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Heartbeat and Other Tales of the Weird and Macabre
Migraine body horror. A cursed doll that makes men rot. A psychopathic cannibal who consumes young women for their collagen. An imaginative dark fantasy tale featuring cults, trolls, and a young warrior. Zombie pirates who emerge from the depths of the Gulf of Mexico.
Stephanie E. Jensen's first short story collection proves she's one of the most versatile horror authors, telling her harrowing tales with a mix of blood, gore, demons, killers, and dark magic. This collection ends with Heartbeat and two stories that prove women always suffer, whether they end their pregnancies or choose to have children.
Stephanie E. Jensen's first short story collection proves she's one of the most versatile horror authors, telling her harrowing tales with a mix of blood, gore, demons, killers, and dark magic. This collection ends with Heartbeat and two stories that prove women always suffer, whether they end their pregnancies or choose to have children.
- GenresHorror
257 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 18, 2025
2 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 26, 2025
Disclaimer: I was gifted an ARC for an honest review.
A lot is going on in here! I opened a document in Notion to take notes because this is my first ARC ever, and I wanted to come prepared to the review table. That being said, I am thoroughly pleased with this collection of short horror stories. There is no lack of variety.
Highlights:
"Hemigranea" I didn't guess it, but if you get it without reading it, good on you. You may be smarter than I am.
Taglines I made up for some of them:
"Youth is wasted on the young!"
"It’s always in someone’s backyard!"
"Don’t practice talking to spirits with a migraine!"
A lot is going on in here! I opened a document in Notion to take notes because this is my first ARC ever, and I wanted to come prepared to the review table. That being said, I am thoroughly pleased with this collection of short horror stories. There is no lack of variety.
Highlights:
"Hemigranea" I didn't guess it, but if you get it without reading it, good on you. You may be smarter than I am.
Taglines I made up for some of them:
"Youth is wasted on the young!"
"It’s always in someone’s backyard!"
"Don’t practice talking to spirits with a migraine!"
August 26, 2025
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
I got an ARC of this book.
I have been in such a weird horror mood lately. Do I mean it is weird that I am in a horror moode or I want weird horror? Yes, but mostly the second. My favorite genres of horror are those niche genres like splatterpunk, extreme, and bizarro. So this really fit the bill. There were a few other genres in here, but overall there was those niche genres I love.
One of the stories that really stuck out for me was one of the last stories. The coat hanger abortion story. It was graphic. It was violent. It was gory. It was so much. Did I understand it on a visceral level? Yes. One of my biggest fears has always been getting pregnant and how it would destroy my transition. So having a character who is much stronger than I will ever be put in the same place with the threat of a lost law school future hit me hard. This is the second unwanted pregnancy story that has hit me hard lately. Both were this extreme horror version of pregnancy and survival.
One of the stories that was just gross, but didn't really seem to serve a purpose was about eating cat poop almost directly from the butt of a cat. It was really descritive on scent and texture. I thankfully didn't really deal with any sensory issues from it, but it was just so wild and felt thrown in. It was well written, just really stood out as not belonging.
I could write a review of every story in this collection, but I don't want to ruin the journey. Know this is not beginner horror. This is not your haunted house, everyone will be ok horror. This is how bad can it get and then finding out it is worse horror. This is human trafficking. This is demons. This is intense. This is full of revenge in a graphic way that made me cheer them on, but while also feeling the pain and shock of oozing wounds. This is the horror that I love, but have a hard time recommending to people. It makes people think there is something wrong with you when you giggle at penises rotting and falling off.
Overall, I really did enjoy this book. Were some stories just ok, yeah. But I have rarely met a collection of short stories that didn't have a few oddballs thrown in. I am going to be keeping my eye on Jensen, there are more books already out. If you have been looking to get into more niche horror and more extreme horror, this would be a great place to start. I only say start, because the stories are short and allow a break between the horrors. Otherwise this rates up there with some of the more graphic splatterpunk books I have read in gore level.
I got an ARC of this book.
I have been in such a weird horror mood lately. Do I mean it is weird that I am in a horror moode or I want weird horror? Yes, but mostly the second. My favorite genres of horror are those niche genres like splatterpunk, extreme, and bizarro. So this really fit the bill. There were a few other genres in here, but overall there was those niche genres I love.
One of the stories that really stuck out for me was one of the last stories. The coat hanger abortion story. It was graphic. It was violent. It was gory. It was so much. Did I understand it on a visceral level? Yes. One of my biggest fears has always been getting pregnant and how it would destroy my transition. So having a character who is much stronger than I will ever be put in the same place with the threat of a lost law school future hit me hard. This is the second unwanted pregnancy story that has hit me hard lately. Both were this extreme horror version of pregnancy and survival.
One of the stories that was just gross, but didn't really seem to serve a purpose was about eating cat poop almost directly from the butt of a cat. It was really descritive on scent and texture. I thankfully didn't really deal with any sensory issues from it, but it was just so wild and felt thrown in. It was well written, just really stood out as not belonging.
I could write a review of every story in this collection, but I don't want to ruin the journey. Know this is not beginner horror. This is not your haunted house, everyone will be ok horror. This is how bad can it get and then finding out it is worse horror. This is human trafficking. This is demons. This is intense. This is full of revenge in a graphic way that made me cheer them on, but while also feeling the pain and shock of oozing wounds. This is the horror that I love, but have a hard time recommending to people. It makes people think there is something wrong with you when you giggle at penises rotting and falling off.
Overall, I really did enjoy this book. Were some stories just ok, yeah. But I have rarely met a collection of short stories that didn't have a few oddballs thrown in. I am going to be keeping my eye on Jensen, there are more books already out. If you have been looking to get into more niche horror and more extreme horror, this would be a great place to start. I only say start, because the stories are short and allow a break between the horrors. Otherwise this rates up there with some of the more graphic splatterpunk books I have read in gore level.
September 18, 2025
Heartbeat and Other Tales of the Weird and Macabre is an intense and fantastic collection of hardcore horror by Stephanie E. Jensen. There’s an impressive diversity of stories here, ranging from hard-hitting splatterpunk to zombies to cosmic horror and more.
Among my favorites is “Collagen,” a horrifying statement about the pursuit to be and remain beautiful, with a main character who puts Countess Bathory to shame. I found this one particularly impactful and chilling.
I also particularly liked “Putrefying Malediction,” a wonderfully dark and wicked tale of karmic body horror with a fantastic twist. Extreme horror fans will love this one.
“Lady Kidney” is a gut-wrenching horror-thriller that speaks to real-world atrocity and social concerns. It’s a dark, compelling, and poignant tale.
I found the title story, “Heartbeat,” to be a profound and powerful read. It’s a short splatterpunk tale that is unapologetically impactful and horrifying. It will stay with me a long time.
But there’s so much more, 14 stories in all, including two of Jensen’s Gross-Out Contest stories, both of which put my eyebrows in my hairline. Heartbeat and Other Tales of the Weird and Macabre is an amazing and shelf-worthy collection that really showcases Stephanie E. Jensen’s impressive storytelling talent. But extreme horror and splatterpunk fans only, please. Stephanie pulls no punches here.
A Bibliophilia Templum review
https://bibliophiliatemplum.wordpress.com/2025/09/18/heartbeat-and-other-tales-of-the-weird-and-macabre/
Among my favorites is “Collagen,” a horrifying statement about the pursuit to be and remain beautiful, with a main character who puts Countess Bathory to shame. I found this one particularly impactful and chilling.
I also particularly liked “Putrefying Malediction,” a wonderfully dark and wicked tale of karmic body horror with a fantastic twist. Extreme horror fans will love this one.
“Lady Kidney” is a gut-wrenching horror-thriller that speaks to real-world atrocity and social concerns. It’s a dark, compelling, and poignant tale.
I found the title story, “Heartbeat,” to be a profound and powerful read. It’s a short splatterpunk tale that is unapologetically impactful and horrifying. It will stay with me a long time.
But there’s so much more, 14 stories in all, including two of Jensen’s Gross-Out Contest stories, both of which put my eyebrows in my hairline. Heartbeat and Other Tales of the Weird and Macabre is an amazing and shelf-worthy collection that really showcases Stephanie E. Jensen’s impressive storytelling talent. But extreme horror and splatterpunk fans only, please. Stephanie pulls no punches here.
A Bibliophilia Templum review
https://bibliophiliatemplum.wordpress.com/2025/09/18/heartbeat-and-other-tales-of-the-weird-and-macabre/
December 20, 2025
Having read both The Dissecting House and The Howling of the Dead, I was eager to see what Jensen would do with short stories, since that has been my focus as both a writer and reader. If you're familiar with her work, it will come as no surprise that some of the stories were extreme - a couple of them so much so that it had me at the very far end of what I'm able to read (Evisceratum and Liquid Bits, specifically). What did come as a surprise were the places where she ventured out of her comfort zone in splatterpunk and explored other genres and styles. Pluto and the Plague had more than a few authentically tender moments, Lady Kidney was a first foray into the realm of detective stories, Ariza Overtaken was more of a fantasy story, and A Willing Sacrifice to Dagon was perhaps the most surprising of all to me (Lovecraftian mermaid erotica was truly something new in my experience). I feel like it was in these stories where Jensen took big chances that she also delivered the biggest payoff for the reader and showed that her talents as a writer go well beyond just lurid descriptions of blood, guts and gore.
Overall I enjoyed the book (though it is absolutely not for the squeamish), and I very much look forward to seeing where her writing goes from here.
Overall I enjoyed the book (though it is absolutely not for the squeamish), and I very much look forward to seeing where her writing goes from here.
June 12, 2025
Disclaimer: I am an editor of this book and Stephanie is a friend.
I took on editing this book because I enjoyed Stephanie's previous work. Her gore and horror writing is top notch. That said, I was surprised at the range in this collection. Yes, there is gore. You will need to bleach your eyeballs after reading some of the stories. But there is also social commentary and amazingly creative points of view. I've recommended this at bookstores and recommend it here.
Highlights:
"Pluto and the Plague"
"Heartbeat"
"Evisceratum"
"Collagen"
I took on editing this book because I enjoyed Stephanie's previous work. Her gore and horror writing is top notch. That said, I was surprised at the range in this collection. Yes, there is gore. You will need to bleach your eyeballs after reading some of the stories. But there is also social commentary and amazingly creative points of view. I've recommended this at bookstores and recommend it here.
Highlights:
"Pluto and the Plague"
"Heartbeat"
"Evisceratum"
"Collagen"
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews