“VAMPIRES ARE FOREVER” by Tony-Paul de Vissage, 2011 Rustic hicks come under the threat of the dreaded dearg-due, the Irish Undead, in de Vissage's novelette, as the village of Ballywalegh finds a vampire in their midst. Or is he? The hero, Seamus Flannery, is a no-nonsense family man, who doesn't believe the old wives' tales about the dearg-due. He thinks the new neighbor from Hungary is just a tad queer. He even invites him to the local festival. But will Seamus regret it when the handsome young stranger shows an interest in his daughter, Brigid? This is a fun little story, reminiscent of old black & white movies of the 1930s, like Son of Dracula and Condemned to Live. Things in Bally
“SPOOK LIGHTS” by Eden Royce, 2015 Many novels, especially horror novels, I find, are over-written and padded. That's one reason I prefer short stories. That way, when the author has written everything she needs to write, she stops. Or more correctly, she moves on to the next story. Also, I've always felt that the premiere venue for horror is the short story. In a well-written short story, every word is engineered to bring the reader to a horrific revelation. In a novel, the extra space to expand upon details often gives us... a lot of expanded details. “Spook Lights” is not only a nice collection of stories about Voodoo and zombies and curses, it's a door onto another world, showing us
Unlike any other genre, horror touches upon the Cosmic. The totality of the Cosmos is unseen and so are the best monsters of horror. Until it's too late. Horror deals with creation (Frankenstein) and resurrection (Dracula). It deals with the end of the world (Call of Cthulhu). I know of no other genre that digs so deep into (the worst of) human nature or so far into the hidden truths of the Universe... whether we want to see those truths or not.
“THE WALLS OF WOODMYST” by Robert E. Krieg, 2016 After the frightful discovery of a mutilated corpse, the village of Woodmyst comes under the threat of shadowy figures. The ante is upped as nights pass. Their enemy is a master of the dark, luring victims outside and feasting on them. And they have unbelievable allies. But why? Why harass this one small village with no riches and no military importance? And just what are they doing with the dead? Well, there are hints... The story is set in a mock-Medieval tableau, but one without Christianity. OK, fine. But then how is it that we have characters named Peter and Michael? Those names have purely Christian or Jewish heritages and are n
“THE SLEEPLESS” by Nuzo Onoh, 2016 Having read Onoh's earlier UNHALLOWED GRAVES, I was anxious for more of her tales of African horror. And once again, the message is, stay the hell out of Africa. Especially at night! In Onoh's Africa, husbands are tyrants and bullies; women and children are victims, except a few witch-women, as evil as the men. The jungle is a scary place, not because of lions and crocodiles and snakes, but because of the ghosts and demons and witch-doctors that inhabit them. In Africa, witchcraft shapes the beliefs of pagans, Christians, and Muslims. Fear of witchcraft rules their lives. Human sacrifice is still practiced. Born and raised in Nigeria, Onoh knows her s
