Psycho Nightmare Freak-Out

by Sam Richard, Ira Rat (editor), Matthew Mitchell

Psycho Nightmare Freak-Out features four stories of late 1990s mall-goth horror from four fiends of modern dark fiction. Sam Richard, Xavier Garcia, Matthew Mitchell, and Jon Steffens offer glimpses into the lives of black-clad miscreants wallowing in shadowy worlds of madness and malevolence.

Genres: Horror

60 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2024

About the author

Sam Richard is the author of several books including The Still Beating Heart of a Dead God and the award-winning To Wallow in Ash & Other Sorrows. He has edited ten anthologies, including the cult hits Profane Altars: Weird Sword & Sorcery and The New Flesh, and his short fiction has appeared in over forty publications. Widowed in 2017, he slowly rots in Minneapolis where he runs Weirdpunk Books. You can stalk him @SammyTotep across most socials or at weirdpunkbooks.com

Reviews

[Books For Decaying Millennials · Rating 5 out of 5]

none of the authors from the Void Collective, neither the publisher FilthyLoot, paid me to write this review. I am a member of the FilthyLoot Subscription Club, which is how I obtained this book. All thoughts and opinions are mine.
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Join me for a walk, won't you? Now we're heading back before Y2k, so fellow Decaying Millennials that are here, be sure to do your stretches and hydrate.

The Stories gathered together in Psycho Nightmare Freakout : An Anthology of 90s Mall Goth Horror are drawn from a very special corner of a shared generational experience. We may not all of been part of this particular subculture, back in the day, but each of these tales give a taste of that life. One things I always love about Void Collective anthologies, is that every writer involved will deliver something unique, visceral and strange. Don't expect any happy endings, within these pages. Trauma and the tragedies of youth cluster around each other, forming new patterns, with each story.
Each of us has a mall or two back in the 90s that retains a psychic foothold in the liminal space of our minds. As said before, for some, like the authors this was a place where they took part in their local goth, punk or related alternative scene. For the rest of us, those were the kids, the scene we longed to be a part of. Even in the stories in this anthology, you get that taste of what your teenage self was grasping to attain. There's a Mall in Coralville, Iowa where my young self got a taste of those scenes. A HotTopic with zero lighting that supplied me with punk and Goth/Industrial CDs.
Psycho Nightmare Freakout returned me to that place and time, to that headspace. Only this time, there were no doors, and Kids in black baggy pants, chains and metal shirts are rending each others flesh, gobbling odd fungus growing from a corpse in the back corner and Spiritual Cramp by Christian Death is slowly blasting louder and louder on the overhead speakers.

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big fan of this brand of bite size fiction. Probably the best introduction I could have had to Filthy Loot.

"Eucharist" by Sam Richard - 5/5: probably my favorite in terms of its strength as self contained slice of cosmic horror. I also ate it up.

"A Used Condom Can Be A Holy Relic Too" by Xavier Garcia - 3/5: Very interesting premise that leaves you wanting more.

"Mall Goths Go to Heaven" by Matthew Mitchel - 5/5: Fucking bonkers. If all I wanted in the world was a lil glimpse of a rapturous armageddon kicking off outside of a Spencers' Gifts, this would still top what I imagined.

"Out of Hand" by Jon Steffens - 3/5: This certainly not bad, but feels a little more like a writing exercise on the backs of the stories that precede it. Just a nasty little moment that comes and goes before you know it, like watching and old Liveleak video.

[Mac Spears · Rating 4 out of 5]

These four very human stories of teenage angst and all-too familiar music tastes smash cut into horror at a head snapping pace. Solid writing throughout; four short reads that put you in the JNKOs of these kids _right_ before it all goes horribly wrong, each in surprising and gleefully disturbing ways.

[Codycvlp · Rating 4 out of 5]

another solid anthology from filthy loot that never overstays its welcome.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

An anthology of 90s Mall-Goth horror? Say less, fam.

"Eucharist" by Sam Richard was probably my favorite of the bunch. Nostalgia, body horror, and a unique premise. Super solid.

"A Used Condom Can Be A Holy Relic Too" by Xavier Garcia made me feel things. It was the perfect, snack sized bite of transgressive horror. I hope Ellie and Luis get their happy ending.

"Mall Goths Go To Heaven" by Matthew Mitchell was bold and strong. It had comic/sci-fi elements that made it stand apart from the other three stories. Religious themes are not always my favorite but this was done well.

"Psycho Nightmare Freakout" was a dark little vignette that ended with a bang. It felt less developed than the other stories, but I enjoyed it all the same.

I really loved the collection overall. The authors were all new to me, but I'm looking forward to reading more of their work!