Requiem: Tales of the Undead edited by Lisa Mangum with Wendy Christensen
WordFire Press (February 2026)
Reviewed by Rowan B. Minor
Requiem: Tales of the Undead is a brand new horror anthology edited by Lisa Mangum with Wendy Christensen. Mangum’s first anthology, One Horn to Rule Them All, was released by WordFire Press in August 2014. Since then, she has edited several other anthologies, including Weird Wilderness: A Cryptid Bestiary (2025). Requiem: Tales of the Undead is Mangum’s tenth anthology with WordFire Press. This collection features nineteen uniquely horrifying short stories that center around the undead, including innovative spins on ghost, zombie, and vampire tropes. What makes this anthology more creative than the average horror anthology isn’t just the titular theme, but the subtheme of music throughout.
One author who seamlessly integrates music into their story is Lehua Parker. Native to Hawaii, Parker brings her culture into “Pili Koko,” a groundbreaking story about a child, Ahe, who is deeply haunted by the death of his grandfather, Papa Keola. As Ahe inherits Papa’s ukulele, he not only learns to cope with death, but discovers the depths of his ancestral roots.
Elizabeth Lowham’s “Grave’s Gramophone” is another tale that is saturated with family connections. In this mystical tale, witch descendant, Lou, plays a favorite song “When I Lost You” on an heirloom gramophone to connect with the deceased. The magic and myths drive sisters Lou and Sophie apart, but can the death of a loved one bring them back together?
In Kat Farrow’s “The Final Lesson,” Marjorie Croft makes a deal with Death for music lessons, and in “Rivers Have Teeth,” Caitlin Barbera digs into sociopolitical topics like protest, war, and immigration, as well as cultural identity. Other notable authors include The Kindle Book Review Best Indie Book finalist Jason Kristopher and New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry.
Overall, Requiem: Tales of the Undead is an entertaining collection. For the most part, the various entwined musicalities enhance the story plots, but there are few times where the musical references seem chaotically improvised or arbitrarily tossed in just to fit the subtheme. In the advanced review copy, there are minimal errors, such as grammatical mistakes and character name misspellings, that were hopefully corrected before going to publication. This anthology, suitable for teen and adult audiences alike, should be a fun read for readers from many different backgrounds. All profits from Requiem: Tales of the Undead support the scholarship funds for the Superstars Writing Seminars.
