Hideous Faces, Beautiful Skulls

by Mark McLaughlin

Mark McLaughlin's darkest tales of the bizarre have been compiled in HIDEOUS FACES, BEAUTIFUL SKULLS from Wildside Press. Impossible love is a major theme in this collection: relationships that should not be, and yet they happen because these strong attractions cannot be denied.

In “Adroitly Wrapped,” the shape-shifting witch Athena Moth tries to help a friend to fulfill his need for love … but what about her own needs? “Eye Dew” explores the institution of marriage and how it changes the participants, and so often, not for the better. “You Shall Have This Delicacy” tells of a magical woman who can have any lover she desires, yet she wants only one: someone who has been taken from her in a fashion that most would consider irreversible. “ascloseasthis” is about a wildly unlikely pair … their sexual orientations don’t even match. But the lovers learn to change – in startling ways. “Claws of the Internet Witches” and “Prince of the Dark Green Sea” both concern supernatural creatures longing for love … and really, don’t all living things deserve love? Even monsters?

Those are just a few of the stories in HIDEOUS FACES, BEAUTIFUL SKULLS, available as a trade paperback or as a Kindle download.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories

214 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

MARK McLAUGHLIN is a Stoker Award-winner whose many works include:
The Doomsday Thaw ..... Injectables
Crushed Velvet .... Embrace of the Internet Witch
The Weird World of Mark McLaughlin MEGAPACK®
The Wrath of Nyarlathotep ... Weird Worship
Horrors & Abominations .... Nightmares & Tentacles
Urban Monsters .... Dimension Of Monsters
The House Of The Ocelot & More Lovecraftian Nightmares
Human Doll: A Novel ... The Hell Next Door: A Novel
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Reviews

[Jason Allen]

A career-spanning, epic collection from one of the most original voices in horror. Mark McLaughlin, with Hideous Faces, Beautiful Skulls, has truly given a gift to the horror community, and injected it with his own original brand of psychedelic delirium, and thoughtful mayhem.
These stories run the gamut from terrifying, philosophical, heartfelt, introspective, to downright fun, and each one unique from the other, and unforgettable.
The collection kicks off with 'Adroitly Wrapped', a spooky tale fat with adolescent lust, and a fairy tale-feel, and from there the mayhem ensues...Standouts for me were: Soft Bones with its Kafkaesque-vibe, What the Nervous Old Lady On the Bus had to Say caught me off gaurd with its very human horror, and sincerity. Then Eye Dew with its metaphysical twist ending reminded me of Burroughs's hands at Weird Fiction(for example his piece Wind Die...), then the Lovecraft influence of Why the Cathartoleptic Approach... dealing with mutation, and degenerative disease.
Cut into this book anywhere, and you'll be entertained.
McLaughlin is truly a legend, a master storyteller, and gift to the Weird.
BUY THIS BOOK.

[Mark McLaughlin]

This is the Kindle edition of my new story collection, HIDEOUS FACES, BEAUTIFUL SKULLS. This collection features 30 tales of horror and the bizarre, with an abundance of monsters.

[Ben Eads]

Hideous Faces, Beautiful Skulls is a powerful collection of short stories that span the author’s twenty year career. Infused in each gem is a voice that is unique and diverse. A by-product of an imagination that takes the reader to horrific and bizarre places. Add his trademark wit and humor, and stir vigorously. There truly is something in here for everyone, and every story stands out like a diamond against a midnight sky. My favorites were:

Adroitly Wrapped: A truly horrifying story of that special age of puberty, and the costs of following your hormones. Careful what you wish for…

Largesse: “Mr. Pash, Mr. Pash. Could anyone be more wonderful than Mr. Pash?” No…no one can be. And that’s a good thing. Here, we see McLaughlin’s imagination—and what makes him stand out from the crowd—in full effect. If you do happen to enter Mr. Pash’s Video Rental Center, remember, it’s kind to rewind.

The Final Broadcast Of Sugarville’s Channel 7 Action News: Will have your sides bursting from laughter as you watch Sugarville’s finest reporters face an apocalyptic threat, which takes a back-seat to their own petty problems. Only on a slow news day…

Hungry For Faces: A simple man tracks down a very eccentric person to help him make someone disappear. But once you scratch that itch…

Soft Bones: A Kafka-esque story that plums the depths of jealousy and desperation. Mix in a little magic with will-power and anything is possible. Poor Jacob. He just can’t get a break. But when he does…

Eye Dew: A hilarious yarn sprinkled with a little J. G. Ballard. Marriage can be a bitch sometimes. So demanding! But is reality truly what we see?

Why The Cathartoleptic Approach Is Now Looked Upon With Disfavor: Did you know that cows kill more people every year than sharks? Peter knows this all too well. So does his doctor, Dr. Matapathamos. At turns horrific, yet sublimely hilarious, McLaughlin’s unique and sordid imagination flexes its muscles again.

Diagnoses And Treatment Of Ocular Parasitism And Associated Mental Disorders: Eye-worms are a not fun! But Dr. Seldag has a cure. Using an esoteric manual, Dr. Seldag waits for the moon to come out, because that’s when you can see them—when they glow. The author moves from horror to sheer terror that will make you squirm just like the worms. Hold still, now. Don’t move. ‘Cause if you do…

The Last Poetry Night At The Saturnalia Coffee House: A heart-warming—and wrenching—tale of young love and the curiosity that comes with it. Everyone has something hidden in their closet or attic. What would you accept to be with The One who completes you?

McLaughlin is a living, breathing encyclopedia of horror and the bizarre. This collection captures every facet of these genres, always presenting the reader with something new, refined.

McLaughlin’s fiction is a must-read for anyone looking for a fresh and unique twist on horror and the bizarre. He truly has created a genre of his own. And that’s the highest compliment I can give. If you want a breath of fresh air or your imagination cranked to 11—brace for impact! He’s got what you need.

[Colleen Wanglund]

Hideous Faces, Beautiful Skulls is a wonderful collection of horror and the bizarre that spans the author’s career of original and compelling storytelling.
Among my favorites are “The Final Broadcast of Sugarville’s Channel 7 Action News”, an entertaining take on Global Warming and the destruction of the planet told in its entirety through the station’s final news broadcast; “Drool Tool: The Meltdown Mix” about a band’s weird music that has a catastrophic effect on the people who hear it; “Agatha Says” about the weird changes taking place at a nursing home recently bought by an eccentric resident; “Claws of the Internet Witches” that follows the internet chatroom of a coven of witches out to destroy humanity; and “Soft Bones” about a young man with a debilitating disease and how one woman tries to help him.
There isn’t a bad story in the collection. McLaughlin’s style of writing is weird, quirky, and at times squirm-inducing, making for some very entertaining stories. What I really like about McLaughlin’s writing is his ability to inject dry humor into even the most horrific of tales. If you like your horror weird, bizarre, and funny, then Hideous Faces, Beautiful Faces is right up your alley.

[Jonathan]

In Hideous Faces, Beautiful Skulls, by Mark McLaughlin, the author once again brings his charming mix of humor, campy horror, and fun. In these 30* tales, you will find stories about mannequins, insects, dinner parties gone a bit awry, a news team's close up coverage of an in studio alien attack, and much much more. Mark has a definite knack for bizarre. Sometimes I couldn’t tell if the tales were tongue-in-cheek or meant to be serious, but either way they work great. If you’ve read Beach Blanket Zombie, a previous work by the author, then you kind of know what you are getting into. I found Hideous Faces, Beautiful Skulls to be even better. I read the book slowly, a tale at a time, while reading other novels in between. I liked to sit back and digest each one for a bit. The tales inspired all kinds of different feelings. Most were creepy, but mix in humor with some, yuck with others, silliness, terror, and quite often a good chuckle. The author has a signature style of writing, but you just never know what the next story was going to be about and I love that. Highly recommend.

[Michael Jr]

I found this book to be scary and spine tingling. Plus I had to read the book with the lights on. Some stories were funny in a darkly humorous way. Now I recommend all you readers out there to read this book and enjoy it.

[Jennifer-Eve Workman]

I won this through Goodreads First Reads Giveaway.

[Peace Aninah]

This collection is a wonderfully dark and strange exploration of love, obsession, and the bizarre. The stories are imaginative, unsettling, and often surprisingly emotional, showing that even supernatural creatures and impossible relationships can have very human desires. Mark McLaughlin has a knack for creating concepts that stick with you long after the story ends. If you enjoy horror with a twisted, unconventional edge and stories that blur the line between the grotesque and the beautiful, this collection is well worth reading. A memorable and genuinely entertaining collection of bizarre tales.

[Ben Brackett]

Depending on your taste, the cover of this book is exactly representative of how good it is, or the exact opposite. There is no in-between.