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Shrieks and Shivers from the Horror Zine
“The Horror Zine is the true home of today’s visceral, organic horror, and the stories in SHRIEKS AND SHIVERS reflect the courage and imagination with which Jeani Rector has sustained this genre for the past six years. Be prepared to encounter the grue in gruesome, not only brought to you by some very experienced butchers but by some fearless and inspired new dabblers in blood, entrails and other things too horrifying to mention.” – Graham Masterton, author of Plague of the Manitou
“A potent witch’s brew of horror veterans spiced with succulent new blood.” – Scott Nicholson, author of The Red Church
“The stories in SHRIEKS AND SHIVERS is like a sampling from the weird, visceral darkness of the collective mind. Some of the authors are old friends, reliably creepy friends who deliver exactly what you want. What might surprise the reader is the number of new writers to devour. And there are angles on the human condition from which you never thought to look—and perhaps should not have. Endlessly creative takes on zombies, paranoia, and the monsters within. You’ll read this collection long into the night. You might want to fall asleep with the lights on.” – Susie Moloney, author of The Thirteen
“Jeani Rector has the experience to know horror inside and out. She picks only the best of today’s writers for her anthologies. I can easily see some of her hand-picked talent carrying horror into the next decade.” – D. W. Jones, Editor, Blood Moon Rising Magazine
“A perfect storm of a horror anthology—dread thundering through the stories, lightning flashes of terror, a hurricane of visceral thrills.” – Simon Clark, author of The Night of the Triffids
“Jeani Rector and the Horror Zine have compiled another classic anthology of unsettling and stomach-churning tales in the tradition of Pan Books or Weird Tales (before they were both crap!), and introduced us to a motley band of new horror talent, some of whom will no doubt
become household names in the genre in time. This unrepentant volume reminds us why the small press is such a force in dark literature.” – Djibril al-Ayad, Editor, The Future Fire Magazine
“There are some really good short stories in this collection. Some eerie. Some disturbing. Some I wish were true: I’d probably find the freak tent to see Hercules in a tank of honey.” – Cetywa Powell, Editor/Publisher, Underground Voices Magazine
ALL NEW FICTION
TAPEWORM by Martin Rose
OLD HAUNTS by Nathan Robinson
“I’LL BE WATCHING” by William F. Nolan
NAILS IN YOUR COFFIN by Rachel Coles
PETE’S BIG BREAK by Joe McKinney
THEM by James Marlow
STASH HOUSE by Shaun Meeks
THE SAMPLE by Ray Garton
HARD RAIN by Bruce Memblatt
SQUATTERS by Elizabeth Massie
I STILL LIVE by Wayne C. Rogers
CENTER STAGE SIDESHOW by Christian A. Larsen
STALKER by Tim Jeffreys
FOR SHE IS FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE by Tim Waggoner
RAMPART by Amy Grech
SOMNIPHOBIA by P.D. Cacek
FUNERAL MEATS by Kristen Houghton
TRANSPOSITION by Jason V. Brock
THE LAST BOTTLE by Dean H. Wild
THE WOODS by Nicholas Paschall
THE HOTEL SAN DIGOT by Joseph Rubas
DADDY’S GIRL by Lisa Morton
BLURRED by Matthew Nichols
THE HOUSE by Jonathan Chapman
THE NEST by Cory Cone
REFLECTOR EYES by Garrett Rowlan
WHAT HAPPENED IN VEGAS… by Rena Mason
PRIVATE FRANKS by Gary Robbe
ONE LAST TWEET by Eric J.
“A potent witch’s brew of horror veterans spiced with succulent new blood.” – Scott Nicholson, author of The Red Church
“The stories in SHRIEKS AND SHIVERS is like a sampling from the weird, visceral darkness of the collective mind. Some of the authors are old friends, reliably creepy friends who deliver exactly what you want. What might surprise the reader is the number of new writers to devour. And there are angles on the human condition from which you never thought to look—and perhaps should not have. Endlessly creative takes on zombies, paranoia, and the monsters within. You’ll read this collection long into the night. You might want to fall asleep with the lights on.” – Susie Moloney, author of The Thirteen
“Jeani Rector has the experience to know horror inside and out. She picks only the best of today’s writers for her anthologies. I can easily see some of her hand-picked talent carrying horror into the next decade.” – D. W. Jones, Editor, Blood Moon Rising Magazine
“A perfect storm of a horror anthology—dread thundering through the stories, lightning flashes of terror, a hurricane of visceral thrills.” – Simon Clark, author of The Night of the Triffids
“Jeani Rector and the Horror Zine have compiled another classic anthology of unsettling and stomach-churning tales in the tradition of Pan Books or Weird Tales (before they were both crap!), and introduced us to a motley band of new horror talent, some of whom will no doubt
become household names in the genre in time. This unrepentant volume reminds us why the small press is such a force in dark literature.” – Djibril al-Ayad, Editor, The Future Fire Magazine
“There are some really good short stories in this collection. Some eerie. Some disturbing. Some I wish were true: I’d probably find the freak tent to see Hercules in a tank of honey.” – Cetywa Powell, Editor/Publisher, Underground Voices Magazine
ALL NEW FICTION
TAPEWORM by Martin Rose
OLD HAUNTS by Nathan Robinson
“I’LL BE WATCHING” by William F. Nolan
NAILS IN YOUR COFFIN by Rachel Coles
PETE’S BIG BREAK by Joe McKinney
THEM by James Marlow
STASH HOUSE by Shaun Meeks
THE SAMPLE by Ray Garton
HARD RAIN by Bruce Memblatt
SQUATTERS by Elizabeth Massie
I STILL LIVE by Wayne C. Rogers
CENTER STAGE SIDESHOW by Christian A. Larsen
STALKER by Tim Jeffreys
FOR SHE IS FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE by Tim Waggoner
RAMPART by Amy Grech
SOMNIPHOBIA by P.D. Cacek
FUNERAL MEATS by Kristen Houghton
TRANSPOSITION by Jason V. Brock
THE LAST BOTTLE by Dean H. Wild
THE WOODS by Nicholas Paschall
THE HOTEL SAN DIGOT by Joseph Rubas
DADDY’S GIRL by Lisa Morton
BLURRED by Matthew Nichols
THE HOUSE by Jonathan Chapman
THE NEST by Cory Cone
REFLECTOR EYES by Garrett Rowlan
WHAT HAPPENED IN VEGAS… by Rena Mason
PRIVATE FRANKS by Gary Robbe
ONE LAST TWEET by Eric J.
317 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 6, 2015
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76 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 4, 2016
Overall Rating: 3.5 Stars
Horror short stories are my favorite form of literature, hands down. So when Jeani Rector offered me a copy of Shrieks and Shivers From The Horror Zine to review, there was zero possibility I was going to say no. With a few well-known names in the table of contents, and my love of discovering new horror talent, I really couldn't see a downside.
The book itself is fairly handsome, certainly one of the better covers from Post Mortem Press.
Let's start with the positive: The first actual story in the collection, TAPEWORM by Martin Rose, was quite good. For my tastes, this collection was about a 30% hit rate of stories that I really enjoyed, 20% that were okay, leaving a remainder that wasn't horrible. In fact, it's some sort of achievement that there really weren't any "terrible" stories here.
In addition to the aforementioned TAPEWORM, my favorites in this collection were penned by Joe McKinney, Bruce Memblatt, Elizabeth Massie, Tim Waggoner, Dean H. Wild, Lisa Morton, Garrett Rowlan and Eric J. Guignard. Honorable mention also goes to tales from Shaun Meeks, Ray Garton, Kristen Houghton, and Joseph Rubas.
The contributions from William F. Nolan and Tom Piccirilli, two writers I quite enjoy, were so slight as to barely qualify as actual stories, apparently included only to bolster the appearance of the roster.
Dropping stories from big names into an anthology such as this is one way to get attention, however it's a double-edge: you expect the stories from the big names to be GOOD, and keep your fingers crossed that at least a few of the stories from lesser-known authors hit the mark.
So now for the grumbles:
This anthology stumbles hard out of the gate, with one of the most cringe-worthy introductions to an anthology I've ever read, by the straight-shootin' Bentley Little: He hasn't read the stories, doesn't know the authors contributing to the volume. Goes on to say that Jeani contacted him out of the blue hoping to get a story from him for a previous anthology for an earlier anthology she was doing, so he sent her something he had lying around, something he implied wasn't good enough to submit elsewhere.
Maybe this introduction would've worked better at the end of the book? Or maybe just drop it and let the stories fall or stand on their own?
I soldiered on.
The very first piece in the book wasn't a killer short story to draw me in, but rather a rambling non-fiction bit by John Russo that sounded exactly like someone had bought him a few drinks at a convention, set an audio recorder down on the bar while he rambled, and then transcribed it as "A WORD ABOUT ZOMBIES". Why? What on earth does this have to do with anything? It's a fiction anthology and I'm immediately subjected to John Russo rambling like Grandpa Simpson about zombie movies.
Removing these two bits by Little and Russo would've gotten the whole thing off to much more solid start, in my opinion.
Fortunately, things began to look up after that and before long a few decent stories washed that initial sour taste out of my mouth.
The final verdict?
All in all, a pretty decent collection that does what it's supposed to do: entertain and introduce new authors to a wider audience, and in that it succeeds. Check it out!
I know I will certainly be seeking out more from Bruce Memblatt, Dean H. Wild, Garrett Rowlan, and Eric J. Guignard in the future, as well as digging more deeply into Elizabeth Massie, Tim Waggoner, and Lisa Morton's work to boot.
Horror short stories are my favorite form of literature, hands down. So when Jeani Rector offered me a copy of Shrieks and Shivers From The Horror Zine to review, there was zero possibility I was going to say no. With a few well-known names in the table of contents, and my love of discovering new horror talent, I really couldn't see a downside.
The book itself is fairly handsome, certainly one of the better covers from Post Mortem Press.
Let's start with the positive: The first actual story in the collection, TAPEWORM by Martin Rose, was quite good. For my tastes, this collection was about a 30% hit rate of stories that I really enjoyed, 20% that were okay, leaving a remainder that wasn't horrible. In fact, it's some sort of achievement that there really weren't any "terrible" stories here.
In addition to the aforementioned TAPEWORM, my favorites in this collection were penned by Joe McKinney, Bruce Memblatt, Elizabeth Massie, Tim Waggoner, Dean H. Wild, Lisa Morton, Garrett Rowlan and Eric J. Guignard. Honorable mention also goes to tales from Shaun Meeks, Ray Garton, Kristen Houghton, and Joseph Rubas.
The contributions from William F. Nolan and Tom Piccirilli, two writers I quite enjoy, were so slight as to barely qualify as actual stories, apparently included only to bolster the appearance of the roster.
Dropping stories from big names into an anthology such as this is one way to get attention, however it's a double-edge: you expect the stories from the big names to be GOOD, and keep your fingers crossed that at least a few of the stories from lesser-known authors hit the mark.
So now for the grumbles:
This anthology stumbles hard out of the gate, with one of the most cringe-worthy introductions to an anthology I've ever read, by the straight-shootin' Bentley Little: He hasn't read the stories, doesn't know the authors contributing to the volume. Goes on to say that Jeani contacted him out of the blue hoping to get a story from him for a previous anthology for an earlier anthology she was doing, so he sent her something he had lying around, something he implied wasn't good enough to submit elsewhere.
Maybe this introduction would've worked better at the end of the book? Or maybe just drop it and let the stories fall or stand on their own?
I soldiered on.
The very first piece in the book wasn't a killer short story to draw me in, but rather a rambling non-fiction bit by John Russo that sounded exactly like someone had bought him a few drinks at a convention, set an audio recorder down on the bar while he rambled, and then transcribed it as "A WORD ABOUT ZOMBIES". Why? What on earth does this have to do with anything? It's a fiction anthology and I'm immediately subjected to John Russo rambling like Grandpa Simpson about zombie movies.
Removing these two bits by Little and Russo would've gotten the whole thing off to much more solid start, in my opinion.
Fortunately, things began to look up after that and before long a few decent stories washed that initial sour taste out of my mouth.
The final verdict?
All in all, a pretty decent collection that does what it's supposed to do: entertain and introduce new authors to a wider audience, and in that it succeeds. Check it out!
I know I will certainly be seeking out more from Bruce Memblatt, Dean H. Wild, Garrett Rowlan, and Eric J. Guignard in the future, as well as digging more deeply into Elizabeth Massie, Tim Waggoner, and Lisa Morton's work to boot.
January 11, 2015
Jeani Rector has done it again, though this may be the best anthology she's put together so far. As much as I liked the last one, Shadow Masters, this one is far above that. The stories in here are diverse and well written, full of scares, creeps and utterly horrifying things. It really has something for everyone. Do you like monsters? Check. Twilight Zone type of stories? Check. Subtle horror? Check. Whatever your taste there's some great stories in this one you can't miss. Not to mention a great introduction by Bentley Little and one by John Russo. Stories in here that can't be missed are by Ray Garton, William F. Nolan, Jason V. Brock, Shaun Meeks, Christian A. Larsen, Tom Piccirilli, Lisa Morton and really, I loved every single one in this. Going back over the names and stories right now, there's not a single one I wouldn't read again. Each writer in here has just earned a new fan.
February 27, 2015
This review originally appeared on Shock Totem's blog (http://www.shocktotem.com/02/15/2015/...).
The Horror Zine’s latest short story anthology, Shrieks and Shivers from the Horror Zine, edited by Jeani Rector and printed by Post Mortem Press, is allegedly also their final one. Listed as “the scariest book that [they have] ever produced” on the Zine’s website, there are some big-name authors to be found here, including Elizabeth Massie, P.D. Cacek, Tom Piccirilli, Ray Garton, and Joe McKinney, alongside many other, newer and lesser-known authors.
There were stories in this anthology that particularly stood out. Martin Rose’s opener, “Tapeworm,” had me squirming with its subdued, suggested-but-not-seen horrors. Eric J. Guignard’s “One Last Tweet” was a delightfully disorienting second-person story-cum-postmodern social commentary about our Internet age. Elizabeth Massie’s “Squatters” was a solid, old-fashioned tale of a vile man getting his just desserts. P.D. Cacek’s “Somniphobia” was a fun, hallucinatory ride through night (and day) terrors. At first glance, Nathan Robinson’s “Old Haunts” was a typically gory zombie apocalypse tale, until it cleverly asks the reader to wonder just who is narrating the story. And let’s just say that Ray Garton’s “Parasites” is NOT a story to be read in the bathroom.
I have to admit that going into this anthology I was fairly stoked, but ultimately, I was a bit disappointed. A number of the stories just didn’t groove with me, often suffering from the common storytelling problem of “too much tell, not enough show.” Others were too heavy-handed with their horror delivery. Now, every multiple-author story anthology runs the risk of having some stories that don’t work for every reader; it’s a given evil in any art field. In this case, however, the sheer number of weaker stories hurt my overall opinion of the anthology.
Bentley Little’s introduction, in which he all but literally admits that he’s only included for cosmetic purposes, didn’t help. “I haven’t read any of the stories in this anthology,” he states in his opening paragraph. “I don’t even know the names of the authors contributing to this volume.” His admission left me desiring a more dedicated introduction, be it by Little or someone else. His lack of enthusiasm didn’t help my overall opinion of the stories and my feelings of their quality.
Furthermore, the book’s early inclusion of an essay by John Russo, co-scribe of George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968), was another touch that didn’t quite work. Russo rambles about zombies, and how they’ve changed over the years, yet not once does he mention the following stories, nor Jeani Rector, nor anything else to do with this anthology. Beyond being another big name, its inclusion is not clearly justified.
For all of its content (over 30 stories in all), Shrieks and Shivers from the Horror Zine felt like it was assembled with quantity in mind, rather than a strong sense of overall quality. Here’s to hoping that it isn’t truly The Horror Zine’s final anthology, if nothing else than for the hopes of a more proper send-off.
The Horror Zine’s latest short story anthology, Shrieks and Shivers from the Horror Zine, edited by Jeani Rector and printed by Post Mortem Press, is allegedly also their final one. Listed as “the scariest book that [they have] ever produced” on the Zine’s website, there are some big-name authors to be found here, including Elizabeth Massie, P.D. Cacek, Tom Piccirilli, Ray Garton, and Joe McKinney, alongside many other, newer and lesser-known authors.
There were stories in this anthology that particularly stood out. Martin Rose’s opener, “Tapeworm,” had me squirming with its subdued, suggested-but-not-seen horrors. Eric J. Guignard’s “One Last Tweet” was a delightfully disorienting second-person story-cum-postmodern social commentary about our Internet age. Elizabeth Massie’s “Squatters” was a solid, old-fashioned tale of a vile man getting his just desserts. P.D. Cacek’s “Somniphobia” was a fun, hallucinatory ride through night (and day) terrors. At first glance, Nathan Robinson’s “Old Haunts” was a typically gory zombie apocalypse tale, until it cleverly asks the reader to wonder just who is narrating the story. And let’s just say that Ray Garton’s “Parasites” is NOT a story to be read in the bathroom.
I have to admit that going into this anthology I was fairly stoked, but ultimately, I was a bit disappointed. A number of the stories just didn’t groove with me, often suffering from the common storytelling problem of “too much tell, not enough show.” Others were too heavy-handed with their horror delivery. Now, every multiple-author story anthology runs the risk of having some stories that don’t work for every reader; it’s a given evil in any art field. In this case, however, the sheer number of weaker stories hurt my overall opinion of the anthology.
Bentley Little’s introduction, in which he all but literally admits that he’s only included for cosmetic purposes, didn’t help. “I haven’t read any of the stories in this anthology,” he states in his opening paragraph. “I don’t even know the names of the authors contributing to this volume.” His admission left me desiring a more dedicated introduction, be it by Little or someone else. His lack of enthusiasm didn’t help my overall opinion of the stories and my feelings of their quality.
Furthermore, the book’s early inclusion of an essay by John Russo, co-scribe of George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968), was another touch that didn’t quite work. Russo rambles about zombies, and how they’ve changed over the years, yet not once does he mention the following stories, nor Jeani Rector, nor anything else to do with this anthology. Beyond being another big name, its inclusion is not clearly justified.
For all of its content (over 30 stories in all), Shrieks and Shivers from the Horror Zine felt like it was assembled with quantity in mind, rather than a strong sense of overall quality. Here’s to hoping that it isn’t truly The Horror Zine’s final anthology, if nothing else than for the hopes of a more proper send-off.
January 22, 2015
This is a fantastic anthology. Jeani Rector once again lines up so many great writers that provide so many wonderful stories. There's no theme to this other than top notch fiction, and what could be better than a book with William F. Nolan in it?
August 31, 2015
Great creepy read!!! And not just the established horror writers can take all the credit with this one. The stories by newer horror writers, such as Rachel Coles "Nails In Your Coffin," are just as good, if not better, than some of the penmonkeys who've been publishing for years. If you like creepy, horrific tales then you'll enjoy this story collection. Jeani Rector, the editor, made some great pics when she put this one together. I highly recommend it.
October 5, 2015
I enjoyed reading the short stories, some twist in the storyline
January 15, 2018
This book was given to me by a friend who loves horror :) Some of the stories were amazing ( Old Haunts, Pete's Big Break, & The Last Bottle to name a few) but others were kind of meh. Overall though a pretty decent collection of work.
One major complaint--I was super disappointed by the Foreword, where the author mentioned he hadn't even read any of the stories in the collection. It came off as disrespectful and standoffish. But I digress...
One major complaint--I was super disappointed by the Foreword, where the author mentioned he hadn't even read any of the stories in the collection. It came off as disrespectful and standoffish. But I digress...
October 13, 2017
Typical for Anthologies there are good stories, and there are great stories, and then there are just WTF did I just read stories and I mean that in a positive way. This collection was simply a bunch of meh type stories. I think there were 3 that I enjoyed all the rest I don't even remember.
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December 26, 2020Que bajón q justo los últimos dos sean malos. Creo que me gustaron todos.
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July 14, 2024"Rampart" by Amy Grech - wc
"The Woods" by Nicholas Paschall - wc
"The Woods" by Nicholas Paschall - wc
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews