the basement furnace. Bailey expertly builds up the tension to the story's ghastly conclusion. Like the previous story, the ghostly element could be taken at face value or as an aspect of the mentally disturbed narrator's mind.

Cargo by E. Michael Lewis was a story I first read in one of Datlow's Best Horror of the Year collections. This tale concerns one of the great tragedies of the 20th century; the Jonestown Massacre. An Air-Force loadmaster is in charge of a cargo of caskets, and has a hair-raising experience while en route to the Dover Air Force Base. The story is more heart-wrenching than scary, but powerful nonetheless.

Lucius Shepard takes readers to the jungles of Vietnam in Delta Sly Honey. The insanity of war is apparent, and things get even crazier when a young radio operator who jokingly tries to make contact with a ghostly regiment is finally answered. There are truly some weird events going on, and the story has some nice bits of action.

Another heart-wrencher is David Morell's Nothing Will Hurt You. This is a depressing story about a parent driven mad by grief when his daughter becomes the victim of a serial killer. The night she is killed, her father saw Sweeney Todd, and from that night on has the song "Nothing Will Hurt You" stuck in his head. The story serves as a reflection of grief and obsession, and it definitely hits home seeing how the father of the victim falls apart. This is a story which is more about a man being haunted by the events that happened than by an actual ghost, and the supernatural events can once again just as easily be attributed to the madness brought about by grief than by actual spirits.

Caitlin R. Kiernan is an amazing writer. The Ammonite Violin (Murder Ballad No. 4) is another story featuring both a serial killer and music. In this tale a killer who fancies himself a collector has a violinist travel to his house to play a very special instrument that the collector had special made. The story is beautifully written, and a perfect example of Kiernan's gift with language.

Joyce Carol Oates is a literary writer who sometimes dabbles in the horror genre. Whenever I come across one of her tales in a horror themed anthology I know I am in for a treat. Her story Haunted is just as impressive as I knew it was going to be. Oates has a way of leaving the reader chilled, and often hints at the horrors rather than exposing them. Haunted is presented as the writings of a middle aged woman reminiscing about her childhood best friend and their love for exploring abandoned places. Oates brilliantly builds an uneasy atmosphere and stretches it taut until the end. There's a lot here to like.

Following the chiller from Oates is a light-hearted story from Elizabeth Hand called The Have-Nots. The language is fun, and told in the voice of a southern woman, telling a story of her friend and their weird, ghostly experience as she tries to sell her makeup to some of her housewife acquaintances. It's quite humorous, and touching.

Neil Gaiman comes next with Closing Time, a frame story which makes for quite an effectively creepy tale. The narrator is in an after-hours club drinking with a few other regulars and a stranger when they decide to swap ghost stories. The story-within-a-story is told about a young boy's terrifying experience after school. The imagery is quite chilling, and the story is about the loss of innocence if anything else. There is also more going on under the surface, and the identity of just which character tells the story is called into question, making this a story that rewards rereads.

A few tales lighter in tone follow. F. Paul Wilson's Anna is a straightforward tale about ghostly revenge. Jonathan Carroll's Mr. Fiddlehead focuses on a type of "ghost" that we can create ourselves, and Terry Dowling's The Fooley is a silly little story about a man's experience with a stranger on a nighttime road.

After the lighthearted excursion, Datlow brings us right back into horror by throwing us head first into the deep end. First Paul Walther brings readers to the lake shore on the last day of summer in The Toll. A young lifeguard deals with an increasingly creepy man who has failed to mature past his teenage years all while seeing shadowy figures out in the water.As creepy as this story is, it is only an appetizer for the next one.

Simon Kurt Unsworth's The Pennine Tower Restaurant was perhaps my favorite story in the entire book, and had me genuinely creeped out. The author took the approach of presenting the story as nonfiction. He describes how a former coworker, who appears to be falling apart at the seams, approaches him with files and asks him to write about why the Pennine Tower Restaurant can not be reopened. What follows is a compilation of events that transpired in the restaurant over the years. The matter-of-fact presentation of the events lends a certain coldness to the story that adds to the overall effect, making for a grade-A horror tale.

Distress Call by Connie Willis is an interesting story, a bit confusing at times as it seems to jump around, although the confusion seems intentional, helping the reader relate to the confused protagonist. The story eventually comes together but still leaves several questions open. Overall not a bad story, but not exceptional either.

Stephen Gallagher's The Horn follows three men trapped in a blizzard with an angry ghost. There are some pretty strong moments in the story, but it seems more like a monster story than a ghost story.

Michael Marshall Smith's Everybody Goes is another story that's not scary, and has a nice little twist of an ending.

Transfigured Night by Richard Bowes is another story that touches on the theme of childhood's loss of innocence, although in a much more disturbing manner than Gaiman's story. The story itself has moments that are quite intense, and is probably the darkest story in the book. A lonely boy cuts his finger, uses his blood to make a circle, and wishes for a best friend. His wish is answered, with the appearance of a boy who seems to know too much for his age. As the man grows into a drifting hustler, he goes on a dark, bloody quest to be reunited with his old friend, bringing the story full circle to quite a conclusion. Definitely a haunting story, this one will be stuck in the mind for awhile.

James P. Blaylock, an author mostly known for being a pioneer of steampunk, pens a tale about a man searching for something. He doesn't really know what it is he is searching for, but it seems connected to a visitation he had during his childhood. Not a horror story, Hula Ville is more of a dark fantasy and whether or not it's about a ghost is up to the reader to decide.

The Bedroom Light by Jeffrey Ford is an interesting story, while there isn't really much of a plot. A couple lies in bed, avoiding a certain conversation topic, instead talking about their neighbors, in particular a creepy young girl they refer to as the "demon seed". Despite not much actually happening, Ford's talent as an author is on display; conversation that feels truly natural and some creepy stories shared by husband and wife.

Spectral Evidence reads as a case file at a paranormal research facility. The file consists of photographs which are described, the notes on each photograph (written by three different characters), and footnotes written by another character. While not scary, the story works on many levels and is quite a fun read. It makes for a perfect example of why Gemma Files is an author well worth reading.

Kelly Link brings us into space with Two Houses. Members of a decades-long space mission awaken from slumber and swap ghost stories. While some of the stories are interesting and some interesting questions are raised I thought the ending was a bit of a let down.

Adam Nevill, a British horror author who has really been making a name for himself with his novels, brings us a story of cinematic horror with Where Angels Come In. Two schoolboys decide to brave the huge white house on the hill, in order to find some sort of treasure and come back as schoolyard heroes.What they find in the building (Is it a mansion? An asylum?) is something that completely justifies their fears and helps explain the many disappearances in the town. Nevill excels when it comes to creating horrific imagery, and leaves enough unexplained to add a sense of dreadful mystery to the setting.

The collection closes with Peter Straub's Hunger, An Introduction. The narrator is a psychopath who is quite clearly delusional, and is definitely a character most readers will be familiar with. Everyone knew or went to school with one of these people at some point. A person who can be quite smart yet thinks they are much smarter than they are, lacking in social skills, quick to point out other's failings and alienating themselves from everyone else. Instead of finding the success they wrongfully think they are entitled, they usually tend to be underachievers who live in their own little world. The narrator is one of these familiar faces, and is quite far from likable. When he comes into contact with a ghost from his town's local folklore he finds a sort of inspiration. The narrator also has an interesting theory about ghosts and why they haunt the living, and the end of the story shows why this is the perfect story to close out the collection.

Datlow once again proves herself as a master editor. Her mission to broaden readers' concepts of what a haunting can be is nothing short of a success, and the twenty-four stories on display run the gamut from explicitly terrifying to eerily familiar. Readers who wish to be haunted themselves should not miss this one. Highly recommended.

Hauntings is due to be published in April, and can be pre-ordered HERE.

TOC for The Grimscribe's Puppets edited by Joseph S. Pulver Sr.

The first book I reviewed on The Arkham Digest was A Season In Carcosa. Joseph S. Pulver joined forces with the wonderful Miskatonic River Press to bring readers a brilliant tribute anthology, focusing on the King in Yellow stories created by author Robert M. Chambers. Pulver has always been very passionate about anything to do with the saffron-colored monarch, and his love and respect for the material was evident in the stories he selected. Overall the anthology was brilliant.


The partnership of Pulver and Miskatonic River Press did not stop there, and sometime within the next few months readers are going to be treated to another anthology that I can not wait to get my eager hands on. The Grimscribe's Puppets is another anthology, this time in tribute to Thomas Ligotti. Any serious reader of horror or the weird should be familiar with Ligotti, who undoubtedly is one of the very best the genre has ever had to offer. Some find Ligotti's works to be too depressing, but his brand of "philosophical horror" should not be missed by any. His works often display surrealism and typically eschew in-your-face violence, preferring to build up atmosphere and tone. Some of his tales show a heavy Lovecraft influence as well, so fans of Lovecraft in general should be familiar with some of Ligotti's stories.


Recently the table of contents for The Grimscribe's Puppets has been released, and a quick glance is all that's needed to know that this should be a good one. The majority of authors on this list have already proven themselves time and time again. The one name I'm sad to not see on the list is Laird Barron, who had a great story in A Season in Carcosa. I'm not that bummed though, because with names like Llewellyn, Mills, Cisco, Goodfellow, Gavin, Strantzas, Thomas, Langan, Files and a few others, there is a lot to look forward to here.

And here is the table of contents:

“Furnace” by Livia Llewellyn
“The Lord Came at Twilight” by Daniel Mills
“The Secrets of the Universe” by Michael Cisco
“The Human Moth” by Kaaron Warren
“Basement Angels” by Joel Lane
“No Signal” by Darrell Schweitzer
“The Xenambulist: A Fable in Four Acts” by Robin Spriggs
“The Company Town” by Nicole Cushing
“The Man Who Escaped This Story” by Cody Goodfellow
“Pieces of Blackness” by Michael Kelly
“The Blue Star” by Eddie M. Angerhuber
“20 Simple Steps to Ventriloquism” by Jon Padgett
"The Holiness of Desolation" by Robert M. Price
“Diamond Dust” by Mike Griffin
“After the Final” by Richard Gavin
“Eyes Exchange Bank” by Scott Nicolay
“By Invisible Hands” by Simon Strantzas
“Where We Will All Be” by Paul Tremblay
“Gailestis” by Ally Bird
“The Prosthesis” by Jeff Thomas
“Into the Darkness, Fearlessly” by John Langan
“Oubliette” by Gemma Files



Are any readers Ligotti fans?

TV Review: American Horror Story Season 1

Several of my friends have become enamored with American Horror Story: Asylum. As it is the second season of the show, I didn’t want to jump in without seeing the first, although seeing the first is apparently not necessary. American Horror Story has quite a unique concept, as it is a horror anthology show like no other. As opposed to your typical anthology show, where each episode stands alone, American Horror Story has each season stand alone. Every season is a stand-alone mini-series, featuring recurring actors and actresses in new roles. Despite this, I still refused to watch season two (Asylum) until I had a chance to view season one (Murder House).

MILD SPOILERS AHEAD

The first season of American Horror Story is something I have very mixed feelings about. It seems to be a show that hopes to equally mix horror with drama, and sometimes it works but other times it doesn’t. The big problem for me was that it was the horror aspect that interested me the most. And with that said, the first few episodes do not disappoint. There are plenty of scary scenes to be found early in the series, and it was enough to grab my attention and pull me along for the ride. The horror falters though, and so did my interest in the show, a few episodes in. One reason is that in the beginning not much is known, but as the show goes on it attempts to lend answer to its many mysteries. The problem is that the “fear of the unknown” evaporates, and the horrors can be understood, which in many cases in the show leads to those horrors no longer being horrors. Also, as a longtime reader/viewer of horror, I have a pretty good imagination, so most of the time when these horrors are revealed I just felt disappointed (I’m looking at you man-in-the-rubber-suit and creature in the basement). 

The drama aspect of the show sometimes feels quite soap opera-ish, and as the horror fades and the drama takes the forefront, I just didn’t find the show to be nearly as interesting. Sure, some of the characters are interesting, but not too many are likeable. It’s hard to sympathize with the husband Ben, because he decided to cheat and brought many of his problems on himself. Violet is perhaps the most likeable member of the Harmon family, but as the troubled teenager she often seems too much of a stereotype.

Anyone who was a fan of LOST was most likely pulled into it because of the many mysteries. This show has quite a few of its own mysteries, but only one season to wrap them up. In this, the writers mostly do quite a good job, and many viewers would be pleased to have everything answered. I was still left for wanting, though, as I felt some questions were raised that seemed to be forgotten. Earlier on in the season, we see that new men in the household are awoken at night by whispering, and seem to follow the same pattern. They sleepwalk to the stove, turning on all the burners, as if seeking warmth, and then go light the fireplace. There’s obviously a dark force at work, affecting their behavior. Also throughout the series, a greater darkness within the house is hinted at, one that seems to generally affect certain characters behavior. As the show continues, we see all the former inhabitants, even as far back as the first family to live in the house. All of their stories are tragic, yet none really have that underlying evil. They are all simply flawed human beings. I found it disappointing that as the season went on, the individual spirits came to the forefront, and whatever “malevolent force” I was led to exist seemed to not matter anymore. The horror fiend in me found that to be quite disappointing.

One of the show’s concepts is that it wishes to convey horrors both supernatural and natural. The natural horrors being things we deal with in everyday life that are horrific or cause anxiety. This can be seen in a recurring theme throughout the season: infidelity. The entire reason the Harmon family moves into the house (and across the country) has to do with infidelity. Vivien gives birth to a stillborn, and a few months later finds her husband Ben cheating on her with one of his students. The show examines the after effects of such an event, and it’s quite evident that Ben’s infidelity has broken the entire family. The entire family is effected in many ways, the wife is distant, the daughter alienated. Ben struggles to keep it all under control. The Harmons are not the only ones suffering from the effects of infidelity, as the couple that lived in the house before them also suffered several problems dealing with cheating. Cheating is something that is a real fear for many. It’s also, unfortunately, something that seems quite common. I think it would be safe to say that anyone feeling their significant other might be cheating with someone else would feel fear and anxiety, so although there is nothing supernatural about infidelity, it is a real enough horror. Other real life fears are also explored throughout the show: school bullying, school shootings, physical danger at the hands of real psychopaths, fear of losing family, and the fear of being alone.

Random Highlights include:

-        Jessica Lange as Constance, the neighbor. Constance is crazy, and you never quite know what’s going on or what to expect with her. Lange plays the part to perfection, she was easily one of my favorite parts of the show.

-        The “cold opening” of the episodes. Every episode opened with a vignette from the past, adding another piece to the puzzle of Murder House. It worked very well to set up each episode.

-        The opening title sequence .

-        The maid – appearing young, sexy and seductive to men, and appearing old, unattractive and matronly to women.

-        Tate was a very interesting character, able to solicit sympathy in one scene and revulsion in others.

-        The “anthology series” concept.

All in all, I can’t recommend this to just anyone. If you’re looking for a horror with drama elements, move on. If you’re looking for a drama with horror elements, then you would enjoy this. As much as I loved the first few episodes, the show hit a point where I felt let down. I continued it, because I had to play it out, but I wasn’t nearly as interested as I was after the second or third episode.  I hear that season two is quite an improvement, and I really dig the concept of each season standing alone, so I just may give season two a chance.