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Book Review: It Came From the Swamp: A Cryptid Anthology edited by Joey R. Poole

Cover for It Came From The Swamp: A Cryptid Anthology

It Came From the Swamp: A Cryptid Anthology edited by Joey R. Poole

Malarkey Books, 2022

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1088025321

Available: Paperback ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

 

This short story anthology is themed around cryptids and folkloric creatures. Mermaids and Bigfoot make multiple appearances, but so do more locally known creatures.

 

Standout stories include: “Flood Tide”, in which a maid for an anti-abortion senator feeds him and his handsy son to a carnivorous mermaid. I felt vicarious pleasure reading this one.In “Ceasing”, a lizard man and a Boo Hag go on a Halloween date. In “Soo-Soo Go Bye-Bye”, a father rushing to Wal-Mart on icy roads for baby supplies thinks he’s spotted a Sasquatch. “Der Butzemann” takes a figure from Pennsylvania Dutch folklore and uses it to enact vengeance on those poisoning the land. There’s some excellent writing in some of the other stories but they don’t quite feel like all the pieces fit together.

 

In any book themed on cryptids, they are really the stars, and “The Monster Beneath” and “The Valley Where the Fog Has Hooves” both have incredible, lyrical, descriptive writing about the cryptids in the stories. For readers into cryptids and folkloric creatures looking for something a little darker than Harry Dresden’s “Working for Bigfoot”, this is a title you’ll want to check out.

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

 

 

Posted on September 26, 2022 by , Reply

Book Review: Don’t Break The Oath: Women of Horror Anthology #4 edited by J Girardi and J Pipe

 

Cover art for The Oath

 

Don’t Break the Oath: Women of Horror Anthology #4 edited by J Girardi & J Pipe

Kandisha Press 2021

ISBN-13: 979-8750064694

Available: Paperback- Kindle edition

 

Women are increasingly taking the lead as horror authors and the present anthology is already number four in a successful series penned exclusively by female writers.

Unfortunately, I’ve missed the previous three volumes but I’ll certainly do my best in order to secure a copy of the whole series.

The current volume features twenty-three tales and, as customary with short story anthologies, not all the included material worked for me, although the average quality is certainly more than acceptable. But, as always, some stories really stand out and here they are.

“The Coachman’s Cottage” by Anna Taborska is a conventional, yet powerful, tale about the ghost of a woman walled up alive by her vengeful husband, haunting a man occupying an abandoned cottage.

Sonora Taylor contributes “Capable of Loving”, an insightful, disquieting piece featuring a creepy little girl bound to become a criminal, while Angela Yuriko Smith pens “Perfect Girlfriend”, an offbeat tale with a distinct SF flavor, featuring an inhuman doll endowed with extraordinary abilities.

“The Kinda True Story of Bloody Mary”  by Tracy Cross is an intriguing, very dark horror story about Bloody Mary, unfortunately wrapped up in a slightly boring context.

The vivid “ Fluid” by RA Busby is a piece of body horror addressing the terrible consequences of physical transformation.

While a fifth installment has been already announced, please enjoy what those dark lady writers have produced so far.

 

Reviewed by Mario Guslandi

Posted on February 11, 2022 by , Reply

It’s Women in Horror Month! Book Review: A Quaint and Curious Volume of Gothic Tales edited by Alex Woodroe

cover art for A Quaint and Curious Volume of Gothic Tales edited by Alex Woodroe

A Quaint and Curious Volume of Gothic Tales edited by Alex Woodroe

Brigids Gate Press, 2022

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09QHKS4GJ

Available: Kindle edition ( Amazon.com )

 

Just in time for Women in Horror Month, along comes A Quaint and Curious Volume of Gothic Tales. This anthology of stories by women writers uses the gothic horror tradition to and illuminate the present by giving women a voice. An introduction by Stephanie Ellis provides background on the origins and characteristics of gothic horror and short summaries of each story.

 

Standout stories include “Penance” by Lindsey King Miller, a heartbreaking tale of a daughter’s unresolved fear, anger, and grief after the death of her estranged mother;  “What The Dead Whisper to the Living”  by Mary Rajotte, in which a father reveals unspeakable secrets to his daughter; “Picture Perfect” by Patricia Miller, a short, vicious, piece about an artist who pours all her feelings into her work; “Arbor Hills” by Deana Lisenby, a beautiful piece with an unreliable narrator that takes place in an Alzheimer’s unit; “Down with the Holly, Ivy, All” by Jessica Lévai , a Christmas tale of greed and just desserts that feels like it is straight out of Dickens; and “Speak Ill of the Dead” by Briana McGuckin is an entertaining tale about a forensics technician facing the consequences of feeling sympathy for the ghost of a victim she examined. The laginappe, or final story in the book, “The Sweetlings” by S.H. Cooper ,  could be an episode of  The Twilight Zone. 

 

Other good stories include  “Mercy” by Catherine McCarthy, which features a man with the supernatural power to end lives peacefully, at a cost; “Slave of the Living Dead” by Kasimma, which moves the gothic sensibility to Nigeria, where a family curse caused by destroying the lineage of a beloved ancestor and selling him into slavery dooms them at age thirty-five;  “A Kindness of Ravens” by April Yates, a tale of unhappy marriage, betrayal, sapphic love, and the supernatural; “The Half-Moon Casita” by Anna Fitzgerald Healy, about a couple in an unsatisfactory relationship, each haunted by uncomfortable doubts of the other; and “Scabrous” by Victoria Nations, a disturbing story of a haunted shed.

 

I appreciated the inclusion of “Slave of the Living Dead” , set outside the typical European locations and culture associated with the gothic tradition,, and would love to see more diverse authors’ interpretations if there is a second volume planned. This is a fine choice for readers wanting to explore the gothic horror genre and celebrate women in horror.  The variety of settings, styles, and lengths in this anthology however, means that everyone should be able to find something they can enjoy. Recommended.

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on February 2, 2022 by , Reply
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