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Now It's Dark
“Have I not always loved terrible things?” – “The Seventh Wave”
A student’s research into an obscure pulp writer takes on increasingly sinister tones; three friends reunite to fight an evil they thought they’d escaped decades earlier; a woman in a seemingly perfect marriage finds herself haunted by the mysterious absences in her memories of their life together.
In her third collection, Lynda E. Rucker reminds us that mystery lurks even in the most banal settings—a British holiday park, a Moldovan tower block, a stretch of industrial wasteland—but as these ten stories reveal, there can also remain a dreadful beauty amidst the horror.
A student’s research into an obscure pulp writer takes on increasingly sinister tones; three friends reunite to fight an evil they thought they’d escaped decades earlier; a woman in a seemingly perfect marriage finds herself haunted by the mysterious absences in her memories of their life together.
In her third collection, Lynda E. Rucker reminds us that mystery lurks even in the most banal settings—a British holiday park, a Moldovan tower block, a stretch of industrial wasteland—but as these ten stories reveal, there can also remain a dreadful beauty amidst the horror.
- GenresShort StoriesHorror
244 pages, Paperback
Published June 30, 2024
2 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
About the author
Lynda E. Rucker
99 books47 followersMy short stories have appeared or will appear in such places as The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror, The Best Horror of the Year, The Year’s Best Weird Fiction, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Black Static, Postscripts, Nightmare Magazine, and Supernatural Tales. (Full fiction bibliography here.) I also write a regular column on horror for Black Static. My first collection of short fiction, The Moon Will Look Strange, was published in 2013 by Karōshi Books. I wrote a short horror play, “#goddess,” that was presented as part of a horror anthology play, “The Ghost Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore” and ran from March 7-19, 2016 at the Tristan Bates Theatre in London. I won a 2015 Shirley Jackson Award for Best Short Story for my story “The Dying Season,” which appeared in Aickman’s Heirs. My new collection, You’ll Know When You Get There, is available now from Swan River Press.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 1, 2025
I first encountered Lynda E. Rucker's work in such magazines (remember those?) as
The Third Alternative
,
Shadows and Tall Trees
, and
Nightmare Magazine
. I've always admired her work, but I've read it intermittently, in sparse doses. The wonder about short story collections is that a reader can encounter stories by the same author, one after another. Sometimes this is disconcerting - quality is varied, voices change so dramatically as to be jarring, the same themes are done to death - but the best collections show just enough of the author's range of voices and themes, all at high quality, to introduce the reader not just to a new world, but to new worlds.
The worlds that Rucker takes us to in Now It's Dark are, well, dark. Not gory, not reliant on jump-scares, but more than just weird. At times, her work is creepy, emotionally gut-wrenching, or shocking, and sometimes (as in the last story of this volume) all three at once. Let's explore each story, in turn.
"The Dying Season" is composed (with a deft authorial hand) of a series of mis-steps by a fragile, emotionally-shaky woman who is on a supposed vacation in an off-season resort. This is not a fairytale but a tale of dark fairy that leaves one befuddled and even less sure of one's place in the world, like a psychogeographic black blot on the map, where being found is being lost. An unsettling tale.
"The Seance" was first published in Uncertainties, volume 1 and I can . . . certainly . . . see why. It's the vagaries peeking around corners, not the jump scare or obvious gore, where the real terror lies. Or does it? Just when you think you know something or, worse yet, someone, another angle reveals a hint of things you really don't want to see clearly. But you're the curious type, aren't you? Careful! You don't want to peek! But Rucker forces the issue and you are helpless and wide-eyed.
Rucker captures liminality in a bottle in "The Other Side". It's not a horrific tale, far from it, though the weird element might be considered horrific by some. Dark? Yes. But this was a somber contemplative piece drenched in sadness. Reflective and vaguely hopeful at the same time. Not only is liminality the subject of the story, but Rucker has captured the feel and mood of the liminal. Outstanding!
Egaeus Press's anthology A Soliloquy for Pan recently went through it's second printing and, once again, I missed my chance to get a copy. If Rucker's "The Secret Woods" is representative of the quality of the other stories in that volume, I have lost out on a treasure. It evoked in me both a deep emotional response and intellectual resonance. It's a gem in Rucker's crown.
I needed to sit with "Knots" for a while. It's a story about control and abuse, but there's a supernatural thread passing throughout that takes it firmly into the territory of the weird. It's heartbreaking, though, to think of those in abusive relationships that can't or won't get out. What are the knots that tie them to the situation? Mental illness? Emotional immaturity? Or something much more sinister than that? If you like to feel helpless, this is the story for you. And therein lies the horror: the horror of co-dependence.
Another story in the register of Aickman, "The Vestige" tracks a hapless traveler who has lost his passport, phone, and money. A traveling worst nightmare scenario. I've been in a similar situation when I last travelled to the UK and, on my way back, was detained in Heathrow Airport and had to give up my passport to authorities for reasons that were not clear to me then, but are now. I'll spare you the details of what is a very long story, but suffice it to say that I (and several others) were on Homeland Security's list for extra vetting and the first thing they did was confiscate our passports. Of course, that is a terrifying thing, but it's not the terror of the loss or fear of being a stranger in a strange land that affect the reader. These are sharp elements in the story, but it's the mystery of a past that might not have been and a present that also might not be that create the most emotional dissonance in this tale.
The next story was written for the anthology Gothic Lovecraft . There's just enough Lovecraft in "The Unknown Chambers" to call the story Lovecraftian. "Deep Ones" are mentioned once, as is Lovecraft himself. If you're familiar with the mythos, you'll figure out what's happening or going to happen early on. If not, then this might be a good introduction to Lovecraftiana not from the man himself. Disconcerting and stultifying, it's a good mythos tale, but not spectacular.
I suspected the final conceit of "So Much Wine" about three-quarters of the way through. The obtuse narrative could only lead to one conclusion, in the end. I was right. But I still love this story, not because of the way it concludes, but because the writing throughout devoured my attention, pulling it away from the fact that I already knew what was coming. The journey is more important than the destination.
"An Element of Blank" presents a coming-of-age story of three girls, now women, who experienced something - though it's never quite clear how fully - which may have been a demonic possession, those many years ago. Now, the possessor is back and the girls are wiser and braver than . . . what, exactly? Memory is a fickle mistress and cannot be trusted. And, yet, it must. But trauma, while it cannot erase the past, can redact it.
"The Seventh Wave" finishes this volume with, dare I say it? A splash. At turns, deeply sad, empathetic, and desperate, this story ends on a high note of pure terror. Possibly the most effective story in the volume, the voice of the narrator is strong, not in intensity, but in its depth. And the story will push and pull at your heartstrings until they're about to break until the inevitable, yet shocking end. I cannot recommend this story strongly enough.
And I cannot recommend this collection strongly enough. The physical object, as with all Swan River titles, is crisp and engaging. It might sound silly, but I love their size, the way they feel in the hand. The cover art for this volume is a painting by the amazing
The worlds that Rucker takes us to in Now It's Dark are, well, dark. Not gory, not reliant on jump-scares, but more than just weird. At times, her work is creepy, emotionally gut-wrenching, or shocking, and sometimes (as in the last story of this volume) all three at once. Let's explore each story, in turn.
"The Dying Season" is composed (with a deft authorial hand) of a series of mis-steps by a fragile, emotionally-shaky woman who is on a supposed vacation in an off-season resort. This is not a fairytale but a tale of dark fairy that leaves one befuddled and even less sure of one's place in the world, like a psychogeographic black blot on the map, where being found is being lost. An unsettling tale.
"The Seance" was first published in Uncertainties, volume 1 and I can . . . certainly . . . see why. It's the vagaries peeking around corners, not the jump scare or obvious gore, where the real terror lies. Or does it? Just when you think you know something or, worse yet, someone, another angle reveals a hint of things you really don't want to see clearly. But you're the curious type, aren't you? Careful! You don't want to peek! But Rucker forces the issue and you are helpless and wide-eyed.
Rucker captures liminality in a bottle in "The Other Side". It's not a horrific tale, far from it, though the weird element might be considered horrific by some. Dark? Yes. But this was a somber contemplative piece drenched in sadness. Reflective and vaguely hopeful at the same time. Not only is liminality the subject of the story, but Rucker has captured the feel and mood of the liminal. Outstanding!
Egaeus Press's anthology A Soliloquy for Pan recently went through it's second printing and, once again, I missed my chance to get a copy. If Rucker's "The Secret Woods" is representative of the quality of the other stories in that volume, I have lost out on a treasure. It evoked in me both a deep emotional response and intellectual resonance. It's a gem in Rucker's crown.
I needed to sit with "Knots" for a while. It's a story about control and abuse, but there's a supernatural thread passing throughout that takes it firmly into the territory of the weird. It's heartbreaking, though, to think of those in abusive relationships that can't or won't get out. What are the knots that tie them to the situation? Mental illness? Emotional immaturity? Or something much more sinister than that? If you like to feel helpless, this is the story for you. And therein lies the horror: the horror of co-dependence.
Another story in the register of Aickman, "The Vestige" tracks a hapless traveler who has lost his passport, phone, and money. A traveling worst nightmare scenario. I've been in a similar situation when I last travelled to the UK and, on my way back, was detained in Heathrow Airport and had to give up my passport to authorities for reasons that were not clear to me then, but are now. I'll spare you the details of what is a very long story, but suffice it to say that I (and several others) were on Homeland Security's list for extra vetting and the first thing they did was confiscate our passports. Of course, that is a terrifying thing, but it's not the terror of the loss or fear of being a stranger in a strange land that affect the reader. These are sharp elements in the story, but it's the mystery of a past that might not have been and a present that also might not be that create the most emotional dissonance in this tale.
The next story was written for the anthology Gothic Lovecraft . There's just enough Lovecraft in "The Unknown Chambers" to call the story Lovecraftian. "Deep Ones" are mentioned once, as is Lovecraft himself. If you're familiar with the mythos, you'll figure out what's happening or going to happen early on. If not, then this might be a good introduction to Lovecraftiana not from the man himself. Disconcerting and stultifying, it's a good mythos tale, but not spectacular.
I suspected the final conceit of "So Much Wine" about three-quarters of the way through. The obtuse narrative could only lead to one conclusion, in the end. I was right. But I still love this story, not because of the way it concludes, but because the writing throughout devoured my attention, pulling it away from the fact that I already knew what was coming. The journey is more important than the destination.
"An Element of Blank" presents a coming-of-age story of three girls, now women, who experienced something - though it's never quite clear how fully - which may have been a demonic possession, those many years ago. Now, the possessor is back and the girls are wiser and braver than . . . what, exactly? Memory is a fickle mistress and cannot be trusted. And, yet, it must. But trauma, while it cannot erase the past, can redact it.
"The Seventh Wave" finishes this volume with, dare I say it? A splash. At turns, deeply sad, empathetic, and desperate, this story ends on a high note of pure terror. Possibly the most effective story in the volume, the voice of the narrator is strong, not in intensity, but in its depth. And the story will push and pull at your heartstrings until they're about to break until the inevitable, yet shocking end. I cannot recommend this story strongly enough.
And I cannot recommend this collection strongly enough. The physical object, as with all Swan River titles, is crisp and engaging. It might sound silly, but I love their size, the way they feel in the hand. The cover art for this volume is a painting by the amazing
July 13, 2025
All excellent strange creepy tales mostly centered around obbsession. My favorite was The unknown chambers which focused on an obsession of the main character trying to uncover the history of an unknown author. The ending of this one in particular creeped me out (although as with most of the stories in this book there was no explanations which is something I like in strange and weird fiction).
October 12, 2025
I finished reading this after Eastercon in April and have only now realized that I hadn't put it on the "read" pile here. Have picked up three of Rucker's short story collections at conventions over the years, and ALL of them felt like miraculous finds--unsettling and Shirley Jackson good.
December 1, 2023
In the ten stories collected in 'Now It’s Dark', author Lynda Rucker uses the tools of dark imaginative fiction to explore the secret corners of what it means to be human. Without resorting to the usual tropes of supernatural/horror stories––no ghosts, no vampires, no demons or serial killers––Rucker puts the focus on fear itself, the many varieties and colors of fear, and the unexpected settings where it can rear its head.
Like Robert Aickman, Rucker is a master at creating a palpable atmosphere of unease that can arise from the simplest sights and objects––the skyline of a city glimpsed from a moving train, a seedy cafe, even a badly made cup of tea. Her stories also contain frightening eruptions when the surface-appearances of things fracture and something terrible emerges––the young girl nearly struck by lightning in ‘The Secret Woods’ at the moment when her parents are killed, the bland and passionless husband in ‘The Seventh Wave’ unexpectedly revealing the horrific malevolence inside of him.
While Rucker’s stories are in most ways anything but “Poe-like”, she does share with Poe the powerful ability to create characters who are so out of touch with some troubled part of their psyche that they find themselves acting in ways they barely understand––although in stories like ‘The Dying Season’, ‘Knots’, and the masterful ‘The Seventh Wave’, that hidden or denied self that suddenly takes over and acts seems to do so mostly out of self-preservation. The women in these stories leave their partners, or fail to leave. Leaving, Rucker seems to tell us, is terrifying. And that terror comes not from the threat of physical violence (although there is some of that), but from loss of identity, the threat of the unknown.
Of course, one of the great pleasures of reading this book is Rucker’s prose. Straightforward and clear as crystal, it’s capable of catching you unawares with sudden, strong bursts of lyrical beauty that can take your breath away––only Graham Greene, I think, does this better. And while Robert Aickman and Shirley Jackson may be the two great genre writers Rucker’s work seems most inspired by, I do believe her characters share with Greene’s the strong feeling of an outsider cautiously navigating a seemingly placid social scene, constantly aware of hidden dangers while trying not to give themselves away.
On a personal note––I brought home Rucker’s book with several other story collections, intending to “switch around” and read a story from a different book every night. But as soon as I read the first story in Now It’s Dark, I literally could not bring myself to pick up another book until I’d read all ten of these stories––although I read no more than one a night, because I had to give myself time to reflect on how much they’d affected me. As I drew nearer to the last story, I realized that I simply did not want the book to end.
And while you won’t find the usual tropes of horror fiction in Now It’s Dark, you will plenty of real horror. The kind you might glimpse in the face of a stranger on the street, the kind you might feel when you wake up from a nightmare, knowing that something terrible has happened––if you could only remember what it was.
Like Robert Aickman, Rucker is a master at creating a palpable atmosphere of unease that can arise from the simplest sights and objects––the skyline of a city glimpsed from a moving train, a seedy cafe, even a badly made cup of tea. Her stories also contain frightening eruptions when the surface-appearances of things fracture and something terrible emerges––the young girl nearly struck by lightning in ‘The Secret Woods’ at the moment when her parents are killed, the bland and passionless husband in ‘The Seventh Wave’ unexpectedly revealing the horrific malevolence inside of him.
While Rucker’s stories are in most ways anything but “Poe-like”, she does share with Poe the powerful ability to create characters who are so out of touch with some troubled part of their psyche that they find themselves acting in ways they barely understand––although in stories like ‘The Dying Season’, ‘Knots’, and the masterful ‘The Seventh Wave’, that hidden or denied self that suddenly takes over and acts seems to do so mostly out of self-preservation. The women in these stories leave their partners, or fail to leave. Leaving, Rucker seems to tell us, is terrifying. And that terror comes not from the threat of physical violence (although there is some of that), but from loss of identity, the threat of the unknown.
Of course, one of the great pleasures of reading this book is Rucker’s prose. Straightforward and clear as crystal, it’s capable of catching you unawares with sudden, strong bursts of lyrical beauty that can take your breath away––only Graham Greene, I think, does this better. And while Robert Aickman and Shirley Jackson may be the two great genre writers Rucker’s work seems most inspired by, I do believe her characters share with Greene’s the strong feeling of an outsider cautiously navigating a seemingly placid social scene, constantly aware of hidden dangers while trying not to give themselves away.
On a personal note––I brought home Rucker’s book with several other story collections, intending to “switch around” and read a story from a different book every night. But as soon as I read the first story in Now It’s Dark, I literally could not bring myself to pick up another book until I’d read all ten of these stories––although I read no more than one a night, because I had to give myself time to reflect on how much they’d affected me. As I drew nearer to the last story, I realized that I simply did not want the book to end.
And while you won’t find the usual tropes of horror fiction in Now It’s Dark, you will plenty of real horror. The kind you might glimpse in the face of a stranger on the street, the kind you might feel when you wake up from a nightmare, knowing that something terrible has happened––if you could only remember what it was.
March 20, 2023
Rucker, Lynda - Now It’s Dark
I recall reading Rucker’s previous You’ll Know When You Get There a few months after publication. A worthwhile collection that I enjoyed, it put Rucker on my radar as someone to keep an eye out for.
That book did not prepare me for this set.
Throughout, the tone is more seasoned, wearied, characters written as resigned or fatalistic.
Sylvia accompanies John to the cabin campground he has been visiting since childhood. As a couple, they are spent. Sylvia sidesteps confrontations and arguments, while John is bossy, argumentative, inattentive. Why does she – why do people – endure such martinets? In “The Dying Season” Sylvia asks herself just that, before recognizing the trap.
Searching the fringes led to disappearance. Adam liked the broken lands. Places between civilization, battered rubble and empty wastes. As if there was a rent in the fabric there. After Adam goes missing, his sister contacts a friend in “The Other Side” and they try to track his steps.
“Knots” will resonate with those who have slipped into the unequal relationship. One where identity dwindles, along with one’s ability to make decisions, even simple decisions such as what to wear, to eat, where to go for a walk.
David encounters Anna on the train in Romania. Just as well, since he has lost his passport, his money, and she offers to “fix things” with Customs officials. From that point onward, in “The Vestige” David becomes the proverbial stranger in a strange land.
Anyone who has traveled on their own, not part of a group, in the foreign land, ignorant of the language, without reservations, without phone, will relate. And yes, that is exactly how I travel.
Into “The Unknown Chambers” Catherine goes, questing for the forgotten pulp writer. Probably best left forgotten. This one is Lovecraft territory.
I’m leaving the rest for fresh discoveries. Rest assured, this is a carefully chosen and arranged collection, the stories building in intensity and emotional impact.
Swan River title.
I recall reading Rucker’s previous You’ll Know When You Get There a few months after publication. A worthwhile collection that I enjoyed, it put Rucker on my radar as someone to keep an eye out for.
That book did not prepare me for this set.
Throughout, the tone is more seasoned, wearied, characters written as resigned or fatalistic.
Sylvia accompanies John to the cabin campground he has been visiting since childhood. As a couple, they are spent. Sylvia sidesteps confrontations and arguments, while John is bossy, argumentative, inattentive. Why does she – why do people – endure such martinets? In “The Dying Season” Sylvia asks herself just that, before recognizing the trap.
Searching the fringes led to disappearance. Adam liked the broken lands. Places between civilization, battered rubble and empty wastes. As if there was a rent in the fabric there. After Adam goes missing, his sister contacts a friend in “The Other Side” and they try to track his steps.
“Knots” will resonate with those who have slipped into the unequal relationship. One where identity dwindles, along with one’s ability to make decisions, even simple decisions such as what to wear, to eat, where to go for a walk.
David encounters Anna on the train in Romania. Just as well, since he has lost his passport, his money, and she offers to “fix things” with Customs officials. From that point onward, in “The Vestige” David becomes the proverbial stranger in a strange land.
Anyone who has traveled on their own, not part of a group, in the foreign land, ignorant of the language, without reservations, without phone, will relate. And yes, that is exactly how I travel.
Into “The Unknown Chambers” Catherine goes, questing for the forgotten pulp writer. Probably best left forgotten. This one is Lovecraft territory.
I’m leaving the rest for fresh discoveries. Rest assured, this is a carefully chosen and arranged collection, the stories building in intensity and emotional impact.
Swan River title.
September 16, 2023
Excellent collection of weird tales
October 8, 2025
A beautifully written, softly haunting collection. I enjoyed all of the stories. I think Knots and So Much Wine were my favourite. Will definitely seek out more fiction from L.E.R.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews