{"id":18076,"date":"2023-06-05T07:00:48","date_gmt":"2023-06-05T11:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/?p=18076"},"modified":"2023-06-04T10:36:53","modified_gmt":"2023-06-04T14:36:53","slug":"review-they-hide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-they-hide\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: They Hide: Short Stories to Tell in the Dark by Francesca Maria"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"18077\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-they-hide\/theyhide\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/theyhide.jpg?fit=342%2C500&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"342,500\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"theyhide\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/theyhide.jpg?fit=342%2C500&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-18077\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/theyhide.jpg?resize=239%2C350&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"cover of They Hide by Francesca Maria\" width=\"239\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/theyhide.jpg?resize=239%2C350&amp;ssl=1 239w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/theyhide.jpg?w=342&amp;ssl=1 342w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 239px) 85vw, 239px\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/They-Hide-Short-Stories-Tell\/dp\/1957537485\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3CNER6DTSI8ZI&amp;keywords=They+Hide%3A+Short+Stories+to+Tell+in+the+Dark+by+Francesca+Maria&amp;qid=1685888853&amp;sprefix=they+hide+short+stories+to+tell+in+the+dark+by+francesca+maria%2Caps%2C319&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><i>They Hide: Short Stories to Tell in the Dark<\/i><\/b><b> by Francesca Maria<\/b><\/a><br \/>\n<b>Brigid\u2019s Gate Press (April 2023)<br \/>\n<\/b><b>205 pages; $13.99 paperback; $4.99 e-book<br \/>\n<\/b><b>Reviewed by Joshua Gage<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Francesca Maria writes dark fiction surrounded by cats near the Pacific Ocean. She is the creator of the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Black Cat Chronicles<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> comic book series. Her most recent short story collection, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They Hide: Short Stories to Tell in the Dark<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is now available. It is an impressive collection of dark short stories, perfect for any readers looking for quick and spooky stories.\u00a0<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maria\u2019s short stories are great for readers looking for something fast to get through on a lunch break or bus ride. They are fast, well-paced, and still leave the reader with an ominous sense of dread. While Maria does not shy away from the gory and graphic, she also doesn\u2019t revel in it, so the balance between body horror and psychological horror is maintained. Also, instead of sticking with one subgenre of horror, Maria\u2019s book wanders the gamut, from historical horror in stories like \u201cThe Wysterfield Murders\u201d to the folk horror of \u201cShane O\u2019Reilly,\u201d so readers are constantly surprised and engaged with unique and surprising tales.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Elsewhere, Maria taps into horror focused less on myth and legend, and on reality itself. A story like \u201cZombies are Real,\u201d which touches upon medical horror through the perspective of a motherless child, is all too real. There\u2019s nothing magical or fantastic to be afraid of in this compact story, simply the horrors of real life and trauma. Stories like this show that Maria has not just breadth to her horror, but the skills to pull off softer emotional horror layered with empathy as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some readers might confuse this collection with a YA or even middle grade book. Indeed, some of the characters are young children or teens, and Maria uses their innocence to further the horror in her stories. However, this is not a YA collection, the graphic descriptions of gore and mutilation would probably be too much for that audience but will certainly thrill mature readers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Overall, this is a solid collection of quick and punchy short stories. Francesca Maria is able to pack a lot into her short fiction, and these stories are sure to entertain horror readers. While the book is geared more towards mature readers, trigger warnings are included, so any horror readers comfortable with those topics will surely enjoy this collection.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>They Hide: Short Stories to Tell in the Dark by Francesca Maria Brigid\u2019s Gate Press (April 2023) 205 pages; $13.99 paperback; $4.99 e-book Reviewed by Joshua Gage Francesca Maria writes dark fiction surrounded by cats near the Pacific Ocean. She is the creator of the Black Cat Chronicles comic book series. Her most recent short &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-they-hide\/\" class=\"more-link button bg-gold white\">Continue Reading!<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Review: They Hide: Short Stories to Tell in the Dark by Francesca Maria&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[80],"tags":[2961,506,79,2960],"class_list":["post-18076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-francesca-maria","tag-joshua-gage","tag-reviews","tag-they-hide"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - 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