Reviews Archives - Cemetery Dance Online

Review: The Long Low Whistle by Laurel Hightower

Cemetery Dance OnlineJanuary 5, 2026December 29, 2025ReviewsHaley Newlin, Killer VHS Series, Laurel Hightower, Reviews, Shortwave Publishing, The Long Low WhistleLeave a comment

The Long Low Whistle (Killer VHS Series #7) by Laurel Hightower
Shortwave Publishing (November 2025)
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

The seventh installment in Shortwave Publishing’s Killer VHS Series is gory, claustrophobic, and probably the most terrifying book you’ll read all year. Laurel Hightower’s The Long Low Whistle swells with an aching grief that throbs through the pages from start to finish and will thrill fans of cryptid and survival horror. Not only would this be a great introduction for readers new to Hightower’s work but it will make fans of the Bram Stoker-nominated author absolutely giddy because, like most of Hightower’s books, The Long Low Whistle is packed with creative, but brutal body horror you won’t be able to shake for days. Continue Reading

Review: Children of the Night (When Monsters Wake Book 1) by Victoria Setian and Savanna Ganucheau

Cemetery Dance OnlineDecember 31, 2025November 30, 2025Reviews, The Comic VaultChildren of the Night, Columns, Joshua Gage, Reviews, Savanna Ganucheau, The Comic Vault, Victoria SetianLeave a comment

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Children of the Night (When Monsters Wake Book 1) by Victoria Setian
Abrams Fanfare (January 2026)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Victoria Setian started her career in Gotham City, specifically the third floor of DC Comics in the heart of New York City. Her writing chops eventually landed her a role on the DC interactive team, and since then she’s continued her crossover work with credits including the Batman: Arkham series, Mortal Kombat X, and Just Cause 4. She’s a game developer conference speaker and NYU Game Center Incubator advisor, and she helped pilot the Girl Scouts Game Design patch with Women in Games International. When she’s not tinkering on her next project, she’s hanging with her family or practicing Armenian folk dance.

Savanna Ganucheau is a comic artist from New Orleans. She coauthored her first graphic novel, Bloom, with Kevin Panetta in 2019. Bloom received a distinction from the Junior Library Guild, a GLAAD Award nomination, and Amazon’s pick for Best Graphic Novel of 2019. In 2021, she adapted the novel Turtle in Paradise into the graphic novel format. Ganucheau has been creating comics since she was in third grade, and self-published her work in local comic book shops throughout high school. Her newest YA graphic novel is Children of the Night (When Monsters Wake Book 1).Continue Reading

Review: A Veritable Household Pet by Viggy Parr Hampton

Cemetery Dance OnlineDecember 29, 2025December 14, 2025ReviewsA Veritable Household Pet, Haley Newlin, Reviews, Viggy Parr HamptonLeave a comment

A Veritable Household Pet by Viggy Parr Hampton
Horror Humor Hunger Press (January 2026)
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

Viggy Parr Hampton is a force to be reckoned with in her medical-body horror novel, A Veritable Household Pet. It’s a blistering indictment of patriarchal power and a tragic story of the nightmare that is the theft of autonomy and identity, a quiet and constant terror women know all too well.Continue Reading

Review: The Haunting of Room 904 by Erika T. Wurth

Cemetery Dance OnlineDecember 23, 2025December 18, 2025ReviewsHaley Newlin, Reviews, The Haunting of Room 904. Erika T. WurthLeave a comment

cover of The Haunting of Room 904 The Haunting of Room 904 by Erika T. Wurth
Flatiron Books (March 2025)
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

What is it that horror readers love about a haunted hotel?

Is it the haunted house feel but with more witnesses? The hauntings that vary from floor to floor as though specters and entities take the elevator themselves? The idea of a place that has seen such tragedy, death after death, that it shines like a ghoulish beacon for spirits and curses? It’s really all the above. The isolation, the secrets and hidden history, the absorption and spiritual/paranormal preservation of human suffering have popularized stories like Stephen King’s The Shining, Psycho by Robert Bloch, and The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James. Continue Reading

Review: Doctor Zomba’s Ghostly Tales by David Lucarelli

Cemetery Dance OnlineDecember 22, 2025December 14, 2025Reviews, The Comic VaultColumns, David Lucarelli, Doctor Zomba's Ghostly Tales, Joshua Gage, Reviews, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

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cover of Doctor Zomba's Ghastly Tales Doctor Zomba’s Ghostly Tales by David Lucarelli
Abacab Studios (November 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

David Lucarelli is a writer, musician, sound engineer and dad. He is the creator of Tinseltown The Children’s Vampire Hunting Brigade graphic novels. He is the writer/producer of Doctor Zomba’s Ghost Show of Terror, the award winning campy horror comedy revival of a 1950’s style spook show, and the writer/director of Crude, the award winning completely unauthorized play about a band that rose up from the streets of Hollywood to become a cultural phenomenon. He has had stories published by Omnium Gatherum and DNA Publications. The Winter Horror Days anthology which he also edited debuted as the number one horror anthology on Amazon. He was featured in the Monsters and Other Scary Sht, and Cthulhu is Hard to Spell: The Terrible Twos anthologies. His newest comic endeavor is Doctor Zomba’s Ghostly Tales, which is a modern horror anthology comic in the style of E.C. Comics.Continue Reading

Review: Unworthy by L. Marie Wood

Cemetery Dance OnlineDecember 17, 2025December 18, 2025ReviewsElizabeth Broadbent, L. Marie Wood, Reviews, UnworthyLeave a comment

cover of Unworthy Unworthy by L. Marie Wood
Mocha Memoirs Press (September 2025)
Reviewed by Elizabeth Broadbent

Fans of psychological horror, rejoice: Unworthy, L. Marie Wood’s “novel in stories,” has dropped. Wood is a recognized virtuoso of the subgenre, her list of awards as long as it is genre-spanning, and readers craving true literary terror will find the fix they need. Continue Reading

Review: Play Nice by Rachel Harrison

Cemetery Dance OnlineDecember 15, 2025November 30, 2025ReviewsHaley Newlin, Play Nice, Rachel Harrison, ReviewsLeave a comment

cover of Play Nice Play Nice by Rachel Harrison
Berkley (September 2025)
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

“The world will drive a woman insane, then point and laugh.”

In Rachel Harrison’s new gothic and paranormal horror novel, Play Nice, a stylist and influencer named Clio returns home following her mother’s sudden death. Alex left the house to Clio and her sisters who immediately wish to sell it. After all, it’s where their mother lost her mind. Continue Reading

Review: Ghost Confessions by John Shirley

Cemetery Dance OnlineDecember 12, 2025November 30, 2025ReviewsGhost Confessions, John Shirley, Joshua Gage, poetry, ReviewsLeave a comment

Ghost 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

Cemetery Dance OnlineDecember 10, 2025November 30, 2025Reviews, The Comic VaultColumns, Joshua Gage, Reviews, The Comic Vault, Theo PasidisLeave a comment

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The 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

Cemetery Dance OnlineDecember 8, 2025November 11, 2025Reviews, The Comic VaultColumns, Daniel Hillyard, Doug Wagner, I Was a Fashion School Serial Killer, Joshua Gage, Reviews, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

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I 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

Review: Seth’s Christmas Ghost Stories (2025)

Cemetery Dance OnlineDecember 3, 2025December 2, 2025ReviewsBiblioasis, Reviews, Seth, Seth's Christmas StoriesLeave a comment

covers of Seth's Christmas Ghost Stories Seth’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

Cemetery Dance OnlineDecember 2, 2025November 11, 2025Reviews, The Comic VaultColumns, Ghost Boys, Jewell Parker Rhodes, Joshua Gage, Reviews, Setor Fiadzigbey, The Comic VaultLeave a comment

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Ghost 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

Cemetery Dance OnlineNovember 26, 2025November 11, 2025Reviews, The Comic VaultColumns, Consensual Violence, Del James, Giulia Brusco Arjuna Susini, Joshua Gage, lucha libre, Reviews, The Comic VaiultLeave a comment

Consensual 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

Review: The Pulse Remains by Rob Grimoire

Cemetery Dance OnlineNovember 24, 2025October 26, 2025ReviewsElizabeth Broadbent, Reviews, Rob Grimoire, The Pulse RemainsLeave a comment

cover of The Pulse Remains The 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

Cemetery Dance OnlineNovember 21, 2025November 11, 2025ReviewsJennifer Crow, Joshua Gage, poetry, Reviews, Take Up Your Skin and OthersLeave a comment

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

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