The Withering Hours: Dark Folk Horror by Morgan Sylvia

In The Withering Hours, Morgan Sylvia takes readers through the depths of ancient woods, troubled minds, and gruesome retreats. Folklore and myth breathe life into these tales of a haunted world and its imperfect inhabitants. Sylvia’s work is rich with atmosphere and each story is imbued with a sense of magic and dread.

In these pages you will find restless spirits, creatures who defy death, and twisted sadists. You will meet witches with deep connections to the land and innocents with a taste for blood. The minds of the mad will be yours to explore, just like the dark forests of New England.

This brilliant collection is a perfect read for fans of cosmic and folk horror, but it is also steeped in rich elements of gothic horror and psychological dread.

Sylvia invokes the aura of bygone ages, while writing in a fluid, modern style, seamlessly merging past and present. With this volume, Sylvia continues to prove herself to be an important voice in horror and weird fiction. 

I had read one of these stories previously in an anthology from the New England Horror Writers, but most of them were new to me. As a New Englander myself, I do get a kick out of stories that take place in my little corner of the world.

I love folk horror, so some of my favorite stories featured hikes to cursed ground, restless spirits, supernatural beings in the woods, and witches, both modern-day and those from centuries past.

The author is adept at creating suspense and spine-tingling chills with clever endings that sometimes tricked me into mislaying my sympathies on the wrong character. 

The Withering Hours overflows with dark tales wrapped in legends and cloaked in fear. Superstitions come to life deep in the woods, and in what we believe is the safety of our own brightly lit neighborhoods. I would recommend it for all fans of dark fiction and folk horror.

My thanks to Weird House Press for the eBook.

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The Essential Horror of Joe R. Lansdale

 In this career horror retrospective, World Horror Grandmaster Joe R. Lansdale (Bubba Ho-tep; Hap and Leonard) tackles racism and human cruelty as de­ftly as he conjures demon nuns and Elder Gods. Featuring an original introduction from Joe Hill, this much-anticipated volume showcases the best of Lansdale’s terrifying short stories—menacing, astute, and wildly inappropriate.

Bestselling author Joe R. Lansdale is known for his gritty mysteries and his eccentric horror. As an eleven-time Bram Stoker Award winner, Joe Lansdale cooks up an inimitable recipe of Southern Gothic and Southern fried chicken that continues to delight his many fans and influence generations of horror legends.

Lansdale mashes up crime, Gothic, mystery, fantasy, and science-fiction, filtered through a raw, violent world of dark humor and unique characters. Lansdale is one of the early American horror writers to portray racism not as abstract but as realistic, intimate, and impossible to ignore.

In Lansdale’s nightmarish visions, you’ll discover psychotic demon nuns, a psychopathic preacher, cannibals, 80-year-old Elvis, undead strippers, ­ flying ghost fish, Elder Gods, possessed cars, and the worst evil of all: mankind.

This is, without a doubt, one of the best short story collections I have ever read, and that is saying something. These tales run the gamut from crime to horror with consummate skill.

Lansdale breathes life into characters and creatures that will haunt your nightmares. While there is some supernatural horror here with terrifying demonic entities, the most powerful stories are those that revolve around the evils that mere mortals perpetrate. 

Also included is plenty of dark, gross-out humor. I had seen the movie Bubba Ho-Tep but had never read the story that spawned the film until now. If you enjoy fiction that makes you shake your head and say "ick" while laughing, this is made for you.

Some may find the authentic portrayal of ignorance and racism in a couple of stories to be offensive. I, for one, do not. It is a vile, ugly thing. It is not holding up a mirror to me, and I don't need it sugar-coated. I didn't need the author to pull any punches, and I'm glad he chose not to. Racism written as anything less than disgusting would have been more likely to offend me. This is the language that they use. It would be disingenuous to pretend otherwise. 

I have always said the best horror is that which makes me feel something. This is a collection that succeeds in that on every page, from the first story that gave me shivers to the last story that repulsed me to the core, and every tale in between. Prepare to experience a range of emotions, from rage and wonder to sadness and disgust, interspersed with shock and terror.

5 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Tachyon Publications for the gorgeous paperback ARC.

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Contents

Introduction by Joe Hill

“The Folding Man”

“Hoodoo Man and the Midnight Train”

“God of the Razor”

“My Dead Dog Bobby”

“Tight Little Stitches in a Deadman’s Back”

“By Bizarre Hands”

On the Far Side of the Cadillac Desert with Dead Folk

“Love Doll: A Fable”

“Mister Weed-Eater”

“The Bleeding Shadow”

“Not From Detroit”

“The Hungry Snow”

“Dog, Cat, and Baby”

Bubba Ho-tep

“Fish Night”

“Night They Missed the Horror Show”

The Shuddering Breath Before Oblivion by Taylor Grant

In his final collection of short stories, once again we are invited into Taylor Grant's unique and macabre imagination. A man discovers a portal in his basement that offers him an infinite variety of alternate lives he can live. A woman seeks revenge on the man who destroyed her life. In treating a young man's haunted memories of a childhood trauma, a psychiatrist uncovers terrifying possibilities. A property speculator gets more than she bargained for when she buys an unsellable house in a small town with a morbid obsession with Halloween. And in the collection's title story, a journalist fights to solve the mystery of a world of disappearing people. Come on in and explore the dark labyrinths of the human mind and what it's capable of, if you dare.
 

    I'm sad to say I was not familiar with this author's work before he passed away. Sadder still that the world has lost an incredible storyteller.

Not all of these tales are horror, but I was surprised to find that one in particular that had absolutely nothing to do with horror is one of my favorites in this collection. A Whiter Shade of Christmas is a story of grief and loneliness that gets harder to bear in the holiday season. Who can't relate to that? I envy anyone who can't. This year, a widower is deeply moved by a dinner invitation from a homeless man. I loved this poignant yuletide tale.

Another of my favorites was Don't Open Your Eyes, about a house flipper who moves into the last house on Willow Lane near Halloween. So what of the previous owners disappeared without a trace, as did the owners before? Surely it's just a coincidence that nobody has ever lasted through Halloween in this house. Or is it?

Red Christmas was an excellent story about a little girl who is grieving the loss of her grandmother, especially now that she is left alone with her bickering, abusive parents. I'm sensing a theme here, I must really enjoy holiday stories. Anyway it just might be possible that Grandma has a final gift from beyond the grave.

While not every story was my preferred genre, they are all skillfully written and engrossing tales. These were my favorites, but all were good.

My thanks to Crystal Lake Publishing.

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Movie Review- Brute 1976

Cinephobia Releasing is proud to announce the Summer release of director Marcel Walz’s (That’s A Wrap, Pretty Boy) and writer Joe Knetter’s (George A. Romero’s Twilight of the Dead) latest feature Brute 1976. The film is set to release in select theaters this August, followed closely by a digital, VOD release on September 30, 2025

It is currently opening in the below markets:

Laemmle Glendale - Los Angeles, CA - 8/26 - Premiere

Laemmle Glendale - Los Angeles, CA - 8/29 & 8/30

Alamo Drafthouse - Indianapolis, IN - opens 8/29

*more markets TBA

An homage to ‘70s horror cult classics The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes. Brute 1976 takes place in 1976, when Raquel and her girlfriend have car trouble and break down on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. At the same time, a group of people are in the desert for a photoshoot. Soon, they stumble upon an abandoned town where a family of masked psychopaths reside.

I was invited to watch an early screener of Brute 1976, and being a fan of horror in that setting and the cult classics of that time, I jumped at the chance.

The movie opens with a car broken down on a hot desert road where a woman had been driving her girlfriend to model in a photo shoot. Beginning with car trouble on a lonely stretch of road is an oft used but still effective horror trope, so as the ladies approached a cave to get out of the relentless sun I was already yelling at them to not go in there. 

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew is arriving at the designated area and wondering what happened to their other model. The search for a phone leads to the discovery of an apparent ghost town where they decide to take some additional photos before heading out and giving up on their no show model. The town is not so empty as it first appears, and they are welcomed by the owner to look around. Unbeknownst to them, they are about to meet a family of psychotic killers. Will anyone survive?

This movie pays homage to films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Hills Have Eyes, and even Wrong Turn in the way that finding yourself in the wrong place at the right time can lead to murder and mayhem by reclusive, off-the-grid lunatics with power tools. A fairly predictable plot was brightened by good acting and horrifying masked psycho killers. Dazelle Yvette shines in a brilliant performance as Mama Birdy. She manages to convey a mother's love and a quiet sort of evil all with one look and a smile. If you like Indie horror, this is one to watch. I gave this an 8 out of 10 stars on IMDB check it out!

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Brute 1976 stars Adriane McLean (Miracles of Christmas), Sarah French (Blind), Gigi Gustin (The Retaliators), Dazelle Yvette (Garden of Eden) and Adam Bucci (NCIS Los Angeles). From production company Neon Noir, Marcel Walz, Joe Knetter, and Sarah French produced, with Dirk Schürmann and Tobias Schürman serving as Executive Producers. Robert Kern III (Prey, Creepypasta) provided makeup effects, and Marcus Friedlander (The Getback) served as Director of Photography.