Tales from a Talking Board edited by Ross E. Lockhart

Tales from a Talking Board compiles stories about various methods of divination and the occult. The introduction details the spiritualism movement, remarkable in both its popularity and lack of unifying text, belief, or rules. The talking board was used as a spiritualist tooll until it became a parlor game. It became creepy when The Exorcist used it as a vehicle for demonic possession. Lockhart also adds a personal touch with a hilarious story of a lying parochial school teacher trying to scare their class with the oujia board.

* Yesnogoodbye by Krist Demeester

Cassandra lives with her abusive father and her best friend is in love with her, but afraid to say anything. Together, the girls call something from the Ouija board with surprising results. This one dealt with everyday troubles like coming to terms with oneself, abuse, and the will to escape your situation as a helpless teen. The supernatural elements brought in power than teens wouldn't usually have. This story had disturbing elements, but had a bittersweet ending. I would love to read Demeester's full length books.

* Weegee, Weegee, Tell Me Do by Anya Martin

An abused wife named Orlaugh goes to vaudeville shows as a release and meets her idol Great Marie Cahill. Marie insists Orlaugh has talent to become a performer and offers her lessons. This story had the most realistic characters. Orlaugh wanted so much more than serving an abusive husband. Marie is aging and sees the end of her career, but she's riding it out as much as she can. Daisy, Orlaugh's best friend, can talk her way out of or into anything and wants the best for her friend. All of them felt like people I knew without being too detailed or wordy. The story is also surprisingly sweet despite the dark subject matter.

* Grief by Tiffany Scandal

A man and woman lose their son and seek out a way to speak to him again. This story was one of the most heartbreaking. Their son unexpectedly lost his battle with cancer. The events leading up to it are so sad. The mother knew something was wrong and kept checking in on him, but when she left for a short time, he died. The parents blamed each other and themselves, isolating each from the other. The depiction of grief feels real and they just want to see their son even one more time. This is a be careful what you wish for plot and the real emotion balanced with the dark supernatural element makes a satisfying short story.

* Deep Into the Skin by Matthew M. Bartlett

A tattoo artist is forced to tattoo a Oujia board on a young girl who was brought by clearly dangerous members of a cult. It's his best work, despite the coerced nature, and he figures the whole thing is over until he receives an invitation to the ritual to follow. This was my favorite story of the bunch. The main character uses his beard, tattoos, and scars as armor against a world that hurt him when he was a nerdy kid. He lives in a seedy town with corruption, black magic, and cults but always held himself apart from all that even though he isn't the most moral person. This event shatters that illusion and plunges him headfirst into that world. The ritual leads to a horrific scene of body horror and unexpected revenge. This story balanced horror and character development the best.

* Haruspicate or Scry by Orrin Gray

A woman has a professor that she forms a bond with and he becomes her father figure. She gets married where the professor gives her away. About the same time she gets pregnant, the professor dies. To honor his last wishes, she does some sort of seance or divination every week to see if he can communicate a line of text previously chosen. This story is well written and unexpected. What I especially liked was the portrayal of the woman. She never really wanted kids and chose to kept her pregnancy because of pressure from her husband and his family. The pregnancy made her miserable and the following birth did nothing to improve it. She doesn't feel much for her baby and struggles to do anything to care for it. I appreciate this portrayal especially since the media pushes this magical bonding that's supposed to make everything perfect. That doesn't happen for everyone and it's nice to see the other side of things that doesn't get acknowledged. The supernatural part sneaks up on you and is deeply unsettling.

While I loved these stories, other stories in the anthology seemed incomplete, like I missed a page. Others didn't feel scary or supernatural enough to merit being part of the collection. I highly recommend the above stories and I wouldn't read most of the other stories again.

My rating: 3/5 fishmuffins

The Dead and Empty World Part 3

* A Game of Firsts

Brother and sister Danny and Julie joke on the way home from a night out that a stumbling, seemingly drunk man is a zombie. They turn out to be completely correct and stay holed up in their house, waiting for rescue or their parents. Their lives turn upside down as they are forced to stay in their garage, rationing food and charging their phone by car in case their parents call. They have to be more selfish because resources are scarce. Danny and Julie start confiding each other more and more over time. At first, it's things like first kisses, but the past doesn't really matter anymore. They tell each other their secrets and deepest insecurities. Barriers simply fall away because it's unlikely they will survive.

One scene I particularly liked was when Julie encounters a zombie in her house as she gathers supplies. She sees a female zombie with a bra from Victoria's Secret that she almost bought. It hits home how much her life has changed. One day, she's worried about the comfort of a new bra and the next, she's hiding in her garage and rationing food for survival. Life before seems so trivial in the face of their dwindling chance of survival. This story is more of a character study and slice of life story than a plot driven one. I like the ending because it's not really an ending. Their fate is uncertain and their lives continue after the story is over.

* Hare Moon

This is my second favorite story of this anthology. This story follows Sister Tabitha as a young woman much different than we saw her in The Forest of Hands and Teeth. She's a lot like Mary: headstrong and critical of authority. As she's getting older, she's seeing the flaws in her society. She wants to know why rules are the way they are. Eventually she discovers that much of what she's taught are flat out lies. She keeps paying lip service to her duties and her faith, but she's consumed with thoughts of the others outside and a particular boy she has met beyond the gates.

Although well meaning, her actions lead to a catastrophic event in her home that forever change her. Sister Tabitha now sees why things are the way they are, why people are lied to in order to keep them safe. As seen in later years, she will always prioritize her society's safety over anything else. I never thought we would get this view of Sister Tabitha, but her character makes much more sense. She has her own regrets and sins that have shaped her into the awful person she was in The Forest of Hands and Teeth. It was nice to see her vulnerable, hopeful side that wasn't afraid to push the rules and question authority.

My rating of the whole anthology: 5/5 fishmuffins

The Dead and Empty World Part 2

* Bougainvillea

Iza is incredibly privileged before and after the zombie apocalypse hits. Her father used to be normal dad with a normal job. When the zombie rose, he came to Curacao because it was a place of power as a port and dry dock. Iza received many gifts from people because they wanted to curry favor from her father. Insult to him or his daughter resulted in being banned from the island or death. The island is run in a rigid and cutthroat way, counter to the beautiful, lush island itself. The population of the island has to be regulated so they don't live outside their means. This means killing or turning away the desperate and the injured. Her father's militia, the homber mata, kills anyone who isn't supposed to be there and gets rid of any undead around.

Iza used to a fairly normal life, not wanting for food or supplies. She strives to be more like her ruthless father who never thanks anyone and expects respectful deference from everyone in his life. The only thing she doesn't get is companionship. Her father rarely spends time with her. Her guardian has been Beihito, a man who works for her father. Beihito protects her in every sense: from zombies, from unpleasant things, and would lay down his life for her. He is the most caring and benevolent person in her life, but she keeps her prickly, proud demeanor for her father. At this point, she's at a crossroads on the cusp of adulthood to continue as her father has with ruthlessness and pride or change to a more caring attitude like Beihito, who cares more for her than her actual father does.

Beihito calls the undead mudo, ones of have lost their voices and themselves with nothing to say. The fast zombies are called lihemorto. I had forgotten about these fast zombies. I never liked fast zombies because the muscle and bones and such would break down quite fast, leaving immobile zombies. These ones are purposefully short lived, but their speed helps them spread the disease to more people than a slow zombie could. I also like these new terms because they speak more to the metaphysical state of the undead rather than just the physical state.

Iza finds a boy on the shore and spares him. This is a bit similar to the previous story, but the resolution is completely different. I love that it's brutal and not at all like the last story. So much of the story has the juxtaposition of beauty and brutality, especially in the title. Iza compare bougainvillea petals to blood in water. Even Iza herself is a bit of both. All of these stories are excellent, but this one was the post memorable with the beautiful location, different structure, and a wholly different zombie apocalypse situation than I've ever read.

The Dead and Empty World Part 1

I haven't read any of Carrie Ryan's Forest of Hands and Teeth books for a couple of years. They faded in my mind. I knew I enjoyed them, but I couldn't remember specifics. I was reminded with this wonderful compilation of stories from the same world. Carrie Ryan is an amazing writer that doesn't dumb down or censor her stories for her young adult audience. In a post-apocalyptic situation, teens have just as many hard decisions, traumatic experiences, and interactions with the undead as adults do. Since I have a lot to say about all the stories, I'm splitting them up into different posts so it isn't insanely long.

* Flotsam and Jetsam

This story examines what it's like to be trapped on a raft with someone you don't particularly like who has been bitten by a zombie. Jeremy pretends he hasn't been bitten and tries to act as normal as possible. Everyone knows, including our main character, that when someone is bitten they will turn and they will have to be killed. Both characters are in denial about the situation because it's will always be hard to kill someone even if they are a zombie that will eat your brains. I loved what happened in the end because it is so human yet unexpected. With shows like The Walking Dead, everyone in the zombie apocalypse is expected to kill their zombified loved ones or acquaintances with no emotional reaction.

The main character resents Jeremy because they were never friends and none of his actual friends made it out alive. He asks Jeremy uncomfortable questions and can be cruel. They find comfort in each other because they are all that remain of their lives. It's the same reason why they keep their raft close to the ship they left even though all that remains on it are the living dead; it's the only familiar thing on a vast ocean in a world that is unrecognizable.

* Scenic Route

Margie and Sally guard a cabin that they've made safe together and spend their days planning road trips to places they will never go using well worn guidebooks. Margie, as the older sister, is very protective of Sally and sometimes underestimates her ability to handle the reality of living in a post-apocalyptic situation. They love each other dearly and would do anything for each other. It's just the two of them against the whole world. This story examines humans as monsters instead of zombies. Bandits in the area take what they want including people, treating them as possessions. Then a young man named Calvin arrives and wins over their trust over some weeks. This story shows how people can be monstrous, but have different reasons, casting people in shades of grey rather than black and white. I loved the ending because hope and humanity are still alive. It's easy to lose humanity in a setting like this, fighting for your survival against inhuman and human monsters alike.

Trigger Warning

Introduction

I usually am not enthused about introductions, but I love all of Neil Gaiman's writing. He defines and discusses trigger warnings, seeing them as good for people with PTSD  that would be harmed by some material and also seeing them as an overprotective measure that keeps people from experiencing things that both make them uncomfortable and allows them to experience things outside of their worldview. He never falls on either side. I love his discussion of the phrase "secure your mask before heading others" that extends beyond airplane oxygen mask to  He also lists all of his stories and poems with the inspirations and stories behind them which I would flip back to before I started each one.

Making a Chair poem

Only Neil can make a poem about assembling a chair that is funny, touching, and sad.

Lunar Labyrinth

This story features a Lunar Labyrinth that attracts and benefits different types of people during different types of year, including lovers, family, and the elderly. It exists, but was burned down. The labyrinth only stands shin high, which should be fairly unthreatening, but captures the wonder and terror of this labyrinth that can cure you ills or kill you based on your performance. This story is magical and atmospheric.

The Thing About Cassandra

This story has a bizarre setup where a man made up a first girlfriend named Cassandra as a boy, but discovers she is real years later. The finale is oddly sinister and weird, but keeps that magical atmosphere,

The Truth is in the Caves of the Black Mountains

A small man, the size of a child, seeks out Calum Macinnes to lead him to a cave said to be full of riches. Calum is a horrible guy who beats and (probably) rapes his wife for letting the man in. Their journey is filled with suspicion and begrudging trust. The ending has an interesting and satisfying twist that I never saw coming. There's a version of this in book form that has beautiful illustrations and an audiobook version with music composed by Fourplay accompanying it.

My Last Landlady



This is another atmospheric story, but the imagery makes you feel that you are on this dreary beach with horrible food and am equally horrible landlady. It has an undercurrent of unease beneath the dreariness and the ending is perfect.

Adventure Story



It starts out with a situation anyone can relate to: your mother is rambling on and on about inane things. Eventually, this mother nonchalantly talks about bizarre stories she only half knows involving her husband that are huge revelations to her son. Then she returns to her inane rambling as if nothing ever happened. I love this story because of that nonchalance and the relatable way something crazy is brought up and then repressed as if it never happened.

Orange



This story is told in a Q&A format where the Q's are absent, leaving only the answers of a teenage girl. It's kind of like listening to one half of a phone conversation. Some of the answers give no indication of the question, allowing my mind to go wild with the possibilities. It starts out fairly normal, but then it goes off the deep end when this girl's older sister takes her tanning to shocking extremes leading to weird twists, aliens, and mind control.

A Calendar of Tales

These are micro stories that feature all 12 months of the year. My favorite story is October. A genie appears to a woman, but she doesn't want anything. On the site for A Calendar of Tales, you can see all the art made by people, the questions Neil asked to people on Twitter that inspired the stories, and the audio and print versions of each story.

The Case of Death and Honey

This is probably my favorite story of the collection. It continues the Sherlock Holmes story and answers why he went into beekeeping. It seems that he wouldn't just want to do something mindless or relaxing. Even an aged Holmes would want to keep solving mysteries, but this one is a mystery that no one has been able to solve for the whole of human history. He goes to China to experiment with different types of bees to find his answer. This story is told out of time and shows how his brother is dying and everyone he knows are retiring or being ravaged by age. I love the added fantastical element that makes it fit in with the collection.

Click-Clack the Rattlebag



I love this story because it subverts every expectation and relies on the narrator and the reader underestimating the child in the story. It's very creepy and perfect for a sleepover, a campfire, or a bedtime story.

Slasher Girls and Monster Boys

I'm honestly not usually a big fan of collections of short stories. Most of the time, there are a few standout, amazing stories and the rest are forgettable or mediocre. This anthology is different. So many of these stories were impressively chilling. I enjoyed that each story ended with the inspiration behind the story whether it's a movie, song, or TV show. Mild spoilers may follow.

* The Birds of Azalea Street by Nova Ren Suma, inspired by The Birds and Rear Window

The first story in the book sets the pitch dark tone. A neighborhood man is just a little bit off and creepy. The girls that live around him feel uneasy around him, but the adults always defend him and nothing definite ever happened. Until now. The story goes right to a pedophile which is a real danger in the world. That danger is real and immediate. Then a supernatural force comes in. I love the mix of reality and fantasy. It's also a cool mix of horror and fantasy. The finale which is actually right at the beginning as the story comes full circle feels like it belongs in a fairy tale.

* In the Forest Dark and Deep by Carrie Ryan, inspired by Disney's film Alice in Wonderland and Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

This story is the most memorable and chilling of the bunch. A girl named Cassidy is obsessed with Alice in Wonderland. One day, she finds a clearing in the middle of the forest with a moldering tea party table. With no idea who it might belong to, she uses it to her imagination's content. The owner of the table adds to it as she does and they sort of become friends. She sees him off in the distance and he looks just like the White Rabbit from her favorite story. When her birthday part doesn't go as planned due to some rude guests, the White Rabbit then gives her a macabre birthday present that she doesn't wholly reject. The story is told hopping back and forth in time from age seven to age seventeen and back. The White Rabbit returns a decade later, more dirty and tattered and just as sinister. This story gets under your skin and makes it crawl. The images are nightmarish, vivid, and not for the faint of heart.

* Emmeline by Cat Winters, inspired by the film All Quiet on the Western Front, Kiss Me Again Strnager by Daphne du Maurier, and Nosferatu

Emmeline is a French girl living in her burned out room that was destroyed by a stray shell in World War I. Her family hosts soldiers and she befriends one to take to her room. This is one of the few to take place in the past. It also takes expectations in a situation like this and turns it around, making it fresh and new. Most of the story is flirting between Emmeline and an American soldier in her burned out room. I suspected something early on, but the twist was still fun. The ending is just the right amount of horror and lets the imagination run wild with its implications.

* Verse Chorus Verse by Leigh Bardugo, inspired by Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle by Nirvana

Jaycee is a pop star in a lot of trouble: drugs, nude photos and mandated rehab. Her manager/mom is already working on a manufactured story to catapult her back in the public's good graces and the spotlight. There is something sinister and dark about the rehab facility. I always like weird mental institutions and Leigh Bardugo puts an unexpected twist on the story. The atmosphere at the facility is fearful and restrictive. The nights are the worst. Everyone is alone and vulnerable in separate rooms. The ending is super creepy and the lead up to it is full of suspense.

* Hide-And-Seek by Megan Shepherd, inspired by Final Destination, The Crow, and Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey

It finally happened. Annie's drunken, abusive father finally killed her. She does have the opportunity to escape death in a game of Hide and Seek until sunset the next day to earn her life back. Death doesn't play fair and many people get caught in the crossfire. If she wins, everything will be restored to how it was before the game started. I see all of the influences in the story but it's wholly unique. Annie's fight to survive starts right away and continues at breakneck speed. We never know when another attempt is going to happen or in what form it my take. The ending is clever and unexpected. This was one of my favorite stories.

* The Dark, Scary Parts and All by Danielle Paige, inspired by The Omen and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Marnie was always kind of an outcast but always excelled in school. She can't help but answer questions in class even though Everly will make her life hell. Damien Thorne, an intriguing but quiet boy, takes an interest in her much to the shock of her nemesis. They strike up a courtship, but Damian is more than he seems. If you're at all familiar with The Omen films, the antichrist's name is Damian Thorne. I was a little disappointed the story was such a literal continuation of the film instead of just being inspired by it. Damian even mentions events from the film directly. It's basically fan fiction that ignores the sequels. The story is ok. Marnie is enamored by anti-heroes in literature like Frankenstein's monster and Dracula, but when confronted with one in real life, she has to decide how she will react to his not super moral actions.

* The Flicker, the Fingers, the Beat, the Sigh by April Genevieve Tucholke, inspired by Carrie and I Know What You Did Last Summer

A group of friends drive down the road, drunk, celebrating their last year of high school. They hit a girl in the road and decide what to do. Throughout the story, it becomes clear that one of the boys knew her more than he was willing to admit. The title is genius and you would never know what it signifies unless you read the story. Again, the influences are definitely there, but subtle. It's a fairly short story, but packs a punch. It shows how a single moment of guilt and doubt can follow you the rest of your life and consume you.

* Fat Girl with a Knife by Jonathan Maberry, inspired by Zombieland and Night of the Living Dead

Dahlia has a beautiful name, but none of her physicality matches her name. She's accepted her lot in life and gets revenge on people whenever she can. The world ends on a seemingly normal day, making her skillset much more desirable than the average popular or attractive person. Jonathan Maberry is one of my favorite authors and he doesn't disappoint with this short story. A zombie apocalypse breaks out, leading Dahlia to save her fellow student and fight against the zombies. Despite her admittedly unfortunate looks, Dahlia is very strong and capable. This new world is more suited to her and she finds happiness by the end of the story. This one has a more lighthearted tone than most of the other ones and it stands out as a result.

* Sleepless by Jay Kristoff, inspired by Psycho and Mudvayne's Nothing to Gein

Justin likes a girl with the screenname C0ff33 and they've been chatting back and forth for a while. He's ready for the next level, but his mom keeps getting between them and berating him for even talking to her. When she runs away from home, it's the perfect opportunity for them to be together. Unfortunately, he grossly misrepresented himself, so he has to get a little creative. I thought I knew what would happen in this story. I figured it would be a modern replica of Psycho, but it was completely different. The ending flips expectations in a delightful and memorable way. The IM messages were useful in introducing the characters and establishing their relationship. Jay Kristoff has a talent for this as seen in Illuminae.

* M by Stefan Bachman, inspired by the film M and the TV show Upstairs Downstairs

Misha is blind and usually regarded as barely a person. She goes through her life being ignored and used to it until she stumbles upon a murder in progress. The murderer threatens her life if she tells and leaves abruptly. The only clue she has is his distinctive scent and she is bound and determined to catch the killer. This is another story that takes places in the past. This blind woman is seen as pretty much useless with no skills or social standing. We don't even know that she's blind until a few pages into the story, which is an interesting twist in the story. Her investigation skills impress as she analyzes everything she sensed from the murderer from his scent to the sound of his voice. She employs the help of a servant girl, who also has no social standing, and together they seek expose the killer. I love the contrast of the wealthy and influential doing basically nothing while these two women do everything to save themselves and others. The ending is pretty surprising, but depressingly realistic in its aftermath. The children in the story are incredibly creepy and make this Gashlycrumb Tinies-esque songs about everyone they know.

* The Girl Without a Face by Marie Lu, inspired by What Lies Beneath and Los Ojos de Julia

Richard thought his room in his new house was a little odd because the closet was locked from the inside. He slowly becomes aware of a girl who seems to be following him. She always has her back to him or her face hidden, but she's appeared many places to him. First, she is at a distance and then slowly gets closer and closer, even superimposing herself over his teacher so he assaults her to demand answers. Why is he being haunted by this incorporeal girl? This story was unexpected. I liked that it dealt with a lot of relevant issues for women and girls while having us guess at this mystery. I loved the ending and it acts as a kind of cautionary tale.

* A Girl Who Dreamed of Snow by McCormick Templeman, inspired by Kuroneko

A plague has wiped out most of the women of Mowich's people. The indigenous people don't have this problem, so it's typical for his people to kidnap their women and girls to sell for a high price for people to be able to continue their families. Nara, daughter of a shaman, is determined to fix the problem, but is kidnapped along the way. This story read more as dark fantasy than horror to me, but it has a really cool dystopian edge to it with the plague. There are quite a few twists and turns. I never quite knew where it was going to go. The ending is a bit heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same times.

* Stitches by A.G. Howard, inspired by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

After Sage's mother died, her father was never really the same. He became abusive to the point of grave danger. She and her siblings had lost teeth and gained bruises due to his wrath. He gets thrown in jail one day and makes a deal with a doctor to replace his hands, feet, eyes, ears, and tongue with another's in exchange for a large amount of money. The only catch is that Sage has to do all the amputating and sewing because the doctor won't leave his house and won't accept visitors. This was another one that feels more like dark fantasy. It takes a huge suspension of disbelief to accept that a teenage girl can perform complicated amputations and reattachments with complete success. This story was really touching. The father sees his horrible actions and seeks to replace them to become a better person, literally and figuratively. Sage is a strong character, always seeking to protect her siblings and do what needs to be done when everyone else shies away from it. I like her ability to reimagine what she's doing to make it more palatable. For instance, she imagined making gingerbread men instead of sewing a new foot onto her father. This story was one that I had no expectations for and enjoyed going where it took me. It's a bit odd, but enjoyable.

* On the I-5 by Kendare Blake, inspired by Death Proof and The Hitcher

EmmaRae is hanging out at a diner, waiting for the opportunity to move the dead girl in the dumpster nearby. It's her job to lay these girls to rest that were victimized, possibly raped, and murdered. Kendare Blake doesn't disappoint with this amazing story. It has ghosts, gore, revenge, and justice. I loved that this story lets you know what's going on in small chunks, kind of like a flower that opens little by little. I don't want to give too much away because it's very cool.

Slasher Girls and Monster Boys is one of the strongest anthologies I have ever read. Each one feels a bit familiar, but each author changes and tweaks each story to create something new. None of these are boring or predictable. It has definitely raised the bar for collections like these for me.

My rating: 5/5 fishmuffins