"Death, blood/gore, evisceration, amputation, broken bones, cannibalism, kidnapping, suicide, gun violence, fire/burning, medical illness/disease, loss of bodily autonomy, bullying, racism, homophobia"
This first paragraph from My Friends in Hell (nicely curated by A. D. Jones) lets prospective readers know that this fine anthology is not for the faint of heart. The gore and violence are omnipresent, although never gratuitous. Characters indulge in actions that would be considered despicable by just about any society. The authors know their readers' fears and use this insight to create super eerie settings and truly terrifying villains in believable and often quite sophisticated plots.
What I'm saying is this may not be the book you want to tackle on a dark and dismal night when you're home alone. For the more spleeny among you it's not a book you want to tackle. Period.
But the hard core chiller affecianados among you are in for a real treat. Among the twenty-five pieces you'll find:
*In Amber Hathaway's With Sisters Like These Michaela, pledging a sorority, hoping for close friends and fun activities, finds herself the intended victim of a gruesome rite.
*When Babs, protagonist of David Washburn's Tag, becomes friends with a fellow graffiti artist she never guesses the sacrifice she'll have to make so he can have limitless power.
*In Alana K. Drex's AI Pals Incorporated Sera learns why ordering an AI Pal is a dangerous mistake.
*Max, the child narrator of Lance Loot's Christmas Every Day learns the hard way that parents had a very good reason for forbidding kids from crossing Bone Creek.
*In Bethany Russo's The Pumpkin Patch the participants in a late night vandalism spree receive severe punishment from Pumpkin Patch characters come grotesquely to life.
Those are only a few of the slightly satanic dishes served up in this gripping horror smorgasbord. And an additional good thing about an anthology is the author biographies in the back. You can use it to get your hands on more of the published writings of your new favorite scary story writers.
On a purrrsonal note, last night was the definition of bittersweet. I was running errands with my good friend Catherine and her brother. It was bittersweet because she has her degree and is now off to Buffalo, New York which is far away from Maine. One stop was Goodwill where I found Squishmallows. Catherine found a cat shirt for me then she found incredible cat slippers. (I promise pictures.) At Walmart I found sugarless low fat ice cream sandwiches which were actually good.
I've been bad with long distance friendships. But I vowed this will be different. I sealed this vow with my latest tattoo--the boba drinking cat. If ink doesn't signal serious intent I can't imagine what would.
A great big shout out goes out to Catherine Segada UMaine Class of '26.
Jules Hathaway
