“Unity of Effect,” “Southwest Gothic,” and “The Burning Ember Mission of Helldorado”
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 Manuel Arenas about his work including his latest short story collection titled The Burning Ember Mission of Helldorado from Jackanapes Press.
In addition to his fiction our conversation covered his artistic and musical collaborations. We began our talk about creating a locality for the book.
DANIEL BRAUM: Congratulations on the release of your latest book from Jackanapes Press, The Burning Ember Mission of Helldorado, short stories and poems of diabolic darkness in the Sonoran Desert. Tell us about the concept tying all of the selections together.
MANUEL ARENAS: I always liked the idea of creating a locality wherein all of my stories could take place, where characters from different stories might interact with or at least be aware of one another, frequent the same places and reference the same arcana. Hence: Helldorado.
All the stories in The Burning Ember Mission of Helldorado (BEMoH from here on, to make things easier) take place in or around Helldorado, which I picture as existing somewhere around Sedona. The term is not original to me, and I believe was originally a mordacious nickname for Tombstone, Arizona. I saw it once on a non-fiction book and it struck me as an interesting word, so I made a mental note of it. When it came time for me to come up with a name for the fictional milieu in which to set my Southwestern Gothic tales, I thought it was a perfect fit.
There was no one factor that sparked my interest in writing my Southwestern Gothic tales, rather there are multiple little things over the years which inspired me to lean into the aesthetic. That said, I believe the real culprit which set me on the path to Helldorado was the DVD release of a handful of Mexican horror films from the late ’50s and early ’60s by Casanegra, a branch of the boutique video company Panik House which specializes in exploitation films.
Obviously inspired by the Universal horror movies of the ’30s and ’40s, they took the Gothic atmosphere and European aesthetic of these films, relocated them from Universal’s non-specific “European village” to Mexico, incorporating the local folklore and monsters. The resulting feel and look of the films bring to mind Universal classics like Dracula or Frankenstein, but instead of those monsters you would have La Llorona or the Aztec Mummy. Instead of a crumbling castle or Victorian mansion, the stories play out in a hacienda, and so on. I loved it and was immediately inspired to write my own stories in that Latin Gothic vein, only I had them take place in the American Southwest, a region I am more familiar with, in my haunted little town of Helldorado.
Your biography states you write in the Gothic horror style and tradition. What is Gothic horror? Do you have a preferred definition of what is classified as such?
I must admit, I always dread this question because I am not a scholar in the field but I generally rely on old tropes like the cursed person or item, the crumbling estate, shadowy crypts, goety, supernatural threats, a romance for the past, and so on. I focus on atmosphere and my monsters tend to be the ones associated with the Gothic genre like witches, warlocks, ghosts, werewolves, vampires, etc.
Focusing on the prose aspect only, please tell us about your style, syntax, and atmosphere of your writing?
MA:
I really became interested in language and writing through the works of Edgar Allan Poe, when I was a tween. Of course, I don’t pretend to have understood a lot of it until I was older, but I was a big fan and for years, read little else. I am a fan of his belletristic writing style and have soaked it up so much that it’s in my DNA, so to speak. From Poe, I get my baroque prose style, which some of my colleagues chide me for, saying that I should simplify my language and not use so many archaic words but it’s not an affectation, it’s what I grew up reading and it’s my own voice. Besides, what’s more appropriate than purple prose for such highfalutin subject matter as love, death and the realms beyond this loury veil?
Clark Ashton Smith is another one to whom I often look to in his use of archaisms and obscure words. As I said, I don’t do it to show off or to be abstruse, so much as I love the sound of these words and I find that they give the tales a little exotic flavor. Smith’s prose has an incantatory effect which can mesmerize when read aloud. I like to recite my tales at open mics and readings and am very aware of the musicality of certain words and the cadence of my sentences. I am a stickler for using the right word and tend to use words that have either a succinct definition or multiple meanings, which I can play with, as opposed to more common words which are broader in scope and might not quite fit the exact meaning or effect that I am looking for. That said, if a plain word suits my purpose best, I will go with that rather than use an obscure one for the sake of it.
Another influence in my style is the American author James Branch Cabell, whose mordantly comedic fantasy novels, like Jurgen (1919), were a revelation with their use of language, their dry wit and frequent reference to classical myths and folklore. My humorous side definitely owes a debt to Cabell.
Lastly, although I came to her rather late in my development as a writer, I must cite Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber (1979), which had a profound impact on my writing. Her mixture of social commentary, ribaldry, Fairy Tales and Gothic horror was revelatory and her exquisite prose style mesmerized me. I have been trying for the last 20-odd years since I first read it to replicate her style; alas, to no avail.
The new book is a series of “Southwestern Gothic tales told from the perspective of the Latin diaspora.” When did you move to Arizona? What inspiration do you draw from the area? Do you have a love, or hate or love hate relationship with the state?
Admittedly, I have a love-hate relationship with Arizona. I came here with my parents in 2005, when I was in-between jobs and promised myself I would stay a year to save up some money then move back to the Northeast, where I hail from and feel infinitely more at home in. That was 20 years ago and, although I moved out of my parent’s house, I am still in Phoenix and not by choice. The unrelenting sunshine, the extreme heat (especially in recent years), the absence of a significant change of seasons and, finally, the right-wing politics and overt racism against brown people really grate on me.
That said, I do appreciate the exotic quality of the flora and fauna, unique to this region, some of which I try to highlight in my stories. Also, I find inspiration in some of the regional history. For instance, the titular mission from my recent collection was based on the San Xavier del Bac in Tucson, which is a Spanish mission from the late 17th century.
I know everyone outside of Arizona thinks it’s all cowboys out here but there is a mixture of cultures in Arizona including Native Americans and Mexicans as well as other immigrants from around the world that have their own respective communities and traditions that are celebrated here.
I specifically gravitate towards the Mexican American culture because (despite being of Puerto Rican and Spanish ethnicity) I lived in Mexico for a few years as a teen and really took to their culture and was fascinated by their history and folklore, which I admittedly borrow from liberally for my stories. I would love to incorporate more of the Native lore and culture but I am not familiar with it and am fearful of misrepresenting them. I do have some Papago (now known as the Tohono O?odham) characters in the title story who work at the Burning Ember Mission but they are not representative of their tribe, which I make a point of emphasizing in the story.
You’ve mentioned Edgar Allan Poe is one of your major influences. What is it about Poe that inspires you and how does his influence manifest in your writing?
I love Poe’s use of baroque language, the gloomy Gothic atmosphere, and dark romanticism. I came to writing through an early love for Poe’s work and his presence can definitely be felt in my work. I think a good example of this might be the prose poem “Morbidezza” (my tribute to his myriad moribund maidens) from my Book of Shadows, which is heavily influenced by Poe, as well as the Grimm fairy tales. My poem “Black Hymeneal,” although initially inspired by a line in an Addams Family Special, also has echoes of Poe’s romanticization of Death.
I am a big believer in Poe’s theory of the “Unity of Effect,” where one should have a specific end goal in mind when writing. This adds a focus to the story that when done right leads the reader inexorably to a compelling denouement. I realize that inspiration doesn’t always work that way, but I try to employ it whenever I can.
In fine, his tales are terrifying, vulnerable and beautiful and they inspire me to write my own tales with those goals in mind.
Do you have a favorite or stand out Edgar Allan Poe story?
This is a hard one for me because I love all of his work, but a few favorites are The Mask of the Red Death (1842) which is so clever and well-crafted, and the final lines are just devastating:
And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay. And the flames of the tripods expired. And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.
The Cask of Amontillado (1846) is another one that I return to time and again. I love the clever ripostes of the narrator in response to the uneasy queries of Fortunato as he lures him into the catacombs below.
As I mentioned before, his influence can be felt in several of my poems and stories, but I think his shadow looms the largest over “The Sanguinary Saga of Morbidezza Vespertilio, Vampiress.” Without giving too much away, there is an unwelcome suitor who has imprisoned her and kept her from feeding, which has caused her to go into an estivate state. He pines for her and keeps vigil over her coffin during the day, looking for some return of vitality. He falls asleep during his vigil and has a terrible nightmare which culminates in his awakening to the realization that she has awakened as well. He calls out her name, “Morbidezza!” To which she responds, in Italian, “Sono qui” or “I am here.” This is a direct reference to Poe’s “Morella” (1835). Note: I don’t actually speak Italian, but Morbidezza does, thanks to Google Translate.
You are a fan of Gothic and classic horror film. How do these films inspire you? Do you have a favorite or stand out film that relates to or inspired the Helldorado group of stories?
Gosh, another tough question! The film that really inspired my Helldorado stories is La maldición de la llorona (1963), released in the U.S. as “The Curse of the Crying Woman.” It is uber-Gothic with tons of atmosphere, Mexican folklore, black magic, and a few nods to various European Horror films of the day like “La maschera del demonio” (1960), by Italian auteur Mario Bava, known in the U.S. as “Black Sunday.” Which, it so happens, is also one of my favorites! It too is rich in Gothic imagery and introduced me to the sublime actress Barbara Steele, with her haunting visage and smouldering presence.
I also love the old Universal and Hammer horror films, which inculcated me with this aesthetic throughout my childhood, and most of my later film faves tend to be influenced by them, like Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula or Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow.
Lastly, my prose poem “Sor Maria and the Devil, Luzbel” was inspired by the Mexican nunsploitation film Satanico Pademonium and I am seriously considering writing a follow-up to the Mexican horror film Alucarda by Juan Lopez Moctezuma, another inspirational film for me.
I watch these films over and over and soak up their atmosphere, imagery and dialogue, and frequently pull inspiration from them whenever I put pen to paper.
Back in the 1990s you were the front man, singer and lyricist for a musical band called the Dark Young. Please tell us about the band and your lyrical collaborations.
The Dark Young started as a way for me to explore my dark romantic side. I was the front man in a band at the time called Fire Pig, which can be best described as a sort of post punk art rock band with an aesthetic which I liken to Dead Kennedy’s meets the Mothers of Invention. Lots of social commentary crossed with absurd or caustic humor declaimed over thrashy riffs and proggy musical arrangements. The music was fun but it was someone else’s baby and I needed an outlet for my own dark vision. I started by contacting my dear friend, guitarist extraordinaire Mac Randall, and asked if he wouldn’t mind accompanying me on some open mics where I would recite some of my poetry and maybe sing the odd song by Jacques Brel (in English translation) or Peter Hammill, singer-songwriter and front man of the English Prog band Van der Graaf Generator.
We immediately gelled and soon began to discuss fleshing out the sound by bringing on other musicians. Mac brought in his friend Jeremy Woodruff to play flute and saxophone and I brought in bassist “Dark Mark” White on bass (also from Fire Pig). Soon after we recruited another of Mac’s old friends, Dave Brandt, to play drums and thence made the transformation into a weird little band: a hybrid of art rock and Gothic performance poetry. I would dress up like Vincent Price and recite my poetry with the band playing loosely constructed accompaniment in the background, then we would tear into one of Mac’s original tunes, which were definitely on the tricky side. It honed my singing chops, cemented my stage persona and gave me confidence in my writing. I have since submitted several of my old poems from that time to S. T. Joshi at Spectral Realms, the supernatural poetry journal from Hippocampus Press and had them published. I also am planning to compile a miscellany of odd writings which will include most of my lyrics from this time period.
Recently, I have started a similar project with Phoenix musician Peter Kulikowski called ShadowScapes which leans more into the poetry and prose rather than songs. We have one album of selections from BEMoH and are in talks about doing a follow-up album with selections from my Book of Shadows.
Do you take inspiration from music for your writing?
I do, sometimes. I have always been inspired by the lyrics and general aesthetic of certain bands. I have always found inspiration in the quirky Goth-tinged lyrics of Melora Creager from Rasputina. I think their song “Transylvanian Concubine” is brilliant.
I love Sean Kennedy’s lyrics for the Canadian occult rock band Blood Ceremony, which often reference classic Weird fiction and exploitation/horror cinema.
I can draw direct lines from songs to certain works like N.I.B. by Black Sabbath (my favorite band throughout my teenage years) which inspired my story “Nativity in Black.”
And “The Hell of Mirrors,” my take on the Bloody Mary origin story, was originally inspired by a song from a doom metal band called Black Road.
Where can readers connect with audio selections from the Dark Young and also audio selections readings and collaborations of the Helldorado stories?
Both of the Dark Young albums may be found on Bandcamp at The Dark Young | The Dark Young.
ShadowScapes is also on Bandcamp and may be found at The Burning Ember Mission | ShadowScapes.
You are no stranger to collaborations with all kinds of creators. You’ve done an illustrated Krampus chapbook. And Helldorado is an illustrated edition featuring artwork and illustrations by UK based artist Mutartis Boswell. Tell us about this latest collaboration, please.
Gladly! As you mentioned, I had done a chapbook many years ago with my friend, Arizona artist Richard “Dick” Kelly. He basically took my Krampus poem (an updated version of which may be found in my first collection, Book of Shadows, from Jackanapes Press) and divided it into four lines per page with an illustration on the opposite page. He made it all by hand creating copper plates for the illustrations from which he pressed hundreds of copies and bound them by hand. They are gorgeous little objets d’art and I sell a handful each year or give them as gifts around the holidays.
I had this story, the hero piece in my book BEMoH, which was too long to submit to the journals I frequent, like Penumbra, and had a hard time submitting elsewhere, so I decided to create a chapbook featuring the story along with maybe a relevant poem or two. I wanted it to be illustrated and thought Richard’s work would be perfect for it. He accepted the commission but life got in the way and the project was floundering, so I eventually relinquished him of the commitment and offered it to Mutartis Boswell, whom I already knew from his work for various anthologies and journals that I had been associated with in the past. as well as his own creations (prints, t-shirts, stickers and patches) on his merch site. I had purchased several T-shirts from his merch shop (boswellart.bigcartel.com), and we were already acquainted through social media, so it didn’t take much to convince him to give it a try.
Mutartis really took to the material and came up with some brilliant illustrations and even an early version of the cover art. I was so thrilled by it that I decided to start looking for a publisher. I already had submitted a pitch for a sequel to my Book of Shadows to Dan Sauer at Jackanapes Press, which was under consideration but I felt that as this was already written and illustrated Dan would have half the work already done, so I sent him a copy of the manuscript with some of the artwork and he jumped on it. It still took a while, as Dan already had books in the queue but eventually he sent me the PDF of the proofs and what he did with Mutartis’ illustrations was remarkable and sublime. It was really a collaboration of the three of us and it turned out perfectly! I later added poetry and stories at the suggestion of my dear friend and colleague, author/poet Scott J. Couturier, and Mutartis came through with amazing artwork for these as well.
Mutartis also did the logo for my ShadowScapes project and Dan put together the album cover art using illustrations from the book.
The whole process took a couple years but I am so happy with the results and Mutartis and I already have another project in the works, will I shall describe in more detail later.
How does The Burning Ember Mission of Helldorado differ from your previous book released from Jackanapes Press?
My first collection, Book of Shadows, features my stories inspired by my love for the classic Gothic horror and European fairy tales and folklore. There are tales of vampires, werewolves, witches, fairies et al., and all are told in a highly stylized prose and generally are set in the 18th and 19th centuries. Most of the stories take place in European settings, save for the Gothilocks tales, which are in, in my mind, set somewhere in an alternate version of New York, which I believe I refer to somewhere in the stories as Gotham, in reference to the nickname coined by Washington Irving, not DC Comics.
The Helldorado stories have a looser, more modern feel and take place in Arizona and the surrounding environs. The bogies in these stories are local and based on the folklore of the region, with a focus on Mexican lore. I also include a couple of creatures of my own making like the anthropomorphic rooster and its chimerical offspring in the title story.
Tell me please about the title, particularly the word “Ember” in the title.
Essentially, the mission, built on a Hellmouth, is a mockery of the San Xavier del Bac mission, created by some rogue Jesuit priests. I reference it in the story:
Although they never had the resources to completely reproduce the lavishness of the Tucson Mission, they made sure that wherever there was a religious figure or symbol in a relief on the façade of the original building, there was a gargoyle or blasphemous scene in the corresponding place on their mission. Crucifixes were turned on their heads, and nightmarish murals of Dantean diabolism covered its chapel walls where satanic black masses were held in a mockery of Christian ritual. Since they employed the local sandstone in the fashioning of their mud bricks, the adobe structure bore a reddish hue, which made it look like a glowing coal thrown up from the Hellmouth, giving the ill-disposed mission its sobriquet.
The final story in the book is “Féretrina.” Tell us about the lore of “Santa Muerte” and how you used it in this story.
La Santa Muerte is a syncretization of the Mexican native mythologies with the Catholic saints of the Spanish. She is believed by some to be an avatar of Mict?cacihu?tl goddess of the Underworld, which is how I present Her in the story. She is portrayed as a skeleton dressed alternately in dark robes and scythe, like the grim Reaper, or dressed like the popular conception of the Virgin Mary. She is the patron saint of the disenfranchised, and the outcasts, and is also embraced by the criminal element, who look to Her for protection and success in their dealings.
In my story, Féretrina is an adherent and appeals to the grim saint for revenge on the individuals who wronged her and derailed her life. I hesitate to say much more, as I don’t wish to ruin it for anyone who might be interested in reading it. I try to be respectful in my portrayal of the Lady of the Shadows, and I have had more than a few people claim that it is their favorite story in the book.
How does lore and folklore inform your work?
I am a big fan of fairy tales and folklore and frequently incorporate relevant themes and imagery into my stories. Sometimes I will openly use tropes and figures, like Bloody Mary, or Jenny Greenteeth, and other times I will subtly reference something as an Easter egg for folks in the know.
I grew up on European folktales and feel comfortable with them, so I tend to explore those tropes more so than others. I have, however, in recent years been looking to other regions for inspiration. Even so, I am always very mindful of falling into cultural appropriation or misrepresenting something because I am not as familiar with it.
What are you working on now?
I have a few works in progress which I think will end up being my sequel to BEMoH. I also have the sequel to Book of Shadows, tentatively titled Magic Lantern, which is basically ready to go save for some slight editing and possible illustrations. I am also in talks about collaborating on a miscellany featuring some odd writings that don’t fit my usual markets. This will include my lyrics for the Dark Young a humorous essay on obsequies, and some odd poems. Lastly, I am writing a few new pieces for other collaborations.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
MANUEL ARENAS is a writer of verse and prose in the Gothic Horror tradition. His work has appeared in various anthologies and journals including Spectral Realms, and Penumbra, both from Hippocampus Press and Weird Fiction Quarterly, from Alien Sun Press. He has two collections of prose and poetry, available at Jackanapes Press: Book of Shadows (2021) and The Burning Ember Mission of Helldorado (2024) which can be found here.
#
DANIEL BRAUM writes “strange tales” in the tradition of Robert Aickman. His stories, set in locations around the globe, explore the tension between the psychological and supernatural.
His novella The Serpent’s Shadow and short story collection The Night Marchers and Other Strange Tales are out now from Cemetery Dance.
His all new short story collection Phantom Constellations is coming in Autumn 2025 from Cemetery Dance Publications.
More about his books and events can be found here.
