The Devil's Backbone: Appalachian Horror by Ronald Kelly, Laurel Hightower, and Red Lagoe

Join three of horror’s finest storytellers on a journey through the dark heart of Appalachia…

AFOOT IN THE NETHERWILD by Ronald When the children of Bowden Ayres mysteriously disappear in the woods near their homestead, he enlists the aid of Uriah Coldcreek, a seventh son and purveyor of mountain magic. Together, they travel into the deepest depths of the Devil’s Backbone, intent on locating a place known as the Netherwild… the realm of the Coveter, an otherworldly being who steals away the mountains’ youth for its own selfish needs.

SPIRIT COVEN by Laurel For generations, Jude and her coven of witches have co-existed peacefully with the citizens of Arnett, providing them with remedies and top shelf bourbon, especially valued during the draconian days of Prohibition. But when too many townsfolk go missing and dead, trust is broken and the witches find themselves on shaky ground, facing threats from frightened families, from the mountain they protect, and the very magic they steward.

THE GATHERER by Red Gray Hollow lies at the foot of evil—a dark part of the forest home to The Devil’s Bathtub. Martin is skeptical of the local folklore warning of the dangers of dipping even a toe into its waters. However, after his brother leaves for Vietnam, more people fall victim to the water's summoning darkness, and Martin struggles to make sense of it all, determined to hold onto life's fraying reality.Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.
 

When I saw this gorgeous cover pass through my feed, with the names Laurel Hightower and Ronald Kelly, I barely read the description before I begged, pleaded, threatened, and cajoled a review copy out of the publisher. (Kidding! I asked politely. Always be polite and do not threaten publishers.)

Red Lagoe was not a familiar name to me and is not currently a name that appears in my TBR or on my bookshelves but I plan to remedy that as soon as possible.

In Ronald Kelly's story AFOOT IN THE NETHERWILD, Two children are lured into the woods by a figure that appears to them as their deceased mother. What is it really and how many children has it stolen? Their father will embark on a dangerous journey in an attempt to rescue them. 

SPIRIT COVEN by Laurel Hightower features a group of moonshining witches who have selflessly protected the mountain and the townsfolk. They have always borne the burden of keeping things in balance. Now that too many townspeople have turned up dead, the witches are the first to be blamed. 

THE GATHERER by Red Lagoe was my favorite story. Deep in the woods where people are forbidden to go, lies the devil's bathtub. A body of water that will grant your desire to know the unknowable... for a price. Would you be able to resist? Things don't bode well for those who take a dip.

This trio of authors have created a powerhouse of folk horror.  Old traditions, superstitions, unexpected heroes, magic, and sacrifices that will break your heart share these pages with  otherworldly beings. The Devil's Backbone was a lot of fear-filled fun to read.

5 out of 5 stars.

My thanks to Crystal Lake Publishing.

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Cumberland Furnace and Other Fear-Forged Fables by Ronald Kelly

 From the Master of Southern-Fried Horror comes a collection of stories that could only beat in the dark, diseased heart of Dixie...- An abandoned furnace, choked with shadow and haunted by tormented ghosts, stands as a grim testament to a time when cruelty and the abuse of human flesh was woefully commonplace...- A man's obsession with mysterious roadkill on a lonesome country avenue awakens a horrifying hunger that can not be satisfied...- Two boys let curiosity get the better of them and discover that a collector of monster movie memorabilia is something more than a retired master of greasepaint and latex...- A dimwitted projectionist at a small-town drive-in theatre upsets a Saturday night crowd when he unwilling releases a dark secret from a dusty and forgotten film can...- A grandfather's Christmas Eve story of a unfinished journey by a drunken peddler captivates a young boy and brings about the delivery of a yuletide gift once thought to be forever lost...- It started out as nothing more than a shortcut home... a detour through a shadowy stretch of forest known as Tanglewood. But what awaited an unsuspecting driver, amid the brush and bramble, made a simple flat tire seem like a horrifying journey into madness... 22 terrifying tales of Southern darkness and depravity

First I should say that I read the complete paperback version which contains the full 22 stories in 328 pages and NOT the kindle version which contains only 7 stories. 

I'm not sure if there are any of these paperbacks still in circulation but you might find a used copy here even though you will probably have to wishlist it for quite a while before a copy finally becomes available. If you don't want to wait or get fed up searching for used copies in good condition the kindle version is an option and the seven selected stories are excellent.

Some of these stories were new to me, but as a long time fan of Ronald Kelly I had read some of these in other collections. It was still a joy to revisit them.

There are ghosts, stories of revenge, magical and deadly places, psycho killers, satanists, and more in this entertaining and delightfully dark collection.

Ronald Kelly is a master story teller and I recommend him even to people who say they don't like short stories! Often what they don't like is the ambiguous or abrupt endings. It takes skill to fit a satisfying conclusion into a short story and Ronald Kelly is adept at doing just that.

5 out of 5 stars

About the author

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The Colour Out of Deathlehem

 

Welcome back to Deathlehem, where…

…the holiday décor has a voracious appetite…
…your past can—and will—come back to haunt you…
…a one-night stand leads to an unexpected climax…
…a son brings home more than nightmares from his tour of duty…
…and many more!

Twenty-four more tales of holiday horrors to benefit
The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

Not many folks in these stories are having the merriest of times but some are getting exactly what they deserve.

A few of my favorites involved a ghost who haunts a run down tenement building, a man who visits an unusual toymaker when he helps a lost boy get home,  a witch who is spending the holidays with her daughter and abusive son-in-law, and a miraculous gift exchange in which you do not get to choose what you give.

I enjoyed every story in this collection. The holidays may be over but you can keep Christmas in your heart (and all your other organs and entrails too) with this frightfully festive anthology from Grinning Skull Press.

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This Skin Was Once Mine and Other Disturbances by Eric LaRocca

 

A brand-new collection of four intense, claustrophobic and terrifying horror tales from the Bram Stoker Award®-nominated and Splatterpunk Award-winning author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke.
Four devastating tales from a master of modern horror…
This Skin Was Once Mine
When her father dies under mysterious circumstances, Jillian Finch finds herself grieving the man she idolized while struggling to feel comfortable in the childhood home she was sent away from nearly twenty years ago by her venomous mother. Then Jillian discovers a dark secret in her family's past--a secret that will threaten to undo everything she has ever known to be true about her beloved father and, more importantly, herself. It's only natural to hurt the things we love the most...
Seedling
A young man's father calls him early in the morning to say that his mother has passed away. He arrives home to find his mother's body still in the house. Struggling to process what has happened he notices a small black wound appear on his wrist—the inside of the wound as black as onyx and as seemingly limitless as the cosmos. He is even more unsettled when he discovers his father is cursed with the same affliction. The young man becomes obsessed with his father's new wounds, exploring the boundless insides and tethering himself to the black threads that curl from inside his poor father...
Prickle
Two old men revive a cruel game with devastating consequences...
All the Parts of You That Won't Easily Burn
Enoch Leadbetter goes to buy a knife for his husband to use at a forthcoming dinner party. He encounters a strange shopkeeper who draws him into an intoxicating new obsession and sets him on a path towards mutilation and destruction..

The dark side of human nature mixes with the bizarre and uncanny in these disturbing stories. 

A beloved father passes away and a neglected daughter returns home to the mother who hasn't bothered with her in decades.

The death of his mother leads a young man to a strange new connection with his father.

A one-upmanship of cruelty goes way too far. 

A cutlery purchase turns into a shocking tale of body horror.

Heed the trigger warnings at the beginning of this book.

If I were a writer I might have the skill to describe for you the depravity and suffering you will find in these tales. Every story begins with what seems to be a normal situation but don't be lulled into a false sense of security because there is much ugliness festering below the surface waiting to appear. Sometimes the worst monsters are just people.

Eric LaRocca has created some spectacularly revolting characters for this book. The stories are unique and sickening. I couldn't look away if I tried.

My thanks to Titan Books.

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About the author

Myrrh by Polly Hall

Myrrh has a goblin inside her, a voice in her head that tells her all the things she's done wrong, that berates her and drags her down. Desperately searching for her birth-parents across dilapidated seaside towns in the South coast of England, she finds herself silenced and cut off at every step.

Cayenne is trapped in a loveless marriage, the distance between her and her husband growing further and further each day. Longing for a child, she has visions promising her a baby.

As Myrrh's frustrations grow, the goblin in her grows louder and louder, threatening to tear apart the few relationships she holds dear and destroy everything around her. When Cayenne finds her husband growing closer to his daughter, Cayenne's stepdaughter, pushing her further out of his life, she makes a decision that sends her into a terrible spiral.

The stories of these women will unlock a past filled with dark secrets, strange connections; all leading to an unforgettable, horrific climax.

To be honest this book almost landed in my DNF pile. The synopsis was intriguing, and the blurb comparing it to one of my favorite authors compelled me to read it, but once I started it was a slog to get through. It felt much longer than its 128 pages and I kept checking to see how much longer I had to go. 

I really wanted to love this but I can't. It's not horror. It's confusing what one character has to do with the other until you realize how it's forced to be connected, and it just doesn't work for me at all. Learning what the "goblin" is left me feeling cheated.

You may enjoy it more than I did but it's not one I can recommend.

My thanks to Titan Books.