I read all types of horror but I have to admit to growing a bit weary of much of the modern horror I read that is more psychological or humanistic in tone. That’s why I loved Blackest Death Vol.2. This is good, old fashioned horror featuring ghosts, demons, mummies, and all manner of monsters. Modern horror so often leaves you depressed after you read it because it does break down the wall of our own frail realities. But I can get that watching the evening news. Blackest Death not only scares, but entertains as well. Regretfully, many modern horror writers forget to entertain readers…forget that it should be escapist fun.
Blackest Death Vol. 2 features two-dozen thoroughly fun and fitfully terrifying tales by a host of writers such as C. Dennis Moore, Ray Wallace, Derek Gunn, Karen Koehler, Tim Curran, and many more. Clichéd as it may sound, these are tales for a dark and stormy night but written with modern themes. A great example is “Séance.net” by Peter Ebsworth. A desperate man uses an on-line spirit medium to try and contact her. He tells her not to worry because Daddy isn’t going to leave her alone wherever she is now…he is coming to join her…leaving the charlatan, on-line medium in a panic over what the man intends to do. Great Story and very topical with its theme of an on-line séance.
“Keeper of the Streets” by Mike Adamson tells the story of a serial killer named Howard Kellner who targets young women. When Kellner is arrested he’s visited by a man claiming to be his lawyer who seems always to be in the shadows as he tells Howard that he can get him released. It seems that someone…or something is a fan of Howard’s work and wants him to continue…
Diana Bennett’s “The Debt” is a powerful tale of other-worldly revenge. When a reckless driver kills two young lovers and goes unpunished by the legal system, she begins to hear a voice in her head saying “You owe me!” Over and over, day after day, driving the woman to madness as she is unable to get the voice out of her head…and using an ancient book of black magic to banish the spirit only makes things worse!
I think my favorite story in the collection is Tim Curran’s “The Little Boy who Came Back from the Grave”. Tommy Reed finds himself haunted by the little, evil boy named Chimmy who tormented him as a kid and who also killed his mother. When Reed goes to see a psychiatrist, he confesses to drowning Chimmy and sets out to try and rid himself of the ghost. Curran’s vivid imagery of Chimmy’s ghost, water logged, and worm infested, was truly chilling.
T.M. Gray’s “Where Secrets Fester” is another winner. Virgil runs the local city dump and is an outcast in the community. Vigil doesn’t care…he sees all their garbage and knows all of their darkest secrets. But when local townsfolk start turning up dead, surrounded by rotting garbage, Virgil is suddenly accused of the murders. But there is something much more sinister lurking in the city dump…
Revenge is also the theme of Nancy Jackson’s story “Enter Sleep”. Heidi finds herself confronted by her mother’s severed head…only it’s not a dream. And why is her father standing in the doorway of her bedroom holding an axe?
In “Keeper” by Aurelio Rico Lopez III, we meet a group of young tourists, climbing a mountain and their guide who tells them of the Manananggal, a monster of Philippine folklore said to be a demon that possess the body of women.
I cannot give this book a higher recommendation. This is what horror is all about.
– Tim Janson
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
