Cemetery Dance Online

Review: Model Home by Rivers Solomon

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 31, 2025March 30, 2025ReviewsChandra Claypool, Model Home, Reviews, Rivers SolomonLeave a comment

cover of Model Home Model Home by Rivers Solomon
MCD (October 2024)
Reviewed by Chandra Claypool (Instagram) (TikTok)

I don’t even know where to start with this one! I decided to go with audio on this one and I’m glad I did as the narrator, Gabby Beans, was FANTASTIC. As the first sentence of the synopsis states: “Welcome to Rivers Solomon’s dark and wondrous Model Home, a new kind of haunted-house novel.” And that, it surely is!

“Rivers Solomon turns the haunted-house story on its head, unearthing the dark legacies of segregation and racism in the suburban American South. Unbridled, raw, and daring, Model Home is the story of secret histories uncovered, and of a queer family battling for their right to live, grieve, and heal amid the terrors of contemporary American life.”Continue Reading

Review: Bloodstains by Gaslight by Red Lagoe

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 28, 2025March 23, 2025ReviewsBloodstains by Gaslight, Elizabeth Broadbent, Red Lagoe, ReviewsLeave a comment

cover of Bloodstains by Gaslight — Version 1.0.0

Bloodstains by Gaslight by Red Lagoe
Brigids Gate Press (March 29, 2025)
Reviewed by Elizabeth Broadbent

Red Lagoe’s Bloodstains by Gaslight comes with numerous trigger warnings, including intimate partner violence and sexual assault. I was warned. I assured Lagoe I would not be triggered. I think I said something like, “I’m okay.”

Two hundred and some odd pages later, I am decidedly not okay. “Emotionally shell-shocked” comes closest. Bloodstains by Gaslight is a propulsive read — I finished it in one sitting — but a hard one. That’s not a weak point; the novel is a devastating and realistic look at the horrors of domestic abuse, told slant, as Lagoe turns the vampire trope into a metaphor for partner violence. Continue Reading

Review: Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 26, 2025March 24, 2025ReviewsChandra Claypool, Daisy Pearce, Reviews, Something in the WallsLeave a comment

cover of Something in the Walls Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce
Minotaur Books (February 2025)
Reviewed by Chandra Claypool (Instagram) (TikTok)

Doesn’t this cover just call to you? In this book we meet Mina who is still grieving the death of her brother. In a bereavement group, she meets Sam, a journalist, who thinks she should investigate Alice Webber. Alice is a teen who says she is being haunted by a witch. As her behavior becomes more and more disturbing, they delve into the town’s history and evil traditions. Exploring grief, loss and faith, this book also explores whether or not supernatural things are actually real or just a reflection of our own human darkness. This is a great read for those who love folk horror mixed with cults, curses and of course, witchcraft. Continue Reading

Review: Fever Dreams of a Parasite by Pedro Iniguez

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 24, 2025March 23, 2025ReviewsElizabeth Broadbent, Fever Dreams of a Parasite, Pedro Iniguez, ReviewsLeave a comment

cover of Fever Dreams of a Parasite — Version 1.0.0

Fever Dreams of a Parasite by Pedro Iniguez
Raw Dog Screaming Press (March 2025)
Reviewed by Elizabeth Broadbent

All horror is political (Gabino Igelias says it, so it must be true). The best authors hand us stories alongside their politics; it’s only after we’re wowed by their words that we stand back and marvel at the message. And if the author is very lucky, their message hits at the right cultural moment. Their theme becomes not important, but culturally vital. We need their voice. We need them to speak up and speak out. In the midst of this moment, Pedro Iniguez pulls this off with panache in Fever Dreams of a Parasite. Continue Reading

Corinna Bechko Discusses Her BLOOD TYPE

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 21, 2025March 20, 2025The Comic VaultBlood Type, Columns, Corinna Bechko, Danica Davidson, EC Comics, Interviews, Oni Press, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

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photo of author Stacy Cain — Corinna Bechko
(Photo by Stacy Cain)

Blood Type, which will be hitting stores this summer from Oni Press, is the first time the EC Comics line is offering a standalone, serialized horror series. Its seed was the short story “Blood Type” in Epitaphs from the Abyss, and now writer Corinna Bechko has the opportunity to expand on what she created. Cemetery Dance spoke with Bechko about how Blood Type is getting its own series, why she feels at home in horror, and what it’s like working on an EC property.Continue Reading

Review: White Line Fever by KC Jones

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 19, 2025March 16, 2025ReviewsBlu Gilliand, KC Jones, Reviews, Tor Nightfire, White Line FeverLeave a comment

cover of White Line Fever White Line Fever by KC Jones
Tor Nightfire (March 2025)
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

County Road 951. Not exactly a name that evokes chills, is it? Maybe not, but go ahead and spend a little time on this 15-mile stretch of road, this “two-lane scar across the Cascade foothills of Central Oregon,” and let KC Jones show you why it’s better known as “The Devil’s Driveway.”Continue Reading

Review: The Order of the Circle by Levi Cory, Elisabeth Mkheidze, Maria Letizia Mirabella and Eva de la Cruz

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 17, 2025March 9, 2025Reviews, Stephen King News from the Dead Zone, The Comic VaultColumns, Dead Sky Publishing, Elisabeth Mkheidze, Eva de la Cruz, Joshua Gage, Levi Cory, Maria Letizia Mirabella, Reviews, The Comic Vault, The Order of the CircleLeave a comment

banner that reads The Comic Vault cover of The Order of the Circle The Order of the Circle by Levi Cory, Elisabeth Mkheidze, Maria Letizia Mirabella and Eva de la Cruz
Dead Sky Publishing (February 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Levi Cory is a new graphic novelist fresh off the farm. With a degree in Playwriting and studies in film and theater, Levi brings a deep understanding of narrative structure and character development to their work. They have written and directed films and TV shows such as Living… and Snakemagic.com. In addition to their work in film and TV, Levi has authored several written works, including The Comfort of The Womb, Robbing Stupidity, and The Sick Rose. Their playwriting has earned significant recognition, including a Texas Playwright Award. Known for blending deep thematic exploration with innovative narrative structures, Levi continues to captivate audiences across both written and visual media, pushing creative boundaries with each new project. Cory’s newest book, The Order of The Circle, is available on Dead Sky Publishing.Continue Reading

Night Time Logic with Tod Goldberg

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 14, 2025March 9, 2025Night Time LogicColumns, Daniel Braum, Eight Very Bad Nights, Interviews, Night Time Logic, Tod GolbergLeave a comment

Night Time Logic with Daniel Braum

“Horror and Noir,” “The Pain of Memory,” and “Eight Very Bad Nights”

photo of author Tod Goldberg — Tod Goldberg

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 New York Times Bestselling Author Tod Goldberg about his work, including the recently released anthology Eight Very Bad Nights from Soho Press.

We began our conversation about the relationship between horror and noir fiction.Continue Reading

Review: Demo Reels and Arthouse Madness by Vince A. Liaguno

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 12, 2025March 9, 2025ReviewsDemo Reels and Arthouse Madness, Joshua Gage, poetry, Reviews, Vince A. LiagunoLeave a comment

cover of Demo Reels and Arthouse Madness — Version 1.0.0

Demo Reels and Arthouse Madness by Vince A. Liaguno
Raw Dog Screaming Press (February 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Vince A. Liaguno is an award-winning writer, anthologist, critic, and poet. He is the Bram Stoker Award®-winning editor of Unspeakable Horror: From the Shadows of the Closet (co-edited with Chad Helder) and the acclaimed Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology (co-edited with Rena Mason), which was a finalist for both the prestigious Shirley Jackson and World Fantasy Awards. His debut novel, 2006’s The Literary Six, was a tribute to the slasher films of the eighties and won an Independent Publisher Award (IPPY). His newest collection is Demo Reels and Arthouse Madness, a collection of narrative poetry.Continue Reading

Review: Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods by Murewa Ayodele and Dotun Akande

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 10, 2025March 9, 2025Reviews, The Comic VaultAkogun, Brutalizer of Gods, Dotun Akande, Joshua Gage, Murewa Ayodele, Reviews, The Comics VaultLeave a comment

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Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods by Murewa Ayodele and Dotun Akande
Oni Press (March 18, 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Recipient of the (Lagos Comic Con 2023) Fist Award for Writer of the Decade, Murewa Ayodele is the writer of the Nommo-nominated comic book series New Men, the critically acclaimed webcomic series My Grandfather Was a God, and several Marvel comics. He is also the co-founder of Collectible Comics NG, a Nigerian comic book studio founded with artist Dotun Akande that was nominated in the Comic Studio of the Year category at the 2018 Fist Awards. Dotun Akande is an award-winning comic book cover artist and graphics designer who has worked with some of the biggest brands in Nigeria. He was the recipient of the (Lagos Comic Con 2018) Fist Award for Best Cover Artist and has created comic covers for comic book series like I Am Iron Man, Vengeance of the Moon Knight, Black Panther, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, and Heirs of Apocalypse. Their newest collaboration is the mythic adventure tale, Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods.Continue Reading

The Cemetery Dance Interview: Wrath James White

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 7, 2025March 6, 2025InterviewsInterviews, Rick Hipson, Wrath James WhiteLeave a comment

banner graphic that says Cemetery Dance Interviews

photo of Wrath James White — Wrath James White

As constant visitors to Cemetery Dance’s site, anyone reading this conversation (you are reading this aren’t you?) are unlikely to need much of an introduction to one Wrath James White. So, I’ll keep it brief so you can get what you came for and delve into what makes the man of extreme storytelling tick the way he does.

Wrath is the founder and showrunner for the KillerCon horror author’s convention in Texas, which is home to the annual Splatterpunk Awards. An accomplished professional MMA fighter and trainer, Wrath is a splatterpunk and extreme horror novelist with such critically acclaimed titles as The Resurrectionist, Succulent Prey, The Ecstasy of Agony, and his collection of poetry, If You Died Tomorrow I would Eat Your Corpse.

On the heels of the recently published Rabbit Hunt, Voracious, and The Bug Collector, Wrath took some time out from taking names and kicking ass to reflect on his life since being forced to shut down his gym while shedding some much needed light on the future of our genre, his writing process, and why being true to yourself and your stories matter most despite what the uninformed haters try to tell us. Continue Reading

Dare to Enter THE PLAGUE HOUSE

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 6, 2025March 5, 2025The Comic VaultColumns, Danica Davidson, Dave Chisholm, Interviews, Michael W. Conrad, The Comic Vault, The Plague HouseLeave a comment

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Plague House, a new comic from writer Michael W. Conrad and artist Dave Chisholm, will drop its first issue on April 2, and it’s described as “a deep and disorienting reinvention of the haunted house genre.” Cemetery Dance spoke to both writer and artist about their work on this comic, what Conrad discovered about himself while writing, and Chisholm’s longtime love of horror.Continue Reading

Review: The Get Off by Christa Faust

Cemetery Dance OnlineMarch 3, 2025February 24, 2025ReviewsAngel Dare, Blu Gilliand, Christa Faust, Hard Case Crime, Reviews, The Get OffLeave a comment

cover of The Get Off The Get Off by Christa Faust
Hard Case Crime (March 18, 2025)
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

In 2008’s Money Shot, former porn star Angel Dare was introduced to readers…and then promptly shot and left for dead in the trunk of a car. It wasn’t a flashback, and it wasn’t the end…not of the book, and not of the character.

Dare showed up next in 2011 in Choke Hold, emerging from a witness protection program to help out the son of a former co-star. At that point it felt like author Christa Faust was gearing up for an entire series of Angel Dare books, something I and a lot of other pulp/noir readers would have been ecstatic to have.

That’s not how things ultimately played out, and for a while it felt like we’d just have to be happy with two excellent entries. Luckily, Faust wasn’t done, bringing us to 2025 and the last of the Angel Dare trilogy, The Get Off.Continue Reading

Review: The Wages of Belief and Other Stories from the Dark Side by Elizabeth Massie

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 28, 2025February 23, 2025ReviewsDave Simms, Elizabeth Massie, Reviews, The Wages of Bellief and Other Stories from the Dark SideLeave a comment

cover of The Wages of Belief and Other Stories from the Dark Side The Wages of Belief and Other Stories from the Dark Side by Elizabeth Massie
Macabre Ink (February 2025)
Reviewed by Dave Simms

The skill involved in creating top shelf short fiction is an elusive one. The number of writers who can pull it off with relative ease is very small, no matter the genre. To be able to succeed at both the short form and novel length exists as a tier that is much, much more exclusive. Yet Elizabeth Massie has always been able to pull that off, time and time again.

Review: Black Magick: 13 Tales of Darkness, Horror & the Occult Paperback edited by Raven Digitalis

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 26, 2025February 23, 2025ReviewsBlack Magick, Joshua Gage, Raven Digitalis, ReviewsLeave a comment

Black Magick: 13 Tales of Darkness, Horror & the Occult Paperback edited by Raven Digitalis
?Moon Books (March 1, 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Black Magick is an anthology compiled and edited by occult author Raven Digitalis. Each story uniquely integrates occultism and magick, deepening the mysteries of the shadow. Raven Digitalis himself is an award-winning author best known for his “empath’s trilogy,” consisting of The Empath’s Oracle, Esoteric Empathy, and The Everyday Empath, as well as the “shadow trilogy” of A Gothic Witch’s Oracle, A Witch’s Shadow Magick Compendium, and Goth Craft. Originally trained in Georgian Witchcraft, Digitalis has been an earth-based practitioner since 1999, a Priest since 2003, a Freemason since 2012, and an empath all of his life. He holds a degree in cultural anthropology from the University of Montana, co-operated a nonprofit Pagan Temple for 16 years, and is also a professional Tarot reader, editor, card-carrying magician, and animal rights advocate.Continue Reading

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