by leerozelle | Mar 10, 2024 | ghost stories, the gothic
Alexei Tolstoy’s “Count Cagliostro” masterfully strikes every note as decadent Gothic, class satire, and romantic pastiche. A bad wizard uses elemental forces and physical mediumship to draw a life-sized simulacrum from an oil portrait. So...
by leerozelle | Feb 4, 2024 | ghost stories, horror short stories, the gothic
THE STORY: “His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood” Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Black Cat” uses pet abuse and mariticide to explore PERVERSENESS, described as the “unfathomable longing of the soul TO VEX ITSELF,” or the inner drive to self-destruct. Unusual genital metaphors in...
by leerozelle | Jan 14, 2024 | ghost stories, horror short stories, the gothic, the weird
Robert Westall’s “The Ugly House” has the eerie quality of M.R. James but with working-class panache. A toady locks horns with a warlock over a historical eyesore in a story packed with creepy taxidermy, phantom dogs, rat grease, and ghosts. New edition available from...
by leerozelle | Jan 7, 2024 | ghost stories, horror short stories, the gothic, the weird
P. Djèlí Clark’s “Hide and Seek” is a masterwork that goes for the jugular with witch lore, a mazelike mansion, and scary pumpkins while also giving literary audiences a poignant rendering of addiction and childhood trauma. Fantastic...
by leerozelle | Dec 31, 2023 | ghost stories, horror short stories
In M.R. James’ “The Ash-Tree,” an arborist witch curses Sir Matthew and his progeny after a questionable death. Spider caves, empty tombs, sentient topiaries and sudden deaths loom with James’ trademark...
by leerozelle | Dec 3, 2023 | ghost stories, horror short stories, the weird, weird fiction
Daphne du Maurier’s “Don’t Look Now” is a labyrinthine tale of Venice walkways, unbearable memories, tourist restaurants, and clairvoyant twins. A blind psychic trails a British couple claiming to see the ghost of their dead daughter. Hate to say it, but the movie’s...
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