Cemetery Dance Online

Review: The Soul of Wes Craven by Joseph Maddrey

Cemetery Dance OnlineNovember 22, 2024November 17, 2024ReviewsDave Simms, Joseph Maddrey, Reviews, The Soul of Wes CravenLeave a comment

The Soul of Wes Craven by Joseph Maddrey
Harker Books (June 2024)
Reviewed by Dave Simms

From Last House on the Left to Scream, Wes Craven had been a staple of horror. He rubbed dark souls with John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper, carving out his own legend in the Mount Rushmore of the genre. Fans knew him from the obvious Nightmare on Elm Street series, but diehards will never forget even the oddball films, such as The People Under the Stairs and Vampire in Brooklyn.

Review: Kill Your Darling by Clay McLeod Chapman

Cemetery Dance OnlineNovember 20, 2024November 17, 2024ReviewsClay McLeod Chapman, Haley Newlin, Kill Your Darling, ReviewsLeave a comment

Kill Your Darling by Clay McLeod Chapman
Bad Hand Books (September 2024)
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

It took thirty-eight laps around Billy’s skull to empty the roll of duct tape. They drew two lopsided and unblinking black ovals over his eyes.

Twenty years later, Glenn’s dogged mind runs on a constant loop — Billy kissing a girl at the dance, that squeal of peeling tape, his grim imaginings of his son’s final moments, where his soul may lie, and silvery ghosts. How can he and his wife, Carol, move on with every suspect’s fabric of guilt pulled at like a loose thread and then discarded? Without a conviction? A who or why?Continue Reading

Review: Cocktails from the Crypt: Terrifying Yet Delicious Concoctions Inspired by Your Favorite Horror Films by Jonathan Dehaan and Kimberley Elizabeth

Cemetery Dance OnlineNovember 18, 2024November 17, 2024ReviewsCocktails from the Crypt, Jonathan Dehaan, Joshua Gage, Kimberly Elizabeth, ReviewsLeave a comment

Cocktails from the Crypt: Terrifying Yet Delicious Concoctions Inspired by Your Favorite Horror Films by Jonathan Dehaan and Kimberley Elizabeth
Page Street Publishing (November 26, 2024)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Jonathan Dehaan and Kimberley Elizabeth launched Nightmare on Film Street in 2016 as a welcoming space for horror enthusiasts of every stripe and obsession level. Their mission? To celebrate the eeriest genre there is in the most enjoyable way possible. Forget deep dives and academic critiques — they’re all about sharing laughs, spinning conspiracy theories, and making cheeky observations. Beyond podcasting, they are emerging filmmakers, with Kimmi celebrating her writing and directorial debut in the segment “Do Us Part?” of 2022’s horror snthology Sinphony. They live in Winnipeg, Canada with their two pugs. Their new collection of cocktail recipes is Cocktails from the Crypt: Terrifying Yet Delicious Concoctions Inspired by Your Favorite Horror Films.Continue Reading

Night Time Logic with Ian Rogers

Cemetery Dance OnlineNovember 15, 2024November 11, 2024Night Time LogicColumns, Daniel Braum, Ian Rogers, Interviews, Night Time Logic, SycamoreLeave a comment

Night Time Logic with Daniel Braum

“Noir, Supernatural Noir, and The Black Lands”

Night Time Logic is the part of a story that is felt but not consciously processed. It is also the name of this interview series here at Cemetery Dance and over on my YouTube channel.

Through in-depth conversation with authors this column explores the night time part of stories, the strange and uncanny in horror and dark fiction, and more.

My short story collection with Cemetery Dance is titled The Night Marchers and Other Strange Tales in homage to Aickman and his kind of stories that operate this way. It can be found here.

I spoke with Ian Rogers in early October 2024 about his new novel from Cemetery Dance, Sycamore. Our conversation is available on YouTube.

We begin our conversation today catching up with some of Ian’s 2024 publications before diving into Sycamore and the Black Lands.Continue Reading

Review: Rest Stop by Nat Cassidy

Cemetery Dance OnlineNovember 13, 2024November 11, 2024ReviewsHaley Newlin, Nat Cassidy, Rest Stop, ReviewsLeave a comment

Rest Stop by Nat Cassidy
Shortwave Media (October 2024)
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

I read Nat Cassidy’s novel Mary: An Awakening of Terror last summer and can’t shake how it made me feel more than a year later. Carpeted in historical and generational trauma, Mary was about women, especially “women who are only invisible until somebody needs to be blamed.”

Above the novel’s intricate weavings of religious fanaticism and Cassidy’s protagonist’s unsettling behavior, Mary is about power and the tendency to mythologize those who claim it like some god. Given the political climate, it’s a haunting reminder that this narrative has long existed in the real world and feels all the more suffocating.

Rest Stop, Cassidy’s latest release, a horror novella about a troubled musician, Abe, traveling to visit a dying relative who tormented him through childhood with spats of disapproval and disappointment, dissects the ghosts of historical trauma.Continue Reading

Review: The Collected Enchantments by Theodora Goss

Cemetery Dance OnlineNovember 12, 2024November 11, 2024ReviewsJoshua Gage, Reviews, The Collected Enchantments, Theodora GossLeave a comment

The Collected Enchantments by Theodora Goss
Mythic Delirium Press (February 2023)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Cemetery Dance readers familiar with the name Theodora Goss are most likely familiar with her Victorian Gothic historic mystery series The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club trilogy, which begins with The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter. For those who don’t know, it follows the exploits of Mary Jekyll, daughter of Henry Louis Stevenson’s character Dr. Jekyll, as she unites with the daughters of various other fictional characters, as well as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, to discover and foil the plots of a cabal of mad scientists. However, for readers who might not be aware, Goss isn’t just an overnight success, but a talented author with a rich literary history stretching back to 2002 with the publication of her short story, “The Rose in Twelve Petals.” Fortunately for all of us, Goss has released her complete bibliography in one mammoth volume titled The Collected Enchantments. Continue Reading

Meet Marco Finnegan’s Undead Detective

Cemetery Dance OnlineNovember 8, 2024November 4, 2024The Comic VaultColumns, Danica Davidson, Interviews, Marco Finnegan, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

banner that reads The Comic Vault

cover of Calavera, P.I. Cartoonist Marco Finnegan’s love of film noir and pulps led him to creating Calavera, P.I., about an undead murdered detective who comes back on Dia de los Muertos. Not only will Detective Juan Calavera have to solve a new crime, he also needs to find out who killed him. Finnegan spoke with Cemetery Dance about the use of Mexican folklore in the graphic novel, his horror influences, and what he would like people to take away from his newest work.Continue Reading

Review: Island of the Dead by Brian Keene

Cemetery Dance OnlineNovember 6, 2024November 4, 2024ReviewsBrian Keene, Chandra Claypool, Island of the Dead, ReviewsLeave a comment

cover of Island of the Dead Island of the Dead by Brian Keene
Apex Book Company (October 2024)
Reviewed by Chandra Claypool (Instagram) (TikTok)

When zombies, barbarians, giant ants and a group of people also stuck on the island collide!

Brian Keene is well known for his zombie stories and there’s a good reason for it! While this is only my second read by this author, he has certainly found a new fan and I’ll be adding a lot more to my horror arsenal. Continue Reading

Review: CAW: Poetry by a Murder of Writers edited by Stasha Strange

Cemetery Dance OnlineNovember 5, 2024November 4, 2024ReviewsCaw, Joshua Gage, Reviews, Stasha StrangeLeave a comment

CAW: Poetry by a Murder of Writers edited by Stasha Strange
Ix Studios (October 2024)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Stasha Strange is a writer who draws inspiration from the untamed worlds found within books. Recently, she embarked on a new chapter of her life, transitioning from the vibrant San Francisco Bay Area to the welcoming embrace of Ohio. Beyond her literary pursuits, she passionately advocates for the homeless and tenants’ rights. She shares her life journey with her partner, Andrew, and her beloved companions, a feline familiar, Jax, and a silly California King Snake named Noods.Continue Reading

Review: The Bone Picker by Devon A. Mihesuah

Cemetery Dance OnlineNovember 1, 2024October 29, 2024ReviewsDevon A. Mihesuah, Reviews, Rowan B. Minor, The Bone PickerLeave a comment

The Bone Picker by Devon A. Mihesuah
University of Oklahoma Press (October 2024)
Reviewed by Rowan B. Minor

Devon A. Mihesuah is a writer, historian, and the Cora Lee Beers Price Professor in the Hall Center for the Humanities at the University of Kansas. She is an enrolled citizen of the Choctaw Nation, and a Chickasaw, Norwegian, French, German, and Irish descendant. Mihesuah served as editor of the American Indian Quarterly, and most of her own work tackles colonization, Indigenous stereotypes, Native women, and violence against Natives. She has written several award-winning books, including Choctaw Crime and Punishment, 1884–1887; American Indigenous Women: Decolonization, Empowerment, Activism; and American Indians: Stereotypes and Realities. Mihesuah is the recipient of numerous awards, including from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Ford Foundation, and American Historical Association. Her most recent book, The Bone Picker, is a fictional collection of Indigenous horror short stories. Continue Reading

Review: Dame Evergreen, and Other Poems of Myth, Magic, and Madness by Rebecca Buchanan

Cemetery Dance OnlineOctober 30, 2024October 29, 2024ReviewsDame Evergreen, Joshua Gage, Rebecca Buchanan, ReviewsLeave a comment

Dame Evergreen, And Other Poems of Myth, Magic, and Madness by Rebecca Buchanan
Self-Published (October 31, 2024)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Rebecca Buchanan is the editor of the Pagan literary ezine Eternal Haunted Summer. Her work has appeared in a variety of venues, including Abyss & Apex, Enchanted Conversation, Eye to the Telescope, and Star*Line. Her newest poetry collection, Dame Evergreen, And Other Poems of Myth, Magic, and Madness will arrive on October 31.Continue Reading

Review: At Summer’s Wistful End by K. A. Opperman

Cemetery Dance OnlineOctober 28, 2024October 14, 2024ReviewsAt Summer's Wistful End, Joshua Gage, poetry, Reviews. K.A. OppermanLeave a comment

At Summer’s Wistful End by K. A. Opperman
Jackanapes Press (September 2024)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

K. A. Opperman is a poet of the Gothic and the grotesque hailing from Southern California. He has been published in a wide array of contemporary horror and dark fantasy magazines, journals, and anthologies, including Weirdbook, Skelos, Ravenwood Quarterly, The Audient Void, The Weird Fiction Review, Spectral Realms, and many others. His debut book-length collection, The Crimson Tome, is available from Hippocampus Press, and a second collection, The Laughter of Ghouls is available from PS Publishing. While not drinking a fine ale or writing morbid poems, he can often be found tending to his pumpkin patch. He has a religiously zealous, year-round devotion to Halloween, and some people have called him “The Pumpkin King.” Since 2020, he has been amassing a collection of conversational verse related to Halloween. This collection has been published over three books on Jackanapes Press, culminating in At Summer’s Wistful End.Continue Reading

Review: The Rack: Stories Inspired by Vintage Horror Paperbacks edited by Tom Deady

Cemetery Dance OnlineOctober 23, 2024October 14, 2024ReviewsDave Simms, Reviews, Stephen King, The Rack, Tom Deady1 Comment

cover of The Rack The Rack: Stories Inspired by Vintage Horror Paperbacks edited by Tom Deady
Thomas E. Deady (September 2024)
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Who in their right minds (okay, readers of a certain age) hasn’t been excited to walk into a drug store or supermarket to find THE rack. That spinning metal beast of wonder that held so many amazing covers; some cheesy, some over the top, and others that make your head spin. It always signaled that fun times were on the way as we turned and swiveled and reached behind the book in front to find an even better book behind it. Many found it more exciting than heading to the Waldenbooks or Borders Books (different eras, but same good times). The thrill of discovering a frightening story with cool cover prompted so many of us to ride our bikes, walk, or drive on over on the day when we knew the manager would break open the new stock. Finding treasures behind that first book was even better, possibly hid by another horror fan to buy at a later time.

Kolchak Kickstarted Again! Kolchak Meets the Classic Monsters

Cemetery Dance OnlineOctober 22, 2024October 19, 2024The Comic VaultColumns, Danica Davidson, Interviews, James Aquilone, Kickstarter, Kolchak Meets Classic Monsters, Rodney Barnes, Steve NilesLeave a comment

banner that reads The Comic Vault

Cover of Kolchak Meets the Classic Monsters — Art by Dave Acosta

After successfully Kickstarting Kolchak: The Night Stalker 50th Anniversary Graphic Novel and Jeff Rice’s original novel Kolchack: The Night Stalker, editor James Aquilone is back with a Kickstarter campaign for Kolchak Meets the Classic Monsters from Moonstone Books. Cemetery Dance spoke with Aquilone, along with writers Rodney Barnes and Steve Niles, both of whom are contributing stories, about this latest project in the world of Kolchak. Continue Reading

Review: Leviathan Volume 1 by Shiro Kuroi

Cemetery Dance OnlineOctober 21, 2024September 29, 2024Reviews, The Comic VaultColumns, Joshua Gage, Leviathan, Reviews, Shiro Kuroi, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

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Leviathan Volume 1 by Shiro Kuroi
Abrams Comic Arts (October 29, 2024)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Shiro Kuroi is a rising star manga author who lives in Toyko, Japan. Leviathan is his first international serialized work, which has been published simultaneously in France and Japan. Highly praised for his character writing and illustration, Leviathan went on to become one of the top 10 bestselling new manga titles in France, and he has already received international attention online from manga fans hoping for an English release of his work. Fortunately, the wait is over, as Leviathan, Volume 1 has finally arrived. Continue Reading

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