After the People Lights Have Gone Off
Stephen Graham Jones
Dark House Press
September 30, 2014
Reviewed by Kari Wolfe
Looking for a great horror short story collection? I just finished reading After the People Lights Have Gone Off by Stephen Graham Jones who, with over 15 novels, 220+ short stories and 6 short story collections in print, is one of the most prolific authors out there currently, especially in the world of short stories.
Jones has been billed as a literary horror author but writes across several genres including what’s known as The Velvet, joining such authors as Craig Clevenger, Chuck Palahniuk, and Will Christopher Baer. His writing has also been labeled as part of the Weird by Jeff VanderMeer and others. Quite frankly, I find his work intriguing and, as a fan of psychological horror, it’s all right there.
After the People Lights Have Gone Off is a collection of fifteen literary horror stories that you won’t want to read at night. You might even have problems reading them in the daytime.
It’s difficult in some of these to summarize the stories into a single sentence but I’ll give my favorites a shot.
“Doc’s Story” — a twist on the werewolf genre. A grandfather tells his grandson about a dog he once killed.
“Xebico” — a research librarian finds more than he bargained for in a play he is asked to research for a friend.
“Second Chances” — a lab assistant grieves the loss of her child through an experiment with a butterfly.
“After the People Lights Have Gone Off” — after a freak accident, a couple moves into a haunted house where the wife begins to sleepwalk.
“Solve for X” — a woman, kidnapped and taped to a chair, finds that her kidnapper wants to play games with her that include ripping off her skin.
Jones’s style is reminiscient of Stephen King in a few of those stories, but most sound like Jones’s own unique voice. He’s able to create both vivid characters and hackle-raising plots while at the same time sprinkling in those little details that can take your breath away.
But don’t take my word for it. You should go pick up the book yourself.
