A Head Full of Horror

Knock Knock, Open Wide by Neil Sharpson is set in Ireland. A beguiling backdrop, to be sure. ‘Tis a place filled with folklore galore and accents that melt the heart. Though author Sharpson reminds the reader that the brogue may not always be appealing: “The voice had a Dublin accent as thick as tar, deep as a well filled with old plastic bags and empty cans. It sounded like cigarette smoke and varnish and stout the color of old rivers. Phlegm and gravel.” With a narrative that features an abundance of such evocative descriptions, I thought at the outset that this novel would rank as one of the best I’ve recently…

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein begs the question: Is it a horror or a science fiction novel? The second question is why it should be an either/or? Genre hybrids are a part of the history of horror fiction, and it’s grand when a melding does justice to the genres that are embraced. In the novel Red Rabbit, author Alex Grecian seamlessly stiches together a fable that incorporates supernatural horror with established elements of the Western genre. Demons coexist with dust devils in this hugely engaging narrative. Set in Kansas in the years following the Civil War, the story begins with a burial. There is speculation that the young woman who died was cursed by Sadie Grace,…

The allure of reading a first novel is irresistible. There’s the possibility of discovering a blazing new talent. Scott Leeds, the author of Schrader’s Chord, displays a facility for understanding complex family dynamics. Indeed, Leeds’s narrative seizes on a “sins of the fathers” motif. The suicide of a father reunites his progeny, which consists of two daughters and an estranged son. Dad owned a lionized record store that he bequeathed to the son. Supernatural horror comes home to roost as part of the inheritance. The father had pursued an urban legend concerning a set of recordings that purportedly open a gateway between the living and the dead. He unearthed the four…

In my review of Little Eve, I dubbed author Catriona Ward “The Mistress of Marvelous Misdirection” based on the one-two punch of that novel and The Last House on Needless Street. Both feature unreliable narrators and the device is again applied in Looking Glass Sound, a Nightfire publication. Looking Glass Sound further tweaks conventional notions of perception and reality and reaffirms Ward’s talent for keeping the reader intrigued and off base. However, the extremely far-fetched (albeit possibly allegorical) plot and an assemblage of largely unsympathetic characters weaken the narrative. Creating effective ambiguity is akin to walking a tightrope. And even the most accomplished writers can lose their balance. The plot begins with a portion of…

Horror reviewers, particularly in the oppressive hot summer months, may feel the need to read lighter fare that is still somewhat within the boundaries of the genre. When offered a copy of the novel Masters of Death, I jumped on it. The description of a vampire real estate agent plagued by a poltergeist who is haunting one of her listings was enticing. Then add to the mix a faux medium who, parenthetically, happens to be the godson of Death being recruited by said vampire to cleanse the property. It came across like a spritzy paranormal cocktail seemingly perfect for summer sipping. Refreshing like a cool breeze that offsets the pervasive heat.…

1905. A Catholic orphanage is overflowing with boys who are perpetually hungry and subjected to draconian disciplinary measures. Brutal winter is fast approaching. A winter of discontent. Rhetorically, what could possibly go wrong? In the very capable hands of author Philip Fracassi, more than one might imagine. His novel Boys in theValley scatters the seeds of inherent discord and cultivates them with supernatural sulfur. Effectively employing the structural device of alternating between the protagonist’s point of view and an omniscient narrator, Fracassi creates sequences that are compelling. Protagonist Peter Barlow is sixteen years old, one of the older boys housed at St. Vincent’s Orphanage. At the age of nine, he witnessed the…

One of the wonderful things about the horror genre is that it appeals to all ages. As a book reviewer, I’ve read a handful of novels labeled Young Adult and/or Teen and was generally impressed with the writing. Rotters (2011) by Daniel Kraus, for example, is a most memorable and literally groundbreaking tale that features an estranged father and teenaged son forging a warped connection and tolerance for one another via grave robbing. Therefore, when offered the opportunity to review what’s referred to as “Middle Grade fiction,” my curiosity was piqued. The category is geared to kids between the ages of eight and twelve, after which they then may gravitate toward the…

Screams From the Dark (Tor Nightfire) is an anthology curated by renowned editor Ellen Datlow. The compilation is subtitled “29 Tales of Monsters and the Monstrous,” and indeed provides an array of stories that amply fulfill the description. As always, when reading a variety of yarns, there are some that strike one’s fancy more than others. Subjective as it most certainly is, I’ve selected for discussion the stories that most appealed to me, realizing that other readers will have their own favorites. Two of the tales address Covid in their narrative. In “Wet Red Grin,” written by Gemma Files, the protagonist is a caregiver at a nursing home affected by the…