Author: Mario Guslandi

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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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Epeolatry Book Review: The Long Way Home by Richard Chizmar

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Alien: Inferno's Fall

Title: The Long Way Home
By: Richard Chizmar
Publisher:  Cemetary Dance Publications
Genre: Horror
Release Date: Out of Print: August 1st, 2019, returning to print soon!

Synopsis: Gathered here for the first time ever are seventeen short stories, two essays, and a short script by award-winning and New York Times bestselling author, Richard Chizmar.

Eerie, suspenseful, poignant, the stories in The Long Way Home run the gamut from horror to suspense, crime to dark fantasy, mainstream to mystery. This brand new collection features more than 100,000 words of short fiction, as well as more than 5,000 words of autobiographical Story Notes.

Chizmar’s previous short story collection, A Long December, was published in 2016 to starred reviews from Library Journal and Kirkus, and was included on numerous “Best Books of the Year” lists. Entertainment Weekly gave the book high praise: “Each tale is a magic trick, luring you toward the light while leading you down an ever-darkening path. There is hope mingled with horror, and that’s Chizmar’s secret power. His storytelling always beats with a huge, passionate heart.”

Stephen King says he writes “terrific stories served with a very large slice of Disquiet Pie,” and with The Long Way Home, Richard Chizmar has taken his evocative and compelling storytelling to an entirely new level.

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Epeolatry Book Review: Unthinkable: A Queer Gothic Anthology, ed. Celine Frohn

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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.

Alien: Inferno's Fall

Title: Unthinkable: A Queer Gothic Anthology
Author: Various, ed. Celine Frohn
Publisher:  Haunt Publishing
Genre: Gothic
Release Date: 27th, October, 2022

Synopsis: Unthinkable: A Queer Gothic Anthology collects eighteen original Gothic tales primed to unsettle and entertain.

From a Southern Gothic tale of destruction and revenge, to haunted houses and cursed lovers, to an eco-Gothic saga, Unthinkable’s tales present undying themes of love and tragedy, life and death, all suffused with queerness.

Following on from the success of its predecessor Unspeakable: A Queer Gothic Anthology, Unthinkable features stories from a fresh batch of authors, showcasing the depth and breadth of queer Gothic literature.

Edited by Celine Frohn and featuring an introduction by S.T. Gibson, Unthinkable promises to haunt the reader long after the final page has been turned.

Contributors: K. Blair, Jillian Bost, Adriana C. Grigore, Stewart Horn, Kallyn Hunter, Diana Hurlburt, Gillian Joseph, G.T. Korbin, Solstice Lamarre, Hunter Liguore, Sydney Meeker, Antonija Mežnarić, Elisabeth R. Moore, Valentin Narziss, Tabitha O’Connell, Arden Powell, Kimberly Rei, Jamie Rose, M. Špoljar.

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Epeolatry Book Review: The Fourth Corona Book of Horror Stories edited by Lewis Williams

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Alien: Inferno's Fall

Title:The Fourth Corona Book of Horror Stories: The Best in New Horror Short Stories
Editor: Lewis Williams
Publisher: Corona Books
Genre: Horror
Release Date: 1st, October, 2022

Synopsis: After a two-year hiatus, Corona Books UK are back with The Fourth Corona Book of Horror Stories, containing twenty of the best new horror short stories you will find anywhere this — or any — year.

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Epeolatry Book Review: Close to Midnight, ed. Mark Morris

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Title: Close to Midnight
Author: Various, ed. Mark Morris
Publisher: Flame Tree Press
Genre: Horror
Release Date: 18th October, 2022

Synopsis: Close to Midnight is the third volume in an annual, non-themed horror series of entirely original stories, showcasing the very best short fiction that the genre has to offer, and edited by Mark Morris. This new anthology contains 20 original horror stories, 16 of which have been commissioned from some of the top names in the genre, and 4 of which have been selected from the 100s of stories sent to Flame Tree during a 2-week open submissions window.

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Epeolatry Book Review: Even in the Grave edited by James Chambers & Carol Gyzander

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Title: Even in the Grave
Editors: James Chambers & Carol Gyzander
Publisher: Neoparadoxa
Genre: Horror
Release Date: 1st July, 2022

Synopsis: “In death – no! even in the grave all is not lost.” -Edgar Allan Poe

Wandering souls! Restless spirits! The vengeful dead! Those who die with unfinished business haunt the living and make their presence known from the world beyond:

  • A scientist’s invention opens a window onto a terrible afterlife.
  • A New York City apartment holds the secrets of the dead.
  • A grandmother sends text messages from the grave.
  • A samurai returns to his devastated home for a final showdown with his past.
  • A forgotten TV game show haunts a man with a dark secret.
  • A tapping from behind classroom walls leads to a horrible discovery.
  • The specter of a prehistoric beast returns to a modern-day ranch.
  • And the one seeing eye knows all-including what you did.

Haunted from the other side, these stories roam from modern cities to the shadowed moors to feudal Japan to the jungles of Central America, each providing a spine-chilling glimpse into the shadows not even death can restrain.

Do you dare open these pages and peer into the darkness they reveal?

Stories by Marc Abbott, Meghan Arcuri, Oliver Baer, Alp Beck, Allan Burd, John P. Collins, Randee Dawn, Trevor Firetog, Caroline Flarity, Patrick Freivald, Teel James Glenn, Amy Grech, April Grey, Jonathan Lees, Gordon Linzner, Robert Masterson, Robert Ottone, Rick Poldark, Lou Rera, and Steven Van Patten.

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Epeolatry Book Review: When Other People Saw Us, They Saw The Dead Edited by Lauren T. Davila

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Title: When Other People Saw Us, They Saw The Dead
Editor: Lauren T. Davila
Publisher: Haunt Publishing
Genre: Gothic
Release Date: May, 2022

Synopsis: A faceless man stalks a woman’s nightmares in Hollywood. A Kanontsistóntie is summoned to seek revenge in a monastery. A move from the projects to Manhattan leads to ominous shadows closing in. Two sisters discover a secret room in their farm, unearthing a sinister power.

When Other People Saw Us, They Saw the Dead is an anthology of dark, unsettling writing from some of the most exciting contemporary BIPOC writers. Blending Gothic, horror, folklore, fantasy and fairy-tale, these eerie short stories will disturb, move and humour you. Death is ever-present in the pages of They Saw the Dead, blending with notions of home, memory, grief and belonging, as well as gentrification, white supremacy and colonisation.

Edited by Lauren T. Davila, They Saw the Dead explores what it is to be truly haunted.

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