Author: Mario Guslandi

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Epeolatry Book Review: Wrapped in Plastic and Other Sweet Nothings by Robert P. Ottone

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Title: Wrapped in Plastic and Other Sweet Nothings
Author: Robert P. Ottone
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Horror
Publisher: JournalStone
Release date: 27th October, 2023

Synopsis: Seventeen stories claw at you from that dark space in the corner of your eye in this new collection by Bram Stoker Award-winning author Robert P. Ottone.

In “Only That You Are Still Sane,” uncover the accidental and bizarre discovery of time travel. Meet an ordinary couple with sexual desires that are anything but ordinary in “Nibble.” Follow the harrowing story of Sleepy Hollow’s town constable in “A Mourning in Sleepy Hollow.” Tread carefully along the precipice of darkness in “A Most Curious Tome.” And in the title story, meet a lonely civil service worker who comes face to face with the darkness eating away at him.

Featuring six previously unpublished stories, Wrapped in Plastic & Other Sweet Nothings will force you to stare into the darkness within. Pray you don’t blink first.

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Epeolatry Book Review: No One is Safe! by Philip Fracassi

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Title: No One is Safe!
Author: Philip Fracassi
Publisher: Lethe Press
Genre: Horror
Release date: April 2024

Synopsis: Good gracious, if you could hear him screaming in here! He knows now that it’s too late.

NO ONE IS SAFE presents fourteen stories of macabre, pulpy terror; a book filled with futuristic noir mysteries, science fiction thrillers, alien invasions, and old-school horror tales that will keep you up late into the night. Inside these covers, you’ll discover haunted dream journals and evil houses, birthday wishes gone wrong, a neighborhood cat that cures any disease, a flesh-eating beach, and mysterious skeletons on a hidden moon base. You’ll meet wise-cracking detectives, suburban vampires, murdered movie stars, and monsters of the deep. And remember—don’t get too attached to the characters you’ll meet on these pages because there’s no holding back in this book. Anything can happen, and no one is safe. Featuring an introduction by Ronald Malfi.

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Epeolatry Book Review: A Scream Full of Ghosts by Jane Nightshade

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Our reviews may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links in this article we may receive a small commission or referral fee. This happens without any additional cost to you.

Title: A Scream Full of Ghosts
Author: Jane Nightshade
Publisher: Dark Inn Books
Genre: Horror literature and Fiction, Short stories
Release date: 20th May, 2023

Synopsis: Jane Nightshade updates the traditional Victorian ghost story for the age of the Internet in her debut collection of stories, A Scream Full of Ghosts. With 12 terrifying paranormal tales, there is a haunting story for every lover of the macabre.
A young couple trying to figure out why the hardwood floors in their brand-new tract house appear to be haunted: an unemployed single mom who cancels her home meals subscription service but can’t get rid of the delivery man; a couple of YouTubers whose plans to make a viral video go darkly awry; and a jilted young lawyer who finally finds the perfect woman, except that there’s something terribly wrong with one of her arms. These and other ghostly delights are just a few shuddery pages away in A Scream Full of Ghosts.

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Epeolatry Book Review: Never Wake: An Anthology of Dream Horror, ed. Kenneth W. Cain & Tim Meyer

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Title: Never Wake: An Anthology of Dream Horror
Author: Various, ed. Kenneth W. Cain and Tim Meyer
Publisher:Crystal Lake Publishing
Genre: Horror
Release date: 8th September, 2023

Synopsis: Where do we go when we dream?
Since the beginning of time, people have argued the meaning of dreams. Are they symbolic visions that hold great meaning and personal significance? Are they portals into other worlds? Or are they just a series of random events our mind shows us when we fall asleep? Whatever the case, this much is true—the mind can be a scary place to venture, even for a few hours.
NEVER WAKE is an anthology of dream horror, bringing you several mind-bending tales of nightmares, hallucinations, and phantasmagoria from some of the hottest talent in horror fiction. But don’t worry—when you (wake up screaming) flip the last page, just remember to tell yourself, “It was only just a story…”
Unless it wasn’t.
Featuring an introduction from Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann and stories from: Cynthia Pelayo, Philip Fracassi, Gwendolyn Kiste, Eric LaRocca, Lee Murray, Todd Keisling, Laurel Hightower, and many more!

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Epeolatry Book Review: Horror Library Volume 8 edited by: EJ Guignard

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Title: HORROR LIBRARY Volume 8

Edited by: EJ Guignard 

Publisher: Dark Moon Books

Published on: July 25th, 2023

Synopsis: The +Horror Library+ anthologies are internationally praised as a groundbreaking source of contemporary horror short fiction stories–relevant to the moment and stunning in impact–from leading authors of the macabre and darkly imaginative.

Filled with Fears and Fantasy. Death and Dark Dreams. Monsters and Mayhem. Literary Vision and Wonder. Each volume of the +Horror Library+ series is packed with heart-pounding thrills and creepy contemplations as to what truly lurks among the shadows of the world(s) we live in.

Containing 31 all-original stories, read Volume 8 in this ongoing anthology series, and then continue with the other volumes.

Shamble no longer through the banal humdrum of normalcy, but ENTER THE HORROR LIBRARY!

Included within Volume 8:

– In “Saving the World,” a family feeds their captive devil the sorrows of neighbors.

– In “We Can’t Let Go,” a welfare check by a child services worker proves that not all in life is as expected.

– In “Only the Stones Will Hear You Scream,” a man meets his nightmares while caving through narrow underground passages.

– . . . and more!

– Also including a special guest-artist’s gallery of Jana Heidersdorf!

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Epeolatry Book Review: The Faces At Your Shoulder by Steve Duffy

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Title: The Faces at Your Shoulder
Editor: Steve Duffy
Genre: Horror
Publisher: Saros Press (Limited Run)
Release Date: 15th January, 2022

Synopsis: Where are the monsters?  Sometimes they’re right behind you.

In this new collection of six novelettes – three are wholly original to this volume – Steve Duffy invites us to look over our shoulders, and asks us whether we recognise the faces that we see.  Some of them are all too human, some are animals, and some are like nothing we’ve ever seen – yet. 

In the snowy wastes of the Yukon and the mining country of Appalachia an age-old terror is unwittingly unleashed…

After-hours at the Pacific View diner, meet a glamorous, mysterious film star and uncover a monstrous bargain…

In Streatham or in Ethiopia, you must be careful what you wish for – very careful – or anything might happen…

Christmas is a time for family, and that means dark secrets, desperate desires and occult constructs…

Down at the zoo something is stirring: the animals know, but the warders won’t realise until it’s already too late…

Young love blossoms at the New York World’s Fair, but the future has its own agenda…

Steve’s previous Sarob Press collection (Finding Yourself in the Dark) sold out its print run within a few weeks of publication.  Don’t risk missing out – order your copy of The Faces at Your Shoulder now.  Before the monsters disappear…

Stories: “The Oram County Whoosit” “The Soul is a Bird*” “In the Days Before the Monsters*” “The Psychomanteum” “The Lion’s Den” and “Futureboro*” *original to this volume. “Foreword” and “Notes on the Stories” by the author.

THE FACES AT YOUR SHOULDER is a Hand Numbered Limited Edition Jacketed Hardcover.

Bound in Nordic Blue Cialux Italian cloth, Foil Blocked to Front & Spine in Gold, Quality Munken Premium Cream 90gsm Text Paper, Full Colour Printed Endpapers, Section Sewn binding, Gold Head/Tailbands and Gold Ribbon Bookmarker. Approx 192pp including prelims etc. Fantastic Full Colour Wrap Dust-Jacket and B&W Frontispiece Art by PAUL LOWE. Publication currently scheduled for early/mid February 2023.

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Epeolatry Book Review: Hush, Don’t Wake the Monster edited by Azzurra Nox

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Title: Hush, Don’t Wake the Monster; Women in Horror Anthology
Editor: Azzurra Nox
Genre: Horror
Publisher: Twisted Wing Productions
Release Date: 3rd March, 2022

Synopsis: A collection of new and exclusive short stories inspired by and in tribute to, Stephen King.

Stephen King is a seminal writer of horror, whose influence transcends the literary sphere, having also taken the cinematic world by storm – and ultimately delivering nightmares to generations for almost five decades.

This fourth anthology of the Women in Horror series edited by Azzurra Nox brings together a diverse group of female writers who contribute their personal twist to the works of Stephen King.

Featured authors include: Andrea Teare, Rachel Bolton, Marnie Azzarelli, Lauri Christopher, Kay Hanifen, Hannah Brown, Kristi Petersen Schoonover, L. E. Daniels, Sealey Andrews, Christabel Simpson, Alisha Galvan, Rebecca Rowland, Cheryl Zaidan, Amy Grech, Jane Nightshade, Trish McKee, and Azzurra Nox.

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Epeolatry Book Review: A Blackness Absolute by Caitlin Marceau

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Title: A Blackness Absolute
Author: Caitlin Marceau
Publisher: Ghost Orchid Press
Genre: Horror
Release Date: 21st, February, 2023
Synopsis: A Blackness Absolute is a collection of short horror stories by up-and-coming Canadian author Caitlin Marceau. The collection takes in uncertainties of perception, feelings of vulnerability—to the weather, the natural world, the tenuousness of sanity—and mixes these elements with a strong sense of history and folklore. From the title piece, which evokes the pure claustrophobic terror of becoming lost and disoriented in a cave-system, to the final tale, Doireann, where a woman performs unusual funeral rites in a starving community, each story layers ambiguities to create an unnerving effect that will get under your skin.

If you love great storytelling, creepy atmospherics, and stories that instil a sense of dread that will return to you in the dead of night, then you’re sure to find something to enjoy in this masterful collection. These stories will linger long after you close the book.

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