Remains Issue Five

 

REMAINS (Issue 5):

A heist goes oddly wrong in Tim Lees’ SEX LIVES OF THE SPIRIT WORLD. When two thieves manage to break into a famous rapper’s house, one of them leaves *connected* to Dave, a most unusual ghost/demon. Lees brings the dark humor yet keeps this a satisfyingly weird tale.

Nils is paid to travel to New Guinea in search of exotic treasures, but finds himself in a terrifying predicament in Matt Flintoff’s TRIBUTARY, a sort-of *steampunk* version of The Wicker Man. Familiar but effective.

Aliya Whiteley’s SANDCASTLE CHALET follows two people whose lives have been affected by an entity that has altered their memories. They attempt to understand their condition by returning to a place they had visited during their childhood. The sense of dread here brings the chills.

INSIGHTS by David Vonderheide is brief yet epic in scope: a grim heartbreaking look at a man’s tragic life.

James Sallis delivers the latest installment of the ongoing LETTERS FROM NEW AMERICA series, and at this point I admit to being baffled. Perhaps when the saga is complete a reread will shed some light.

Rebecca Zahabi’s atmospheric THE SUMPTERS follows a guide who brings clients into a dangerous — and otherworldly — set of caves. This one is highlighted by a slick ending.

Ray Cluley’s LIKE THE DEVIL features an old man recalling his youth when, at age 17 in the early 1930s, he began racing cars for mobsters … and his first race took on a supernatural angle. The lengthiest story of the issue, and also the most memorable.

Bill and Tom are monster hunters in the shadowy A MAN WALKS INTO A BAR (by Toby Whithouse). Whithouse reveals info about this strange, pre-apocalyptic world through Bill’s thoughts as he stops for a beer during their endless travels.

Editor Andy Cox continues to select some of the best and most well-written dark fiction around, each tale accented by Richard Wagner’s unique artwork. Grab a copy or subscribe at REMAINS.

Return to BURNT SPARROW

 

WE TURN GRUESOME AT NIGHT by Eric LaRocca (to be published 9/8/26 by Titan Books / 304 pages)

The second installment in LaRocca’s BURNT SPARROW trilogy takes place ten years after the events of book one, focusing on Rupert and Gladys who are still trapped in End House, until Rupert discovers a way for them to be freed … even if temporarily.

The author does a fine job showing Rupert and Gladys continuing to descend into madness, and introduces new characters who will surely play big parts in the third novel. There are a couple of truly disturbing scenes here, and an early piece of inner dialogue with Rupert that will surely turn some readers off. But those who brave through it are in for a solid pay off.

As with the first book, this has the feel of a gothic horror story yet with an extreme edge. LaRocca’s prose often conjures magical beauty in one sentence with mind-numbing depravity in the next. The stage is set for a finale that promises to take readers where they may have never been before.

(Thanks to Netgalley for the digital review copy)

CHEW TOYS second edition

 

Above is the wrap-around cover design for my novella CHEW TOYS. The novella was first published in 2018 in a 3-novella anthology titled THREE A.M. WAKE UP CALL, published by Books & Boos Press. This second edition features original artwork on the cover by UK artist Simon Pritchard with the wrap-around design by Dave K (DK Graphic Works, @a_fiend_no_more). This was one of the best times I ever had writing a story, as the tone is darkly comic yet overall serious despite the absurd subject matter. Release date is 7/28/26 through Squid Salad Press. Zoom in on the back cover to read the full synopsis. More news soon...

Some Fresh Bloodsuckers...

 

NIGHTJARS by Michael Wehunt (to be released 9/29/26 by St. Martin’s Press / 352 pages)

Luke Oshel is a divorced man and a recovering addict, finally back out on a blind date, when his life takes a dark turn: his date excuses herself never to return, and she has left behind the first in a series of disturbing photographs which feature Luke as a child with his father Ed … and a dead woman.

As the photos get more graphic, Luke struggles harder trying to recall his past, going so far as to try hypnosis. But as fresh corpses start showing up all these years later, signs point to Luke as the culprit, and it seems his ex-wife and daughter are the next targets for his killing spree … or is the killer someone (or something) else?

NIGHTJARS is a creepy-as-it-gets take on serial killers, vampires, and generational trauma. Vampires are a hard sell for me, but here they’re handled as Appalachian folklore, allowing the author to craft something fresh despite keeping some familiar tropes in the background. Wehunt’s writing is seriously engaging, particularly during the second half, which while violent and action packed, loses none of the novel’s earlier chill factor.

NIGHTJARS is a recommended good time, and for me, the best take on vampires since Tim Lebbon’s 2006 novel BERSERK.

An original, satisfying thriller

 

PICTURES OF YOU by Josh Malerman (to be released 9/8/26 by Del Rey / 288 pages)

Emily wakes up one day after a great night out with her fiancé, Jack. But she’s not in their hotel room, Jack is nowhere to be found, and as she attempts to get up, a female voice commands her to remain still. At the foot of her bed is a picture frame … with no canvas. Just a frame.

Malerman’s latest is a crash course in psychosis, a tense, claustrophobic thriller centered around jealousy and creativity, complete with a nifty reveal after the halfway point. It’s a departure from his terrifying previous novel, INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE, but no less satisfying in the nightmare its protagonists are put through.

This original, quick-moving tale can be binged in a sitting or two.

A Worthy Sequel…

 

AMITYVILLE AWAKENS by Robert P. Ottone (to be released 10/6/26 by Clash Books / 314 pages)

After a demolition crew tears down the infamous Amityville Horror House, not only do the workers seemingly vanish, but the evil within the house walls is now freed to spread chaos across the rest of the neighborhood and a nearby town.

There’s a lot going on here (maybe a bit too much), told from several character’s viewpoints, but the author keeps things fun and occasionally spooky, as ghosts, wisps, possessions, and anxiety take hold of the colorful cast. While a similar idea was attempted in John Jones’ forgettable AMITYVILLE: THE EVIL ESCAPES (1988 Tudor), Ottone’s take is more in line with Doug Clegg’s terrifying THE ABANDONED (2005 Leisure), as we see evil pouring out of a haunted house and into a town to run amuck. One scene dealing with a possession inside a hospital’s pediatric ward is the highlight here, and should have most readers biting their nails.

This addition to the never-ending line of Amityville film and novel sequels is a big step above most of them.

Remains Issue Four

 

REMAINS (Issue Four)

Andy Cox, editor of the excellent BLACK STATIC magazine, has returned with REMAINS, featuring 100 full colour pages of brand new fiction, with art by Richard Wagner in each issue. I missed out on the first two, found issue three excellent, and have just finished reading the latest, which you can get at Remains 4. For those not in the know, BLACK STATIC was a top notch UK-based magazine for short horror fiction, published from 2007-2021 (and before that, it was known as THE THIRD ALTERNATIVE, going back to 1994). I rarely missed an issue, and was among the many saddened when it ceased publication. But REMAINS is every bit as good, as evidenced by this latest issue.

Opener HEAVYNESS, a hard hitting novelette by Seán Padraic Birnie, deals with a physically disadvantaged boy and his equally as disadvantaged sister. A deep, dark study of loss and preservation.

The short stories begin with HEARSTEN LAKE by Kay Vaindal, in which three people scout out an area to be the location of their new company. Vaindal spins the “haunted grounds” trope on its head and delivers a wicked finale.

STATION TO STATION by Stephen Bacon features a man searching for his lost lover in an underground labyrinth of both physical and mental realms. One of the best of the lot.

In my favorite this issue, DEVELOPMENT CONVERSATION by Stephen Hargadon, We meet a quiet old employee, the kind you find at any office job. But Hargadon’s view on how this person comes to be is terrifying in a classic horror tale way. For some readers, this will be bone chilling.

THE BABY by Annie Neugebauer is obviously a personal story, albeit with a body-horror ending that will make you wince. The author recently released a short story collection, and if the other stories in it are even half this good, it’s sure to be a must buy.

SCISSORS, PAPER, ROCKS by Craig Bernardini is another body horror tale that brings films like AMERICAN MARY to mind. Grim but genuinely spooky.

THE BLOCK by Steve Toase is easily the weirdest of the issue, dealing with a group who create most unusual houses. The aftermath, of course, is anything but a happy home. Toase subtly gets under your skin…

THE RETURN OF BENNY STORAX by John Possidente takes place in a series I’m not familiar with, but the story is fine as a stand alone, a unique alien abduction/release tale.

LETTERS FROM NEW AMERICA: MINDING THE GARDEN by James Sallis is the second part of a four-part serial, and at this point I won’t comment. I have no idea where this is headed, but will give it the benefit of the doubt (the first two installments have been the shortest pieces in each issue).

If you are a writer of short horror fiction, this is one of the best places to find inspiration as well as see how it’s done the right way. Seasoned editor Andy Cox always delivers a scary time, and it’s so nice to have him back in action.