{"id":5275,"date":"2017-09-15T14:13:52","date_gmt":"2017-09-15T18:13:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/?p=5275"},"modified":"2017-09-15T14:13:52","modified_gmt":"2017-09-15T18:13:52","slug":"book-review-ink-stains-a-dark-fiction-anthology-volume-3-edited-by-n-apythia-morges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/book-review-ink-stains-a-dark-fiction-anthology-volume-3-edited-by-n-apythia-morges\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Ink Stains: A Dark Fiction Anthology (Volume 3) edited by N. Apythia Morges"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

Ink Stains: A Dark Fiction Anthology<\/em> (Volume 3) edited by N. Apythia Morges<\/p>\n

Dark Alley Press, 2017<\/p>\n

ISBN-13: 978-1946050014<\/p>\n

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This\u00a0is the third volume in a planned quarterly anthology of horror short stories published by Dark Alley Press.\u00a0 The collection presents a variety of ghost stories, in which contemporary protagonists are stalked by ghosts from the distant or recent past, seeking solace, release or revenge.\u00a0 The other Ink Stains<\/em> anthologies in the series present stories about death and trust.<\/p>\n

Volume 3 consists of 10 short stories of varying length, some written by seasoned writers and others by authors who recently entered the horror genre.\u00a0 The three most interesting ghost stories were among the longest.\u00a0 The greater length gave authors more time to develop characters and to add twists and turns to the plots.<\/p>\n

New author Andrea Hansell wrote \u201cA Visit from Elizabeth\u201d.\u00a0 A young couple, Mark and Bethany, buy a Nantucket sea captain\u2019s house and invite former college classmates to spend a weekend.\u00a0 However, Bethany is insecure and jealous of Mark\u2019s gorgeous ex-girlfriend. Unknown to the couple, the house has a tragic history. \u00a0A sea captain built the house for his young bride, Elizabeth, then left to run the British blockade during the War of 1812.\u00a0 The captain was captured and imprisoned.\u00a0 Elizabeth was pregnant, and the British blockade caused famine in the island. Malnourished, Elizabeth had a stillbirth and died. \u00a0Her ghost watched her husband return, marry again, and raise a family in Elizabeth\u2019s house. Elizabeth appears only to Bethany. \u00a0The ghost lures the frantic Bethany up to the house’s widow\u2019s walk, where Mark is standing. \u00a0Elizabeth wants something, and will use Bethany\u2019s jealousy to get it.<\/p>\n

Diane Arrelle, a veteran horror author, is the author of \u201cMisplaced\u201d.\u00a0 An elderly spinster, Miss Annamarie Place, visits an antiquated hotel in her hometown. \u00a0The room looks like it did over fifty years ago, when she was a teenager. \u00a0Annamarie has returned there because someone claiming to be her daughter called and asked to meet her.\u00a0 But Annamarie has never been married or pregnant. \u00a0Could she have forgotten something so important?\u00a0 Is dementia or psychosis robbing her of her memories? \u00a0When she looks into an old mirror, Annamarie hears a baby wailing, then sees the bed and walls covered in blood. \u00a0Bleeding, and in terrible pain, she relives what happened in that room.\u00a0 Is this all a nightmare, or have Annamarie Place\u2019s memories been truly misplaced?<\/p>\n

Another new horror author, Olga Monroe, is the author of \u201cThe Amsterdam Chest\u201d.\u00a0 An English couple is renovating a Victorian mansion.\u00a0 The wife, Francesca, sees the ghost of a teenage girl dressed in a black velvet dress with a corset and bone frame tapping on a large antique chest, purchased by her husband in Amsterdam.\u00a0 The mansion and estate have a history of tragedy and mystery, and has passed through many owners over time. When the new owners drain a pond, they discover a headstone that has been submerged for over a century.\u00a0 It has Latin inscriptions, but no name.\u00a0 There are no remains.\u00a0 Francesca recently lost her newborn baby.\u00a0 She is still in mourning and keeps her dead baby\u2019s clothes in the Amsterdam chest.\u00a0 Only Francesca sees the ghost, and its appearances become more frequent.\u00a0 At the same time Francesca becomes more nervous and apprehensive.\u00a0 She is inexplicably wracked with guilt.\u00a0 The ghost takes Francesca\u2019s hand and leads her to the chest.\u00a0 The ghost keeps knocking on the chest.\u00a0 Its face is blurry at first, but finally becomes clear.\u00a0 Who is she?\u00a0 What did Francesca do?<\/p>\n

These are the strongest stories in the anthology. Others are more predictable. Overall, the stories have well-paced, interesting plots. Fans of ghost stories should be pleased with the collection.\u00a0Recommended.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Contains: gore<\/p>\n

Reviewed by Robert D. Yee<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ink Stains: A Dark Fiction Anthology (Volume 3) edited by N. Apythia Morges Dark Alley Press, 2017 ISBN-13: 978-1946050014 Available: Paperback, Kindle edition   This\u00a0is the third volume in a planned quarterly anthology of horror short stories published by Dark Alley Press.\u00a0 The collection presents a variety of ghost stories, in which contemporary protagonists are<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[590,2474,3166,700,181,3163,3165,3164,495,202],"class_list":["post-5275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-anthologies","tag-book-review","tag-dark-alley-press","tag-ghost-stories","tag-horror-genre","tag-horror-short-stories","tag-ink-stains","tag-n-apythia-morges","tag-short-story-collections","tag-supernatural-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5275"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5275\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5416,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5275\/revisions\/5416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsterlibrarian.com\/TheCirculationDesk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}