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Review: When Shadows Burn by Todd Brown

Cemetery Dance OnlineOctober 1, 2025October 4, 2025ReviewsReviews, Rowan B. Minor, Todd Brown, When Shadows BurnLeave a comment

When Shadows Burn by Todd Brown
Köehler Books (October 14, 2025)
Reviewed by Rowan B. Minor

Todd Brown is a neurodivergent computational sociologist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, WIRED, National Geographic, Forbes, USA Today, and other publications. He currently lives in Virginia, and has spoken in seven countries and at dozens of venues, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, Harvard, and more. His debut novel, When Shadows Burn, is a southern gothic haunted house story.Continue Reading

George Northy and Rachele Aragno Unleash YULETIDE’S Christmas Creatures

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 29, 2025September 21, 2025The Comic VaultColumns, Danica Davidson, George Northy, Rachele Aragno, Reviews, The Comic Vault, YuletideLeave a comment

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George Northy, a writer/producer whose credits include Charmed for The CW, is launching Yuletide, a horror comic about the darker side of the holiday season. While the comic won’t be published until October (by Oni Press), it’s already been acquired by Valhalla Entertainment to develop into a movie. Cemetery Dance spoke with writer Northy and artist Rachele Aragno about working together, what’s going on with Valhalla Entertainment, and how to mix horror with a holiday not generally associated with horror.Continue Reading

Nick Medina on Native lore, The Whistler, and more

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 26, 2025September 24, 2025InterviewsHaley Newlin, Interviews, Nick Medina, The WhistlerLeave a comment

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photo of author Nick Medina — Nick Medina

Nick Medina is a member of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, and he drew on his heritage and stories passed down by his paternal grandmother, along with research into the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) epidemic, as inspiration for his novels including Sisters of the Lost Nation, which earned a Junior Library Guild Standard Selection Award, and Indian Burial Ground. He has degrees in organizational and multicultural communication, and has worked as a college instructor. He also enjoys playing guitar, listening to classic rock, and exploring haunted cemeteries and all sorts of spooky stuff.

Medina’s new release, The Whistler, takes readers back to the reservation for a thrilling blend of Native folklore, mythology, and horror. Much like the paranormal investigators the author writes about, Medina has gone in search of Resurrection Mary, the “Italian Bride,” and the “Devil Baby,” and other spirits of Chicago’s ghost lore.

Medina sat down with Cemetery Dance to discuss his new release, The Whistler, Native lore, and his favorite reads of the year. Continue Reading

Review: The Whistler by Nick Medina

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 25, 2025September 24, 2025ReviewsHaley Newlin, Nick Medina, Reviews, The WhistlerLeave a comment

The Whistler by Nick Medina
Berkley (September 2025)
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

For fear of summoning evil spirits, Native superstition says you should never, ever whistle at night.

Henry Hotard was about to hit the big time. He’d gained a huge online following with his ghost-hunting videos. But things changed one day, a day he wishes he could forget, and now he’s navigating a new reality — life in a wheelchair and back on the reservation where he grew up, and relying on his grandparents’ care.

Growing up on the reservation, one hears all sorts of stories, cautionary tales with wicked creatures and anecdotes. Myths. But some superstitions shouldn’t be ignored. Continue Reading

Review: Hank Flynn: The Return by Candace Nola

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 22, 2025September 21, 2025ReviewsCandace Nola, Elizabeth Broadbent, Hank Flynn The Return, ReviewsLeave a comment

Hank Flynn: The Return by Candace Nola
Uncomfortably Dark (July 2025)
Reviewed by Elizabeth Broadbent

I’m generally not a fan of Western horror, though it’s an interesting subgenre. I’m revising that idea after Candace Nola’s Hank Flynn: The Return. Haven’t read the original Hank Flynn? Don’t stress. I hadn’t either. In Hank Flynn: The Return, Nola pulls off an incredibly difficult trick: a sequel with familiar characters and storylines that can still be read solo (though it will spoil the first Hank Flynn, so reader beware). Continue Reading

Ben Wickey on More Weight: A Salem Story

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 19, 2025September 14, 2025Interviews, The Comic VaultA Salem Story, Ben Wickey, Columns, Danica Davidson, Interviews, More Weight, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

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cover of More Weight Artist, writer and animator Ben Wickey has turned the infamous Salem Witch Trials into a graphic novel, titled More Weight, concentrating on the life of Giles Corey, who was pressed to death during the trials. While working on it, Wickey learned that he was the descendant of one of the people hanged as a witch. Cemetery Dance spoke to Wickey about his personal connection to this story, how he did his research, and how he approached adapting history into graphic novel form.

Stick around after the interview for a couple of preview pages from More Weight.

Review: If You Knew Me by S.P. Miskowski

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 17, 2025September 14, 2025ReviewsDave Simms, If You Knew Me, Reviews, S.P. MiskowskiLeave a comment

cover of If You Knew Me If You Knew Me by S.P. Miskowski
Thomas & Mercer (September 23, 2025)
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Move over Annie Wilkes — there’s a new ultra fan in horror-thriller literature: Ann Mason (yes, the first name checks but the author goes way beyond the iconic character here). If you’ve never read S.P. Miskowski, this is a fine place to start. If you’re a fan of the Skillute cycle of stories, this is a step up in storytelling, which is quite a high bar to jump. She wields the exquisite skills to marry the best of horror with the razor wire tension of thrillers.

Review: Spectators by Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 15, 2025September 14, 2025Reviews, The Comic VaultBrian K. Vaughan, Columns, Niko Henrichon, Reviews, Spectators, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

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Spectators by Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon
Image Comics (September 23, 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Brian K. Vaughan is an American comic book and television writer, best known for the comic book series Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, Runaways, Pride of Baghdad, Saga, and Paper Girls. His newest book, Spectators, is a violent, sexual exploration at a voyeurism set against an apocalyptic nightmare.Continue Reading

Double Feature: Bev Vincent explores The Long Walk and The Institute

Bev VincentSeptember 12, 2025September 11, 2025Reviews, Stephen King News from the Dead ZoneBev Vincent, From, Mr. Mercedes, News from the Dead Zone, Reviews, Stephen King, Stephen King News, The Institute, The Long Walk1 Comment

The Kids Aren’t All Right

Two adaptations of King novels — one from six years ago, the other first published forty-six years ago — landed recently. They have one thing in common: kids in jeopardy being subjected to cruel treatment (The Institute) and execution (The Long Walk). Here are my thoughts.

Preview – MONSTROUS: THE KAIJU ISSUE

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 9, 2025September 14, 2025The Comic VaultDanica Davidson, Monstrous, Preview, The Comic Vault, The Kaiju IssueLeave a comment

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The magazine Monstrous: The Kaiju Issue from Monstrous Books is currently on Kickstarter, and this volume includes a new Konga vs. Gorgo comic, the sci-fi short story “The Colossus From the Crater” by novelist Greg Cox, and a new kanji design from Itaru Kinoshita, the manga creator behind Dinosaur Sanctuary. Cemetery Dance gets an early look at some Monstrous covers.Continue Reading

Review: The Beast in the Pines by S.W. Lynch

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 8, 2025September 7, 2025ReviewsReviews, Rowan B. Minor, S.W. Lynch, The Beast in the PinesLeave a comment

The Beast in the Pines by S.W. Lynch
Serotonin Press, October 2024
Reviewed by Rowan B. Minor

S.W. Lynch is a writer and editor who lives in Philidelphia, Pennsylvania. He has worked for nonprofit organizations such as Moonstone Arts Center and the Nick Virgilio Haiku Association. Lynch has been the editor of various journals, magazines, and anthologies, such as Rocky Wilson’s The Last Bus to Camden and Chidi Ezeobi’s Remind the World: Poems from Prison. He is the author of five books of poetry: the city of your mind (Whirlwind Press, 2013), Broad Street Line (Moonstone Press, 2016), 100 Haiku (Moonstone Press, 2017), On Violence (Radical Paper Press, 2019), and Halo Nest: Poems on Grief (Alien Buddha Press, 2024). Lynch’s debut novel is The Beast in the Pines. Continue Reading

Review: Told by Firelight in Timbered Halls by Adam Bolivar

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 5, 2025September 8, 2025ReviewsAdam Bolivar, Joshua Gage, poetry, Reviews, Tales by FirelightLeave a comment

Told by Firelight in Timbered Halls by Adam Bolivar
Jackanapes Press (September 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Adam Bolivar is the author of The Lay of Old Hex (Hippocampus Press, 2017), The Ettinfell of Beacon Hill (Jackanapes Press, 2021), Ballads for the Witching Hour (Hippocampus Press 2022), and A Wheel of Ravens (Jackanapes Press, 2023). A marionette-maker as well, he has written a multitude of original puppet-plays which have been performed in a wide variety of peculiar venues. A native of gambrel-roofed Boston, Massachusetts, he currently resides in the gloomy dreamlands of Portland, Oregon with his golden-haired wife and son. His newest collection is Told by Firelight in Timbered Halls. Continue Reading

Review: Moonflow by Bitter Karella

Cemetery Dance OnlineSeptember 2, 2025August 31, 2025ReviewsBitter Karella, Elizabeth Broadbent, Moonflow, ReviewsLeave a comment

cover of Moonflow Moonflow by Bitter Karella
Run For It (September 2, 2025)
Reviewed by Elizabeth Broadbent

Among other things, Bitter Karella’s Moonflow promises “fungus gods, trans feels, haunted forests, weird rituals, lesbian hippies, fat sex, humongous gahungawungas, and raccoons.” It certainly delivers. Moonflow is a magnificently queer magical mystery trip into the darkly bizarre heart of Pamogo Forest. A psychedelic-fueled, rainbow trip of a novel, this book is everything you’d hope for from Bitter Karella: wickedly funny, bracingly bizarre, frequently off-color, and yet, somehow, heartfelt. Continue Reading

Stephen King: News from the Dead Zone #242

Bev VincentSeptember 1, 2025August 31, 2025Stephen King News from the Dead ZoneBev Vincent, Columns, Hansel and Gretel, News from the Dead Zone, Stephen King, the end of the world as we know it, The End Times, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, The Institute, The Long Walk, The Running Man, The Stand, Welcome to DerryLeave a comment

A new book! A NY Times bestselling anthology inspired by The Stand! Two feature films coming before the end of the year, along with a streaming series! A new Talisman novel! Another collaboration forthcoming! A miniseries renewed for a second season! New interviews, including a Reddit AMA! Buckle up!

Interview: Breathing In, Bleeding Out with Brian McAuley

Cemetery Dance OnlineAugust 28, 2025August 21, 2025InterviewsBreath In Bleed Out, Brian McAuley, Haley Newlin, InterviewsLeave a comment

photo of author Brian McAuley — Brian McAuley

Brian McAuley is a WGA screenwriter and HWA author. His debut novel, Curse of the Reaper, was named one of Esquire’s Best Horror Books of 2022. His novellas, Candy Cain Kills and Candy Cain Kills Again: The Second Slaying, are essential holiday horror reads and dubbed “A masterclass in slasher fiction” by FanFiAddict. This fall, McAuley returns with a bloody-good slasher called Breathe In, Bleed Out.

McAuley’s upcoming novel has already garnered praise from some of the biggest names in Horror. Upon reading Breathe In, Bleed Out, Nat Cassidy, author of When The Wolf Comes Home and Mary: An Awakening of Terror, said McAuley is “the crown prince of slasher literature.” Continue Reading

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