Month: April 2022

Week 220 – Weekly Horror Short Story Reviews: Atkins, Wilson, Kuttner, and Brite

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Welcome to Week 220 of my horror short fiction review project! Some great stories this week–I loved all of them in different ways. All are worth your time. I think my favorite story was “His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood” by Poppy Z. Brite by a slim margin because it blends a classic HPL story that doesn’t get enough love, plus the New Orleans goth scene in the 1980s. How can that go wrong?

Hellbound Hearts, edited by Paul Kane and Marie O’Regan (Pocket Books, 2009)

“Prisoners of the Inferno” by Peter Atkins

Really good story. Jack is an old-time film buff and memorabilia collector who encounters a still photo from a presumed fictitious or lost film from 1932, which was said to be about people who are brought to Hell via a cabinet and transformed into living, murderous puppets (sounds like my kind of movie). Jack then gets sucked into the underground movie scene by people who say they have access to this purportedly lost film…and the cabinet used as a “prop” in the movie. We both know that this wasn’t a simple prop. Hits exactly the right notes and elements for a story like this. Great start to the collection that takes the rough concept of Hellraiser and does something both similar and remarkably different with it.

The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories, edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer (Tor, 2012)

“The Sea Was Wet as Wet Could Be” by Gahan Wilson

Phil and his four friends are getting rip-roaring drunk at the beach when they encounter two beachcombers who appear to be human analogues to the Walrus and the Carpenter from Into the Looking Glass. It’s been a long time since I read that, so I had forgotten that from the oysters’ perspective, the Walrus and the Carpenter—who are very hungry—are really quite sinister. The men invite the partiers to another party, and all but Phil, who has a bad feeling about the situation and begs off, head off with the men. Phil later finds that his friends have been consumed like raw oysters. Really good story, and extremely chilling.

Weird Vampire Tales, edited by Robert Weinberg, Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, and Martin H. Greenberg, (Gramercy Books, 1992)

“I, the Vampire” by Henry Kuttner

Really good story set in 1930s Hollywood. Assistant director Mart Prescott (sounds like a two-fisted man of action, doesn’t he?) tangles with a powerful French vampire Pierre Futaine, who starts killing people in the movie business before setting his sights on Prescott’s girlfriend Jean, who Futaine thinks may be the reincarnation of his long-dead lover Sonya (if you’ve seen Fright Night, this will sound familiar…actually the more I think about it, Fright Night is this exact plot transplanted from Hollywood to the suburbs). Very atmospheric and menacing throughout, despite the fact that the reader knows there’s a vampire in town from the word go.

Cthulhu 2000, edited by Jim Turner (Del Rey, 1999)

“His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood” by Poppy Z. Brite

A retelling of HPL’s “The Hound,” though transplanted to the decadent Gothic setting of 1980s New Orleans and made much more explicit than the original, with a mix of Anne Rice-inspired Gothicism and Louisiana voodoo. Louis and Howard are bored decadents who get into graverobbing and end up stealing the toothy amulet of a (dead?) sorcerer. The sorcerer is reanimated by this intrusion, and they meet him inhabiting the body of a youth in a New Orleans goth club, where they seduce him, or, more likely, he seduces them. Louis pays the ultimate price for the theft. Wonderful. Simple wonderful. I liked HPL’s original story, but this is an entirely different tale, though undoubtedly highly derivative of the original.


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Week 219 – Weekly Horror Short Story Reviews: Moore, Seignolle, Peirce, and Copper

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Welcome to Week 219 of my horror short fiction review project! This week is the last of Alfred Hitchcock’s Witch’s Brew. Next week that one will be replaced by the Hellbound Hearts collection. My favorite story of the week was definitely “Shaft Number 247” by Basil Copper, which is a Lovecraftian dystopian tale of life inside a society that has retreated into a vast underground city because there’s…something outside.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Witch’s Brew (Random House, 1983)

“The Proof” by John Moore

Matthew Hopkins, infamous Witchfinder General, is interrogating a poor, young, innocent woman because he is convinced that she is a witch. The reader knows that she’s not, but yet there’s a terrible sense of danger and suspense throughout because he is nominally waiting for the woman’s familiar to show up, and she (and the reader) knows that her cute little black cat is about to walk into the room to find out why she hasn’t been home to feed it. Understated, but tragic and poignant.

The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories, edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer (Tor, 2012)

“The Ghoulbird” by Claude Seignolle

Short and not especially good. A man is invited out to an estate in the country and encounters the ghoulbird, said to be a bird of ill omen (as the name might suggest). Some bizarre occurrences then transpire, but by that point I had stopped caring. I wonder if the translation from the French had something to do with my relative lack of engagement with the story.

Weird Vampire Tales, edited by Robert Weinberg, Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, and Martin H. Greenberg, (Gramercy Books, 1992)

“Doom of the House of Duryea” by Earl Peirce, Jr.

Arthur Duryea is reunited with his father Henry after a twenty-year hiatus—he grew up being told that his father was some kind of vampire who had drained his infant brothers of their blood. Henry denies doing that when they finally meet, but does convey that there almost seems to have been a family curse that led several of their ancestors down dark paths. The pair go to a hunting cabin to become acquainted and after a few days, Henry starts acting kind of creepy. One night, Arthur finds a book that suggests that there really is some sort of blood urge in the family lineage, and shortly thereafter Henry demands that his son tie him to the bed lest something terrible happen. Something terrible does happen, despite Henry being tied to the bed. Grim and really effective ending. An interesting case of vampirism that doesn’t seem to involve anything supernatural, or any advantages for the “vampires.”

Cthulhu 2000, edited by Jim Turner (Del Rey, 1999)

“Shaft Number 247” by Basil Copper

Driscoll is a Watch Captain in a vast, underground system or network of tunnels; it is unclear when or where the story takes place, but my bet is on a near-future dystopian setting after a global apocalypse has occurred. There is a notion of Outside, which no one is permitted to venture into, and that spurs the story’s action: one other watchstander recently went Outside, possibly after being contacted by something that came inside the tunnels, and one of Driscoll’s colleagues plans to follow. Inside, surveillance is tight, and human behavior and basic information are both very tightly regulated—this is a totalitarian society reminiscent of 1984’s Oceania to say the least. The more Driscoll learns about what has happened, the more intrigued he is, and the more he wants to follow, despite the obvious sinister nature of what is going on. Very atmospheric. An excellent story.


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Week 218 – Weekly Horror Short Story Reviews: Jackson, Rodoreda, Eshbach, and Watt-Evans

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Welcome to Week 218 of my horror short fiction review project! While I liked a bunch of this week’s stories, my favorite was “Strangers in Town” by Shirley Jackson. Small towns have always fascinated me, even though (or perhaps because) I’ve never lived in one, but I would be the first to acknowledge that they are probably horrible places to live. I suspect Shirley Jackson might agree.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Witch’s Brew (Random House, 1983)

“Strangers in Town” by Shirley Jackson

Addie Spinner is a terrible gossip who lives in a village seemingly inhabited only by other terrible, small-minded gossips. While I have never lived in a small town, I believe that Shirley Jackson has; I certainly hope this story does not reflect her experiences with small town life, but suspect it just might. In any case, a new family—one very different from the locals—moves into town. They are everything the locals are not: cosmopolitan, interesting, and fun. They are also magical (literally), and seem to have a fairy godmother who lives with them as well as a magical, talking (invisible?) cat. The locals end up driving this poor family out of time because of these differences, despite the fact that the magical family never harms anyone and in fact helps a number of people. Really good.

The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories, edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer (Tor, 2012)

“The Salamander” by Merce Rodoreda

Not an especially enjoyable or even coherent story for me. Your mileage may vary. A young woman is seduced and then raped before being accused of being a witch and burned at the stake. That’s all tragic. Then it takes a surreal turn when she transforms into the mythological beast, the salamander—the one associated with the element of fire, not the squishy little amphibian—and then has some weird experiences as a salamander. This one was just beyond me; I’m probably missing out on a great story buried in here.

Weird Vampire Tales, edited by Robert Weinberg, Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, and Martin H. Greenberg, (Gramercy Books, 1992)

“Isle of the Undead” by Lloyd Arthur Eshbach

Cliff and Vilma are a young couple in love; Cliff has just purchased a yacht and they are celebrating with friends. They encounter an ancient Persian galley that is crewed by zombies. The yacht captain is in league with these zombies, and all are in service to a vampire master. The yacht is brought to an island where the vampire has his lair and one by one they are torn about and devoured or enslaved as the undead. Pretty brutal bloodletting scenes. This is a pretty fun, bloodcurdling, pulp romp. Not deep, but lots of action, and a little surprising what they were able to get away with.

Cthulhu 2000, edited by Jim Turner (Del Rey, 1999)

“Pickman’s Modem” by Lawrence Watt-Evans

The narrator, George, is worried about his acquaintance Pickman, who he knows from some public forums on the early Internet (the story was written in 1992). Pickman starts posting again after an unexplained absence and sounds radically different—far more cutting and eloquent than previously. George investigates and makes contact with Pickman in person, discovering that Pickman fears that his new modem (remember those?) is not only changing what he types online, but is actually a conduit for the Great Old Ones. Interesting and fun, though the technology involved might seem dated if you weren’t online by the mid-1990s. I’d be curious how young whippersnappers find this story.


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Week 217 – Weekly Horror Short Story Reviews: Collier, Bernanos, Rosenquest, and Wilson

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Welcome to Week 217 of my horror short fiction review project! Lots of good stories this week, but my favorite was “The Barrens” by F. Paul Wilson, which is a Lovecraftian/Cthulhu Mythos tale set in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Creepy mixture of cosmic and body horror, always one of my favorite combinations.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Witch’s Brew (Random House, 1983)

“In the Cards” by John Collier

Myra Wilkins learned a card-based fortunetelling technique—that seems to work—so that she could find a man who was going to inherit a lot of money and then die shortly thereafter so that she could trick him into marrying her. It takes a few years, but she does eventually find such a man. It’s an unhappy marriage, not surprisingly, and well, she eventually gets a letter telling her that she’s inherited a lot of money and then her husband kills her (and will be executed soon for the crime, presumably). Good.

The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories, edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer (Tor, 2012)

“The Other Side of the Mountain” by Michel Bernanos

An overly long novelette, but it still manages to work despite the length. The narrator is shanghaied into being a ship’s boy on a Spanish freighter bound for the New World. The ship becomes becalmed when they reach the equator and the crew rapidly fall into chaos and cannibalism as they slowly starve to death. By the end of this harrowing first half of the story, only the narrator and his friend, the ship’s cook named Toine, have survived to wash up on an unfamiliar shore. (And, it seems clear, Toine doesn’t even recognize the constellations in the night sky.) They begin encountering the statues (or, more accurately, petrified remains) of people and animals. The tale closes with a horrifyingly cosmic revelation about the nature of the place they have washed up on. Lots to like here, it’s just a bit too drawn out.

Weird Vampire Tales, edited by Robert Weinberg, Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, and Martin H. Greenberg, (Gramercy Books, 1992)

“Return to Death” by J. Wesley Rosenquest

Herr Rotfernberg is the lone intellectual in a small Transylvanian town. He slips into a coma (catalepsy) but is aware of his surroundings. His friends think he is dead, of course, and prepare him for burial. When he starts regaining the ability to move his body, they predictably think he is a vampire and stake him. Good one, though very brief.

Cthulhu 2000, edited by Jim Turner (Del Rey, 1999)

“The Barrens” by F. Paul Wilson

Jonathan Creighton is purportedly writing a book on the origins of folktales and wants to write a chapter on the story of the Jersey Devil, so he recontacts his college girlfriend, Kathleen “Mac” McKelston, who is from the Pine Barrens in New Jersey and convinces her to take him into this remote, insular area so that he can convince the locals to open up to him. They make contact with a cast of characters, but it quickly becomes apparent that Jonathan is most interested in the floating lights that are sometimes seen flying through the air above the Pine Barrens, and which the locals avoid talking about because of superstitious dread. Jonathan makes contact with these lights, and they begin to horrifically transform his body, and lead him to what seems to be a “thin spot” between dimensions. There’s a lot going on here, including some of my favorite things: secret knowledge in the form of a stolen book from Miskatonic University, a melding of cosmic and body horror, and the sense that the true nature of reality behind our limited perceptions and understanding is both awful to contemplate and veiled from us. All excellent elements in this novella.


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Week 216 – Weekly Horror Short Story Reviews: Dunsany, Buzzati, Moore, and King

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Welcome to Week 216 of my horror short fiction review project! We finish out Stephen King’s collection Just After Sunset today; next week that will be replaced by the Cthulhu 2000 collection. Some decent stories this week, but while several are good, none are exactly flawless. I think my favorite was probably King’s “A Very Tight Place,” which is one of his non-supernatural thriller stories in which a regular person is placed in slow, mortal peril and must escape the situation through perseverance, cunning, and quite a lot of discomfort (like Gerald’s Game, for example).

Alfred Hitchcock’s Witch’s Brew (Random House, 1983)

“The Widow Flynn’s Apple Tree” by Lord Dunsany

Mickey Maguire is a teenage boy being tried for breaking a branch of the widow Flynn’s apple tree by, apparently, falling out of the tree. Mickey spins what the court assumes is a tall tale: he tells a story of how the widow—at his request—turned him into a swan and he lived among them for several years, even migrating north. Good stuff.

The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories, edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer (Tor, 2012)

“The Colomber” by Dino Buzzati

A kind of nautical fable or fairy tale. A boy and his sea captain father witness a colomber, a fish that portends doom at sea for those who witness it (it also can be seen by their blood relatives). The boy grows into a man, tries to avoid his fate, but then embraces his doom and becomes a mariner. When he is very old and dying, he finally confronts the fish, which has followed him his whole life. Interesting, though I found the resolution lacking.

Weird Vampire Tales, edited by Robert Weinberg, Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, and Martin H. Greenberg, (Gramercy Books, 1992)

“Shambleau” by C. L. Moore

The first of the classic SF Northwest Smith stories (that name absolutely has to have inspired Indiana Jones, don’t you think?). I haven’t read the others but I believe he is a smuggler/thief/adventurer in a futuristic SF setting. I will say that there’s a fascinating future setting painted here in only a few lines. The conceit seems to be that humanity settles the rest of the solar system (and beyond) and finds that one or more hitherto unknown human civilizations had previously also reached space and colonized places like Mars and Venus, and then presumably died off leaving these outputs. This one is set on a frontier Mars that seems more than a little like the Wild West. Smith is casing a ship or cargo at the spaceport, presumably looking to steal it, though hat isn’t important to the story. He saves the life of a humanoid girl who the locals are trying to kill. She seems to be some sort of inimical nonhuman species with wet, red wormlike tentacles on top of her head, through which she feeds on the lifefotrce of her mind controlled victims. It eventually appears that a pile of these red tentacles is her natural form, and the attractive humanoid form may be more of an illusion, though the precise nature of the being (called a “Shambleau,” and said to be the forgotten origin of the Medusa myth) is unclear. Smith narrowly escapes death but is psychically affected by the experience. Good, though he is saved by the deus ex machina of a previously unknown partner rescuing him, and the guy then provides a lot of explanation wrapping everything up, so the storytelling was crude by modern standards, but it’s a compelling tale.

Just After Sunset, by Stephen King (Scribner, 2008)

“A Very Tight Place”

Good, though a bit too long (this is a novelette that could have been shortened considerably, I think). Also didn’t love the ending, which just peters out rather than rising to a crescendo of action. Curtis Johnson and his neighbor Grunewald have a long running set of legal disputes in what is otherwise a lovely little upscale Florida beach community. This comes to a head when Grunewald—with nothing left to lose—summons Johnson to a deserted construction site then traps him in a portapotty, which he then pushes over onto the door so that Curtis is both covered in filth and trapped without any means of escape. Nice survival/suspense tale (a la Gerald’s Game in which a person is in a terrible physical bind and has to save themselves through cleverness and grit or die). Also, it’s a grossout kind of story, but I liked that.


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