Writing effective, evocative short stories is a challenge for any writer, no matter the genre—but one can argue that it is exceedingly difficult for the writer of horror. There is a certain amount of requisite detail, a balanced level of development in regard to mood and setting that is key to successfully drawing a reader… Continue reading Review: Dreaming At the Top of My Lungs
Reminiscent of Shirley Jackson’s work. Hitchman is fluent in the language of mood and emotion, a deep wellspring of feeling bubbling up through her rich, lustrous prose. One feels at home in the writing, which displays a great depth of understanding in regard to psychology and interpersonal relationships. Indeed, so much of Hitchman’s power lies… Continue reading Review: Child of Winter by T.R. Hitchman
A deep, dark dive into the bitter moat of the soul. Peel Back the Skin offers fifteen tales of physical and spiritual degradation that shed terrible light on the darkest reaches of the reader’s psyche. Here the line between justice and revenge is blurred, the guilty and the innocent alike executing their black designs. Unreliable… Continue reading Review: Peel Back the Skin
This is a truly dark concept for an anthology, and for someone who’s struggled with his own addictions over the years it was a nightmarish walk down memory lane. I will admit I was unfamiliar with most of the artists in the collection, save for Jack Ketchum and John F.D. Taff—I knew Mr. Taff from… Continue reading Review: Garden of Fiends
I can taste the talent! Five deliciously twisted and varied voices united by one truly chilling refrain make up this thrilling and highly original collection of modern horror. Artists will know that the moment of inspiration can come at anytime, anywhere—as simple as hearing a snippet of hushed conversation, catching a fleeting glimpse of something… Continue reading Review: I Can Taste the Blood
It is always a delicate dance when two writers take on the task of co-authoring a book. There is never any guarantee that the final product will ring true, that the artists will complement each other. Thankfully, in this case, T.D. Trask and Dale Elster have developed a common language and style in crafting a… Continue reading Review: Deadsville by T.D. Trask and Dale Elster
A short but terrifying ride. In Virginia, William Esmont confronts us with a dreadful question: exactly how far would you be willing to go in order to save a loved one? For Ray Shelby, the answer is pretty far. Much in the vein of Stephen King’s short story “Quitters, Inc.” and David Fincher’s film The… Continue reading Review: Virginia by William Esmont
Transcending time and place, the figure of the vampire—in one form or another— has been present in the mythology and folklore of cultures the world over. Typically ingrained within systems of religious belief, the creature often served as a means of reinforcing spiritual practices and social values—a reminder of the inherent dangers of straying from… Continue reading The Vampire
The concept of the dead returning to life is ancient, leading all the way back to the cave. Of course this was in a supernatural sense – the revenant, the zombie, the vampire, creatures caught between this world and the next. These archetypes persisted in cultures the world over, haunting dreams, shaping belief systems, influencing… Continue reading Horror Convention: Reanimation
In The End Is All We See, authors M.F. Wahl and A.J. Brown offer two finely crafted tales of what this reviewer would term “environmental horror.” Here the settings themselves are the antagonists, pitting the characters against natural threats – both the elemental and the alien. This theme is not a new one, though uniquely… Continue reading Review: The End Is All We See by M.F. Wahl and A.J. Brown
Dark Hall Press 