Cemetery Dance Online

Review: Nightmare’s Eve by Stephen H. Provost

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 28, 2018February 25, 2018ReviewsNightmare's Eve, R.B. Payne, Reviews, Stephen H. ProvostLeave a comment

Nightmare’s Eve by Stephen H. Provost
Black Raven Books (February 2018)
266 pages; $13.95 paperback
Reviewed by R.B. Payne

Presented for your consideration are sixteen Twilight Zone-inspired tales and ten dark poems in Nightmare’s Eve by Stephen H. Provost. Paying homage to Rod Serling, these stories are told in a highly omniscient style that slips between character point of view and occasional god-like narration. Generally this approach provides a satisfying read but this stylistic choice comes at the cost of emotional depth in some of the stories.Continue Reading

Review: Those Who Follow by Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 26, 2018February 25, 2018ReviewsBloodshot Books, Chad Lutzke, Melissa Lawson, Michelle Garza, Reviews, Those Who FollowLeave a comment

Those Who Follow by Michelle Garza and Melissa Lason
Bloodshot Books (July 2017)
206 pages; $14.99 paperback; $3.99 e-book
Reviewed by Chad Lutzke

The moon was rising over the desert on the other side of the doorway, casting its long yellow fingers over the treetops, reaching out to the dilapidated church.

The above passage depicts the main location for the horrors that lie within. The church acts as a prison in another dimension for a group of women who have found their way into the hands of an evil “traveler”—one who has been given other-dimensional property to call his own. Continue Reading

My First Fright featuring Gemma Files

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 23, 2018February 23, 2018My First FrightColumns, Gemma FIles, John Brhel, My First FrightLeave a comment

Painting from the NIGHT GALLERY episode “The Cemetery.”

In Night Gallery, the 1969 film that served as a pilot for the anthology TV series of the same name, there’s a segment titled “The Cemetery” that will forever haunt me. In this macabre tale, the lead character, Jeremy Evans, who has murdered his uncle and lives in his dead relative’s mansion, owns a painting which depicts the mansion and the family graveyard, where his uncle is now buried. As the story progresses, the painting changes. To Jeremy’s horror, his uncle rises from the grave in the painting and lurches closer and closer to the mansion, until….well, I won’t spoil it for you. But the image of that painting, of the undead uncle creeping toward the mansion, has been seared into my brain since I was a kid. Author Gemma Files knows that feeling. She happened upon a book when she was but a child, one filled with images that would haunt and thrill her for years to come. Continue Reading

Orphans of Wonderland by Greg F. Gifune: Less Than 25 Copies Left Available!

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 22, 2018Breaking NewsLeave a comment

We’re thrilled to report that Orphans of Wonderland by Greg F. Gifune, a brand new signed Limited Edition hardcover we’re just officially announcing today, will be published next month and is already more than 95% sold out due to HUGE demand from our collectors!

This title is in our brand new Cemetery Dance Graveyard Editions line, which we’ve created for collectors who value craftsmanship and want beautiful books without breaking the bank! Each volume features incredible production values and is limited to a ONE TIME printing of just 500 numbered copies hand-signed by the author. We will never offer a second printing for these special editions.

These remaining copies will go FAST, so please do not wait to place your order! There’s nothing we can do for you once they’re all reserved!

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

Review: The Magic Wagon by Joe R. Lansdale

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 21, 2018February 18, 2018ReviewsBookVoice Publishing, Chad Lutzke, Joe R. Lansdale, Reviews, The Magic Wagon1 Comment

The Magic Wagon by Joe R. Lansdale
BookVoice Publishing (2018)
$50 limited edition signed hardcover (500 copies)
Reviewed by Chad Lutzke

First, a word about the introduction by Lansdale himself––a backstage pass to Mr. Lansdale’s writing method and history of The Magic Wagon. There’s a chance I liked it so much because we happen to have the same view on what makes a story and how to have fun writing and how pantsing (for us) is what keeps the fun going. The discovery as we write. Personally, it was like a nice little validation from the man himself that there ain’t nothing wrong with writing words down and just letting them take you wherever. Continue Reading

Review: Sussex Horrors by Jonathan Broughton, Mark Cassell, and Rayne Hall

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 20, 2018February 21, 2018ReviewsHerbs House, Jonathan Broughton, Mark Cassell, R.B. Payne, Rayne Hall, Reviews, Sussex Horrors27 Comments

Sussex Horrors: Stories of Coastal Terror and Other Seaside Haunts by Jonathan Broughton, Mark Cassell, and Rayne Hall
Herbs House (January 2018)
156 pages; $12.99 paperback; $2.99 e-book
Reviewed by R.B. Payne

Unlike the common horrors of a typical seaside vacation, this anthology doesn’t involve overpriced hotel rooms or poorly cooked meals— although there is one rather nasty gift shop. Sussex Horrors: Stories of Coastal Terrors and Other Seaside Haunts brings together the combined talents of authors Jonathan Broughton, Mark Cassell, and Rayne Hall to surprise and delight with enough gruesome horror to make us immediately rush for the perceived safety of the big city where things simply make sense. Preying on the fear of life outside the predictable and exploring the seldom-trod back roads of Sussex, this volume presents twelve well-crafted tales of terror.Continue Reading

Review: Speaking to Skull Kings and Other Stories by Emily B. Cantaneo

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 19, 2018February 18, 2018ReviewsEmily Cantaneo, Kevin Lucia, Reviews, Speaking to Skull Kings and Other StoriesLeave a comment

Speaking to Skull Kings and Other Stories by Emily B. Cantaneo
Trepidatio Pub (May 2017)
203 pages; $13.55 paperback; $3.95 e-book
Reviewed by Kevin Lucia

Reading Emily Cantaneo’s short fiction collection Speaking to Skull Kings is a wonderfully surreal trip into the fantastic unknown. The stories collected straddle all sorts of genres. Each take place in their own universes—realms far stranger than our own, or perhaps only slightly askew of our reality—with their own sets of rules, their own logic. There’s plenty of humanity here, however, and that’s what gives them their power.Continue Reading

Mary SanGiovanni stirs up a Tempest

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 16, 2018February 15, 2018InterviewsBlu Gilliand, Interviews, Mary SanGiovanni, Tempest, Thunderstorm Books, Women In HorrorLeave a comment

Mary SanGiovanni is a prolific author and podcaster, and she’s getting ready to add another title to the list: editor. Recently, SanGiovanni announced that she is joining forces with respected publisher Thunderstorm Books to form a new, female-centric imprint. In the following interview, SanGiovanni discusses her approach to creating and curating this new line of horror fictionContinue Reading

Review: And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe by Gwendolyn Kiste

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 14, 2018February 11, 2018ReviewsAnd Her Smile Will Untether the Universe, Gwendolyn Kiste, JournalStone, Kevin Lucia, ReviewsLeave a comment

And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe by Gwendolyn Kiste
JournalStone (April 2017)
267 pages; $15.93 paperback; $3.95 e-book
Reviewed by Kevin Lucia

And Her Smile With Untether the Universe is an amazing collection of speculative fiction by Gwendoyn Kiste which touches on surreal fantasy but never loses its grip on an all too tangible—sometimes painfully so—sense of reality. This is important for me, because I often find that happens with surreal stories of the fantastic. While I admire the world created and the surreal experience rendered, I sometimes feel distant from the characters and their experiences, and the stories fail to really impact me on an emotional level.Continue Reading

Review: Hunger Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 12, 2018February 11, 2018ReviewsAlexandra Sokoloff, Dave Simms, Hunger Moon, Huntress, ReviewsLeave a comment

Hunger Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff
Thomas & Mercer (October 2017)
380 pages; $8.50 paperback
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Alexandra Sokoloff has never strayed away from the controversial in her work, whether it be in her Stoker-nominated horror titles or in her Huntress stories. Plenty has been written about this, the fifth in that series, and it will be pretty easy to figure out why once the final page is turned.Continue Reading

Dead Trees: The Eighth Square by Herbert Lieberman

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 9, 2018February 3, 2018Dead TreesColumns, Dead Trees, Herbert Lieberman, Mark Sieber, The Eighth Square1 Comment

I’m going to ask you to bear with me here. Indulge your willing suspension of disbelief for a bit, please.

There was once a time when I thought that a novel about flesh-eating zombies was a great idea.Continue Reading

Review: Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 7, 2018February 4, 2018ReviewsDave Simms, Into the Drowning Deep, Mira Grant, Orbit Books, Reviews, Women In HorrorLeave a comment

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
Orbit Books (November 2017)
448 pages; $18.57 hardcover; $15.99 paperback; $13.99 e-book
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Mermaids? Scary? Nope, this isn’t a joke, and if you’re familiar with Mira “Seanan McGuire” Grant, queen of the Feed series, you know she’s capable of some horrific storytelling. Imagine if Michael Crichton and Stephen King mind-melded with someone brave enough to tackle a creature that most readers would not take seriously. The result would be a novel that’s scientifically based, utterly plausible, and with enough rich characters to make you cringe every time a dark corner is turned. Add to that the sheer lyricism of Grant/McGuire’s prose and Into the Drowning Deep is born, a horror novel that’s as frightening as Aliens and mind-bending as Jurassic Park (the concepts, not the dinos themselves).Continue Reading

Intro to Alien Invasion: New Signed Limited Edition Hardcover With Bonus Features!

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 5, 2018February 5, 2018Breaking NewsLeave a comment

We’re very pleased to announce we’ll be publishing a signed Limited Edition hardcover of Intro to Alien Invasion later this year!

In this wildly entertaining collaboration, novelists Owen King and Mark Jude Poirier team up with illustrator Nancy Ahn to present a wickedly funny graphic novel about an alien invasion on a college campus.

This OVERSIZED special hardcover edition includes the entire graphic novel, new essays by Mark Jude Poirier and Owen King, along with their previously unpublished script for the book!

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

Review: Hellraiser: The Toll by Mark Alan Miller

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 5, 2018January 30, 2018ReviewsBlu Gilliand, Clive Barker, Hellraiser: The Toll, Mark Alan Miller, Reviews, Subterranean Press1 Comment

Hellraiser: The Toll by Mark Alan Miller
Subterranean Press (February 28, 2018)
96 pages; $40 hardcover
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

Over the years, the Hellraiser mythology has become something of a hash, combining elements of Clive Barker’s original novella The Hellbound Heart with bits from the Hellraiser movies (mainly the first two in the franchise: Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II). Nowhere is this more evident than in The Scarlet Gospels. In Barker’s 2015 novel, the cenobite known as Pinhead (but not to his face; no, never to his face) was a sometimes confusing mix of the elegant sadist from Hellbound Heart and a bloodthirsty, Hollywood-style slasher.Continue Reading

Brian Keene’s History of Horror, Interlude: Jack Ketchum’s Footprint

Cemetery Dance OnlineFebruary 2, 2018February 1, 2018Brian Keene's History of Horror FictionBrian Keene, Columns, History of Horror, Jack Ketchum3 Comments

In last month’s chapter, we examined one of the world’s first examples of horror fiction—The Epic of Gilgamesh. This month, that was supposed to lead into a chapter on Beowulf, Theseus and the Minotaur, The Iliad and The Odyssey, The Oresteia, Dante’s Inferno, Lucian Samosata’s True History, and more.

I’ve decided we will get to those next month.

Instead, I’d like to use this month’s space to remember a mentor and dear friend of mine. I knew him as Dallas Mayr, but I first met him as Jack Ketchum (which is probably the name you know him by). Continue Reading

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