Tag Archives: Horror

Transfigured Night by Richard Bowes

Book Review, ,
Overview
Hauntings: Datlow, Ellen: 9781616960889: Amazon.com: Books

Title: Transfigured Night
Author: Richard Bowes
In: Hauntings (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one)
My Bookshelves: Horror
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Tachyon
Year: 2013

Thoughts

This was a very dark and icky short story. Honestly, it was just an incredibly uncomfortable read. Which, of course, makes it kind of difficult to write a review about it…

Although I did enjoy this and found it really interesting, I also found it a little bit difficult to get through. I mean, I like a good, dark story, but some tales are just a little too dark for me. And this was most certainly one of them.

This is one of those stories that, even though it made me uncomfortable, I’ll probably read again. After all, it’s in a book of hauntings stories. And there is a whole lot of sex, murder and history…

<- Everybody GoesHula Ville ->

Image source: Amazon

Spectral Evidence by Gemma Files

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Hauntings: Datlow, Ellen: 9781616960889: Amazon.com: Books

Title: Spectral Evidence
Author: Gemma Files
In: Hauntings (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one)
My Bookshelves: Crime, Horror
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Tachyon
Year: 2013

Thoughts

I’m not entirely sure that I followed this short story. Yet, even with all of my not sure I followed it, I still enjoyed this. There was something dark and twisty about it. And all of those bits that made me not entirely certain that I followed it – they kind of added to the haunting and eerie aspect of the story. It’s incredibly hard to write a review on something that I didn’t quite follow, but still enjoyed…

The dossier feeling to this tale made it feel all that much more eerie. It’s the tale of three people all ending up dead or incarcerated, but through the lens of official documentation. It gives the whole tale a more removed, freaky feeling. Again, Files’ use of the unknown makes it that much more uncomfortable.

All in all, I loved the vibe of this story. It was creepy and eerie. There’s also the feeling that I could reread this and get all that much more out of the story…

<- The Bedroom LightTwo Houses ->

Image source: Amazon

The Perfect Dinner Party by Cassandra Clare & Holly Black

Book Review, , , , , ,
Overview
Image result for teeth ellen datlow terri windling book cover

Title: The Perfect Dinner Party
Author: Cassandra Clare & Holly Black
In: Teeth: Vampire Tales (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Horror, Vampires
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Harper
Year: 2011

Thoughts

This is one of the few short stories in the Teeth collection that I’ve put on my horror shelf. Because it is way, way creepier and disturbed than I was expecting. I mean, the narrator voice is downright messed up, and the fact that it’s all coming from the body of a little girl? Disturbed. And yet, I loved it.

I think part of what made this story so creepy is that it is literally a list of rules to make the ‘perfect’ dinner party. It starts off kind of archaic, but understandable. Then, the sinister undertones become more and more obvious. I mean, you know that it’s about a vampire because of the collection its in. But the obvious brain washing and dated etiquette starts to make it a little more… uncomfortable.

It’s kind of easy to like Charles throughout this story. Probably because he is shown through the lens of a doting sister. And, he’s not quite creepy. But the sister? The narrator? Damn is she terrifying, I mean, it would be scary being turned at 14. But I just had these porcelain doll kind of vibes the whole way through this. I get shivers up my spine just thinking about it.

<- HistorySlice of Life ->

Image source: HarperCollins

Hunger, An Introduction by Peter Straub

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Hauntings: Datlow, Ellen: 9781616960889: Amazon.com: Books

Title: Hunger, An Introduction
Author: Peter Straub
In: Hauntings (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one)
My Bookshelves: Ghosts, Horror
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Tachyon
Year: 2013

Thoughts

Hunger, An Introduction was not quite as creepy as many other stories in the Hauntings collection. Which I’m kind of glad about. Because some of them were seriously intense and kind of uncomfortable to read.

This short story jumped around a lot. It talked a lot about the hunger of death. And how hauntings occur. I’d probably have to read this again to get a better grasp on how it is all related. Particularly to the child at the end.

I don’t normally feel that deaths are necessarily warranted. But Ethel and Frank’s stories were seriously twisted. Their journeys to death row something that made me cringe. And their fate as hauntings kind of felt warranted.

<- Where Angels Come InInferno: Tales of Terror and the Supernatural ->

Image source: Amazon

Hula Ville by James P. Blaylock

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Hauntings: Datlow, Ellen: 9781616960889: Amazon.com: Books

Title: Hula Ville
Author: James P. Blaylock
In: Hauntings (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one)
My Bookshelves: Ghosts, Horror
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Tachyon
Year: 2013

Thoughts

This was a bit of an eerie feeling short story, one featuring angels and mummies. And just all of the discomfort that facing the unknown entails. It also had a bit of that feel that if I read it multiple times, I’d find symbols throughout that I missed the first time around. It was all about the mystery of the unknown without providing any answers whatsoever at the conclusion of the tale. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it does make it hard to recount / write a review on…

There were so many layers of meaning throughout this that I just know I didn’t quite grasp. Or at least, that’s how this story made me feel. As though I was almost reaching the reality being revealed, but not quite getting there. Although, this is in a collection called Hauntings so that very elusiveness makes it sit really well within that theme…

Everything about this story, particularly Hula Ville is just not quite what it seems. There is the constant threat of something terrifying happening from the tone of the story. And, even when things didn’t quite end as tragically as anticipated… I was still left feeling disquieted from this story.

<- Transfigured NightThe Bedroom Light ->

Image source: Amazon

The Bedroom Light by Jeffrey Ford

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Hauntings: Datlow, Ellen: 9781616960889: Amazon.com: Books

Title: The Bedroom Light
Author: Jeffrey Ford
In: Hauntings (Ellen Datlow) & Inferno (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one)
My Bookshelves: Horror
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Tachyon
Year: 2013

Thoughts

This short story felt kind of incredibly creepy, but also not at all at moments. It had that really vague and haunting feel to it. But, I was honestly kind of anticipating a death. Or at least the heavy hinting of a death in it. Maybe it will have a bit more clarity if I read it again…

Everything that was “haunting” and creepy within this story was very easily explained away by normalcy. It did kill a bit of the mood for me, but also highlighted how easily we explain things away. Again, still not sure if this was supposed to be a haunting, a demon child, or people’s paranoia…

The lights flickering in the bedroom were probably the bit that stuck with me the most in this short story. I’m really glad I didn’t read it late at night… before turning off my own bedroom lights.

<- Hula VilleSpectral Evidence ->

Image source: Amazon

Hauntings edited by Ellen Datlow

Book Review, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Overview
Hauntings: Datlow, Ellen: 9781616960889: Amazon.com: Books

Title: Hauntings
Author: Ellen Datlow, Pat Cadigan, Dale Bailey, E. Michael Lewis, Lucius Shepard, David Morrell, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Joyce Carol Oates, Elizabeth Hand, Neil Gaiman, F. Paul Wilson, Jonathan Carroll, Terry Dowling, Paul Walther, Simon Kurt Unsworth, Connie Willis, Stephen Gallagher, Michael Marshall Smith, Richard Bowes, James P. Blaylock, Jeffrey Ford, Gemma Files, Kelly Link, Adam L.G. Nevill & Peter Straub
In: Hauntings (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Ghosts, Horror, Short story collections
Pace: Slow
Format: Anthology
Publisher: Tachyon
Year: 2013

Thoughts

This is, as with all Ellen Datlow collections, seriously fun and enjoyable. The fact that this fantastic collection is full of seriously creepy stories made it that much more enjoyable. Mostly because it’s out of my usual genre of choice. Horror and ghost stories might not be quite my usual speed, but that didn’t mean that I didn’t love reading this collection!

Although I really enjoyed reading all of these short stories, I did find that this was not an anthology I should be reading late at night. Or when I was home alone. Whilst some of the stories were kind of mild and not too terrifying, some made it really difficult to sleep after turning the final page. Or just made it difficult to turn off the lights. Which is why this took me a little bit longer to read than I had anticipated.

Hauntings runs the gambit of horror and ghost stories, from horrible hauntings to stories that had a little bit more hope at the end. They made me feel all of the feelings, and I would most definitely read this collection again in the future.

<- The First Lunar HalloweenEenie, Meenie, Ipsateenie ->

Image source: Amazon

The Horn by Stephen Gallagher

Book Review, ,
Overview
Hauntings: Datlow, Ellen: 9781616960889: Amazon.com: Books

Title: The Horn
Author: Stephen Gallagher
In: Hauntings (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Horror
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Tachyon
Year: 2013

Thoughts

From the very beginning of this short story, and the tone that is powerful within this, it was very obvious that everyone was probably going to di3 in this short story. But, me being the ghoul that I am, I really wanted to see how they all died… I mean, who wouldn’t?

To be fair, I did think that the narrator or one of the men he was stranded with was going to be the killer. There was just that whole, lo ked in with a serial killer tone to this tale. But, the reality of this story was a whole lot more sinister. And creepy.

Normally I love tales that feature a snowstorm. Probably because I often read romances and fantasies and there is always a very powerful feeling to that. However, this short story worked as a great reminder that the isolation that works so well in romances and fantasies, can also be deadly. The kind of isolation where secrets grow.

This is definitely a horrible and creepy haunting. One that I feel like will keep coming back, through many snow storms to come.

<- Distress CallEverybody Goes ->

Image source: Amazon

Everybody Goes by Michael Marshall Smith

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Hauntings: Datlow, Ellen: 9781616960889: Amazon.com: Books

Title: Everybody Goes
Author: Michael Marshall Smith
In: Hauntings (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this)
My Bookshelves: Ghosts, Horror
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Tachyon
Year: 2013

Thoughts

This wasn’t quite the “haunting” tale that I was expecting, but it was even better. I mean, I was kind of expecting something that was scary and disturbed. Instead, it was actually a little bit sweet and innocent. I mean, there is still a haunting and a bit of a creepy factor, but overall, it was actually kind of innocent and sweet.

Before I got to that point of kind of innocent though, I got some pretty serious IT vibes. I honestly kept on expecting a creepy, horrifying, killer clown to dive out of the pages and attack the children. Which definitely lent to the feeling of suspense that kept me turning the pages. Then, the ending made everything much more innocent in hindsight.

This was a good, easy read. It had a bit of a suspenseful feeling. But it also worked as a great reminder of the innocence of childish days and memories.

<- The HornTransfigured Night ->

Image source: Amazon

Flesh for Comfort by Melissa Marr

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Faery Tales and Nightmares

Title: Flesh for Comfort
Author: Melissa Marr
In: Faery Tales & Nightmares (Melissa Marr)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Fae, Horror
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: HarperCollins
Year: 2012

Thoughts

This is kind of a horrifying short story. I mean, it’s a great reminder of the depths that people will strive to to try and look beautiful. To be what they perceive is the best way to escape whatever it is that they are escaping. But it is also seriously horrifying. I mean, it’s Marr and fae-like creatures offering a deal… you know from the very beginning that there’s going to be a pretty giant catch.

Marr has always written the type of fae books that I enjoy – ones that show you no good can ever come from making a deal with these beings. And that to always tread lightly in such a circumstance. It definitely makes me wary of accepting any kind of deal without knowing all of the ins and outs.

The lead character in this tale will do everything she possibly can to escape her small town and unwelcome situation. She is willing to do literally anything. And, even after making the deal from hell, she is willing to go back and make that deal again and again… definitely a disturbing short story.

<- The Art of WaitingThe Sleeping Girl and the Summer King ->

Image source: HarperCollins Publishers