Genre : Horror Short Story Collection Published : 2022 Format : Hardcover Pages : 423
Story 1 Inferno by Alessandro Manzetti
“A thousand thin devils belched from their black hole like geysers of madness , screaming cold .”
A beautiful poem about the classic monsters .
Story 2 Hollenlegion by Jonathan Maberry
“You’ve done something wonderful , Herr Prendick ,”
A sequel to ” The Island of Doctor Moreau ” featuring Nazi’s .
Story 3 They Call Me Mother by Geneve Flynn
“God has nothing to do with this place ,”
Something strange afflicts the children of an orphanage sponsored by Dr. Seward .
Story 4 Old Monsters Never Die by Tim Waggoner
“Your people don’t need it to change , but their blood sings loudest when the moon is fun and high .”
A bloody werewolf tradition with an even bloodier family reunion .
Story 5 She-Creature From The Golden Cove by John Palisano
“Aren’t they afraid that … lady … will come back ?”
A small shipwreck leads to a family dealing with a she-creature . I mean a sea creature . A sea she ?
Story 6 Dreams by F. Paul Wilson
“It’s not my heart ; it’s the huge , ponderous heart of a stranger , but it responds nonetheless , thudding madly in my chest .”
Frankenstein’s monster struggles to remember who he ( or they technically ) are shortly after they survived the fire . They have to really stitch this one together .
Story 7 Blood Hunt by Owl Goingback
“Batflies are just an appetizer . A snack . Time now for the main course .”
Buffalo Bill and Sitting Bull team up to fight Dracula . Never would’ve seen this one coming .
Story 8 Mummy Calls by simon bestwick
“Keep your torch pointed at the ground , Simon . This is important .”
A story about the Manchester mummy that claims Hannah Bestwick still lives ! British mummy ? … lame .
story 9 the viscount and the phantom by lucy a . snyder
“The Palais Garnier presents a unique opportunity for a young gentleman of your tastes .”
A showdown between the Phantom of the Opera and Jack the Ripper .
story 10 modern monsters by monique snyman
“It almost looks like something clawed it’s way out ,”
A film crew tours a military base that experiments with gene splicing and they learn too late that they should’ve brought a fly swatter .
story 11 beautiful monster by JG faherty
Of course , if you hadn’t brought her here , I’d never have accomplished my miracle .”
Frankenstein’s monster finds a kindred spirit in a scarred woman .
story 12 the nightbird by michael knost
“He had never known defeat . Not even once . And now … and now he’s dead . “
In order to save his wife from disease , Count Orlock makes a deal with a demon .
story 13 give me your hand by david surface
“What do you see ?”
A fortunate teller deceives three murderers .
story 14 a tale of wickedness by kelsea yu
“You want to know when you’ll be free to go home ? There’s no need to concern yourself with such details .”
Child mutilation , poisonous frogs , and wicked witches , oh my !
Story 15 something borrowed by lindy ryan
“It is an assembling of pieces , the feminine divine cobbled together by the sum of her parts .”
Never let a mad scientist on social media .
story 16 moonlight serenade by gaby triana
“By the light of the full moon , I will be with child -“
Don’t trust magic fertility potions .
story 17 dead lions by richard christian matheson
“Perhaps to know one’s self , requires killing the lion ,”
A psychotherapist helps a man find his inner Mr. Hyde .
story 18 mai doon izahn by gary a. braunbeck
“It’s so red a person would think you’re the one in danger of having a heart attack .”
A werecat and an organ donor .
story 19 hacking the horseman’s code by lisa mortor
“Just be careful how you use it , because you might be wrong .”
A tale of horsemen , AI , and small town politics .
story 20 the invisible man : the fire this time by maurice broaddus
“I am a fixed point in time and space ,”
A rather dull tale with such a transparent plot that I’ll forget it by the time I finish this sentence .
story 21 diminished seventh by sean eads and joshua viola
“Nothing but rotting , useless meat .”
A hands off tale involving the pianist Orlac .
story 22 you can have the ground , my love by carlie st. george
“This world . It doesn’t belong to us . We are always ugly , always alone . We belong in the ground . We deserve the ground .”
Following the Bride after “Bride of Frankenstein” .
story 23 the picture of dorian gray by mercedes m. yardley
“Beauty doesn’t come without suffering.”
A classic deal with a demon story gone wrong with an influencer .
story 24 make the blood go where it wants by alessandro manzetti
“If you want , the navel of the world is where we decide.”
Oh hey Mina , what nice teeth you have .
story 25 da noise , da funk , da blob by linda d. addison
“We got the others out while it was playing back and forth with you , “
The Blob studies the Earth by vibing to the music … and also eating everything around but mostly the music thing .
story 26 raft by rena mason
“I’ve never seen such an intact example of the featherization process to become celestial . This is amazing .”
Oh hey , a Chinese mummy .
story 27 “can” doesn’t mean “should” by seanan mcguire
“We are God’s of safety and protocol , while you are priests at best , children playing with toys they don’t understand .”
One mad scientist confronts another .
story 28 enter , the dragon by leverett butts and dacre stoker
I need something more … filling.”
Dracula returned in the modern age , told in a similar manner of the original novel .
story 29 someone to blame by ramsey campbell
“Mischief is the way evil toys with the world . Its presence can corrupt the very fabric of existence .”
A family visits a seemingly haunted building … or that’s how I understood it . My brain is a little fried by this point .
story 30 god of the razor by joe r. lansdale
“When I tried to put a blade in my razor , I saw that it had an eye on it , and it was blinking at me , very fast .”
An encounter with a totally sane believer of the god of razors .
Review : Well to say this is a mixed bag would be an understatement . It’s a trail mix bag made by a schizophrenic on steroids . Now the connection for this collection is that all the stories are supposed to revolve around the classic monsters . You know, mummies , werewolves , Dracula , Frankenstein’s monster , Jack the Ripper , etc . A lot of these stories are playing fast and loose with the concept however . Sometimes it works out but there are multiple stories that seem more insulting than tribute . There is enough good here to recommend a read but it’s not a you need to rush out and get it now . Peace out !
Recommendations : Books
- Carnaki , the Ghost Finder by William Hope Hodgson
- Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephne King
- Hellraiser : The Toll by Mark Alan Miller
- Perfect Blue : Awaken From A Dream by Yoshikazu Takeuchi
- Who Goes There ? by John W. Campbell Jr.
- A Charles Dickens Christmas by Charles Dickens
- Earthbound by Richard Matheson
- Dark Water by Koji Suzuki
- Octopussy And The Living Daylights by Ian Fleming
- Skeleton Crew by Stephen King
Songs
- Werewolves of London – Warren Zevon
- Monster Mash – Vincent Price
- Take On Me – A-Ha
- Banana’s is my Business – Carmen Miranda
- Season of the Witch – Donovan
- Thriller – Michael Jackson
- Getting Away With Murder – Papa Roach
- Teenage Frankenstein – Alice Cooper
- Little Red Riding Hood – Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs
- Wolf Totem – The Hu
Movies
- Van Helsing (2004)
- The Mummy (1932)
- The Wolf Man (1941)
- Dracula (1931)
- Frankenstein (1931)
- Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
- Island of Lost Souls (1932)
- Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)
- Jack the Ripper (1959)
- Dr . Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
Lesson : Always pay respect to the legends of before .
Grand Wierd Reviews 