It’s officially Spooky Season in the Chippewa Valley, and what better way to celebrate than with a double helping of horror stories? Perfect for sharing around the flickering light of a dwindling fire, the embers casting their ghosts upon the floor as the stories both sinister and macabre fill the air with scintillations of terror. As an added treat, we’ve made sure to track down two collections focused on folklore and nostalgia from trans authors of the supernatural and horrifying.
First up is The Merry Spinster by Daniel M. Lavery, which features fresh takes on classic fairy tales. The works are sharp, building off childhood memories and something deeper to provide daring works that challenge what horror stories are and can be. They’re perfect for grown up kids looking for some adult spine tinglers. From the publisher:
“Adapted from the beloved “Children’s Stories Made Horrific” series, The Merry Spinster takes up the trademark wit that endeared Daniel M. Lavery to readers of both The Toast and the bestselling debut Texts from Jane Eyre. Sinister and inviting, familiar and alien all at the same time, The Merry Spinster twists traditional children’s stories and fairy tales with elements of psychological horror, emotional clarity, and a keen sense of feminist mischief.”
“Unfalteringly faithful to its beloved source material, The Merry Spinster also illuminates the unsuspected and frequently alarming emotional complexities at play in the stories we tell ourselves, and each other, as we tuck ourselves in for the night.”
Second we have Taiping Tales of Terror by Julya Oui, which transports readers to the Malaysia to explore stories of time, place, and especially fear. Framed as stories told around a campfire, Oui explores her hometown in creeping and eerie detail, exposing its beauty alongside its monsters. From the publisher:
“The stories in this collection are works of personal gratification, nostalgia, and reverence and they serve as an homage to the author’s hometown and her favorite horror writers. They take place in various timelines and are written as stories within stories ranging from a headless ghost that returns as a grim reaper, a bird-like creature on the loose, a were-tiger out to seek vengeance, a vampire that decimated an entire village and other restless paranormal entities that walk among us.”
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