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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

Night Time Logic with Gwendolyn Kiste

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 19, 2026June 18, 2026Interviews, Night Time LogicDaniel Braum, Gwendolyn Kiste, Interviews, Night Time LogicLeave a comment

Horror Movies and Haunted Houses, Sea Witches and Ghosts, and Horror Stories as the New Fairy Tales

I recently had a chance to speak with a returning guest to the column and program, Gwendolyn Kiste. Continue Reading

Review: Summer Camp for Werewolves by Damien Casey

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 17, 2026ReviewsChandra Claypool, Damien Casey, ReviewsLeave a comment

Summer Camp for Werewolves by Damien Casey
Squirm Books (April 2026)
Reviewed by Chandra Claypool

Welcome to Summer Camp for Werewolves, a young adult horror-comedy starring Marsha. Marsha is a teen reporter who is going through the typical angst of growing up. She is invited to a summer camp where she thinks she can get her first major scoop. Little did she know that this camp is dedicated to helping teens become their best werewolf selves.Continue Reading

Review: Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 16, 2026ReviewsAdam Allen, Chuck Tingle, ReviewsLeave a comment

Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle
Tor Nightfire (July 7th, 2026)
Reviewed by Adam Allen

Fabulous Bodies is a queer, bizarre, glitter and gore-soaked horror story for fans of CJ Leede, Grady Hendrix, and Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice.

I have been a fan of all the books I have read by Chuck Tingle, and maybe just as much of the author’s online presence and persona. He’s a man of mystery, hidden by a pink mask with “Love is Real” emblazoned on it. The titles of his spicy “Tinglers” are legendary, in tune with current events, and hilarious. But something that has always struck me about Tingle is how beautiful his thoughts are at moments that really matter. If you haven’t listened to his episode on the excellent “Sleyhouse Presents” podcast, you should, and if you have, you know exactly what I mean. While he can be very playful, even in his “serious” horror novels, Tingle knows what he’s doing, and he has a clear purpose in his writing.Continue Reading

Interview: Neena Viel on I’ll Watch Your Baby and Social Horror

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 12, 2026InterviewsHaley Newlin, Interviews, Neena VielLeave a comment

Neena Viel is a Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of supernatural and social horror books, including her acclaimed debut Listen to Your Sister and her new release, I’ll Watch Your Baby.

Viel sat down with Cemetery Dance to discuss I’ll Watch Your Baby, the author’s love of horror icon and scholar Tananarive Due, looking at horror through a social and historical lens, and crafting fiercely complex characters.Continue Reading

Review: I’ll Watch Your Baby by Neena Viel

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 11, 2026ReviewsHaley Newlin, Neena Viel, ReviewsLeave a comment

I’ll Watch Your Baby by Neena Viel
St. Martin’s Press (May 2026)
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

Somehow, I missed Neena Viel’s debut, and Bram Stoker-nominated novel, Listen To Your Sister. After reading Viel’s new supernatural and historical horror novel, I’ll Watch Your Baby, I can’t fathom being a horror fan and not experiencing her work. It’s sharp, poignant, and terrifically terrifying.

I’ll Watch Your Baby is an informative and evocative horror novel for fans of Tananarive Due, Catriona Ward, and Victor LaValle. It’s a thrilling reimagining of the story of Linda Taylor, aka the original “Welfare Queen,” whose media portrayal and extensive coverage affected generations of black women and fed an apathetic narrative that still exists today. In her new novel, Viel conjures a wicked and unforgettable plot of vengeance for this oppression.Continue Reading

Review: Unsettled Score by Rebecca Rowland

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 9, 2026ReviewsDave Simms, Rebecca Rowland, ReviewsLeave a comment

Unsettled Score: A Mix Tape of Arthouse Horror by Rebecca Rowland
Lethe Press (June 2026)
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Unsettled Score by Rebecca Rowland

Anyone who’s been paying attention to short horror fiction in the past decade is familiar with Rebecca Rowland. Yes, her novel, Eminence Front, was awesome, and it signals a productive path for the author, but it’s her shorter work that hits the deepest, darkest parts of the heart. Her collections rival the best in the genre, but her connection to the themes makes her something special, from editing Generation X and American Cannibal to the stellar White Trash and Other Recycled Nightmares. A Shirley Jackson Award finalist and Bram Stoker Award nominee, she knows how to bring the darkness, both in atmosphere and characters who color outside the lines and bathe in the gray.

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