Review: Ghost Confessions by John Shirley

cover of Ghost ConfessionsGhost Confessions by John Shirley
Jackanapes Press (November 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

John Shirley has written novels, short stories, TV scripts, screenplays, song lyrics, poetry, and various forms of nonfiction. His books number more than eighty, including numerous novels of sf, dark fantasy, horror, thrillers, and westerns, and twelve short story collections. He has won the Bram Stoker Award for his collection: Black Butterflies: A Flock on the Dark Side, and the Spur Award for his Western Gunmetal Mountain. He has also written one non-fiction book, Gurdjieff: An Introduction to His Life and Ideas. As a musician, Shirley has fronted his own bands and written lyrics for Blue Öyster Cult and others. His newest collection of poetry and song lyrics is Ghost Confessions.Continue Reading

Review: The Girl, The Priest, and The Devil by Theo Prasidis

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cover of The Girl, the Priest, and the DevilThe Girl, The Priest, and The Devil by Theo Prasidis
Dead Sky Publishing (December 16, 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Theo Prasidis is a Greek writer and graphic novelist, published by Image Comics, TKO Studios, Scout Comics, and Dead Sky Publishing. He writes quixotic fantasies about hidden folklore, bizarre rituals and wistful dreams. His newest folk horror graphic novel is The Girl, The Priest, and The Devil.Continue Reading

Review: I Was a Fashion School Serial Killer by Doug Wagner, illustrated by Daniel Hillyard

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cover of I Was a Fashion School Serial KillerI Was a Fashion School Serial Killer by Doug Wagner, illustrated by Daniel Hillyard
Image Comics (December 16, 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Doug Wagner is an American comic book writer whose Image Comics include Plastic (co-created with Daniel Hillyard), The Hard Place (with Nic Rummel), Gun Candy (with Brian Stelfreeze), and The Ride (with too many to list). He’s also written titles such as I.C.E., World of Warcraft: Bloodsworn, Legends of the Dark Knight, and Witchblade/Red Sonja. Doug can be found hiding out in Park City, Utah where he spends his days creating madness, frolicking down the slopes with his lovely wife, and reveling cuddle time with the sweetest kitty in the world. His newest graphic novel is I Was a Fashion School Serial Killer.Continue Reading

Night Time Logic with Joshua Ginsberg

Night Time Logic with Daniel Braum

“Haunted Florida”, “Authors from The Twilight Zone”, and “Tales from the Dusty Tiger”

photo of author Joshua Ginsberg
Joshua Ginsberg

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 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 short story collections are full of the kind of stories that operate with Night Time Logic. My latest is called Phantom Constellations: Strange Tales and Ghost Stories and is out now from Cemetery Dance Publications. 

Over this past Halloween weekend (October / November 2025) I attended the Spooky Empire Horror Convention in Orlando Florida as part of the Creator’s Track. Author Joshua Ginsberg was one of the panelists on the Ghost Stories panel that I moderated. Over the course of the convention I had a chance to speak with Joshua about his work which including his travel guides to weird and haunted attractions in the state of Florida.Continue Reading

Review: Seth’s Christmas Ghost Stories (2025)

covers of Seth's Christmas Ghost StoriesSeth’s Christmas Stories (2025)
Biblioasis (November 2025)
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

How do I know it’s the holiday season? Is it when the stockings are hung by the chimney with care? Is it when Mariah Carey appears, like magic, on my radio?

Maybe, but the first sign is usually the arrival of a small package from Biblioasis, containing their annual set of Seth’s Christmas Ghost Stories.

The series was conceived to help preserve the age-old tradition of reading ghost stories on Christmas Eve. Each year, renowned cartoonist Seth chooses three classic stories and illustrates and designs a book for each. Printed in a stocking-ready size and featuring striking covers and Seth’s distinct illustrations, these are beautiful and uniquely collectible.

But of course, none of this matters if the stories don’t equal the packaging. This year, Seth has chosen three moody, atmospheric pieces to fill your season with holiday fear…Continue Reading

Review: Ghost Boys: The Graphic Novel by Jewell Parker Rhodes, illustrated by Setor Fiadzigbey

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cover of Ghost Boys: The Graphic NovelGhost Boys: The Graphic Novel by Jewell Parker Rhodes, illustrated by Setor Fiadzigbey
Little, Brown Ink (December 2, 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes is the New York Times bestselling author of several books for youth, including Ghost Boys; Black Brother, Black Brother; Paradise on Fire; and Treasure Island: Runaway Gold. She is the recipient of many distinguished awards and honors, including the Coretta Scott King Author Honor, the Green Earth Book Award, an NAACP Image Award nomination, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, and the Octavia E. Butler Award. Rhodes is the Founding Artistic Director of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing and Virginia G. Piper Endowed Chair at Arizona State University. Her novel, Ghost Boys, is now a graphic novel.Continue Reading

Review: Consensual Violence by Del James, Illustrated by Giulia Brusco Arjuna Susini

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cover of Consensual ViolenceConsensual Violence by Del James, illustrated by Giulia Brusco Arjuna Susini
Dead Sky Publishing (November 25, 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Del James is a meat-eating, pro-choice, sober atheist. He writes horror fiction, screenplays, and music. As a lyricist, James has cowritten songs with groups such as Testament, The Almighty, The Outpatience, and Guns N’ Roses, including two songs on GNR’s Grammy-nominated Use Your Illusion album. James has directed several music videos and written live television for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. His newest graphic novel, Consensual Violence, explores the dark underbelly of Lucha Libre wrestling.Continue Reading

Cover Artist Soo Lee on Bride of Rocky Horror

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cover of Bride of Rocky Horror by Soo Lee
Soo Lee cover for Bride of Rocky Horror

Soo Lee, a Bram Stoker Award–winning cover artist, is one of the talents involved with Bride of Rocky Horror, which is now on Kickstarter. Cemetery Dance spoke with her about her background with Rocky Horror, the franchise’s legacy, and how horror comics have influenced her work.

Be sure to stick around after the interview for a special Bride of Rocky Horror preview!

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Review: The Pulse Remains by Rob Grimoire

cover of The Pulse RemainsThe Pulse Remains by Rob Grimoire
Undertaker Books (August 2025)
Reviewed by Elizabeth Broadbent

In a Southern Gothic novel, the past returns to haunt the present. Emphasizing moral bankruptcy and degeneracy, particularly of the upper classes, the genre has traditionally been dominated by white people and white stories — William Faulkner, Flannery O’Conner, and Michael McDowell. 

That tradition often omits or elides the contributions of Black authors: Toni Morrison, Zola Neale Hurston, Octavia Butler, S.A. Cosby, Tananarive Due, and Alexis Henderson. Like their white counterparts, these stories usually include traditional Southern Gothic tropes: the past intruding on the present, the moral and spiritual corruption of the elite, an emphasis on landscape and setting. Continue Reading

Review: Take Up Your Skin and Others by Jennifer Crow

Take Up Your Skin and Others by Jennifer Crow
Self-Published (November 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Jennifer Crow is grateful for friends whose words, artwork, and photography inspire both poetry and hope. Her work has appeared in a number of print and electronic venues over the years, most recently in Not One of Us, The Wondrous Real, and Abyss & Apex. Her newest chapbook, Take Up Your Skin is available directly from her or free to subscribers of her Patreon page.Continue Reading

Review: The Dead Husband Cookbook by Danielle Valentine

cover of The Dead Husband CookbookThe Dead Husband Cookbook by Danielle Valentine
Sourcebooks Landmark (August 2025)
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

The Dead Husband Cookbook by Danielle Valentine is a worthy follow-up to the author’s motherhood-horror and debut novel, Delicate ConditionDelicate Condition inspired season twelve of Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story: Delicate, starring Emma Roberts and Kim Kardashian.

The Dead Husband Cookbook is another exploration of the daily horror of the female experience. However, it’s less body horror than you might expect. It’s a gritty mystery, each reveal more twisted than the last. I had a really tough time putting this one down.Continue Reading

Stephen King: News from the Dead Zone #244

Stephen King News From the Dead Zone

Richard Bachman has had a very good year for adaptations. Previous to this year, it had been nearly thirty years since one of his novels was turned into a movie and now, within a span of several months, two Bachman books have turned up on the big screen with stellar casts. And even his wife (widow?) is getting in on the action. Read on!

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Review: Moan by Junji Ito

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cover of MoanMoan by Junji Ito
VIZ Media (October 2025)
Reviewed by Danica Davidson

Junji Ito, a popular horror manga creator in Japan, has been getting increasingly known in America. More and more of his horror works are being released in English, with the most recent being Moan, a short story collection. The first few stories run on the long end, and then there are a couple of shorter pieces.

Each story shows off Ito’s masterful artwork. He knows both how to draw characters beautifully and how to set a mood. The stories also showcase Ito’s penchant for weirdness, creepiness and mystery.Continue Reading

Folio Society Editor on Publishing Haruki Murakami, Horror, and More

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The Folio Society is doing an illustrated edition of 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, a Japanese novel about a hitwoman and a dangerous cult. Cemetery Dance spoke with editor Sophia Schoepfer about the publisher’s involvement with horror books, why they decided to take on IQ84, and her favorite horror book she’s worked on so far.

1Q84 Volume 1

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FREE PREVIEW: Phantom Constellations by Daniel Braum

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front cover of Phantom ConstellationsPhantom Constellations is Daniel Braum’s fifth full short story collection of dark, strange tales, exploring the metamorphic tension between the supernatural and the psychological, out now in trade paperback and eBook from Cemetery Dance Publications. Each of these stories, set in locations around the corner and around the world, evokes the Twilight Zone sense of the unreal and that mysterious, unsettling ambiguity found in classic weird and horror fiction.

It is a book of stories of haunted people, ghosts, and the Phantom Constellations all around them, bravely — and sometimes blindly — traversing the phantasmagoric happenings and psychological challenges in situations full of danger, uncertainty, grief, and tragedy, alongside a sense of hope, longing, mystery, and wonder. Appearing in the collection are four never before published stories written exclusively for the book, along with ten more of Braum’s tales including from the Shivers anthology series and a wealth of hard-to-find publications from around the world.

In today’s post is one of the original stories from Phantom Constellations titled “The Exorcist’s Red-Haired Daughter.”Continue Reading