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Ghosts Can Bleed
Alien landscapes and mythic societies...creatures of the night and the more terrifying monsters of the human psyche... Be warned: Ghosts Can Bleed... but it's not just the blood you should be worried about... Last Chance To See - what if you had a chance to attend your own funeral? A reincarnation facility offers this opportunity, but you won't be quite as your family remembered... House Arrest - Angela misses the social event of the year when she realises that there's no place like home- and no dietary aid in the world like it, dahlings! Baptism - Brother Tomas is the fourth friar to visit the island of Koreka with a holy mission: to save the immortal souls of the mermaids who live there. But the mermaids have an unholy baptism of their own to offer... Killing A Goddess - The Goddess demands a sacrifice, and Laura is a willing volunteer. It is a great honour for the five young men chosen to assist in the ritual. But do they really know what they are letting themselves in for? Ghosts Can Bleed - Maurice knows, because he is one... DreamCatcher - will prevent bad dreams coming through to you. But what do you do with the nightmares that are caught in it? What if you could return them to their owners? Rush Hour - Virgil retreads Dante's Inferno, twenty-first century style. Wasps, tornadoes and dirty nappies block his path - and that's before the motorway... Marked - being scarred by lightning is like being touched by the hand of God. This divine spark is essential, because only the Marked can see the creatures that hunger for us... Blue Screen of Death - Sara's dead. Again. With Heaven's computer system failing, and God on holiday, it'll take a genius hacker to fix it. Problem is, he's not on Heaven's database... Diagnosis - all aspects of human health can be scientifically measured, analysed and assessed. But there's one measure Dr Chad has neglected to notice... By turns terrifying, darkly comic, surreal and stomach-churning, these forty one stories and poems from award-winning author Tracie McBride open the veins of the world to show humanity in a different - and much darker - light.
- GenresHorrorShort Stories
158 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2011
240 people want to read
About the author
Tracie McBride
50 books68 followersTracie McBride is a New Zealander of Ngāpuhi descent who lives in Melbourne, Australia. Her debut collection Ghosts Can Bleed contains much of the work that earned her a Sir Julius Vogel Award, with a second collection - Drive, She Said - published by IFWG Publishing in 2020. Her stories and the anthologies they have appeared in have won or been shortlisted for several awards including the Stoker, Aurealis, and Australian Shadows Awards. Visitors to her blog are welcome at http://traciemcbridewriter.wordpress.....
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 12, 2014
Well, I'm biased because I wrote it...
June 8, 2012
Witch craft on paper.
Witchcraft is the only way to describe the book. Don't go by the title or by the cover- they will mislead you into thinking that Tracie writes horror stories, when what she has really produced is suspiciously like black magic. Each sentence creates an ethereal world where settings, characters and plots evolve with every new clause, often forcing readers to question their own assumptions about what they thought the story was about until they encounter the next sentence.
Just when readers think that the stories have a predictable pattern, Tracie tosses in a few lines of poetry, which complete the recipe for the witch's broth.
Now if I have let on too much in this review, may be it's because I have just finished the book on my Kindle, and the spell still hasn't worn off!
Witchcraft is the only way to describe the book. Don't go by the title or by the cover- they will mislead you into thinking that Tracie writes horror stories, when what she has really produced is suspiciously like black magic. Each sentence creates an ethereal world where settings, characters and plots evolve with every new clause, often forcing readers to question their own assumptions about what they thought the story was about until they encounter the next sentence.
Just when readers think that the stories have a predictable pattern, Tracie tosses in a few lines of poetry, which complete the recipe for the witch's broth.
Now if I have let on too much in this review, may be it's because I have just finished the book on my Kindle, and the spell still hasn't worn off!
June 18, 2012
Every once in awhile a short fiction collection comes along which eschews vanity in favor of bowling the reader over with the talent of an author. Jack Ketchum's "Peaceable Kingdom" was one such collection and Tracie McBride's "Ghosts Can Bleed" is another.
McBride's literary voice is as strong as it is variegated. Though like all readers I found I enjoyed some stories better than others, there's not a dud between these covers. Each piece is a delightful little gem, complete and compact, some sparkling brilliantly while others simply reflect a warm glow. One never knows what to expect from McBride. There's no over-riding theme to "Ghosts Can Bleed"; the stories bounce from genuinely disturbing horror to intriguing science fiction to a sort of fantasy/sorcery style and this author is quite adept at writing in all genres.
There's also a lovely humor woven through many of these tales though it's nothing overt and nothing laugh-out-loud. Instead, one gets the impression of the author bent over her keyboard with mischievous glint in her eye as she types. The truly striking thing about this collection is that, without exception, each piece is truly original. Even better, each story is not designed merely to show off of an author's cleverness; each makes a very distinct point, some of magnitude and some quite slight. Nevertheless, every story seems to have a reason as opposed to merely being written for no other reason than to provide just another O.Henry moment.
Even the poetry--and there are a few short poems scattered throughout--was not (as I often find) painful to read. While I shall never be a fan of poetry, and while I often find its inclusion within a single-author collection to be pretentious, I did not mind McBride's brief poems at all.
If there is one pervading flaw in "Ghosts Can Bleed" it is that some of the stories--far too many of them for my taste--practically cry out to be expanded into longer works. For example, the fantasy worlds that McBride creates are just too damned interesting for a reader to even begin to explore them in a scant few pages. In addition, some of her ideas and conceits (and I use that would in its more positive connotation) enter and vanish from the pages far too quickly to have the full impact on the reader that they should.
As for me, I fully intend to find out whether or not Tracie McBride has written any novel-length works and, if so, I shall hurry to read them.
McBride's literary voice is as strong as it is variegated. Though like all readers I found I enjoyed some stories better than others, there's not a dud between these covers. Each piece is a delightful little gem, complete and compact, some sparkling brilliantly while others simply reflect a warm glow. One never knows what to expect from McBride. There's no over-riding theme to "Ghosts Can Bleed"; the stories bounce from genuinely disturbing horror to intriguing science fiction to a sort of fantasy/sorcery style and this author is quite adept at writing in all genres.
There's also a lovely humor woven through many of these tales though it's nothing overt and nothing laugh-out-loud. Instead, one gets the impression of the author bent over her keyboard with mischievous glint in her eye as she types. The truly striking thing about this collection is that, without exception, each piece is truly original. Even better, each story is not designed merely to show off of an author's cleverness; each makes a very distinct point, some of magnitude and some quite slight. Nevertheless, every story seems to have a reason as opposed to merely being written for no other reason than to provide just another O.Henry moment.
Even the poetry--and there are a few short poems scattered throughout--was not (as I often find) painful to read. While I shall never be a fan of poetry, and while I often find its inclusion within a single-author collection to be pretentious, I did not mind McBride's brief poems at all.
If there is one pervading flaw in "Ghosts Can Bleed" it is that some of the stories--far too many of them for my taste--practically cry out to be expanded into longer works. For example, the fantasy worlds that McBride creates are just too damned interesting for a reader to even begin to explore them in a scant few pages. In addition, some of her ideas and conceits (and I use that would in its more positive connotation) enter and vanish from the pages far too quickly to have the full impact on the reader that they should.
As for me, I fully intend to find out whether or not Tracie McBride has written any novel-length works and, if so, I shall hurry to read them.
January 22, 2012
Horror. Scifi. Fantasy. Tracie McBride does them all and does them well. I've found this selection of speculative fiction short stories perfect for filling in train trips, reading during breakfast and helping me escape reality after a long day at work.
My favorite story sees a woman temporarily resurrected to attend her own funeral. Gold.
Do yourself a favour. Buy it.
My favorite story sees a woman temporarily resurrected to attend her own funeral. Gold.
Do yourself a favour. Buy it.
November 19, 2011
There are many writers in the Australian echelon that I am familiar enough to know by name but not by craft. Tracie McBride (originally from New Zealand), has spent the last few years cutting an impressive swath into the community with a staple brand of schizophrenic dark fiction tales. Ghosts Can Bleed is the weighty culmination of a hybrid of stories spanning years, with all the pieces here intertwined with short macabre poetry.
One of the things I noticed straight away: Tracie does not follow an immediate set of rules, and there are seldom any formulaic trappings. Here we find tropes like werewolves, zombies, and hatchet wielding maniacs completely off the menu – only to be replaced with a cross-breed of fiction heavily decorated with mythic societies and unique alien landscapes.
On Tracie’s Goodreads page, a reader can find a solid synopsis of each individual story presented here, but each tale is woven like a symphony of traveling music. Highlights include Trading up, a kind of reverse-coin story of uncommon-possession - one that can take on departing life-forms … no matter the species. Dreamcatcher is rooted in the ‘now’ of suburbia with a domestic setting, but inter-spliced with noxious nightmares and how bad dreams can be parceled out. Rush Hour is a tour-de-force of Hell itself as Tracie explores the torment of commuting. Marked has all the delicious trimmings of B-Grade Horror with monsters who like to posses tiny-toddlers and then do away with their parents. But the pinnacle here was the title story itself. Ghosts Can Bleed – although a simple account of a protagonist who wanders through limbo – it is at its heart a bleeding metaphor: that in our own everyday lives and rituals we all feel the pull of being invisible.
With a light and breezy prose, this is Tracie McBride saying hello to the world. Stephen King likes to think of stories as fossils in the ground, and this is a collection that has all the earmarks of a writer just beginning to excavate an entire metropolis bursting at the seams with invention.
One of the things I noticed straight away: Tracie does not follow an immediate set of rules, and there are seldom any formulaic trappings. Here we find tropes like werewolves, zombies, and hatchet wielding maniacs completely off the menu – only to be replaced with a cross-breed of fiction heavily decorated with mythic societies and unique alien landscapes.
On Tracie’s Goodreads page, a reader can find a solid synopsis of each individual story presented here, but each tale is woven like a symphony of traveling music. Highlights include Trading up, a kind of reverse-coin story of uncommon-possession - one that can take on departing life-forms … no matter the species. Dreamcatcher is rooted in the ‘now’ of suburbia with a domestic setting, but inter-spliced with noxious nightmares and how bad dreams can be parceled out. Rush Hour is a tour-de-force of Hell itself as Tracie explores the torment of commuting. Marked has all the delicious trimmings of B-Grade Horror with monsters who like to posses tiny-toddlers and then do away with their parents. But the pinnacle here was the title story itself. Ghosts Can Bleed – although a simple account of a protagonist who wanders through limbo – it is at its heart a bleeding metaphor: that in our own everyday lives and rituals we all feel the pull of being invisible.
With a light and breezy prose, this is Tracie McBride saying hello to the world. Stephen King likes to think of stories as fossils in the ground, and this is a collection that has all the earmarks of a writer just beginning to excavate an entire metropolis bursting at the seams with invention.
March 11, 2014
I received a free copy of this book as part of a competition that the publisher, Dark Continents, ran earlier in the year.
And I'm very glad that I did. I'm a big fan of the Speculative Fiction genre and, due to me being currently in the process of writing another book myself, I find that I increasingly only having time to read short fiction. Tracie McBride's collection was perfect for me, it fit into my hectic schedule and it offered many genuinely original and shocking story-lines. I lost count of the times that I got to the last paragraph and felt myself take a sharp intake of breath as the story twisted around and got me smack between the eyes.
Many of the stories hover around the size that I would normally identify with flash-fiction, but that doesn't take anything away from their content. As a some-time 'Flashtronaut' myself, I appreciate the difficulty of fitting an entire story, from Exposition to Resolution into a limited word-count - It is done with exemplary ease over and over again in this volume.
The one place where I think that I may have let the book down (not vice-versa) is that I'm not a great appreciator of poetry so I couldn't make full use of the prose that was interspersed between the stories, but that's definitely a failing of mine, and not the book.
Overall I found the book to be exceptionally well written, to the point where I examined the structure of the writing to see what made it so much better than my own...
It turns out that it's just because the author has a real surfeit of talent, no more, no less.
You should buy a copy now to keep on your nightstand for those windy evenings where the oak tree outside your window is scratching against the glass with the sound of a child's fingernails, you won't be disappointed.
And I'm very glad that I did. I'm a big fan of the Speculative Fiction genre and, due to me being currently in the process of writing another book myself, I find that I increasingly only having time to read short fiction. Tracie McBride's collection was perfect for me, it fit into my hectic schedule and it offered many genuinely original and shocking story-lines. I lost count of the times that I got to the last paragraph and felt myself take a sharp intake of breath as the story twisted around and got me smack between the eyes.
Many of the stories hover around the size that I would normally identify with flash-fiction, but that doesn't take anything away from their content. As a some-time 'Flashtronaut' myself, I appreciate the difficulty of fitting an entire story, from Exposition to Resolution into a limited word-count - It is done with exemplary ease over and over again in this volume.
The one place where I think that I may have let the book down (not vice-versa) is that I'm not a great appreciator of poetry so I couldn't make full use of the prose that was interspersed between the stories, but that's definitely a failing of mine, and not the book.
Overall I found the book to be exceptionally well written, to the point where I examined the structure of the writing to see what made it so much better than my own...
It turns out that it's just because the author has a real surfeit of talent, no more, no less.
You should buy a copy now to keep on your nightstand for those windy evenings where the oak tree outside your window is scratching against the glass with the sound of a child's fingernails, you won't be disappointed.
May 18, 2012
The true essence of dark speculative fiction.
I hesitated to give this a review for some time, because I'm part of the publishing firm that gave birth to this volume and I'm aware my review may not seem impartial.
However, as Dark Continents Publishing turns one year old I decided to revisit the collection I read last year with a view to reviewing it. I'm pleased to say I enjoyed this book even more the second time around. Make no mistake, this is a collection that will stand up to repeated readings and confirms the talent of this lady.
There are forty-one pieces of short fiction and poetry, so I won't try to review them all. Suffice to say that they explore all aspects of speculative fiction and cast a dark, sometimes twisted take on the worlds created, as well as a unique insight into our own world.
There is also a lot of dark humour within these pieces, sometimes revealed as a punchline - for example, the final line in the 21st century re-imagining of Dante's Inferno RUSH HOUR - and other times as blistering social satire. HOUSE ARREST is a great example of this.
Her contribution to the HORROR FOR GOOD anthology BAPTISM is here, which is one of the highlights of this collection, and competes with BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH, FRIDGE WARS, MARKED and TRADING UP for my favourite.
It's an eclectic mix, to be sure, and some readers may be put off by the moving between genres, but I'm certain everyone will find their own favourites in this unique collection from a true original.
I hesitated to give this a review for some time, because I'm part of the publishing firm that gave birth to this volume and I'm aware my review may not seem impartial.
However, as Dark Continents Publishing turns one year old I decided to revisit the collection I read last year with a view to reviewing it. I'm pleased to say I enjoyed this book even more the second time around. Make no mistake, this is a collection that will stand up to repeated readings and confirms the talent of this lady.
There are forty-one pieces of short fiction and poetry, so I won't try to review them all. Suffice to say that they explore all aspects of speculative fiction and cast a dark, sometimes twisted take on the worlds created, as well as a unique insight into our own world.
There is also a lot of dark humour within these pieces, sometimes revealed as a punchline - for example, the final line in the 21st century re-imagining of Dante's Inferno RUSH HOUR - and other times as blistering social satire. HOUSE ARREST is a great example of this.
Her contribution to the HORROR FOR GOOD anthology BAPTISM is here, which is one of the highlights of this collection, and competes with BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH, FRIDGE WARS, MARKED and TRADING UP for my favourite.
It's an eclectic mix, to be sure, and some readers may be put off by the moving between genres, but I'm certain everyone will find their own favourites in this unique collection from a true original.
September 20, 2011
Katharine is a judge for the Aurealis Awards. This review is the personal opinion of Katharine herself, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging coordinator or the Aurealis Awards management team.
To be safe, I won't be recording my review here until after the AA are over.
Though the cover put me off a little (shouldn't judge, yet it simply does sway you a little) I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this collection. I felt it was cohesive and a high level of consistently well written stories.
Though the cover put me off a little (shouldn't judge, yet it simply does sway you a little) I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this collection. I felt it was cohesive and a high level of consistently well written stories.
October 18, 2015
I rather enjoyed this book. Since I read on the metro there are a lot of short stories and poems where I didn't have to stop in the middle of one. the tone and tempo change as you move through the book always leading to something a little different from what you just read.
While I enjoy this type of book it isn't something that everyone will get into. If you want a major story plot that let's you escape from the real world you might want something else.
But if you want those snippets for your short reading periods with something that is a little creepy at times. This is it.
While I enjoy this type of book it isn't something that everyone will get into. If you want a major story plot that let's you escape from the real world you might want something else.
But if you want those snippets for your short reading periods with something that is a little creepy at times. This is it.
July 28, 2012
Ghosts Can Bleed is an artful blend of Sci-Fi, Horror and Fantasy in the form of short stories and poems (see synopsis for a more thorough breakdown). All I can think of to say is that I LOVED it! Tracie McBride provides a refreshing take on all three genres. Some of the short stores are actually very short, and it's a testament to Ms. McBride's writing style that I never felt a story ended too soon. I cannot recommend this book enough, and I can't wait to read more from Ms. McBride!
July 20, 2012
Well thought through, highly imaginative short stories, with strong storytelling elements. Misleadingly lumped under the horror genre. If you are waiting for the next Neil Gaiman, this will fill the hole.
November 14, 2014
Pretty darn good
5. stars the short stories wasn't boring they were about the right length. I especially liked the very short ones that ended oddly. thank yo
5. stars the short stories wasn't boring they were about the right length. I especially liked the very short ones that ended oddly. thank yo
November 5, 2025
Ghosts Can Bleed is a collection of dark stories and some poetry thrown in the mix. 42 tales. Some make you think, some make you smile (evilly), and there are a few in there that didn’t strike my fancy. Overall, this collection hits the awesome mark quite high.
My favorite tale is: Fridge Wars.
Baptism runs a close second.
All the stories are different from what you would expect, not traditional in the slightest, as there is a mix of fantasy, horror, and weird. More weird than the rest (like Fridge Wars).
Some books you just can’t help but like, and this is one of them. All the stories resonate with the reader, and you are quickly pulled into the world Tracie has created.
Not much can be said without giving anything away, but I did like the tid-bits of info at the top of some of the stories. These are always fun to read, especially how a story came about.
Get yourself a copy and you’ll be in for a heck of a ride.
My favorite tale is: Fridge Wars.
Baptism runs a close second.
All the stories are different from what you would expect, not traditional in the slightest, as there is a mix of fantasy, horror, and weird. More weird than the rest (like Fridge Wars).
Some books you just can’t help but like, and this is one of them. All the stories resonate with the reader, and you are quickly pulled into the world Tracie has created.
Not much can be said without giving anything away, but I did like the tid-bits of info at the top of some of the stories. These are always fun to read, especially how a story came about.
Get yourself a copy and you’ll be in for a heck of a ride.
August 30, 2011
Ghosts Can Bleed is an eclectic collection of short stories and poems, in fantasy, horror and sf genres, by New Zealander, Tracie McBride. The titular story is about a chap called Maurice, who believes he is dead and is trying to convince his wife of this fact but all is not as it seems. The opening story, Last Chance to See is about a recently deceased woman that has been brought back temporarily through an avatar programme so that she can say good-bye to her loved ones, but instead is exposed to
what actually goes on at a wake . . . gossip, back-biting and the skin-deep sympathy of people who are just there to fight over your belongings. My favourite story is about a guy who is helping the men of his local community vent their violent tendencies by exploiting his genetic mutation of rapid healing and the ability to transmute the pain a normal person would suffer. A nosy barmaid learns the hard way to keep her nose out of other people’s business.
The stories are often macabre and the humour is as black as it comes, but each one reveals a different aspect of the human condition and each plays on the idea of mortality and how different people respond to it. Yet, each story is unique and has a different feel to it. If I was to compare it to anything, it would be to the TV series, The Outer Limit.
The writing is solid and expressive and the descriptions never feel forced or overworked. It was difficult to see what the connection was between all the different stories and poems until I had finished the book and had time to reflect on its themes for a few days. This isn’t my normal kind of reading material and yet I never felt bored or tempted to skip a story. This is good reading for when you’re on the bus or train, or sitting on a bench waiting for one to arrive or for your turn with the shrink
what actually goes on at a wake . . . gossip, back-biting and the skin-deep sympathy of people who are just there to fight over your belongings. My favourite story is about a guy who is helping the men of his local community vent their violent tendencies by exploiting his genetic mutation of rapid healing and the ability to transmute the pain a normal person would suffer. A nosy barmaid learns the hard way to keep her nose out of other people’s business.
The stories are often macabre and the humour is as black as it comes, but each one reveals a different aspect of the human condition and each plays on the idea of mortality and how different people respond to it. Yet, each story is unique and has a different feel to it. If I was to compare it to anything, it would be to the TV series, The Outer Limit.
The writing is solid and expressive and the descriptions never feel forced or overworked. It was difficult to see what the connection was between all the different stories and poems until I had finished the book and had time to reflect on its themes for a few days. This isn’t my normal kind of reading material and yet I never felt bored or tempted to skip a story. This is good reading for when you’re on the bus or train, or sitting on a bench waiting for one to arrive or for your turn with the shrink
April 20, 2021
I couldnt finish this book so I dont think it is fair to rate it. It was the first short story book of this type, science fiction/horror,that I have read and it just didnt appeal to me. The stories were good enough but not riveting and exciting enough for me to want to keep reading. The poems werent really my kind of thing either.
I got this book through a goodreads giveaway.
I got this book through a goodreads giveaway.
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