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Articles by Tor Nightfire
How ‘Fabulous Bodies’ author Chuck Tingle uses horror to prove love is real
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... Billed as “Drive” meets “Beetlejuice” by publisher Tor Nightfire, Chuck Tingle’s latest takes readers on a wild ride of campy carnage through Palm Springs. The Los Angeles resident’s fifth horror novel, “Fabulous Bodies,” publishes Tuesday. Known for wearing sunglasses over a pink cloth mask, the anonymous author has carved out a name for himself in the world of horror over the past few years.
What to read this weekend: An alien invasion as told by a body snatcher
4 minutes ago Engadget These are some recently released titles we think are worth adding to your reading list. This week, we read Mira Grant's Overgrowth, a horror sci-fi novel about an alien invasion and the girl who tried to warn everyone about it, and the vampire apocalypse mini series, Vatican City. Usually when aliens invade and start doing the whole body snatching thing, they don't go around telling everyone about it. Anastasia, aka Stasia, Miller seems to have missed that memo.
A Gothic, Toxic Kind of Dread: "Seaton's Aunt" by Walter de la Mare - Reactor
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For an in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. Walter de la Mare is once again proof that we shouldn’t let poets and children’s authors write horror fiction; they’re far too good at it.
Notes on Containing Multitudes: "Night-Side" by Joyce Carol Oates
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For an in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. Happy Women in Horror Month—it’s time to talk about Joyce Carol Oates. Joyce Carol Oates is something of a controversial figure these days. In the present moment, she’s known mainly for her infamous social media posts.
A Tale of Modern Love(craft): "Crouch End" by Stephen King - Reactor
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For an in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. In what’s becoming an odd theme in The Dark Descent, we’ve had multiple stories by Lovecraft, multiple stories by King, and now in “Crouch End,” we find the unholy union of the two: King doing Lovecraft.
This Haunting Has a Heartbeat: "The Signal-Man" by Charles Dickens
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For an in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. Is there any name more synonymous with ghost stories than Charles Dickens?
Tourism, Drugs, and Dystopia: "Seven American Nights" by Gene Wolfe - Reactor
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For an in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. When it comes to speculative short stories, Gene Wolfe was one of the great stylists. He experiments with form and uses the strange to skewer the unconscious biases of society.
A Spectre Is Haunting Catesby Wran: "Smoke Ghost" by Fritz Leiber
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For an in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. As we’ve seen before, Fritz Leiber has a way with the horrors of the urban landscape.
Hints, Whispers, and Local Legends: "Mackintosh Willy" by Ramsey Campbell
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For an in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. David Hartwell’s introduction to this story calls Ramsey Campbell “one of horror’s greatest stylists,” and it’s difficult to disagree with (especially given that he’s commented on these articles in the past).
There's Always a Bigger Fish: "Good Country People" by Flannery O'Connor
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For an in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. Flannery O’Connor might not have invented the Southern Gothic, but her work certainly helped define the genre.
Caught in a Landslide, No Escape From Reality: "Three Days" by Tanith Lee
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For an in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. Tanith Lee should be synonymous with the modern gothic.
Divine Materialistic Invasion: "The Rocking-Horse Winner" by D.H. Lawrence
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For an in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. D.H. Lawrence was something of an iconoclast even among the modernists.
The Guilt Keeps Us Human: "You Can Go Now" by Dennis Etchison
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For an in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. More than any other horror writer, Dennis Etchison is the best at the heightened mundane.
Survival of the Gothiest: "My Dear Emily" by Joanna Russ
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For an in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. If Richard Matheson’s impact continues to reverberate through modern horror, Joanna Russ was a seismic blow to the world of fantastic fiction.
Six Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Books for Infinite Reading Possibilities
Many of us have fond memories of Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books, those staples of youth where you’d mark your place with a finger and flip backwards and forwards through their pages, trying to avoid a horrible end or a bad choice. Someone I know even plotted out every single book he’d read, drawing out decision trees and putting a star next to the best ending.
Hug Your Land Octopus: "Born of Man and Woman" by Richard Matheson
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For an in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. If any name in this book reverberates through American horror, it’s that of Richard Matheson.
Unwanted Spectral Advances: "How Love Came to Professor Guildea" by Robert Hichens
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For an in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. Robert Hichens was a queer journalist, satirist, playwright, and novelist who chronicled the 1890s and the early part of the twentieth century.
Parasocial Gothic: "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For a more in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. Of all the authors David Hartwell includes in the deconstructive-gothic groove he hits this section, William Faulkner is one of the more essential.
We're All Stuck in the Attic: "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For an in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. Charlotte Perkins Gilman only wrote two works of horror during her career as a feminist writer.
The Status Quo Is Death: "Schalken the Painter" by J.S. Le Fanu
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For an in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. “Schalken the Painter” is perhaps one of Le Fanu’s best works.
Read an Excerpt From Shaun Hamill's The Dissonance
We’re thrilled to share an excerpt from The Dissonance, a new contemporary fantasy novel by Shaun Hamill, out from Pantheon on July 23rd. “You can never go home again,” the saying goes—but Hal, Athena, and Erin have to. In high school, the three were students of the eccentric Professor Marsh, trained in a secret system of magic known as the Dissonance, which is built around harnessing negative emotions: alienation, anger, pain.
Poisonous Nostalgia and Destructive Antidotes: "Within the Walls of Tyre" by Michael Bishop
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For a more in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. Michael Bishop was one of the most versatile writers in fantastic fiction.
A Year Under the Knife: Reflecting on the First Year of Dissecting The Dark Descent
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For an in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. This column was initially going to be a discussion of Stephen King’s “The Monkey,” but given the egregious use of racial slurs in the story, I have elected not to cover it as part of this column.
The Rot Goes Deep: "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For a more in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. There aren’t many names in American gothic literature that carry the weight of Edgar Allan Poe.
Intimate, Brutal, Indelible: "Dread" by Clive Barker
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For an in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. Clive Barker is a name that looms large in horror, and not just due to his habit of putting his name all over everything he’s worked on.
Portrait of a Monstrous Human: "Bright Segment" by Theodore Sturgeon - Reactor
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For an in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. Theodore Sturgeon is probably best known for his science fiction work.
Abnormal Psychology and Entomology: “The Roaches” by Thomas M. Disch
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For an in-depth introduction, here’sthe intro post. Thomas Disch is a name which looms large over genre fiction. His bleak (and bleakly comic) novels and short stories carved a unique path through the more experimental frontiers of science fiction and horror.
The Show Will Go On: “The Swords” by Robert Aickman
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For an in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. Robert Aickman is an author whose acquaintance we’ve made before in this feature.
American Myths, Warlocks, and Washington: "Vandy, Vandy" by Manly Wade Wellman - Reactor
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For an in-depth introduction, here’s our intro post. I hope you enjoyed the first section of Descent and it’s lovely to have you all with me for almost a year of this column.
The Call Is Coming From Inside the House: "If Damon Comes" by Charles L. Grant
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For a more in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. Charles L.
Violent Apathy and Vicious Novelty: “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper” by Robert Bloch - Reactor
Welcome back to Dissecting The Dark Descent, where we lovingly delve into the guts of David Hartwell’s seminal 1987 anthology story by story, and in the process, explore the underpinnings of a genre we all love. For a more in-depth introduction, here’s the intro post. If there’s anyone who knew the modern world of monsters, it was Robert Bloch, and “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper” exemplifies that mastery.
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schraders chord book cover
State AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWashington D.C.West VirginiaWisconsinWyomingPuerto RicoUS Virgin IslandsArmed Forces AmericasArmed...
In This Novel, Transphobia Is a Literal Parasite
BRAINWYRMS, by Alison Rumfitt “She had worms in her brain,” a character in Alison Rumfitt’s “Brainwyrms” decides when faced with his mother’s increasingly transphobic zeal. “It was easier to think of it in those terms than to admit that his mother genuinely hated him.” Given the book’s title, it will not be a spoiler to reveal that this character’s mother is, in fact,host to a parasitic virus that is eating her brain. Is that better or worse than more familiar forms of virulent transphobia?
USBS Panel Lineup Announced: Alan Moore, Amber Ruffin, Constance Wu, and More
Constance Wu, best known for her roles in the TV series Fresh Off the Boat and feature film Crazy Rich Asians, and Amber Ruffin, host of the Amber Ruffin Show and writer for Late Night with Seth Meyers, will appear at the U.S. Book Show on the adult Book and Author panel. Wu will discuss her memoir Making a Scene (Scribner) and Ruffin will discuss her book The World Record Book of Racist Stories (Grand Central), along with co-writer and sister Lacey Lamar. Thomas E.
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