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The Language of Crows
It is in the darkest moments, during the loss of hope, that the language of crows is most clearly heard. The words are as menacing as piercing beaks, the events as perilous as a sea of black feathers. The corvid tongue spreads diabolical thoughts and devious visions.
Legend has it that crows prophesize offenses of the worst kind, their harsh tones are harbingers of horror. Collectively, crows are a murder, and they call out orders about their own name. The Language of Crows and other stories contains dark fairy tales, historical horror, and psychological horror in voices of the violent and the violated. It is a collection of witches’ spells, monsters’ murmurs, and voices within one’s head.
Do you dare to listen to the language of crows?
Legend has it that crows prophesize offenses of the worst kind, their harsh tones are harbingers of horror. Collectively, crows are a murder, and they call out orders about their own name. The Language of Crows and other stories contains dark fairy tales, historical horror, and psychological horror in voices of the violent and the violated. It is a collection of witches’ spells, monsters’ murmurs, and voices within one’s head.
Do you dare to listen to the language of crows?
216 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 10, 2024
4 people want to read
About the author
Elaine Pascale
23 books111 followersElaine Pascale is the author of The Blood Lights; If Nothing Else, Eve, We’ve Enjoyed the Fruit; The Kitchen Witches; The Language of Crows; and the soon to be released The Solstice. She is the co-editor of Dancing in the Shadows: A Tribute to Anne Rice. She is a regular contributor to Pen of the Damned and the Ladies of Horror Picture-Prompt Challenge. Elaine enjoys chocolate, a robust full moon, reading spam emails, and paddleboarding.
Find out more at elainepascale.com, https://www.amazon.com/author/elainep..., Facebook: elaine.pascale
X and Instagram: @doclaney
TikTok @elainepascale
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@elainepascal...
Newsletter: https://elainepascale.substack.com/
Find out more at elainepascale.com, https://www.amazon.com/author/elainep..., Facebook: elaine.pascale
X and Instagram: @doclaney
TikTok @elainepascale
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@elainepascal...
Newsletter: https://elainepascale.substack.com/
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 17, 2025
With The Language of Crows, Elaine Pascale proves that you can write horror and inject it with beautiful prose and striking imagery.
What makes this collection stand out is how every story is unique. Alien cats, a Hansel and Gretel retelling, and the terrors of jury duty are only a few of the mind-bending stories you will read.
Every story in this collection is different, but it’s not a “some are better than others” critique but rather an “am I in the mood for this?” one. For example, the current events of the world made me uncomfortable to read about a dystopian government regime that controls what you say. I still suggest reading every story since they’re so interesting in their own ways.
Otherwise, Pascale has appealed to all horror fans with The Language of Crows.
What makes this collection stand out is how every story is unique. Alien cats, a Hansel and Gretel retelling, and the terrors of jury duty are only a few of the mind-bending stories you will read.
Every story in this collection is different, but it’s not a “some are better than others” critique but rather an “am I in the mood for this?” one. For example, the current events of the world made me uncomfortable to read about a dystopian government regime that controls what you say. I still suggest reading every story since they’re so interesting in their own ways.
Otherwise, Pascale has appealed to all horror fans with The Language of Crows.
May 7, 2025
A Dark Feathery Feast for Readers
Elaine Pascale’s latest collection of short horror fiction gives readers a whole lot to unpack, from twists on fairytale tropes to some brass knuckle gut punches and much uneasiness in between. Not surprising, as you’ll find influences ranging from Shirly Jackson to Clive Barker to the Brothers Grimm with an ample serving of the feminine or “pink horror” that Pascale has made very much her own.
Two of key themes that emerged for me included humans versus non-human horrors and the horror of not being heard or understood. In some places, such as in the title story, and in The Collector’s Cache, those two ideas are woven together so tightly as to be inseparable. The same could be said of the story, The Tiger Bride, in which the protagonist’s silence is voluntary rather than due to some physical impairment. Beautiful Day takes the idea of silence, or approved and forbidden phrases, and folds it smartly into the fabric of a dystopian story. In Milk Time, we have the silence of shame and an inability to communicate related to anger.
Then we have all the animals, which if not silent themselves, are not able to communicate via any language we typically understand. Good Dog gives us a canine, or lupine protector who is, in fact, not a dog. Feed the Beast introduces us to ravenous sirens, and The Emperor’s Shell presents us with a horde of Beasties. Collector’s Cache introduces us to alien, predatory big cats that, unlike their adversaries, are evolved enough to know when to quit.
All the deep, dark, thematic exploration only works though, because the nuts and bolts hold it together so seamlessly. How often have you been just on the cusp of buying into some theme park illusion, only to suddenly notice that the dark woods you’re passing through are molded from papier mâché? The short story equivalent are the awkward sentences, goofy punctuation and other minor flaws that can immediately break the spell. Rest assured; you will be hard-pressed to find any such issues within this work. Pascale’s mastery of the technical aspects of storytelling comes through and the result is a superior collection of fictions and invocations worth reading in English, Corvid, or any other language for that matter.
Elaine Pascale’s latest collection of short horror fiction gives readers a whole lot to unpack, from twists on fairytale tropes to some brass knuckle gut punches and much uneasiness in between. Not surprising, as you’ll find influences ranging from Shirly Jackson to Clive Barker to the Brothers Grimm with an ample serving of the feminine or “pink horror” that Pascale has made very much her own.
Two of key themes that emerged for me included humans versus non-human horrors and the horror of not being heard or understood. In some places, such as in the title story, and in The Collector’s Cache, those two ideas are woven together so tightly as to be inseparable. The same could be said of the story, The Tiger Bride, in which the protagonist’s silence is voluntary rather than due to some physical impairment. Beautiful Day takes the idea of silence, or approved and forbidden phrases, and folds it smartly into the fabric of a dystopian story. In Milk Time, we have the silence of shame and an inability to communicate related to anger.
Then we have all the animals, which if not silent themselves, are not able to communicate via any language we typically understand. Good Dog gives us a canine, or lupine protector who is, in fact, not a dog. Feed the Beast introduces us to ravenous sirens, and The Emperor’s Shell presents us with a horde of Beasties. Collector’s Cache introduces us to alien, predatory big cats that, unlike their adversaries, are evolved enough to know when to quit.
All the deep, dark, thematic exploration only works though, because the nuts and bolts hold it together so seamlessly. How often have you been just on the cusp of buying into some theme park illusion, only to suddenly notice that the dark woods you’re passing through are molded from papier mâché? The short story equivalent are the awkward sentences, goofy punctuation and other minor flaws that can immediately break the spell. Rest assured; you will be hard-pressed to find any such issues within this work. Pascale’s mastery of the technical aspects of storytelling comes through and the result is a superior collection of fictions and invocations worth reading in English, Corvid, or any other language for that matter.
March 10, 2025
Elaine Pascale has become known as the "godmother of horror" for good reason. Reading this exemplary collection can make one feel like they've fallen into a spell, and Pascale is especially good when it comes to putting a new spin on fairy tale tropes. You still get a wide range of style here, even as Pascale has her own distinctive stamp, thanks to her wit and sense of craft. This is modern horror at its finest!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews