Blood in the Bricks

by Neil Williamson, Angela Slatter, James Bennett

Tales of the city redolent with ritual and drenched in dread.

Folk Horror is primarily associated with isolated settings and weird beliefs. Traditionally the isolated setting is rural, but our cities have been around for a long time too, their histories constructed layer upon layer, their secrets long kept and buried deep. And there are other types of isolation than geographical housing schemes and suburbs, gilded business districts and gated communities, industrial wastelands and crumbling tower blocks...

Who knows what our old bricks were made of or what lies beneath our brightly lit pavements? Who knows what superstitions have been passed down the generations and who knows what goes on behind the locked doors of the community centre?

Editor Neil Williamson has assembled a cadre of gifted writers to explore these chilling issues and much much more.


Down Street – James Bennett
Danse Macabre – Kim Lakin
Hagstone – Tracy Fahey
Gerädert Fühlen – Steve Toase
The Inverse Nurse – Ian Whates
Open Studios – E Saxey
Escape Notice – Tim Major
Larking – Phil Sloman
When the Blood Runs Dry – Lyndsey Croal
A Tiding – Timothy J Jarvis
Our Sister of Blackthorn – Dan Coxon
One of The Rotten Ones – Matthew Hopkins
The Rope Swing – Penny Jones
A Pinch of Salt – Joanna Corrance
A Body’s Got to Have Hope – Angela Slatter
The Call – James Everington
Fulfilment – Harvey Welles & Phil Raines
Extraction – Don Redwood
Flip – Ray Cluley

307 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 5, 2025

About the author

Neil Williamson lives in Glasgow, Scotland, and is the author of novels and short stories in genres ranging from science fiction to slipstream.

Several of his books and stories have been shortlisted for awards: Nova Scotia: New Scottish Speculative Fiction (World Fantasy Award), The Ephemera (British Fantasy Award), Arrhythmia (British Science Fiction Association Award), The Moon King (British Fantasy Holdstock Award and British Science Fiction Association Award, runner-up), A Moment of Zugzwang (British Science Fiction Association Award and British Fantasy Award), Nova Scotia vol 2: New Speculative Fiction From Scotland (British Science Fiction Association Award and British Fantasy Award) Charlie Says (British Science Fiction Association Award and British Fantasy Award).

Neil's latest book is: Blood In The Bricks, published by NewCon Press in October 2025.

Reviews

[Runalong · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very inventive folk horror collection with a great collection of authors showing folk horror can be also in cities too - highly recommended

Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...

[S.J. Townend · Rating 5 out of 5]

This city-based folk horror anthology from New Con Press, edited by Neil Williamson, is an absolute triumph.

Each of the 19 stories pulse with eerie energy and the cohort of talented authors manage to transform familiar urban landscapes into places of ancient dread and wonder. Some of the stories are straight up horror, some are funny, all are brilliant. I enjoyed every story in this book but my stand-out favourites include:

The Inverse Nurse (Ian Whates) - a peculiar speculative tale mainly communicated through a patient's interactions with various hospital staff which results in a very strange encounter.
Escape Notice (Tim Major)- I'll never look at a telegraph pole the same way!
Larking (Phil Sloman) and The Rope Swing (Penny Jones) - two elegantly written yet very different stories by two of my favourite indie authors.
One of the Rotten Ones (Matthew Hopkins) - what a unique voice. I loved having to puzzle out what was happening in this one! Bleak!
A Pinch of Salt (Joanna Corrance) - I think this 'I know what you did last Enid Blyton' hilarious yet dark story was my favourite of the lot. Clever plot. Great twists. And a sprinkling of magic and deceit. Will definitely check out more of Corrance's writing.
Extraction (Don Redwood) - tooth horror. Eeew. A bittersweet tale, this one. Good fun. Quite sad.
Flip (Ray Cluely) - beautifully written. Took me back to my misspent youth.

A fabulous book with superb cover art. Six out of five stars from me :)

[Alison C · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Blood In the Bricks” is a new anthology of urban horror, mostly set in the UK, although there’s one tale set in Germany and another in Milwaukee. As with any such work, the stories I find compelling may not be to another person’s taste; perhaps more so than usual in this instance as I don’t read much horror anymore (I used to read a lot of it, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more squeamish, I guess). My favourites here include “Escape Notice,” by Tim Major, about a man in York who “notices things”; Ian Whates’ “The Inverse Nurse,” whom you do not want to meet in your hospital room; “A Pinch of Salt,” by Joanna Corrance, which depicts a very different future city; Angela Slatter’s “A Body’s Got to Have Hope,” which gives the anthology its title and is very funny; “Fulfilment,” by Harvey Welles and Phil Raines, which supposes a new cult in an Amazon-like warehouse; and Ray Cluley’s “Flip,” more an elegy than a horror tale. As noted, those are my choices, but all the stories here are well-written and worthwhile, although one body-horror tale was too much for me and I couldn’t finish it. Definitely worth your time; recommended! I received a copy of this work through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program.

[Kevin Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant anthology, expertly curated by Neil Williamson, and published by the ever-reliable NewCon Press. I am always impressed by the production quality of NewCon books, and this one is no exception. The wrap-around cover by Vincent Chong is stunningly realised and unsettlingly strange, while inside there isn't a duff story to be found. I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the book, and can't recommend it too highly. If this is the standard of what we can expect from folk horror in an urban environment, then I say 'more, please!'