The Folio Society is doing an illustrated edition of 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, a Japanese novel about a hitwoman and a dangerous cult. Cemetery Dance spoke with editor Sophia Schoepfer about the publisher’s involvement with horror books, why they decided to take on IQ84, and her favorite horror book she’s worked on so far.
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories Free FictionLeave a comment on FREE PREVIEW: Phantom Constellations by Daniel Braum 
Phantom Constellations is Daniel Braum’s fifth full short story collection of dark, strange tales, exploring the metamorphic tension between the supernatural and the psychological, out now in trade paperback and eBook from Cemetery Dance Publications. Each of these stories, set in locations around the corner and around the world, evokes the Twilight Zone sense of the unreal and that mysterious, unsettling ambiguity found in classic weird and horror fiction.
It is a book of stories of haunted people, ghosts, and the Phantom Constellations all around them, bravely — and sometimes blindly — traversing the phantasmagoric happenings and psychological challenges in situations full of danger, uncertainty, grief, and tragedy, alongside a sense of hope, longing, mystery, and wonder. Appearing in the collection are four never before published stories written exclusively for the book, along with ten more of Braum’s tales including from the Shivers anthology series and a wealth of hard-to-find publications from around the world.
In today’s post is one of the original stories from Phantom Constellations titled “The Exorcist’s Red-Haired Daughter.”Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: ADAK by Keith Minnion 
ADAK by Keith Minnion
White Noise Press (August 2025)
Reviewed by Dave Simms
MrBallen Presents: Where Nightmares Live by MrBallen and Andrea Mutti
Ten Speed Graphics (September 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage
Better known as “MrBallen,” John B. Allen is a former U. S. Navy Seal, the founder of the multi-platform content company Ballen Studios, and the creator and host of the popular podcast MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories. Allen uses his platform to give back and founded the MrBallen Foundation with the mission to honor victims and support families of heinous crimes through education, training, and financial support.
Andrea Mutti began his career illustrating DNAction for Xenia Edizioni, Sergio Bonelli Editore, and Star Comics. He’s worked with Marvel, DC, Vertigo, MadCave, Stormking, Dark Horse, IDW, Image, BOOM! Studios, and more. His titles include Maniac of New York, Bunny Mask, Rebels, Batman Eternal, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. He’s a member of the National UFO Center and resides in Sarasota, Florida. Continue Reading
The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi
Tor Nightfire (September 2025)
The Synopsis
Brimming with dark humor, violence, and mystery, The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre is a blood-soaked slasher sure to keep readers guessing until the very last page.
Rose DuBois is not your average final girl.
Rose is in her late 70s, living out her golden years at the Autumn Springs Retirement Home.
When one of her friends dies alone in her apartment, Rose isn’t too concerned. Accidents happen, especially at this age!
Then another resident drops dead. And another. With bodies stacking up, Rose can’t help but wonder: are these accidents? Old age? Or something far more sinister?
Together with her best friend Miller, Rose begins to investigate. The further she digs, the more convinced she becomes: there’s a killer on the loose at Autumn Springs, and if she isn’t careful, Rose may be their next victim.Continue Reading
Nightmuse: Poems of Speculative Darkness by Scott J. Couturier
Jackanapes Press (November 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage
Scott J. Couturier is a Rhysling-nominated poet and prose writer of the weird, liminal, and darkly fantastic. His work has appeared in numerous venues, including The Audient Void, Spectral Realms, Tales from the Magician’s Skull, Space and Time Magazine, Cosmic Horror Monthly, and Weirdbook; his collection of Weird fiction, The Box, is available from Hybrid Sequence Media, while his collection of autumnal & folk horror verse, I Awaken In October, is available from Jackanapes Press. His newest collection of speculative horror poetry, Nightmuse, is available on Jackanapes Press. Continue Reading
For Crownsville, a new five-issue comic from Oni Press, creator Rodney Barnes took a cue from his past. The actual Crownsville Hospital Center used to be referred to as the “Hospital for the Negro Insane of Maryland” and has since shuttered. Barnes talked with Cemetery Dance about his personal connection to the hospital, the dark stories around it, and the importance of knowing history.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: The Graveyard Club by R. L. Stine and Carola Borelli
The Graveyard Club by R. L. Stine and Carola Borelli
Boom! Studios (October 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage
R.L. Stine, of Columbus, Ohio, is one of the best-selling children’s authors in history. His Goosebumps and Fear Street series have sold more than 400 million copies around the world and have been translated into 32 languages. He has had several TV series based on his work, and two feature films, The Goosebumps Movie (2015) and Goosebumps 2: Hunted Halloween (2018), starred Jack Black as R.L. Stine himself. Just Beyond is his first-ever series of graphic novels. Bob lives in New York City with his wife Jane, an editor and publisher. The Graveyard Club is his newest graphic novel.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories Breaking NewsLeave a comment on Sneak Peek at “The Brides” of Kelley Jones
Matt Wagner and Kelley Jones’s Dracula graphic novel trilogy has had its first two volumes picked up by Dark Horse, with Dracula: Book II — The Brides hitting stores on November 18. Meanwhile, Dracula: Book III — The Count is on Kickstarter. The Brides will include never-seen-before sketches of the brides by Jones, and Cemetery Dance gets the exclusive first look at these sketches.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories InterviewsLeave a comment on Interview: Crafting Horror with Jenny Kiefer
Jenny Kiefer is an award-winning author of spine-tingling, fierce, and cathartic horror. Her debut novel, This Wretched Valley, was a 2024 Bram Stoker Award Nominee and named a Library Journal Best Horror Book of the year. Readers have been anxiously awaiting her second release, Crafting for Sinners, a survival horror story about a queer woman trapped in a craft store run by religious fanatics. It is all over BookTok and Bookstagram as one of the most anticipated horror book releases of 2025.
Together with her mother, Kiefer owns and manages Butcher Cabin Books, an all-horror bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky.
Kiefer sat down with Cemetery Dance to discuss her debut novel, This Wretched Valley, her new release, Crafting for Sinners, survival horror, her favorite reads of the year, and of course, crafts.
You can find the author on Instagram @_jennykiefer and on her website. Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: Crafting for Sinners by Jenny Kiefer 
Crafting for Sinners by Jenny Kiefer
Quirk Books (October 2025)
Reviewed by Haley Newlin
In Jenny Kiefer’s latest release, Crafting for Sinners, Ruth walks the aisles of a craft store in Kill Devil, Kentucky. There’s fall decor from floor to ceiling, but no sign of ghosts, witches, or black cats for Halloween, the holiday omitted entirely. Emblazoned glass jars read: Be Pure, for those who give themselves to immortality will suffer the punishment of eternal fire. A placard with two vintage handguns forming an X, barrels overlapping, declares: Righteous judgment will be revealed on the day of His wrath – Romans 2:5. Continue Reading
As we mentioned the other week, we’ve been way too busy shipping The Stand to carry books from other publishers lately, but we don’t want our collectors to miss out on this one, so we’re going to point you toward some other great places to order:
Stinger by Robert McCammon is a Signed, Numbered, and TRAYCASED Limited Edition from SST Publications in the UK and they’re only making 500 copies of this amazing edition. SST always punches above their weight in the production department and this sounds like another major winner.
For our friends in the United States and Canada, Brian over at Lividian Publications has added the book to the Lividian online store. He’ll handle the shipping costs from the UK and any tariffs or taxes that pop up, and then ship your copy to you from either a US or Canadian address.
If you’re in the UK or Europe, you can order directly from SST Publications to save on postage and taxes. Don’t miss out on this one!
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories Interviews, The Comic VaultLeave a comment on E.M. Carroll Has A Guest In The House
E.M. Carroll’s horror graphic novel A Guest in the House is out in paperback, and Cemetery Dance is excited to share the a few pages below. The graphic novel, which follows a new wife who becomes suspicious about the death of her husband’s previous wife, won the 2024 LA Times Book Prize. Cemetery Dance spoke to Carroll about being drawn to dark subjects, the book’s inspiration, and the creative process.Continue Reading
In the 5-issue horror comic Exorcism Island, the worst instances of demonic possession are all sent to a special island. Writer Jordan Thomas and artist Chris Matthews, who have known each other since childhood and previously worked together on Mugshots, spoke to Cemetery Dance about what led them to teaming up, their inspiration, and how to be both horrifying and highly entertaining.Continue Reading
Author Cemetery Dance OnlinePosted on Categories ReviewsLeave a comment on Review: White Flight by Peter O’Keefe 
White Flight by Peter O’Keefe
Uncomfotably Dark Horror (October 2025)
Reviewed by Elizabeth Broadbent
Everyone loves a good haunted house story. Make it short and quick, throw in some serious tension, stir in a few vivid characters, add a dose of disorientation — you’ve probably got a hit. Peter O’Keefe does this one better in White Flight, out October 21 from Uncomfortably Dark. His fast-paced, nail-biting little gothic novella delivers something unexpected: a seriously squirm-worthy look at American racism. Continue Reading
Copyright © 1988 - 2025 Cemetery Dance Publications / Performance Website by 2C
