It’s Weird to Think of the World Not Being Solid, Isn’t It? Melanie Tem’s Prodigal

In the early 1990s, Jeanne Cavelos spearheaded a new enterprise over at Dell. It was a horror themed line that tried to move away from the expectations associated with the term horror fiction and zero in on newer, darker visions. “It’s not about haunted houses or evil children or ancient Indian burial grounds,” the statement […]

Clickbait: What Happens Next Will Scare You

The journalists of online site Click Clique have ostensibly assembled on the evening of October 28 to pitch their picks for the scariest viral videos. However, editor-in-chief June (Kalima Young) has divulged a truth to her top reporter, Rachel Silver (Melissa LaMartina). The site is going to have to downsize because the click-through revenue streams […]

All Stops Out for Sweeps Week: Late Night with the Devil

As Hallowe’en ’77 kicks off the nation’s sweeps week when ratings are tallied and will determine what shows carry on with sponsors and what unlucky shows will be shut down, Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) and co-host Gus McConnell (Rhys Auteri) finds themselves in need of a hit episode. This year’s Hallowe’en extravaganza might just be […]

A Macabre Scavenger Hunt: Tim Waggoner’s Lord of the Feast

Some time ago, a cult tried to bring their filthy god to life. They sought the destruction of the Omniverse, whatever that might mean, and through the gruesome grimoire Liber Pravitis Itineribus (The Book of Depravity), found a means of doing so. But when the god was nothing like what they thought it would be, […]

A Violent Creation: Baby Blood

When Lohman’s circus acquires a jaguar, they don’t realize it’s carrying something unexpected inside of it. They only realize that the new cat is reacting strongly to the lion tamer’s assistant Yanka (Emmanuelle Escourrou) and that jittery quality is passing to all the cats in the show. The cause will soon be revealed … but […]

A Strange Incident in the Arizona Desert: Phase IV (1974)

When a celestial event captivates the world, it leads to scientific curiosity as well as prognostications of doom and despair. However, it passes without much incident, as such events do, and the public interest moves along. However, it has left its influence upon the earthlings. Not on human beings, but on something much smaller. A […]

A Vague Sense of Unease: Christi Nogle’s One Eye Opened in That Other Place

Christi Nogle’s name is not a familiar one for me, and this is the first concentrated dose of the author’s short fiction I’ve had. The writing is lyrical, poetic. The characters are drawn well. The circumstances they find themselves involved in run a gamut from the chilling to the warmly inviting. Her characters live in […]

A Second Helping of Crazy: Santet 2 (1989)

After surviving an encounter with the queen of black magic (thanks to timely intervention of a Muslim cleric), Katemi (Suzzanna) renounced her black magic ways and decided to live in peace with the village. Unfortunately for her, the teacher of her blasphemous mentor arrives with a demand for Katemi to resume practicing the dark arts. […]

Something About Mary: Party Girl (1995)

When Mary (Parker Posey) throws a party, everyone shows up. Even the police, as we see at the opening of the picture. She’s hit up for quite a few infractions, but has her godmother Judy Lindendorf (Sasha von Scherler) to call on to bail her out. And maybe borrow money from. Or if not borrow […]

Never Listen to the Crocodile With a Woman’s Face: Santet (1988)

When Bisman tires of his sickly wife, he murders her and blames santet (black magic). Because he is a businessman and gangster with quite a bit of power in his small, Indonesian village, Bisman convinces his thuggish allies that Quran reading Muslim priest Sarma (Novie Charndra) was responsible. Vigilante justice sees him burned for the […]

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