A Head Full of Horror

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…

William Peter Blatty’s 1971 novel, The Exorcist, was a game changer for horror fiction. The often-emulated book was the gold standard for narratives that ventured into the realm of demonic possession. There was a deluge of Exorcist wannabes. Then the craze, as all crazes do, came to a lull. With the release of Piñata this month, there came a quiver of anticipation. The novel by Leopoldo Gout was marketed as a classy take on the subgenre. There’s the striking jacket illustration by João Ruas, and much ado was made about the thematic gravitas. Indeed, the plot covers complex indigenous folklore, the extremely important acknowledgement of culture erasure, perils of illegal border crossing, Mexican cartels,…

Say the term “ghost story” and you have me at hello. Still, I was a bit wary of reading another collection about spooks and the supernatural. The lengthy subtitle of Haunted Tales is Classic Stories of Ghosts and the Supernatural. This reinforced my trepidation since “classic” implies that the tales have been reprinted many times. And indeed, some of the narratives in this compilation do give credence to that inherent supposition. But in addition to my great fondness for ghostly/supernatural short stories, I greatly respect the editors of this anthology. Leslie S. Klinger and Lisa Morton are, individually, extremely thoughtful in analysis and explication. Together, they make a terrific team that deftly dispenses historical and…