Eulogies II: Tales from the Cellar

by Christopher Jones (Editor), Nanci Kalanta (Editor), Tony Tremblay (Editor)

Shakespeare said, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." The contributors to Eulogies II seem to be saying, "All the world’s a cellar, and one only need pull open the bulkhead doors to catch a whiff of the stench, or to walk down the damp, crumbling concrete steps to brave an encounter with what creeps, crawls, or festers in the darkness." In most cultures, hell is known as a place underneath, down below, in the dark where it is either unbearably hot or unbearably cold, where terrible circumstances overwhelm or even destroy those who wander there. Hell is the ultimate cellar. So it's no wonder the idea of going down stirs up such a sense of dread. And our life experience is filled with cellars.

Cellars of place. Cellars of time. Cellars of circumstance. They can all hold dark, horrifying, and unseemly secrets.

—From the Introduction by Elizabeth Massie

Genres: Horror, Anthologies

375 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 7, 2013

About the author

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Reviews

[Mandy DeGeit · Rating 5 out of 5]

At 371 pages, Eulogies II (edited by Christopher Jones, Nanci Kalanta and Tony Tremblay), is a hefty tome. However, buried within it’s pages are amazing stories that will keep you reading right until the very end. *(I did receive my copy awhile ago, but I lost the book halfway through reading it, to my boyfriend who suffers from intermittent insomnia. He started it one night and was hooked, so I let him finish it before I took it back for myself.)

The stories in the anthology cover a wide variety of themes, from monsters who come out at night to the darkness that resides inside humans.

While all the stories in the anthology were well-written and entertaining, here are some of the stories that I feel deserve extra mention:

Spare the rod by Lucy A. Snyder: Jake and his brother Sam have a discussion over beers about child rearing and how to deal with a child who isn’t growing up the way he should.

A Serving of Nomu Sashimi by Eric J. Guignard: Terry works hard, but no matter what he always seems to fall short of top sales reps. When he’s invited out for dinner with the others, he realizes their success is reliant on far more than just hard work.

Chiyoung and Dongsun’s Song by T.T. Zuma: Written like a Chinese folklore tale, this story teaches us a lesson in acceptance as we follow the love struck Dongsun in his attempt to court the beautiful Chiyoung.

The Bore by John McIlveen: Munroe Dolan is the world’s most boring person… or so he thinks.

The Second Carriage by Jonathan Templar: When Danny comes across a train set in the attic, he realizes he has found much more than just a toy.

The Cat in the Cage by Nicole Cushing: Pets are supposed to alleviate stress, but as Sheila realizes, sometimes they can also be the cause of it.

Mister Whisper by James A. Moore: Four escaped convicts steal a car from a household and end up tangling with something they never expected.

The Miracle Material by Abra Staffin-Wiebe: A new material is found from the depths of the ocean. Humanity uses it for their needs, but this material comes with a cost…

Over all, Eulogies II – Tales From The Cellar was a great read which I’d suggest to anyone who loves short stories and horror.

I highly recomMandy it.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. The Thing....Tom Piccirilli **
2. What Was Once Bone - Gary Braunbeck *****
3. Spare the Rod - Lucy Snyder **
4. Born Again - Michael Boatman ****
5. A Serving of Nomu Sashimi - Eric Guignard *****
6. Latchkey Child - V.M. Zito **
7. By the Throat - Wesley Southard ***
8. Loneliness Makes the Loudest Noise - Monica O'Rourke ****
9. Footnotes - Magda Knight ***
10. Chuck - Eric Dimbleby *****
11. Chiyong and Dongsun's Song - T.T. Zuma ***
12. On the Hooks - Keith Minnion ****
13. Jasmine abd Opium - Rebecca L. Brown ****
14. The Bore - John McIveen ***
15. Poem
16. Poem
17. Ghosts of the Sun - Arthur Crow *
18. Dissolution - Sean Logan *****
19. Touch - Gerald Houarner *****
20. Neck Bolt Lynch Pin - Steve Vernon ***
21. Puttyskin - Malcolm Laughton *****
22. The Second Carriage - Jonathan Templar ****
23. Song in Absentia - Janet Joyce Holden *****
24. Meepy - Brent Jenkens ****
25. The Black Father of the Night - David Schembri *****
26. Murialistic - Matthew Warner **
27. Awaiting Redemption - Maurice Broaddus ****
28. The Cat in the Cage - Nicole Cushing ****
29. A Mean Peace of Water - Mary Madewell *****
30. Litty - Gary McMahon ***
31. Mister Whisper - James A. Moore *****
32. Writer's Block - Thad Linson ****
33. The Miracle Material - Abra Staffin-Wiebe ****
34. The Lilac Hedge - Rose Blackthorn ****

average 3.78 stars out of 5

[Kurt Criscione · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a little biased as I personally know most of the writers in this anthos... but that said there are some amazing stories in this book.

[Doungjai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great anthology put together by the team of Jones, Kalanta and Tremblay. Too many great pieces to go over individually, but some of the standouts for me were:

Chiyoung and Dongsun's Song, TT Zuma
The Bore, John McIlveen
A Mean Piece of Water, Mary Madewell
Mister Whisper, James A Moore
Writer's Block, Thad Linson
The Miracle Material, Abra Staffin-Wiebe
The Lilac Hedge, Rose Blackthorn

My hands-down favorite story in here was Loneliness Makes the Loudest Noise by Monica J O'Rourke. That story is going to stick with me for a long time.

Highly recommended.

[Angie Lisle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-edited and every story is well-written. All of the stories have a horror angle, but collectively, they evoke many emotions, including dark humor.

[Jackie Primo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of really good creepy stories...I highly recommend it.

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creepy & disturbing.

[Fatman · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mixed bag of stories. I liked these ones best:

"A Serving of Nomu Sashimi" - Eric J. Guignard

"Meepy" - Brent Jenkins

"Mister Whisper" - James A. Moore

[Wayne's · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fair collection but not many gems and no real writers that leapt out.