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Nightscript #1
Nightscript Volume 1
An annual anthology of strange and darksome tales by twenty of the finest contemporary scribes. Kristi DeMeester, Gregory L. Norris, Charles Wilkinson, Patricia Lillie, David Surface, Daniel Mills, Kirsty Logan, Kyle Yadlosky, Clint Smith, Damien Angelica Walters, Eric J. Guignard, Marc E. Fitch, Michael Kelly, Bethany W. Pope, John Claude Smith, Zdravka Evtimova, Jason A. Wyckoff, Ralph Robert Moore, Christopher Burke, Michael Wehunt.
212 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2015
About the author
C.M. Muller
52 books40 followersI live in St. Paul, Minnesota with my wife and two sons—and, of course, all those quaint and curious volumes of forgotten lore. I am related to the Norwegian writer Jonas Lie and draw much inspiration from that scrivener of old. My tales have appeared in Shadows & Tall Trees, Supernatural Tales, Vastarien, and a host of other venues. In addition to writing, I also edit and publish the annual journal Nightscript. My debut story collection, Hidden Folk, was released in 2018.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 12, 2020
This is a fluid and quietly intense assemblage of weird fiction. Each story flows into the next, continuously complementing the succeeding with both strong imagery and an imaginative and often subjective grasp on the endings. The reader must employ their imagination to fully absorb the sometimes tenuous nature of the aftermaths. Doppelgangers appear more than once, and the twisted and deformed structures of abandoned edifices hide ominous risks. A portentous ceremony resounds with ghastly screams, and the ghost of a dead child appears in hideous condition. A 90 year old woman bears a synthetic savior, and a captured girl breaks the curse that enslaves her. The sea lures an innocent to dire consequences, and Plato and Socrates whisper to the dying. The majority of these stories are chillingly entrancing, and I look forward to seeking out further volumes of Nightscript.
October 27, 2022
Volume I of a series that’s recently concluded with Volume VIII, all of which I have, and which I’ll be going through at my usual snail’s pace. It hits the ground running here, a much higher success rate than most original anthologies, although of course this kind of understated weird fiction is my bread and butter. I really like Muller’s approach to sequencing here, a lot of the stories seeming to fall in duos that converse quite nicely with one another, with a truly remarkable pair of bookends in the DeMeester and Wehunt, standouts that could almost have come from the same prompt (of course, I have no idea what the commissioning or slush-reading process was like for this).
“Everything That’s Underneath” (Kristi DeMeester)
A woman’s husband has been diagnosed with MS; he starts building a door, she starts hearing things that aren’t there. My favorite kind of dissolution into a surreal nightmare world increasingly difficult to understand. Echoes of “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Excellent (although, is it really a DeMeester story if there are no mother/daughter dynamics at play?!).
“Strays” (Gregory L. Norris)
A divorcée has a miserable time in his new studio apartment. Not subtle in its central metaphor, and the prose is slightly (just slightly!) rough around the edges at points, but it uses second person well and nails a creepy, desolate atmosphere. Has really stuck with me since reading it, too.
“In His Grandmother’s Coat” (Charles Wilkinson)
Family drama on an abandoned Welsh mink farm. The prose and the narrative both lurch and jump about, unsure what direction they want to go, trying to impart too much at once.
“The Cuckoo Girls” (Patricia Lillie)
Two sisters run into odd, pregnant teenage girls and then end up pregnant themselves. There’s a nature doc about cuckoos. A little thin, and loses steam when the focus shifts to the sister rather than the odd teenagers, but a good story.
“The Sound The World Makes” (David Surface)
A couple & a third wheel visit a creepy church in the dead of night. The third wheel’s there to quip, which grows tiresome, but I loved this otherwise; sketches out the characters nicely, convincingly revolves around sound and hearing.
“Below the Falls” (Daniel Mills)
A 19th century woman is institutionalized after a lifetime of abuse; fortunately she leaves behind a diary. Very strong epistolary American gothic ghost tale (with requisite familial drama, incest, madness, crumbling home, etc).
“The Keep” (Kirsty Logan)
An updated Bluebeard tale, narrated in plural first person by his past victims. Prose that’s full of character and interesting word choices without crossing the line into preciousness. Very short, very nice work.
“She Rose From The Water” (Kyle Yadlosky)
A woman’s daughter survives drowning when she shouldn’t have; a preacher is displeased. A good idea that takes some risks in terms of prose and structure that didn’t work for me.
“Animalhouse” (Clint Smith)
A dead end guy in a dead end town, facing the dissolution of his marriage, goes feral. The off kilter prose adds to the general sense of disgust and misery and unease; body horror hand-in-hand with poverty and decrepitude.
“Tooth, Tongue, and Claw” (Damien Angelica Walters)
Beauty and the Beast without the love story. Of a style that usually doesn’t do much for me, and I was fully prepared not to like this one, but it won me over. Very interesting counterpoint to the Smith.
“Momma” (Eric J. Guignard)
A back country hedge witch, her ignorant son, his six dead brothers, accursed townsfolk and bubbling cauldrons and masses of cicadas. I’m a sucker for this kind of weird gothic Americana in general and this was a prime example of the genre.
“The Trees Are Tall Here” (Marc E. Fitch)
Something odd is going on with the forest around a tobacco farm where a girl has recently lost her mother and brother. Not sure if the roughshod prose was intentional to convey her voice or not; either way I found it quite jarring.
“A Quiet Axe” (Michael Kelly)
The land is as desolate as an abusive husband’s heart. Packs a lot into a very slight word count; really liked the paralleling of character and setting but I do wish it had gone on a bit longer (as I usually do with flash fiction).
"The Death of Yatagarasu” (Bethany W. Pope)
A crow’s last stand, from his point of view. Not sure what to make of this one being included here, honestly.
“The Cooing” (John Claude Smith)
A couple exploring an abandoned farmhouse bicker while they should be running away from creepy cooing instead. A silly story that expects to be taken seriously.
“A Knife in My Drawer” (Zdravka Evtimova)
A writer loses interest in her husband and son in favor of what might be on the other side of a blank piece of paper. An odd little tale with an odd cadence about it.
“On Balance” (Jason A. Wyckoff)
A man finds a cup while on vacation at the beach; years later, it finds him. Stiff prose, and while I very much liked the frantic flight from (or toward) meaninglessness that animated the plot, the motivation was a bit inert/unconvincing
“Learning Not To Smile” (Ralph Robert Moore)
A social worker’s 90 year old client has a baby, kind of. The social worker’s life goes into a downward spiral. Had a visceral distaste for this one because of its kind of Harlan Ellison-esque spite/disdain for its characters. This one was a real bummer because I loved RRM’s “Monkeys on the Beach” a few years ago.
“Fisher and Lure” (Christopher Burke)
A man, a beach, an odd kid, fishing line. Do you quickly know where it’s going? Yes. Does that lessen the fun at all? No. A nice quick piece that hearkens back to Weird Tales and the like without feeling shallow or atavistic.
“The Death of Socrates” (Michael Wehunt)
A woman is troubled by her dying husband and her own addictions. Hard to believe it wasn’t written in tandem with the DeMeester; excellent bookends marking out very similar thematic and narrative territory with individual voices.
“Everything That’s Underneath” (Kristi DeMeester)
A woman’s husband has been diagnosed with MS; he starts building a door, she starts hearing things that aren’t there. My favorite kind of dissolution into a surreal nightmare world increasingly difficult to understand. Echoes of “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Excellent (although, is it really a DeMeester story if there are no mother/daughter dynamics at play?!).
“Strays” (Gregory L. Norris)
A divorcée has a miserable time in his new studio apartment. Not subtle in its central metaphor, and the prose is slightly (just slightly!) rough around the edges at points, but it uses second person well and nails a creepy, desolate atmosphere. Has really stuck with me since reading it, too.
“In His Grandmother’s Coat” (Charles Wilkinson)
Family drama on an abandoned Welsh mink farm. The prose and the narrative both lurch and jump about, unsure what direction they want to go, trying to impart too much at once.
“The Cuckoo Girls” (Patricia Lillie)
Two sisters run into odd, pregnant teenage girls and then end up pregnant themselves. There’s a nature doc about cuckoos. A little thin, and loses steam when the focus shifts to the sister rather than the odd teenagers, but a good story.
“The Sound The World Makes” (David Surface)
A couple & a third wheel visit a creepy church in the dead of night. The third wheel’s there to quip, which grows tiresome, but I loved this otherwise; sketches out the characters nicely, convincingly revolves around sound and hearing.
“Below the Falls” (Daniel Mills)
A 19th century woman is institutionalized after a lifetime of abuse; fortunately she leaves behind a diary. Very strong epistolary American gothic ghost tale (with requisite familial drama, incest, madness, crumbling home, etc).
“The Keep” (Kirsty Logan)
An updated Bluebeard tale, narrated in plural first person by his past victims. Prose that’s full of character and interesting word choices without crossing the line into preciousness. Very short, very nice work.
“She Rose From The Water” (Kyle Yadlosky)
A woman’s daughter survives drowning when she shouldn’t have; a preacher is displeased. A good idea that takes some risks in terms of prose and structure that didn’t work for me.
“Animalhouse” (Clint Smith)
A dead end guy in a dead end town, facing the dissolution of his marriage, goes feral. The off kilter prose adds to the general sense of disgust and misery and unease; body horror hand-in-hand with poverty and decrepitude.
“Tooth, Tongue, and Claw” (Damien Angelica Walters)
Beauty and the Beast without the love story. Of a style that usually doesn’t do much for me, and I was fully prepared not to like this one, but it won me over. Very interesting counterpoint to the Smith.
“Momma” (Eric J. Guignard)
A back country hedge witch, her ignorant son, his six dead brothers, accursed townsfolk and bubbling cauldrons and masses of cicadas. I’m a sucker for this kind of weird gothic Americana in general and this was a prime example of the genre.
“The Trees Are Tall Here” (Marc E. Fitch)
Something odd is going on with the forest around a tobacco farm where a girl has recently lost her mother and brother. Not sure if the roughshod prose was intentional to convey her voice or not; either way I found it quite jarring.
“A Quiet Axe” (Michael Kelly)
The land is as desolate as an abusive husband’s heart. Packs a lot into a very slight word count; really liked the paralleling of character and setting but I do wish it had gone on a bit longer (as I usually do with flash fiction).
"The Death of Yatagarasu” (Bethany W. Pope)
A crow’s last stand, from his point of view. Not sure what to make of this one being included here, honestly.
“The Cooing” (John Claude Smith)
A couple exploring an abandoned farmhouse bicker while they should be running away from creepy cooing instead. A silly story that expects to be taken seriously.
“A Knife in My Drawer” (Zdravka Evtimova)
A writer loses interest in her husband and son in favor of what might be on the other side of a blank piece of paper. An odd little tale with an odd cadence about it.
“On Balance” (Jason A. Wyckoff)
A man finds a cup while on vacation at the beach; years later, it finds him. Stiff prose, and while I very much liked the frantic flight from (or toward) meaninglessness that animated the plot, the motivation was a bit inert/unconvincing
“Learning Not To Smile” (Ralph Robert Moore)
A social worker’s 90 year old client has a baby, kind of. The social worker’s life goes into a downward spiral. Had a visceral distaste for this one because of its kind of Harlan Ellison-esque spite/disdain for its characters. This one was a real bummer because I loved RRM’s “Monkeys on the Beach” a few years ago.
“Fisher and Lure” (Christopher Burke)
A man, a beach, an odd kid, fishing line. Do you quickly know where it’s going? Yes. Does that lessen the fun at all? No. A nice quick piece that hearkens back to Weird Tales and the like without feeling shallow or atavistic.
“The Death of Socrates” (Michael Wehunt)
A woman is troubled by her dying husband and her own addictions. Hard to believe it wasn’t written in tandem with the DeMeester; excellent bookends marking out very similar thematic and narrative territory with individual voices.
October 11, 2015
Originally published at Risingshadow.
These past couple of years have been exceptionally good years for horror fiction and strange fiction, because many excellent short story collections and anthologies have been published. Nightscript: Volume 1 (edited by C. M. Muller) joins the canon of these good books, because it contains quality stories.
Nightscript: Volume 1 is a splendid and fascinating anthology filled with weird and well written stories that will entice and chill readers in equal measure. This anthology offers an interesting glimpse into what kind of contemporary horror fiction and strange fiction is available for readers who want to read dark and original stories. The editor aims to please readers who are interested in dark and strange stories and he succeeds in it, because all of the stories will be of interest to readers who love the darker and weirder side of speculative fiction.
This anthology showcases the writing skills of many new and talented authors who have emerged during the recent years. Some of the authors have already gained praise for their stories by critics and readers alike, but others are just gaining fame and are ready to claim their place among the respected masters of the genre.
Nightscript: Volume 1 contains the following stories:
- Everything That's Underneath by Kristi DeMeester
- Strays by Gregory L. Norris
- In His Grandmother's Coat by Charles Wilkinson
- The Cuckoo Girls by Patricia Lillie
- The Sound That the World Makes by David Surface
- Below the Falls by Daniel Mills
- The Keep by Kirsty Logan
- She Rose From the Water by Kyle Yadlosky
- Animalhouse by Clint Smith
- Tooth, Tongue, and Claw by Damien Angelica Walters
- Momma by Eric J. Guignard
- The Trees Are Tall Here by Marc E. Fitch
- A Quiet Axe by Michael Kelly
- The Death of Yatagarasu by Bethany W. Pope
- The Cooing by John Claude Smith
- A Knife in My Drawer by Zdravka Evtimova
- On Balance by Jason A. Wyckoff
- Learning Not to Smile by Ralph Robert Moore
- Fisher and Lure by Christopher Burke
- The Death of Socrates by Michael Wehunt
The contents of these stories range from dark fantasy to horror and weird fiction, so no matter what your taste in strange fiction is, you'll find something to enjoy in this anthology.
Here's a bit more information about these stories and my thoughts about them (I'll try not to write any spoilers about the stories):
Everything That's Underneath by Kristi DeMeester:
- A story about Carin and Benjamin. Benjamin has MS that is slowly disintegrating his body. He is building a door.
- An excellent and atmospheric story with interesting weirdness.
Strays by Gregory L. Norris:
- The protagonist of this story experiences a sense of wrongness in the place where he lives.
- It's interesting that the author has written this story in second person narrative mode, because only a few authors use it in their works. This narrative mode works well in this story.
In His Grandmother's Coat by Charles Wilkinson:
- A memorable story about Wyll and her mother who live in Wyll's grandmother's house.
- An excellent and well written story with fascinating weirdness.
The Cuckoo Girls by Patricia Lillie:
- In this story, Jennifer meets a girl at the laundromat. The girl acts strangely and seems to stalk Jennifer. Soon Jennifer hears something disturbing from her younger sister.
- An excellent story.
The Sound That the World Makes by David Surface:
- A story about Maddy, Jerry and Gordon who are on a midnight ride and are searching for an ancient monastery, because they intend to attend a service there.
- The author writes well about Maddy's feelings and thoughts, including her thoughts about her parents' death.
- An excellent and creepy story with a perfect ending.
Below the Falls by Daniel Mills:
- A beautifully written and unsettling story in which the protagonist has received a diary of a deceased woman.
- I love this story, because there's something haunting about it that impressed me very much. This story is just as good as the stories that were published in the author's debut collection (The Lord Came at Twilight / Renaissance Books, 2014).
The Keep by Kirsty Logan:
- A satisfyingly disturbing and different kind of a story that is a retelling of Bluebeard narrated by voices of dead women.
- This story is a fine example of good storytelling.
She Rose From the Water by Kyle Yadlosky:
- An interesting and well-constructed story that contains themes of birth and death.
- I was fascinated by the way the author wrote about the happenings. I won't go into details about the happenings, but I can reveal that this brilliant story has a good ending.
Animalhouse by Clint Smith:
- A story about Gary who thinks about his life and marriage, because his wife has had an affair with another man. When his dog explores places, he runs into trouble and something happens to him.
- I enjoyed this story, because it's an excellent story with a perfect ending.
- Clint Smith is one of the strongest voice to appear during the recent years and this story demonstrates his storytelling abilities. I recently read his debut collection (Ghouljaw and Other Stories / Hippocampus Press, 2014) and I can say that this story is of the same quality as the stories in the collection.
Tooth, Tongue, and Claw by Damien Angelica Walters:
- A story about a woman who's being kept a prisoner by a monster. She's a consort to a monster and she isn't content with her fate.
- This story is a well written dark fairy-tale for adults.
- I've heard good things about Damien Angelica Walters' debut collection (Sing Me Your Scars / Apex Book Company, 2015) and now that I've had a chance to read this story, I intend to take a look at her collection.
Momma by Eric J. Guignard:
- A story about Daniel who's mother is ill. His mother has problems with her memory and she is dying.
- The author writes well about Daniel's life and how her mother has cursed all the townspeople.
- An excellent and memorable weird story.
The Trees Are Tall Here by Marc E. Fitch:
- A story about a farmer's daughter who lives with her father in a place where the trees are tall. An artist arrives to their house and wants to paint the landscape. He says that he sees things that are not there.
- An atmospheric story with a wonderfully chilling ending.
A Quiet Axe by Michael Kelly:
- A short, but effective and memorable story about a woman who has had a harsh life.
- This story is an excellent example of how to write good and intriguing short fiction. This story is only two pages long, but it's a superb story.
The Death of Yatagarasu by Bethany W. Pope:
- An excellent story about a crow's life.
- This fascinating and touching story is something different. The author writes fluently about the crow's life.
- If there are readers out there who wonder about the word "Yatagarasu", I can mention that it's Japanese and refers to a three-legged crow that is a creature found in various mythologies in East Asian cultures.
The Cooing by John Claude Smith:
- A story about Magdalene and Samantha who explore an empty house and hear a cooing sound.
- I loved this story, because it has a good atmosphere and an excellent ending. The ending is satisfyingly chilling and weird.
A Knife in My Drawer by Zdravka Evtimova:
- In this story, a writer is fascinated by an empty piece of paper.
- This is an interesting story.
On Balance by Jason A. Wyckoff:
- The protagonist of this story is on vacation on a beach and notices that a man with a metal detector throws something away. He is fascinated by what the man has thrown away and examines the object.
- An intriguing and beautifully written story.
Learning Not to Smile by Ralph Robert Moore:
- A story about a social worker, Claire. Her client is a ninety year old woman who seems to be pregnant.
- The author writes fluently about Claire's feelings about her work.
- This is a brilliant story, because the story is fascinatingly weird.
Fisher and Lure by Christopher Burke:
- In this story, a man walks on the beach and is bothered by a young boy. The boy is afraid of The Fisher.
- This story has a good and gripping ending.
The Death of Socrates by Michael Wehunt:
- A story about Cara and Ethan. Ethan has a tumor and suffers from headaches.
- The author writes about Cara's hopes, dreams and fears in a realistic way.
- A well written story that has a perfect ending.
Charles Wilkinson's "In His Grandmother's Coat" is an excellent story about Wyll and her mother, Angela. The author writes about the relationship between Wyll and Angela in an excellent way. He reveals interesting information about Wyll's grandmother who used to breed minks. I was very impressed by this story.
Daniel Mills' "Below the Falls" is one of the best and most memorable stories in this anthology, because it has been written in the fashion of old weird stories. It's slightly reminiscent of the classic creepy stories by Arthur Machen, M. R. James and H. P. Lovecraft. I enjoyed reading the diary entries, because there was something beautifully haunting and disturbing about them that I found fascinating. I sincerely hope the author will continue to write this kind of fiction, because he excels at it.
Clint Smith's "Animalhouse" is an excellent example of how to write perfect characterisation in strange fiction stories. The author writes about Gary's life and feelings in a perfect way, because everything that has happened to him feels authentic and realistic. What happens to Gary when his dog explores places is interesting, because he begins to transform into something else.
Damien Angelica Walters' "Tooth, Tongue, and Claw" is a fascinating, disturbing and well written story about a woman who is a monster's consort. The author writes well about the woman's discontent and her attempts to escape. The ending of this story is brilliant and will impress readers.
John Claude Smith's "The Cooing" is an interesting piece of horror fiction. The author writes well about the empty house and how Samantha is fascinated by it, but Magdalene isn't interested in it (Magdalene doesn't understand why Samantha find empty houses fascinating). The cooing sound the women hear adds a nice touch of strangeness to this story.
The editor has done his best to select stories that demonstrate the versatility of the contemporary strange fiction genre, because the stories differ from each other. The authors have their own distinct voices and their writing skills are fully displayed in these stories.
Because I enjoy reading literary strange fiction, I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed that most of these stories were literary horror stories. The authors have written stories in which human emotions and strange happenings blend in a powerful way.
The cover image, "Nøkken" (1904) by Theodor Kittelsen, looks beautiful. It's a perfect cover image for this anthology.
Nightscript: Volume 1 will appeal to readers who are interested in strange fiction, weird stories and literary horror. It's an intriguing anthology of dark stories that will linger on the reader's mind. If you're a fan of dark stories, you should take a look at this anthology, because it's worth reading.
Highly recommended!
These past couple of years have been exceptionally good years for horror fiction and strange fiction, because many excellent short story collections and anthologies have been published. Nightscript: Volume 1 (edited by C. M. Muller) joins the canon of these good books, because it contains quality stories.
Nightscript: Volume 1 is a splendid and fascinating anthology filled with weird and well written stories that will entice and chill readers in equal measure. This anthology offers an interesting glimpse into what kind of contemporary horror fiction and strange fiction is available for readers who want to read dark and original stories. The editor aims to please readers who are interested in dark and strange stories and he succeeds in it, because all of the stories will be of interest to readers who love the darker and weirder side of speculative fiction.
This anthology showcases the writing skills of many new and talented authors who have emerged during the recent years. Some of the authors have already gained praise for their stories by critics and readers alike, but others are just gaining fame and are ready to claim their place among the respected masters of the genre.
Nightscript: Volume 1 contains the following stories:
- Everything That's Underneath by Kristi DeMeester
- Strays by Gregory L. Norris
- In His Grandmother's Coat by Charles Wilkinson
- The Cuckoo Girls by Patricia Lillie
- The Sound That the World Makes by David Surface
- Below the Falls by Daniel Mills
- The Keep by Kirsty Logan
- She Rose From the Water by Kyle Yadlosky
- Animalhouse by Clint Smith
- Tooth, Tongue, and Claw by Damien Angelica Walters
- Momma by Eric J. Guignard
- The Trees Are Tall Here by Marc E. Fitch
- A Quiet Axe by Michael Kelly
- The Death of Yatagarasu by Bethany W. Pope
- The Cooing by John Claude Smith
- A Knife in My Drawer by Zdravka Evtimova
- On Balance by Jason A. Wyckoff
- Learning Not to Smile by Ralph Robert Moore
- Fisher and Lure by Christopher Burke
- The Death of Socrates by Michael Wehunt
The contents of these stories range from dark fantasy to horror and weird fiction, so no matter what your taste in strange fiction is, you'll find something to enjoy in this anthology.
Here's a bit more information about these stories and my thoughts about them (I'll try not to write any spoilers about the stories):
Everything That's Underneath by Kristi DeMeester:
- A story about Carin and Benjamin. Benjamin has MS that is slowly disintegrating his body. He is building a door.
- An excellent and atmospheric story with interesting weirdness.
Strays by Gregory L. Norris:
- The protagonist of this story experiences a sense of wrongness in the place where he lives.
- It's interesting that the author has written this story in second person narrative mode, because only a few authors use it in their works. This narrative mode works well in this story.
In His Grandmother's Coat by Charles Wilkinson:
- A memorable story about Wyll and her mother who live in Wyll's grandmother's house.
- An excellent and well written story with fascinating weirdness.
The Cuckoo Girls by Patricia Lillie:
- In this story, Jennifer meets a girl at the laundromat. The girl acts strangely and seems to stalk Jennifer. Soon Jennifer hears something disturbing from her younger sister.
- An excellent story.
The Sound That the World Makes by David Surface:
- A story about Maddy, Jerry and Gordon who are on a midnight ride and are searching for an ancient monastery, because they intend to attend a service there.
- The author writes well about Maddy's feelings and thoughts, including her thoughts about her parents' death.
- An excellent and creepy story with a perfect ending.
Below the Falls by Daniel Mills:
- A beautifully written and unsettling story in which the protagonist has received a diary of a deceased woman.
- I love this story, because there's something haunting about it that impressed me very much. This story is just as good as the stories that were published in the author's debut collection (The Lord Came at Twilight / Renaissance Books, 2014).
The Keep by Kirsty Logan:
- A satisfyingly disturbing and different kind of a story that is a retelling of Bluebeard narrated by voices of dead women.
- This story is a fine example of good storytelling.
She Rose From the Water by Kyle Yadlosky:
- An interesting and well-constructed story that contains themes of birth and death.
- I was fascinated by the way the author wrote about the happenings. I won't go into details about the happenings, but I can reveal that this brilliant story has a good ending.
Animalhouse by Clint Smith:
- A story about Gary who thinks about his life and marriage, because his wife has had an affair with another man. When his dog explores places, he runs into trouble and something happens to him.
- I enjoyed this story, because it's an excellent story with a perfect ending.
- Clint Smith is one of the strongest voice to appear during the recent years and this story demonstrates his storytelling abilities. I recently read his debut collection (Ghouljaw and Other Stories / Hippocampus Press, 2014) and I can say that this story is of the same quality as the stories in the collection.
Tooth, Tongue, and Claw by Damien Angelica Walters:
- A story about a woman who's being kept a prisoner by a monster. She's a consort to a monster and she isn't content with her fate.
- This story is a well written dark fairy-tale for adults.
- I've heard good things about Damien Angelica Walters' debut collection (Sing Me Your Scars / Apex Book Company, 2015) and now that I've had a chance to read this story, I intend to take a look at her collection.
Momma by Eric J. Guignard:
- A story about Daniel who's mother is ill. His mother has problems with her memory and she is dying.
- The author writes well about Daniel's life and how her mother has cursed all the townspeople.
- An excellent and memorable weird story.
The Trees Are Tall Here by Marc E. Fitch:
- A story about a farmer's daughter who lives with her father in a place where the trees are tall. An artist arrives to their house and wants to paint the landscape. He says that he sees things that are not there.
- An atmospheric story with a wonderfully chilling ending.
A Quiet Axe by Michael Kelly:
- A short, but effective and memorable story about a woman who has had a harsh life.
- This story is an excellent example of how to write good and intriguing short fiction. This story is only two pages long, but it's a superb story.
The Death of Yatagarasu by Bethany W. Pope:
- An excellent story about a crow's life.
- This fascinating and touching story is something different. The author writes fluently about the crow's life.
- If there are readers out there who wonder about the word "Yatagarasu", I can mention that it's Japanese and refers to a three-legged crow that is a creature found in various mythologies in East Asian cultures.
The Cooing by John Claude Smith:
- A story about Magdalene and Samantha who explore an empty house and hear a cooing sound.
- I loved this story, because it has a good atmosphere and an excellent ending. The ending is satisfyingly chilling and weird.
A Knife in My Drawer by Zdravka Evtimova:
- In this story, a writer is fascinated by an empty piece of paper.
- This is an interesting story.
On Balance by Jason A. Wyckoff:
- The protagonist of this story is on vacation on a beach and notices that a man with a metal detector throws something away. He is fascinated by what the man has thrown away and examines the object.
- An intriguing and beautifully written story.
Learning Not to Smile by Ralph Robert Moore:
- A story about a social worker, Claire. Her client is a ninety year old woman who seems to be pregnant.
- The author writes fluently about Claire's feelings about her work.
- This is a brilliant story, because the story is fascinatingly weird.
Fisher and Lure by Christopher Burke:
- In this story, a man walks on the beach and is bothered by a young boy. The boy is afraid of The Fisher.
- This story has a good and gripping ending.
The Death of Socrates by Michael Wehunt:
- A story about Cara and Ethan. Ethan has a tumor and suffers from headaches.
- The author writes about Cara's hopes, dreams and fears in a realistic way.
- A well written story that has a perfect ending.
Charles Wilkinson's "In His Grandmother's Coat" is an excellent story about Wyll and her mother, Angela. The author writes about the relationship between Wyll and Angela in an excellent way. He reveals interesting information about Wyll's grandmother who used to breed minks. I was very impressed by this story.
Daniel Mills' "Below the Falls" is one of the best and most memorable stories in this anthology, because it has been written in the fashion of old weird stories. It's slightly reminiscent of the classic creepy stories by Arthur Machen, M. R. James and H. P. Lovecraft. I enjoyed reading the diary entries, because there was something beautifully haunting and disturbing about them that I found fascinating. I sincerely hope the author will continue to write this kind of fiction, because he excels at it.
Clint Smith's "Animalhouse" is an excellent example of how to write perfect characterisation in strange fiction stories. The author writes about Gary's life and feelings in a perfect way, because everything that has happened to him feels authentic and realistic. What happens to Gary when his dog explores places is interesting, because he begins to transform into something else.
Damien Angelica Walters' "Tooth, Tongue, and Claw" is a fascinating, disturbing and well written story about a woman who is a monster's consort. The author writes well about the woman's discontent and her attempts to escape. The ending of this story is brilliant and will impress readers.
John Claude Smith's "The Cooing" is an interesting piece of horror fiction. The author writes well about the empty house and how Samantha is fascinated by it, but Magdalene isn't interested in it (Magdalene doesn't understand why Samantha find empty houses fascinating). The cooing sound the women hear adds a nice touch of strangeness to this story.
The editor has done his best to select stories that demonstrate the versatility of the contemporary strange fiction genre, because the stories differ from each other. The authors have their own distinct voices and their writing skills are fully displayed in these stories.
Because I enjoy reading literary strange fiction, I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed that most of these stories were literary horror stories. The authors have written stories in which human emotions and strange happenings blend in a powerful way.
The cover image, "Nøkken" (1904) by Theodor Kittelsen, looks beautiful. It's a perfect cover image for this anthology.
Nightscript: Volume 1 will appeal to readers who are interested in strange fiction, weird stories and literary horror. It's an intriguing anthology of dark stories that will linger on the reader's mind. If you're a fan of dark stories, you should take a look at this anthology, because it's worth reading.
Highly recommended!
Want to read
October 30, 2015Contents:
001 - "Everything That's Underneath" by Kristi DeMeester
011 - "Strays" by Gregory L. Norris
020 - "In His Grandmother's Coat" by Charles Wilkinson
032 - "The Cuckoo Girls" by Patricia Lillie
044 - The Sound That the World Makes by David Surface
057 - Below the Falls by Daniel Mills
068 - The Keep by Kirsty Logan
072 - She Rose From the Water by Kyle Yadlosky
078 - Animalhouse by Clint Smith
100 - Tooth, Tongue, and Claw by Damien Angelica Walters
111 - Momma by Eric J. Guignard
123 - The Trees Are Tall Here by Marc E. Fitch
131 - A Quiet Axe by Michael Kelly
133 - The Death of Yatagarasu by Bethany W. Pope
137 - The Cooing by John Claude Smith
143 - A Knife in My Drawer by Zdravka Evtimova
149 - On Balance by Jason A. Wyckoff
159 - Learning Not to Smile by Ralph Robert Moore
180 - Fisher and Lure by Christopher Burke
186 - The Death of Socrates by Michael Wehunt
001 - "Everything That's Underneath" by Kristi DeMeester
011 - "Strays" by Gregory L. Norris
020 - "In His Grandmother's Coat" by Charles Wilkinson
032 - "The Cuckoo Girls" by Patricia Lillie
044 - The Sound That the World Makes by David Surface
057 - Below the Falls by Daniel Mills
068 - The Keep by Kirsty Logan
072 - She Rose From the Water by Kyle Yadlosky
078 - Animalhouse by Clint Smith
100 - Tooth, Tongue, and Claw by Damien Angelica Walters
111 - Momma by Eric J. Guignard
123 - The Trees Are Tall Here by Marc E. Fitch
131 - A Quiet Axe by Michael Kelly
133 - The Death of Yatagarasu by Bethany W. Pope
137 - The Cooing by John Claude Smith
143 - A Knife in My Drawer by Zdravka Evtimova
149 - On Balance by Jason A. Wyckoff
159 - Learning Not to Smile by Ralph Robert Moore
180 - Fisher and Lure by Christopher Burke
186 - The Death of Socrates by Michael Wehunt
October 28, 2015
I was highly impressed with the editing of this anthology. The stories were all strange, and dark, which met my expectations. Some of my favorites were Jason Wyckoff's, "On Balance"; R.R. Moore's, "Learning not to Smile"; and Michael Wehunt's, "The Death of Socrates."
October 21, 2015
Slow Burn Horror Stories
This is slow burn horror. This is horror that lingers with you well after you've closed the pages. This is horror where the gore is implied rather than shown, where the creatures lurk in the shadows rather than jump in your face. My favorite tale of the lot is David Surface's "The Sound That the World Makes," which is going to be haunting me for a long time to come. It will make you think twice about visiting a strange church for Christmas. One interesting feature that caught me off guard was the underlying theme of children and pregnancy that ran through the start of the book. The authors really played off the fragility of children and the vulnerability and mystery of pregnancy. Weird that they all came together here.
This is slow burn horror. This is horror that lingers with you well after you've closed the pages. This is horror where the gore is implied rather than shown, where the creatures lurk in the shadows rather than jump in your face. My favorite tale of the lot is David Surface's "The Sound That the World Makes," which is going to be haunting me for a long time to come. It will make you think twice about visiting a strange church for Christmas. One interesting feature that caught me off guard was the underlying theme of children and pregnancy that ran through the start of the book. The authors really played off the fragility of children and the vulnerability and mystery of pregnancy. Weird that they all came together here.
August 8, 2016
Solid collection of dark slow burn horror stories. There are weird tales and monster tales with little overt violence. My favorites were Everything That's Underneath by Kristi Demeester, Below The Falls by Daniel Mills, Animal House by Clint Smth, Tooth Tongue And Claw by Damien Angelica Walters and The Cooing by John Claude Smith. All of which are authors that I have read previously and the reason that I picked up the book. With that being said the other stories in this book are good as well.
January 11, 2016
An excellent start to an annual anthology series, Nightscript Volume 1 has a breadth that represents literary horror. The "strange and darksome" tales contained herein are good, and many promise to reward rereading. I encountered several authors here for the first time, and I look forward to both reading more from them and the next volume of Nightscript.
May 23, 2017
This is a solid anthology of horror and weird stories. As with most anthologies, the quality varies from story to story but the majority are strong inclusions. The standouts in the anthology are Kristi DeMeester's Everything That's Underneath, Ralph Robert Moore's Learning Not to Smile, and Christopher Burke's Fisher and Lure.
February 14, 2017
My first foray into weird fiction and away from literary fiction was a very rewarding one. Nightscript is an anthology of "strange and darksome tales" and the stories therein are indeed strange -- dependably so -- and often dark. I feel a little like when I discover a new favorite author and become giddy that I've got all of that writer's fiction to look forward to. Similarly, it seems to me that I've discovered a genre that'll continue to offer much satisfaction in the future -- in the reading of it and, why not, maybe in the writing of it too.
February 15, 2016
Highly enjoyable collection. Some real gems here, my favorites being: “Everything That’s Underneath” and “The Sound that the World Makes”.
April 5, 2024
Really enjoying these anthologies of short stories by independent horror authors. These are quiet horror, slow-burn tales. Thoughtful and spooky. Much of the weird horror which is a genre of itself. So many interesting stories in here. Best ones by Damien Angelica Walters, Gregory L. Norris, Eric J. Guignard, Marc Fitch and Michael Kelly. 5 out of 5 stars.
May 15, 2016
The best thing about this book is the cover.
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