Modern Gothic

by Michael Bird, Pete Hartley, Edward Karshner

In haunting tales that test and explore the potential of the gothic genre, embark on a chilling journey through nightmarish tales. Within the depths of these disturbing worlds are journalists and magicians, lovers and killers, priests and demons: our cast of uncanny characters with deeply complex fears and desires. Encounter landlords with sinister requests, ethereal housemates, and a glass-encased jungle built by an eccentric father. Blurring the lines between dreams and reality, these gothic stories weave a tapestry of macabre encounters and festering secrets.

Genres: Short Stories, Horror, Gothic, Anthologies

200 pages, Paperback

Published October 11, 2024

Reviews

[Aurora · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Rot" was incredible. It brought to mind The Last Of Us, Annihilation, Julia Armfield's Our Wives Under The Sea, while at the same time being its own kind of thing, all the way up there to the top. 10/10

"A Respectable Tenancy" was weird as hell but also I could kiiiind of see it, with the rental market being so fucked in general.

The rest of the stories did not grab my attention.

[Brooke Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic collection of stories that were all very accessibly gothic, the cover is also gorgeous!

Modern Gothic is a tour de force of short horror fiction. Sometimes gruesome and always uncomfortable this collection will disquite any reader, it’s perfect for fans of the weird.

I loved that there seemed to be a theme of the home/living space running throughout the anthology, my particular favourite being ‘A Respectable Tenancy’.

Great stuff, I’m excited to read more from @ Fly on the wall press.

[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every story in this collection haunts and challenges you in its own distinctive way. Yet each story is intertwined by the struggle between the allure of dreams and the decay of reality under the weight of a capitalist world.

A Glass House for Esther - Michael Bird
I never thought the idea of a conservatory zoo would freak me out so much but flipping heck it did. It really plays at the ridiculousness and egotism of the upper class, assuming they can own and control everything, even nature.

Livid - Pete Hartley
This is such a tangible portrayal of what it means to be haunted. The whole atmosphere was so eerily beautiful and it constantly drifted between wakefulness and dreaming.

Dark Water - Edward Karshner
This was a really intriguing take on morality and how much trust we can put in figures of authority. I found the part about the memory of water especially interesting.

A Respectable Tenancy - Rose Biggin
I found this one hard to put down! It puts a gothic spin on the desperate state of the rental market and the power of landlords. It gives a metaphorical (hopefully!) indication of how much people sacrifice.

The Rot - Lauren Archer
I loved the contrast of the narrator's architectural dreams and her growing rot in her flat. It really emulated just decaying away and going through the motions while you wait for life to restart.

The City Where One Finds The Lost - Lerah Mae Barcenilla
This one was just so beautifully written. I loved the Phillipine myth and folklore woven throughout. It shocked me, haunted me and broke my heart.

[Chiara Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect collection of short gothic stories that will make you feel like waking up from a nightmarish dream, soaked in sweat, wondering who’s the figure standing at the bottom of your bed and why you’re suddenly in a dark mansion in Victorian England!

This collection is what’s defined as “quiet horror” where there’s no jump scares or overly disturbing scenes (depending on the level of horror you’re used to of course), but it’s the horror that gets into your skin sentence by sentence, so much so that by the end of it you experience what the characters are going through, leaving a sort of disquiet inside.

All stories are so original, but all perfectly convey that gothic atmosphere, scary and attractive at the same time, with such beautiful and evocative writing styles. I was amazed by some of the stories that without a clear ending, still managed to make so much sense, feeling like they carried on in the reader’s mind, continuing their foreboding journey.

I honestly can’t pick a favourite because each one of them is so different with a unique voice that it wouldn’t be fair to choose. As I finished reading this as we enter spooky season, this is the perfect collection for those damp and dark days where every shadow sends a chill down your spine.

Thanks to the authors and Fly on The Wall Press for the copy and this is my honest review.

[Thebooktrail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Discover the locations in the novel here


Well, that cover is gorgeous for starters. Creepily so.

Modern Gothic does what it says on the tin. It's full of gothic horror. The tales vary in gruesomeness but there are some dark scenes that will linger for some time in my mind.

There's lots to enjoy here- from the weird and wonderful to the downright bizarre. And the horror thread is woven throughout, tightening and tightening as you read, ready to strangle you with gothic gorgeousness.

The stories seemed to be linked by the idea of what is home where people live, how they live etc and that was an unexpected but nice surprise.

I loved A Glass House for Esther. Apt given it was about caged animals, the author is one Michael Bird. I will never see any kind of zoo or animal park in the same way again.

In The City Where One Finds The Lost , I was drawn into Philippine myth and folklore. A treat in store. A dark, scary treat but still ;)

[Rue Baldry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of six well-written, beautifully structured, gothic tales in the style of Poe, all written recently, some set in the Victorian era, some in the twentieth century, and one in current times.

Four of them centre round houses, which is an interesting indication of the ways in which our surroundings haunt us, and we them. Some feature subtle but undeniable supernatural elements, others just hint at a darkness under the surface of reality. All of them take place in the minds of their narrators as well as in the tangible world.

Each story has its own lilting rhythm, leaves its own disturbing taste, but they work together very well. Young women take important roles in all of them, but such different young women: a spoilt heiress, a stage contortionist, a lonely admin assistant, a wise woman in Appalachia, a Filipino schoolgirl, and a Victorian middle class mother.

I have been carrying this book in my handbag, enjoying the stories in cafes, each its own perfect world to get lost in.

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The shafts, beams, arcs and shadows are always blue. It is my constant environment. It deepens and thins, but is always there. It could be a cathedral. It is a cave. A cave without end. Labyrinthine, spherical, intestinal, interminable.

We got this anthology of horror stories as part of a launch event for the book which involves readings from three of the authors.

It was a very low key event and the authors were relatively unknown, some being up and coming new talent and others being veterans of other fields.

The stories have a raw edge befitting the genre but most left me feeling flat. The standout story was 'Rot' by Lauren Archer

Overall a little disappointing but I will be keeping an eye on the career of a couple of the authors. 3 stars.

[Julie Round · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book of short stories is a Pandora's box of mystery, futility and decay. The Gothic theme is translated differently by the individual authors so that each story has a different style and different approach but an underlying unity in the desire to shock and disturb, from the Poe-like " The Glass House for Esther " to the very modern "Rot."
Don't feel tempted to read them all at once - they deserve to be savoured separately.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

See full review here: https://www.instagram.com/p/C99rpP_A7...

[Emma Laureano · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Kit · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really strong anthology of horror short stories playing on a gothic theme. I didn't dislike a single one of the six stories in this volume, which is quite a feat.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edgar Allen Poe would be proud of these stories I think 🐦‍⬛

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good short story.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

i loved two of the short stories but wasn’t as interested in the other two, they were well written and it was a quick read, the kind of read where you struggle to put the book down and I can’t wait to look into other works by the authors