Season of the Dead: Supernatural Horror for Halloween by William P. Simmons (Editor)

 

TWENTY TERRIFYING TALES FOR HALLOWEEN, THE MOST FRIGHTENING NIGHT OF THE YEAR!

“The Dead walk beside us in October…and this Halloween, they have a story to tell…”

SEASON OF THE DEAD: SUPERNATURAL HORROR FOR HALLOWEEN opens the veil between the living and the dead with 20 classic and rare supernatural stories set on or around All Hallows Eve. Macabre masters and unjustly forgotten authors revisit centuries of Halloween legends and folklore with stories of witches and demons, faeries and specters. These deliciously dark narratives from 19th & 20th centuries visit a time when the tricks were deadly, the treats horrifying, and people feared the dead.

Halloween—Samhain—Nut Crack night—Dia de los Muertos…on this night, ghosts, goblins, and ghouls cross into our realm, the familiar turns strange, and our most intimate fears are unmasked. A night of dark wonder and magic, mystery and the macabre. A Season of the Dead.…

Experience Halloween like never before! Light your pumpkin, lock your door, and listen to leaves scurry…the dry, rustling feet of the dead. Open this book, and try not to think about who, or what, might be peering in your window to set by the fire.

From landmark supernatural fiction by Edgar Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne and H.P. Lovecraft to literary nightmares by William Huntley, H.B. Marriott-Watson, Douglas Hyde, and Fritz-James O’Brien, there is a dark treat for every taste…along with some frightful tricks! Forgotten female authors appear in funerary finery, including E. Nesbit, Edith Wharton, Mrs. Henry Wood, and Mrs. J.H. Riddell. Horror favorites M.R. James, W.W. Jacobs, Bram Stoker, J.S. Le Fanu, and Robert W. Chambers stand alongside Nobel prize winning author Anatole France.

Feel October’s mingling of dread, lounging, and excitement. A celebration of olde halloween, when the monsters were real, the dead returned, and demons stalked every road.

Editor WILLIAM P. SIMMONS ushers readers through the Undiscovered Country of All Hallows with “Stories the Dead Know”, a thorough Introduction examining the holiday’s history, lore, and literature. Notes and Annotations create an eerie and informative context for readers.

These 20 classics from days gone by are arranged perfectly to get you into the spooky spirit of Halloween. Although previously published, all but H.P. Lovecraft, Bram Stoker, and Edgar Allan Poe were unfamiliar authors to me.

The notes that accompany each story were a plus as they explained a bit of background.

My favorites were Man Size In Marble in which a man finds his housekeeper's reasoning behind leaving her position near Halloween to be a mere superstition but may come to regret disbelieving.

Ken's Mystery, in which a man returns from a trip abroad entirely changed from his normal personality

The Three Sisters, a haunting story that begins at the death bed of one sister and the aftermath of her death on the survivors.

The Spectre Bridegroom in which young lovers are kept apart by their parents but drawn back together by the supernatural.

Whether you are already a fan of the classics or looking to test the waters before you dive in there is something for everyone in these collected tales.

I received a complimentary copy for review

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION: STORIES THE DEAD KNOW, by William P. Simmons
ULALUME: A BALLAD (1847) by Edgar Allan Poe
MAN-SIZE IN MARBLE (1887) by E. Nesbit
THE LOST ROOM (1858) by Fitz-James O’Brian
KEN’S MYSTERY (1883) by Julian Hawthorne
THE LAST OF SQUIRE ENNISMORE (1888) by Mrs. J.H. Riddell
THE THREE SISTERS (1914) by W.W. Jacobs
THE SPECTRE BRIDEGROOM (1865) by William Hunt
COUNT MAGNUS (1904) by M.R. James
TEIG O’ KANE AND THE CORPSE (1888) by Dr. Douglas Hyde
DRACULA’S GUEST (1914) by Bram Stoker
THE CHILD THAT WENT WITH THE FAERIES (1870) by J.S. Le Fanu
THE SCARECROW (1918) by G. Ranger Wormser
MASS OF SHADOWS (1927) by Anatole France
YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN (1855) by Nathaniel Hawthorne
REALITY, OR DELUSION? (1868) by Mrs. Henry Wood
THE DEVIL OF THE MARSH (1893) by H.B. Marriott-Watson
THE MESSENGER (1897) by Robert W. Chambers
THE VOW ON HALLOWEEN (1924) by Lyllian Huntley Harris
THE DUNWICH HORROR (1928) by H.P. Lovecraft
ALL SOULS (1909) by Edith Wharton

Prepare to Meet Thy God by Matt Starr

 

Almost Heaven

That's what the voice on the radio promised, and as Heath and his friends drove through the snow-capped mountains of West Virginia, they could almost believe it. Their destination? Blue Brier and the neighboring ski resort.

More Like Hell

The signs were there—becoming more evident as they drove deeper into the mountains of West Virginia—that something wasn't right. And nowhere was it more obvious than in Blue Brier itself, with its warning of "Prepare to Meet Thy God" painted on the side of a shed. Nor did the group heed the subtle warning issued by the local sheriff.

Ask, So That Your Sins May be Forgiven

The Harrowing is upon them, and it's too late to repent. Now they're running scared, running as though the very hounds of Hell are nipping at their heels.

A group of friends set off on a road trip to a secluded rental home where they expect to enjoy a vacation of skiing and partying. Sounds like a good time, right? Except the trip itself is a little freaky before they even reach their destination. At first I thought this was going to be one of those more tame and subtle horror stories with some mild spine tingly moments. (Not that there's anything wrong with that!) In fact I was so immersed in the characters and enjoying the dynamics between the friends, and the backstory of the main character Heath, that the horror aspect seemed secondary until all of a sudden it kicked in full force. I'm a sucker for small town horror where the locals keep dark secrets and outsiders don't escape unscathed, but there's more than mere mortals to fear in that desolate home in  unincorporated Mouth of Sheol. Do you know what Mouth of Sheol  means? you'll find out.

This is Matt Starr's first horror novel and I hope there will be many more to come because he's got quite a talent for it.

5 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy for review

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About the author

Matt Starr is a Best of the Net nominated typer and dog dad from a textile town in North Carolina. His work can be found in Barren Magazine, Empty House Press, and Schuylkill Valley Journal, among others. Matt is the author of Hell, or High Water (Main Street Rag, 2018), Prepare to Meet Thy God (Grinning Skull Press, 2020), and two collections of short fiction that, barring a miracle, only his girlfriend and dogs will ever read. Follow him on Twitter @illmattic919

After Sundown by Mark Morris (Editor)

 

This new anthology contains 20 original horror stories, 16 of which have been commissioned from some of the top names in the genre, and 4 of which have been selected from the 100s of stories sent to Flame Tree during a 2-week open submissions window. It is the first of what will hopefully become an annual, non-themed horror anthology of entirely original stories, showcasing the very best short fiction that the genre has to offer.

As a long time lover of short horror stories I'm smiling like a crazed Jack O'lantern at the thought of Flame Tree Press putting out an annual anthology. I would have been happier if it was Halloween themed but that did not stop me from enjoying what will hopefully become a yearly tradition.

The first story to totally blow me away was IT DOESN’T FEEL RIGHT by Michael Marshall Smith. Everyone has something that particularly creeps them out. For me it's always been stories about children. You just never know what a child will do. They're inconsistent and undependable and therefore terrifying.. One minute they tell you that you're the best mommy in the world and the next minute they hate you because their toothbrush is the wrong color. In this story, the every day chore of trying to get a child appropriately dressed and out the door in time for school was something I could commiserate with until it took a horrifying turn.

BOKEH by Thana Niveau also featured a terrifying child who sees and knows more than her unsuspecting mother gives her credit for until it's far too late. This one inspired such a deliciously dreadful feeling because I could just tell this child was up to no good from the start.

THE NAUGHTY STEP by Stephen Volk finds child services attempting to collect a small boy from his home after he survived a traumatic event. This story was as heartbreaking as it was shocking.

RESEARCH by Tim Lebbon had a Misery vibe to it as an author finds himself held hostage although not by his greatest fan, there is nothing personal in the confinement, just a twisted desire to observe what happens when a writer can not write.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ORAL HYGIENE by Robert Shearman is a dental horror story of epic proportions that at first glimpse seems to be merely the tale of a woman who fears losing her husband before it explodes into supernatural terror well beyond my expectations.

MURDER BOARD by Grady Hendrix should be a caution to anyone considering playing with a Ouija board, especially on a perfectly dark and stormy night in your secluded mansion with your embittered aging, has been, of a husband.

THE MIRROR HOUSE by Jonathan Robbins Leon makes me want to spout some overused cliché like there but for the grace of God go I.... But wait, in the mirror house which one is really me? This was a very clever and fear inspiring tale.

These were my favorites but every story is well worth a read.

I received an advance copy for review.

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Contents List:

BUTTERFLY ISLAND by C.J. Tudor

RESEARCH by Tim Lebbon

SWANSKIN by Alison Littlewood

THAT’S THE SPIRIT by Sarah Lotz

GAVE by Michael Bailey

WHEREVER YOU LOOK by Ramsey Campbell

SAME TIME NEXT YEAR by Angela Slatter

MINE SEVEN by Elana Gomel

IT DOESN’T FEEL RIGHT by Michael Marshall Smith

CREEPING IVY by Laura Purcell

LAST RITES FOR THE FOURTH WORLD by Rick Cross

WE ALL COME HOME by Simon Bestwick

THE IMPORTANCE OF ORAL HYGIENE by Robert Shearman

BOKEH by Thana Niveau

MURDER BOARD by Grady Hendrix

ALICE’S REBELLION by John Langan

THE MIRROR HOUSE by Jonathan Robbins Leon

THE NAUGHTY STEP by Stephen Volk

A HOTEL IN GERMANY by Catriona Ward

BRANCH LINE by Paul Finch

The Essential Sick Stuff by Ronald Kelly

 

In the foul and fetid darkness, it awakens. Vile, unstable, brimming with ill intent, like pus on the verge of eruption. Repulsive to gaze upon and even more disturbing to comprehend. It reaches out and discovers that the others—its siblings—have abandoned this cancerous womb long ago. Angry and alone, it thrashes violently…tearing, clawing its way from dormancy into daylight…and onto the dark playground of your bookshelf.

Amid these pages, Southern horror master Ronald Kelly has brought together a
loathsome assemblage of stories that cut deeply and expose the raw nerves of
fright and revulsion. Joining his extreme horror collections, The Sick Stuff and More Sick Stuff, is a third installment of yarns both new and old…Even Sicker Stuff.
Combined, they meld and morph, forming The Essential Sick Stuff. Twenty-three abhorrent tales to tantalize and torture the fragile psyche; to cause the stomach
to revolt and gooseflesh to crawl as though something, visceral and alive, lurks just beneath the surface…

I love short horror stories and normally when reviewing a collection I will mention my favorites by name. I can't really do that here because it would end up being a table of contents. I would need to list them all, since they are just that good.  Ronald Kelly is a master of his craft and these 23 stories more than live up to the title. There is indeed some very sick stuff to be found in this book. Spiders, ticks, snakes and otherworldly parasites lurk among the pages and infest unsuspecting characters in the most gruesome of ways.

That is not to say the "sick stuff" is confined to blood sucking creepy crawlies. There are plenty of twisted individuals of the human variety as one man finds out on his way home from the happiest place on earth with his young family in tow, when a simple pit stop veers off into horror and depravity. A winter storm awakens a desire to feast on human flesh, a demonic presence waits to be fed, an evil man gets what he deserves on Halloween in a story that made me think if it were a movie I would have to look away and peek at it occasionally through my fingers, not wanting to miss anything but unable to bear the full scope of horror.  A mother curses the family who wronged her son with grisly, blood curdling results, culminating in an eerie horseback ride that brought to mind Sleepy Hollow in a far darker and more disturbing way.  I may have lost a pound from all the calories I burned due to cringing and squirming in my seat while I read.

5 out of 5 stars

I received an advance copy for review.

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About the author

Ronald Kelly was born and raised in the hills and hollows of Middle Tennessee. He became interested in horror as a child, watching the local "Creature Feature" on Saturday nights and "The Big Show"---a Nashville-based TV show that presented every old monster movie ever made ---in the afternoons after school. In high school, his interest turned to horror literature and he read such writers as Poe, Lovecraft, Matheson, and King. He originally had dreams of becoming a comic book artist and created many of his own super heroes. But during his junior year, the writing bug bit him and he focused his attention on penning short stories and full-length novels. To date, he has had ten novels and eight short fiction collections published. In 1992, his audio-book, DARK DIXIE, was included on the nominating ballot for a Grammy Award.

He currently lives in Brush Creek, Tennessee with his wife, Joyce, his two daughters, Reilly and Makenna, and his son, Ryan (Bubba).