Cemetery Dance Online

Interview: Cynthia Gómez on Muñeca and Gothic Horror

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 30, 2026InterviewsCynthia Gomez, Haley NewlinLeave a comment

Cynthia Gómez is the author of the story collection The Nightmare Box and Other Stories, and a Tin House and VONA alumn whose short fiction has published in Fantasy Magazine, Strange Horizons, Pseudopod, Nightmare Magazine, and numerous anthologies.

Gómez’s new release, Muñeca, is a queer, Latine novel set in 1968 Oakland about a working-class witch who sets out to save a bespelled heiress and explores misogyny, racial hierarchy, classism, and the power of female friendship and community.

Book Riot called Muñeca one of the best horror books of 2026 so far. It also appeared on lists such as “15 Books Our Critics Can’t Wait for This Summer” from NPR, and Buzzfeed’s “Best LGBTQ+ Books of 2026.”

Gómez sat down with Cemetery Dance to discuss her new gothic horror release, Muñeca, the author’s early experiences reading classic gothic horror, additional influences such as Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Isabel Cañas, and the creepy doll trope. Continue Reading

Review: Imprint by L. Marie Wood

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 23, 2026ReviewsElizabeth Broadbent, L. Marie WoodLeave a comment

Imprint: Book Three of the Red Saga by L. Marie Wood
Mocha Memoirs Press (July 14, 2026)
Reviewed by Elizabeth Broadbent

Marie Wood’s Imprint is the third book of The Red Thread Saga, “a genre-bending, experimental series,” which weaves elements of traditional horror, science fiction, psychological horror, romance, and thriller into a slipstream conglomeration that’s purely original and purely Wood. With all six books releasing in one year (!) fans don’t have to wait to learn the fate of throuple Mark, Eric, and Nicole (referred to as The Tryst in book one).Continue Reading

Review: Unnamed Bones by Lora Senf

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 22, 2026ReviewsAdam Allen, Lora SenfLeave a comment

Unnamed Bones by Lora Senf
Union Square & Co. (July 21, 2026)
Reviewed by Adam Allen

Some books transcend the labels placed on them because they are so much more. Unnamed Bones by Lora Senf is one such book. Though it is labeled as YA horror, and it is a horror book about young adults, Unnamed Bones should not be interpreted as being strictly for young readers. It is one of the best books of the year and destined to be a horror classic for all ages. I’ve read a lot of horror, a lot, and this book is terrifying. Continue Reading

Review: Greedy by Callie Kazumi

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 21, 2026ReviewsBriana Morgan, Callie KazumiLeave a comment

Greedy by Callie Kazumi
Bantam Books (February 2026)
Reviewed by Briana Morgan

Set amidst the beauty of Tokyo, Japan, Greedy by Callie Kazumi is a horror novel whose satirization of greed comes across as darkly funny. As the protagonist strives to keep food on his family’s table, he’s horrified to learn what might put food on someone else’s. Ultimately, he must decide whether providing a better life for his family is worth hurting others.Continue Reading

Review: Slasher Summer by E.L. Chen

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 18, 2026ReviewsE.L. Chen, Haley NewlinLeave a comment

Slasher Summer by E.L. Chen
Crown (June 2026)
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

Slasher Summer is a blood-soaked whodunnit made for fans of slasher horror films like Friday the 13th and Scream. E.L. Chen’s horror expertise, not just in references and nods to iconic horror flicks like Psycho and Get Out, but in the execution of tropes and rules of survival, rivals even the most die-hard fans and know-it-all characters we love, like Scream’s Randy Meeks.Continue Reading

Review: The Devil’s Pocketbook by Ross Jeffery

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 17, 2026ReviewsAbby Wolf, Ross JefferyLeave a comment

The Devil’s Pocketbook by Ross Jeffery
CLASH Books (August 18, 2026)
Reviewed by Abby Wolf

Some horror novels terrify through spectacle. Others rely on relentless violence and shocking twists. The Devil’s Pocketbook distinguishes itself because it recognizes that grief can be more horrifying than any monster. Ross Jeffery has crafted a novel where supernatural horror grows organically from emotional devastation and is as heartbreaking as it is unsettling.Continue Reading

Review: Arson by Design by Tyler Jones

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 15, 2026ReviewsAbby Wolf, Tyler JonesLeave a comment

Arson by Design by Tyler Jones
Rapture Publishing (August 2026)
Reviewed by Abby Wolf

Tyler Jones’ Arson by Design is a collection obsessed with destruction. Not simply physical destruction, but emotional self-immolation. Again and again, these stories return to people who knowingly step toward ruin and strike the match themselves even while understanding the cost. Whether through grief, obsession, guilt, ambition, or desperation, Jones fills these pages with characters who participate in their own undoing. The result is a stellar collection of horror that feels deeply intimate beneath its sometimes supernatural surface. We aren’t only facing monsters. We are facing the human instinct to burn our lives down in search of meaning or absolution. In some cases, even seeking escape.Continue Reading

Review: Burn Down Master’s House by Clay Cane

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 10, 2026ReviewsClay Cane, Haley NewlinLeave a comment

Burn Down Master’s House by Clay Cane
Dafina (January 2026)
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

With recent reads like The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones and Blood Slaves by Markus Redmond, I have found that there is so much information and empathy to be gained from reading historical horror books. So, when I saw Clay Cane’s Burn Down Master’s House at a local bookstore, I knew that I had to read it. It’s a historical retelling of four individuals’ experiences in the Antebellum South.

With an emphasis on collective opposition to oppression in Burn Down Master’s House, Cane offers an unforgettable look into so much American history that has been rewritten, falsified, or omitted entirely. This is one of the most important books you’ll ever read. Continue Reading

Ripped Up the Middle in Two by Viggy Parr Hampton

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 9, 2026July 9, 2026ReviewsAdam Allen, Viggy Parr HamptonLeave a comment

Ripped Up the Middle in Two by Viggy Parr Hampton
Horror Humor Hunger Press (July 29th, 2026)
Reviewed by Adam Allen

Ripped Up the Middle in Two is not just a novel but a guttural howl of rage and frustration that will shake you to your very core. It’s funny, it’s infuriating, and it’s horrifying as hell. Viggy Parr Hampton has created a world that is so realistic, with characters you believe you could encounter on a walk through the neighborhood, that when the supernatural arrives, it makes it all the more disturbing. Continue Reading

Night Time Logic with Emma E. Murray

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 6, 2026Night Time LogicDaniel Braum, Emma E. Murray, InterviewsLeave a comment

Grief, Loss, and Unsettling Horror

Night Time Logic is a term for the parts of a story that are felt but not consciously processed. It is also the name of this interview series here at Cemetery Dance online and over on my YouTube channel, where we explore the night time part of stories, the strange and uncanny in horror, dark fiction, and more.

My latest book, Phantom Constellations: Strange Tales and Ghost Stories, out now from Cemetery Dance Publications, is full of subtle, strange, and intentionally ambiguous tales that operate with Night Time Logic.

I met author Emma E. Murray at the Indie Book Fair in Ridgewood, New York, in November 2025, where I obtained a copy of her short story collection, The Drowning Machine and Other Obsessions.

I recently had a chance to speak with Emma E. Murray about the collection, Jack Ketchum, and grief horror. Continue Reading

Review: Just Us, Here by V.S. Lawrence

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 1, 2026June 30, 2026ReviewsAdam Allen, Reviews, V.S. LawrenceLeave a comment

Just Us, Here by V.S. Lawrence
Self-published (July 24, 2026)
Reviewed by Adam Allen

V.S. Lawrence has made a name for herself in the indie horror space as a writer of nostalgic, fun novels like 80s Ghosts and With Friends Like These, but she does something very different with the unsettling and extremely effective Just Us, Here. Lawrence creates an all-too-realistic portrait of a person slowly succumbing to a malevolent entity in their newhome, or perhaps she is just losing her mind. The results are devastating. Continue Reading

Review: The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 30, 2026ReviewsChandra Calypool, Reviews, Silvia Moreno-GarciaLeave a comment

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Del Rey (July 2025)
Reviewed by Chandra Claypool

“Three women across different eras grapple with danger and witchcraft.”

That single line above was all I needed. SOLD!

I am kicking myself for waiting so long to read The Bewitching. Sometimes gothic, folk horror, and dark academia can be a bit too slow for me, and I tend to pass over them more often than I should. And while The Bewitching did start on the slow side for me, I had to keep reading. Continue Reading

Review: She Waits Where Shadows Gather by Michelle Tang

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 27, 2026ReviewsHaley Newlin, Michelle Tang, ReviewsLeave a comment

She Waits Where Shadows Gather by Michelle Tang
Poison Pen Press (May 2026)
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

He came back from the dead, but he didn’t come alone.

She Waits Where Shadows Gather is a haunted house story with spine-chilling Filipino folklore and lush gothic imagery that will appease fans of Mike Flanagan’s hit Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, as well as horror books such as Daphne Fama’s House of Monstrous Women and Amanda Jayatissa’s Island Witch. Continue Reading

Review: Trade Yer Coffin for a Gun by Mer Whinery

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 24, 2026ReviewsJoshua Gage, Mer Whinery, ReviewsLeave a comment

Trade Yer Coffin for a Gun by Mer Whinery
Jackanapes Press (June 2026)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Mer Whinery is a storyteller from Southeastern Oklahoma. He is married with two boys and far too many critters crawling about his century-plus-old house to count. His home is often filled with phantom smells (usually the aroma of fried chicken) and a ghost that likes to hide DVDs. Jackanapes Press presents a new edition of his Trade Yer Coffin For a Gun, which has been out of print and, of late, unobtainable.Continue Reading

Review: The Siren of Groves Peak by Glenn Rolfe

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 23, 2026ReviewsGlenn Rolfe, Reviews, W.D. GaglianiLeave a comment

The Siren of Groves Peak by Glenn Rolfe
Flame Tree Publishing (June 16, 2026)
Review by W.D. Gagliani

There’s no mystery for the reader to solve in Glenn Rolfe’s The Siren of Groves Peak, but there’s plenty of everything else that makes for a successful horror novel plumbing the depths of human emotions. There’s no more than a touch of gore, no real splatter, and it’s not an endless buffet of death and kill scenes. Though there is just enough of all those things to keep the plot rolling. The true anchor—and what makes the novel a proverbial page-turner—is the largely realistic and sympathetic cast. Continue Reading

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