Cemetery Dance Online

My First Fright featuring Grady Hendrix

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 26, 2018January 24, 2018My First FrightColumns, Grady Hendrix, John Brhel, My First Fright, Paperbacks from HellLeave a comment

If you’ve read Paperbacks from Hell, you know that Grady Hendrix is an expert on horror fiction, most specifically mass-market paperbacks produced during the boom of the ’70s and ’80s, with their often eye-popping—some might say “garish”—cover art. What, you might ask, inspired such a fascination for weird, macabre books? In Hendrix’s case, it was a lot of things, but it certainly had something to do with a strange book he discovered while living abroad in England in the late ’70s. A book not intended for kids.

Grady Hendrix is a writer and public speaker based in Manhattan. Along with the aforementioned Paperbacks From Hell (2017), he is the author of the novels Horrorstör (2014) and My Best Friend’s Exorcism (2016). He is currently working on a new novel. Continue Reading

Review: Breathe, Breathe by Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 25, 2018January 24, 2018ReviewsBreathe, Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi, Joshua Gage, Reviews, UnnervingLeave a comment

Breathe, Breathe by Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi
Unnerving (October 2017)
176 pages, $13 paperback; $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi is an author, writer, journalist, editor, marketer, public relations professional, and photographer. Her first collection, Breathe, Breathe, published by Unnerving Magazine, was released to wide acclaim. This collection of short stories and poetry reached #2 on the Amazon paid Hot New Release Bestseller list, right behind New York Times Bestseller Rupi Kaur’s second book that came out at around the same time. It is a very accessible collection, though it often fails to deliver in terms of craft.Continue Reading

Review: Apart in the Dark by Ania Ahlborn

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 23, 2018January 23, 2018ReviewsAnia Ahlborn, Apart in the Dark, Blu Gilliand, ReviewsLeave a comment

Apart in the Dark by Ania Ahlborn
Gallery Books (January 2018)
384 pages; $8.49 paperback
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

Quiet horror is, to me, the most effective style of horror, especially when it comes to written horror. Shocks, gore, jump scares—when done right, those things work in the moment. But quiet horror, when done right, lingers. Stays with you. Comes back to you at the worst (i.e., the best) possible times, like when you’re just about to drift off to sleep and you hear a soft thump behind the closet door, or when you catch a glimpse of something out of the corner of your eye that disappears when you look straight at it. Shock hits you and then wears off a second later and you’re laughing, shaking your head, saying “They got me again.” Quiet horror hangs around, and when it comes back to you, nobody is laughing.Continue Reading

Revelations: T.M. Wright

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 19, 2018January 18, 2018RevelationsColumns, Kevin Lucia, Revelations, T.M. Wright2 Comments

At one time, T. M. Wright was like Alan Peter Ryan, Charles L. Grant and so many others—just another name I’d heard here and there, most often in a quote from Ramsey Campbell (also, at that point, just another name), which said: “T. M. Wright is a one-man definition of quiet horror.”Continue Reading

Two Very Special Projects By Robert McCammon In-Stock and Shipping Now!

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 18, 2018Breaking NewsLeave a comment

We’re thrilled to report our first very special projects with Robert McCammon, Tales from Greystone Bay and He’ll Come Knocking at Your Door, are now in-stock and shipping to everyone who preordered them!

Some trade hardcovers are still available, but these may not last long now that the distributor orders are rolling in!

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and enthusiasm!

Review: The Ghost Club: Newly Found Tales of Victorian Terror by William Meikle

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 15, 2018January 14, 2018Reviews- Frank Michaels Errington, Crystal Lake Publishing, Reviews, The Ghost Club, William MeikleLeave a comment

The Ghost Club: Newly Found Tales of Victorian Terror by William Meikle
Crystal Lake Publishing (December 2017)
189 pages; $11.44 paperback, $3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

I love everything about this wonderful collection from Willie Meikle. Take the concept of Willie’s Carnacki collections and replace the dinner guests with the literary greats of the Victorian era, each sharing a ghost story, and there you have the basic premise for this new work from William Meikle.Continue Reading

Exhumed: “Better Than Breadcrumbs” and “Pelingrad’s Pit” by Ronald Kelly

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 12, 2018January 1, 2018ExhumedColumns, Exhumed, K. Edwin Fritz, Ronald KellyLeave a comment

Welcome to Exhumed, my humble attempt to read and review every story and novel excerpt ever published in Cemetery Dance magazine.

Each month I’ll summarize and analyze a pair of related works. Usually this means comparing one “older” and one “newer” piece by the same author.

In their 29+ years of publication, CD has already printed 560 pieces, spread out over 75 issues. I think I’m going to be doing this for a while…Continue Reading

Review: Diary of a Sorceress by Ashley Dioses

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 10, 2018January 7, 2018ReviewsAshley Dioses, Diary of a Sorceress, Hippocampus Press, Joshua Gage, ReviewsLeave a comment

Diary of a Sorceress by Ashley Dioses
Hippocampus Press (October 2017)
170 pages, $15 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Ashley Dioses has established herself as one of the leading voices in contemporary weird poetry. Known for her meticulous use of rhyme and meter and her melding of the strange and the romantic, Dioses has gathered some of her recent poetry into her first collection—a scintillating assemblage of nearly 100 poems short and long, published and unpublished. Titled Diary of a Sorceress, it is a really exciting collection of weird and dark fantasy poetry sure to appeal to any reader.Continue Reading

Widow’s Point is “viscerally terrifying, realistic, and intense” and “oozes with atmosphere!”

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 8, 2018Breaking NewsLeave a comment

We’re pleased to report reviewers are loving Widow’s Point by Richard Chizmar and Billy Chizmar!

Here is what just a few of them are saying:

Booklist awarded the novella a highly coveted Starred Review and said, “…this novella is viscerally terrifying, realistic, and intense. It is a modern ghost story that will scare even the most seasoned horror reader and will be eagerly devoured by fans of paranormal-investigation tales as well as those who enjoy intense cursed-place stories…” while Publishers Weekly said, “…this ghost story oozes with atmosphere.” More reviews can be found on the product page for the book!

We’ll be shipping our copies later this month if all goes well, ahead of the planned February publication date, so please don’t wait to place your order!

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and enthusiasm!

Review: Spungunion by John Boden

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 8, 2018January 7, 2018ReviewsChad Lutzke, Dynatox Ministries, John Boden, Reviews, Spungunion2 Comments

Spungunion by John Boden
Dynatox Ministries (2017)
123 pages; $12.99 paperback; $3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Chad Lutzke

The reality is this: Life is just a balloon floating dangerously in a roomful of lit cigarettes.

A lonely truck driver sets out on a desperate course to find the one who killed his wife. A path that leads to mingling with the oddball, the grotesque, and the surreal in this weird fiction trucker tale by an author who is certainly no stranger to offering heartbreaking stories, of which Spungunion is above par.Continue Reading

Stephen King: News from the Dead Zone #204

Bev VincentJanuary 5, 2018January 5, 2018Stephen King News from the Dead Zone1922, Bev Vincent, castle rock, Columns, Finders Keepers, Gerald's Game, Hulu, It, Mr. Mercedes, netflix, News from the Dead Zone, Owen King, Reading Stephen King, Sleeping Beauties, Stephen King, The Dark Tower, The Outsider1 Comment

The Year in Review and a 2018 Preview

Last year was been a banner year in the Stephen King Universe, particularly with respect to the diverse cinematic adaptations of his novels. Let’s take a look back at the various treats we received during 2017, and a peek ahead to what we can look forward to in 2018.
Continue Reading

Review: Wicked Haunted: An Anthology of the New England Horror Writers

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 3, 2018January 1, 2018Reviews- Frank Michaels Errington, New England Horror Writers, Reviews, Wicked HauntedLeave a comment

Wicked Haunted: An Anthology of the New England Horror Writers edited by Scott T. Goudsward, Daniel G. Keohane and David Price
NEHW Press (October 2017)
274 pages; $14.99 paperback, $4.99 e-book
Reviewed by Frank Michaels Errington

I am happy to report there isn’t a bad story in this entire anthology. Sure, some are better than others, but each original story has its own unique twist to the ghost story trope. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a good ghost story and this collection has filled that void nicely.Continue Reading

The Burning by Bentley Little: New Trade Paperback Edition Coming Soon!

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 2, 2018Breaking NewsLeave a comment

We’re very pleased to report our new trade paperback edition of Bentley Little’s classic novel The Burning will be published later this month!

Four strangers with one thing in common: a mysterious train choking the sky with black smoke, charging trackless across the American night… and carrying an unstoppable evil, raised from the bowels of history, that will bring their worst fears to life.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and enthusiasm!

Brian Keene’s History of Horror Fiction, Chapter Three: The Kaiju Invasion and Zombie Apocalypse of 2100 B.C.

Cemetery Dance OnlineDecember 29, 2017December 27, 2017Brian Keene's History of Horror FictionBrian Keene, History of Horror Fiction, kaiju, zombie4 Comments

Before we talk about The Epic of Gilgamesh, I want to touch on folklore, myths, and religion. As stated previously, my goal with this column is to present a history of horror fiction from primitive man up to today’s Kindle revolution. In doing that, I will undoubtedly anger some people. (Indeed, judging by the recent histrionics of the addled S.T. Joshi, I already have.) But while I’m happy to piss people off by claiming there’s common ground between quiet horror and splatterpunk, or discussing the possibility that America’s oldest mass market paperback publisher was partially funded by organized crime, it is not my intent to anger or offend anyone by disparaging their personal religious beliefs.Continue Reading

Cemetery Dance #76 Shipping Soon!

Cemetery Dance OnlineDecember 27, 2017Breaking NewsLeave a comment

We’re pleased to announce Cemetery Dance #76 is basically done at the printer and subscriber copies will be flying out the door shortly!

This issue features short stories by Ray Garton, Danny Rhodes, Mariano Alonso, Gerard Houarner, Jeremy C. Shipp, Nathaniel Lee, Aaron Worth, and John Hornor Jacobs.

Just a few of the special features include “Return to Castle Rock: An Interview with Stephen King and Richard Chizmar” by Bev Vincent and “Rosemary at 50: An Introduction” by Peter Straub.

Our usual suspects return with new columns by Bev Vincent, Thomas F. Monteleone, Michael Marano, Ellen Datlow, Robert Morrish, and Mark Sieber.

This issue features very different cover artwork is by Ray Dillon and interior artwork by Chris Bankston, Jill Bauman, Glenn Chadbourne, Steven C. Gilberts, Chad Savage, Shane Smith, Erin S. Wells

Place your order today so you don’t miss out!

The Year in Review and a 2018 Preview

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