Corpse Honey: A Banquet of Gruesome Tales by Michael J. Picco

 

"Out of the eater came something to eat; out of the strong, came something sweet." What is 'corpse honey, ' you ask? Is it something bitter or is it something sweet? Well, it is honey, after all, so let's assume it's sweet - so sweet in fact, that everything you eat afterward tastes like ashes. No? Then it must be bitter. So bitter that it leaves your tongue blistered and festering. Perhaps it's both bitter and sweet. Maybe it tickles the inside of your skull - like your head has been filled with bees. Some are there to make honey, some are there just to sting you... over and over. One thing is for certain: corpse honey is not for the squeamish. After all, even the sweetest honey is "loathsome in his own deliciousness..."Corpse Honey is a collection of twelve gruesome tales, drawing inspiration from the natural world, folklore, and fever dreams. Within these pages, you will find the lesser-known horrors that lurk in the shadows of our world: the possessed, the cursed, and the afflicted - and worst of all, the monsters with the all-too-human faces. For nearly a decade, award-winning author Michael Picco has brought his disturbing and strange visions to readers around the world. He is proud to present Corpse Honey, his second collection of disturbing stories - a banquet of grisly tales sure to satisfy even the most gruesome of appetites.

What first caught my eye was this gorgeous cover, designed by the author himself. It made me want to read Corpse Honey before I even knew that it was a collection of short horror stories, which of course made me want to read it all the more.

Some of these tales are more sci-fi than horror and others lean towards psychological thriller. My favorites are those with supernatural overtones. 

The author employs the stream of consciousness technique in the narrative which may be jarring for some readers who are not expecting the unusual syntax and rough grammar or heavy use of dashes and ellipses instead of the more conventional use of punctuation. For me, it put me into the characters' thought processes almost making me part of the stories.

Among my favorites were The Bark Men, which is a coming-of-age tale surrounding two young cousins' encounter with mysterious beings deep in the woods of Colorado. I would like to see this story developed into a full-fledged novel. It was both sad and creepy at the same time.

I also enjoyed Isle For One? - a Satirical, darkly humorous look at customer service that has not improved in pandemic times. If you've ever sat on hold while listening to a recorded voice this is for you.

Another favorite was Mortimer the Maus in which a man recalls a childhood visit to a cut-rate unsavory amusement park that went from unpleasant to horrifying when he became separated from his neglectful father. This one made my skin crawl.

Under My Bed... Where The Lower Things Crept - After being frightened by a story his older sister tells him, a boy is forced to give up his bedroom and move into the room where grandma died. Is there something evil under the rug? Or is it all in his mind?

All I have to say about The Popelick Goatman is Ladies, this is exactly why if you break up with your man on a dark and stormy night, you do not get into his junk car and drive off with nowhere to go. You stay inside where you are safe and warm and you toss his ass out. Let the Goat man have him, he deserves it. Trust me and learn from this.

Not every story was my cup of tea but these were my favorites, yours may be different. Recommended for readers who enjoy horror. sci-fi or weird tales.

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to the Denver Horror Collective for the finished paperback copy.

Get a copy

Visit the author's website

Alfred Hitchcock's Ghostly Gallery

 

Eleven spooky stories for young people. "Good evening, and welcome to Alfred Hitchock's Ghostly Gallery..." So begins the introduction to this marvelous book for young readers presented by none other than the master of the macabre himself, Alfred Hitchcock. Following his invitation to "browse through my gallery", readers will find ghoulish ghost stories "designed to frighten and instruct" -- instruct, that is, about the strange existence ghosts must endure! Stories include "Miss Emmeline Takes Off" by Walter Brooks; "The Valley of the Beasts" by Algernon Blackwood; "The Haunted Trailer," "The Wonderful Day," and "Obstinate Uncle Otis," by Robert Arthur; "The Upper Berth" by F. Marion Crawford; "The Truth About Pyecraft" by H.G. Wells; "Housing Problem" by Henry Kuttner: "In a Dim Room" by Lord Dunsany: "The Waxwork," by A.M. Burrage: and "The Isle of Voices" by Robert Louis Stevenson. Parents and kids can't help but chuckle at Hitchcock's comment, "I don't want to appear disloyal to television, but I think reading will be good for you." Contains some very spooky two-color illustrations by Fred Banbery

Even though I know not to judge a book by its cover, that is exactly what attracted me to this anthology. I should not have judged it by the title either since I expected ghost stories and the majority of these tales are absent of spirits.

There were a few stories that I enjoyed, even though there were no scares to be found. Most of the stories were just not to my liking. Even "The Waxwork" which was made into one of my favorite episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents was kind of dull and flat here. Whoever they hired to turn it into a tv script is the one who added all the flavor and flair that is missing in this book.

The few stories that I liked were more whimsical than scary

I did enjoy The Wonderful Day in which a young boy drifts off to sleep after listening to his family gossip about the residents of their town. He thinks to himself that adults are confusing since they often say things they don't mean. He makes a wish as he falls asleep and soon the figurative becomes literal which is wonderful for some people but less so for others.

I also enjoyed Miss Emmeline Takes off, about a woman who sneaks into the home she lost after a financial difficulty to retrieve an important item that the new owner refused to let her take.

The Truth About Pyecraft was a fun story about a prescription for weight loss that works far too well.

The illustrations by Fred Banbery are amazing

I'm not sure that 3 stories out of 11 make a convincing argument in favor of this book but you may enjoy the rest more than I did. If you are interested there are plenty of used copies in decent condition floating around out there.

Get a copy

The Man in the Field by James Cooper

 

The village: a remote, God-fearing place, governed by ancient rituals that provide eternal balance to the land. Here, people have faith in working the soil, the good Lord above, and their own peaceful community. This is how they have lived for centuries, the Council providing spiritual oversight and the charismatic Father Lynch lighting the way.

As he does every year, according to an age-old custom, the man in the field arrives amid much rejoicing and apprehension. To sanctify the newly planted crops and ensure a productive harvest, the village must make a personal sacrifice in his name. This is the tradition that must be honored. For every blessing, there is a debt to be paid . . .

Mother Tanner, an older member of the village, has seen all this before. She has been born and raised in the shadow of these harsh solemnities and feels increasingly disturbed by them. Celebrating the Turning of the Wheel and exalting in God’s bounty is only half the story; there is much here that she is starting to distrust. Not least of which is Father Lynch himself and his beloved Council. And the enigmatic man in the field, who gazes not at the village, but at the distant horizon, thinking only of the overdue debt and the stroke of midnight when it will be time to collect . . . 

The author states that the short story from which this book originally springs was a tribute to Shirley Jackson. I think she would have been honored, and I was strongly reminded of her story The Lottery as I dove into these pages. He also says that this may not be all there is, or all there will be to this story. That may explain why I am left with questions that I hope will be answered someday.

Who are these people? When are these people? Where are these people? What made them come here and what makes them stay?
I have no idea! The descriptions of the women and how they are dressed had me picturing them in my mind like something out of Little House On The Prairie. The villagers keep to themselves and the outside world is shunned. They live what seems to be a very primitive lifestyle, but in modern times, with superstition cloaked in religion. There is running hot water, indoor plumbing, and fragrant bath salts, but no phone, internet, or tv. It seemed more like a cult than a community, in that the leaders do as they please while preaching strict rules at everyone else.

Once a year The Man In The Field arrives, and as is his custom he stands there, feet planted firmly in the earth, face turned away from everyone. Nobody has ever seen his face, but they know that he demands a sacrifice, in return for which they will receive a bountiful harvest. Some people view this as a time to rejoice. There will be festivities and a feast to mark the occasion. Others face it with mixed feelings of fear and resolve. Our main character, Mother Tanner, and a few of her friends have started to feel that there is a definite wrongness in their way of life

I had a dreadful feeling when I suspected what the sacrifice was likely going to be, but that did not make it any less upsetting when it occurred. Horror, for me, is always at its best when it can stir up emotions and make me feel something. I don't need blood or gore, but I need someone to care about and someone to hate. The Man In The Field delivered that in spades. I was upset, I was enraged, I was gut-punched and disgusted. I felt at times hopeful for my favorite characters one minute and terrified for them the next.

The ending left me with more questions than I had when I started, yet I loved this book so much that I have to give it a 5 out of 5 stars. Even if I do hope the author will be haunted by dreams of Mother Tanner until he is inspired to write a sequel.

My thanks to Cemetery Dance Publications for the advance copy.

Available for pre-order

Author's Website

Unbalanced by Jason Parent

 By-the-book Detective Asante Royo can only clean up Fall River’s filth for so long without getting dirty. When he’s called to an apparent suicide at an apartment complex notorious for its prostitution and drug trade, he doesn’t shed a tear for the life wasted. Yet something about the scene haunts him, and when his investigation gets swept under the rug, he has a hard time living with the stain.

Jaden Sanders is an unstable loner who lives across the hall from the crime scene. When three men break into his apartment, Jaden is ready for a fight. He kills two of his attackers in self-defense then stalks and stabs the third in the back. Jaden is soon arrested for murder.

With no clear motives for the home invasion or Jaden’s violent response, Royo must uncover the true story before more people get hurt. His only leads are derived from the version of events extracted from a truly unbalanced mind. Is Jaden a victim being steamrolled by cold justice or a murderer capable of killing again? 

The story opens in the aftermath of a possible suicide when Detective Royo notices a few things about the scene that seem suspicious. From there we plunge into a mystery/thriller when Jaden Sanders, the victim's boyfriend who lives across the hall becomes a victim of a home invasion. Jaden manages to kill his attackers but is later charged with murder.

Jaden was a fascinating character and I was more interested in his story line than I was in the detective work. He had suffered a breakdown after the death of his girlfriend and was still not very stable after his release from the psych hospital. 

As a rule you probably know by now I do not generally read detective stories, but as a fan of several of this author's previous works I was more than happy to dive into this novel. I also confess to having watched more than a few trials on court tv so the courtroom aspects of this novel were kind of a guilty pleasure for me. 

The mystery of what, if anything the break in had to do with the death of Jaden's girlfriend kept me guessing at whether Jaden was the bad guy or the target.

This is the fifth title I have read by this author and although my preference is for his horror stories I enjoyed this twisty thriller.

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Jason Parent for the finished paperback.

Get a copy

About the author