Sinofagia

by Xueting Christine Ni (Editor), Giulia Massellucci (Translator)

Dall'apparizione di un ombrello rosso che preannuncia eventi spaventosi in un campus universitario, a un hotpot che diventa varco tra il mondo dei vivi e quello dei morti; da mostri leggendari nascosti tra montagne avvolte nella nebbia, agli incubi del lavoro virtuale; fino a smaglianti condomini moderni abitati da persone ormai defunte, o ancora creature ideate in laboratorio per sostituire gli esseri umani nei compiti ogni storia rivela uno squarcio disturbante e suggestivo nella psiche collettiva di una società in rapido cambiamento.

Atmosfere cupe, folklore ancestrale e visioni di un orrore contemporaneo si intrecciano in un'antologia unica che mette a nudo le tensioni sociali, le ansie culturali e i desideri inespressi della Cina di oggi. I quattordici racconti horror, firmati da alcune delle voci più originali della narrativa cinese, ci trascinano in mondi dove il soprannaturale si insinua nel quotidiano, trasformando ogni storia in un riflesso distorto, ma sorprendentemente nitido, del presente.

Sinofagia è un viaggio ipnotico nell'invisibile che permea il quotidiano, dove l'orrore diventa lente d'ingrandimento per svelare ciò che si cela nelle pieghe più oscure della realtà.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction, China, Asia, Ebooks

431 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 24, 2024

Reviews

[inciminci · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is always exciting to discover horror that reflects different, new understandings of the genre, something outside the run-of-the-mill literature straight out of the same writing workshops following the same pattern. So of course I was going to jump on this collection of Chinese stories. Speaking of East Asian horror, I am familiar with Japanese and South Korean writings but have to admit that I hadn’t read Chinese horror before, so I was hoping for a fresh sort of writing here, and I found enough of it.

The foreword by the editor and translator Christine Ni, whose struggle to curate and adapt the stories for the Western reader provides an extensive knowledge and understanding as to the status of horror in China and the Chinese way of writing scary stories. It was most interesting to read that the genre doesn’t even have a proper name in Chinese, comparable terms being hard thriller or a word synonym to “terrorism”, lol.

Ultimately, I found in this anthology lots of folk tales, lots of myths, urban legends and ghost stories, but also a psychological horror story which ranks among my favorites. I have to admit that my attention somewhat drifted during a longer streak of stories heavy on myths which bordered on dark fantasy, but I definitely had my highlights which are:

The Yin Yang Pot by Chuan Ge is about a soup which has the power to unite lovers forever. For ever ever. Comes with a wonderful surprise ending!

Forbidden Rooms by Zhou Haohui; fun fact – I’m currently watching all the SAW movies and I wasn’t prepared to find people locked in a room trying to escape and the Chinese equivalent of Jigsaw (if not that extreme) here, but it fits the overall atmosphere I’m subjecting myself to right now, haha.

Huangcun by Cai Jun – in a twist of fate, an author meets a girl who claims to come from the fictional village he invented. He decides to visit her, but do I even have to ask if it is a good idea?

The Death of Nala by Gu Shi – gut punch psychological horror about a woman whose sadistic son kills their cat, and both her grief for the cat and worry about her son.

Very nice work, though, as I mentioned above, not wálways for my taste. I hope there'll be a second tome!

[Chantaal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sinophagia is a well curated celebration of Chinese Horror. While not every story landed for me, the project as a whole is intriguing, and Xueting Christine Ni put some absolutely fantastic work into the editing of this collection.

Ni's editor introduction really sets the tone for how she approached collecting submissions for this, and talks a little bit about the state of Horror as a genre in Chinese literary circles at this moment. It was interesting backstory that I loved learning about - which is part of the reason we pick up anthologies like this, right? To expose ourselves to other cultures and trends we normally don't read. Ni also does her best to include a list of content warnings for each story, AND she has a brief write up reflecting on each story after you've read it. The editorial care in this collection is just fantastic.

What about the stories themselves? Well, like with any short story anthology or collection out there, some stories are going to work for you, and some are not. Sinophagia is no exception there. Some of the stories were duds, some were great, and many were simply okay. I wish I had liked more stories more enthusiastically, but I have to remember that I'm reading these through two filters: these are all translated, and I'm not personally familiar with the cultural factors that inform this type of horror (despite Ni's great introduction).

Sinophagia is still a great short story collection to get your hands on if you want to expand and explore in your horror reading.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Rebellion for the eARC to review. Sinophagia will be released on September 24th - just in time for spooky season!

[Silvana · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up. Sinophagia is a marvelous collection of many different voices. From traditional ghost stories to rural legends & urban psychological horror, this book will feed your thirst for the unknown. I found out about this collection almost one year ago when Xueting told me she had another collection coming out and I gasped with surprise when knowing it's gonna horror. Asian horror is another level, I tell you.

Individual impression on the stories:
1st story: The Girl in the Rain by Hong Niangzi. Even from the first few pages, I already felt the chill. Urban horror, set in a university. Love the twists. 8/10

2nd story: The Waking Dream by Fan Zhou. I love this kind of scifi horror. Inspired by the 996 and 007 work culture, this is scary because it felt too real and could actually happen. Would make a great Black Mirror episode. 9/10

3rd story: Immortal Beauty by Chu Xidao. Inspired by the Painted Skin story, this is about a woman's tragic life in ancient China and how she became a wronged ghost. The writing is very atmospheric and it would make a chilling movie if adapted. 8.5/10

4th story: Those Who Walk at Night, Walk with Ghosts by She Cong Ge. Rural ghost story has its own charm, right? Especially when imbued with regional and national history, plus local beliefs like shamanism. Properly scary and too real. 8/10

5th story: The Yin Yang Pot by Chuan Ge. Yikes. Suffice to say I will not be looking at Yuanyang pot in the same way ever again. 9/10

6th story: The Shaxiao by Goodnight, Xiaoqing (what an interesting pen name). It delves into more wuxia/xianxia territory with a local mythic monster but I feel it was too short and wanted more. Also, I don't like the MC. 6/10

7th story: Have You Heard of 'Ancient Glory'? by Zhou Zedong. What if the apartment you bought apparently meant for storing the ashes of the dead? Housing issue but it's not that simple. Interesting twists and versions of events, this is definitely one of my faves. 9/10

8th story: Records of Xiangxi by Nanpai Sanshu. This is a hard one to rate. A mix of local Miao folktales as well as the legend of Zhang Qishan. I don't know anything about the Mystic Nine so it's all very new to me. Pretty cool though. Some imageries are pretty disturbing. 8/10

9th story: The Ghost Wedding by Yimei Tangguo. A tragic love story started with a past human trafficking due to gender imbalance. Mixing both rural& urban struggles, this could be hard to read at times. More like a psychological horror for the readers witnessing a tragedy. 8.5/10

10th story: Night Climb by Chi Hui. I don't get it. It ended before I could get a grasp on it. Maybe I'd enjoy it more if I'd known it's a vignette. I still want to visit Mount Emei one day. 6/10

11th story: Forbidden Rooms by Zhou Haohui. I've read the author's work before so I have high expectation. Inspired by a real life story, this is a superb novella, urban survival horror that reminded me of some escape room scenario with great character work. Perfect. 10/10

12th story: Ti'naang by Su Min. This reminded me of The Bionic Life drama. The twist was predictable but I did enjoy how the author used the small town setting. I kinda wish this is a longer story with more creepiness. 8/10

13th story: Huangcun by Cai Jun. Another favorite of mine from the collection, probably the most chilling and atmospheric. My heart actually raced reading this. If this is Chinese gothic then I am a fan. 10/10

14th, the last story: The Death of Nala by Gu Shi. I have admired the author's scifi works for years and this psychological horror story showed her strength and versatility as a writer. Short, but it would punch you in the gut. 9/10

I hope there'll be a second volume. With Zen Cho's Spirits Abroad and Isabel Yap's Never Have I Ever, I wish there will be more Asian horror stories, including translation, so more people could read them. Like my country too has some crazy, messed-up supernatural stories.

[Shu Wei Chin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so incredibly underrated, please consider this for your Halloween plans!

I am now incredibly jealous of people who have access to and can read Chinese books. The way I am devastated that I cannot read more works from most of the authors featured here without learning to read a whole language is driving me slightly insane. Never have I regretted not taking Mandarin lessons seriously as a child more than at this moment.

As a massive horror fiend, I need to explore the manifestation of this genre in other, particularly non-Western countries. I grew up in a culture that celebrates Tomb Sweeping Day and Hungry Ghost Festival, where TV shows featuring the underworld and supernatural beings are just your everyday fantasy binge shown even to children. When reading the introduction to this anthology by Xueting C. Ni, I was so surprised to discover what a taboo the horror genre is now in China, attributed mainly to the "besmirching" of the genre by over gratuitous gore and sexual content in modern horror media.

Holy moly did this book absolutely slay what it set out to do. With the exception of a couple stories, each collected tale resonated with me, either with its creep factor, its bold exploration of complex contemporary issues or the pangs of nostalgia evoked by familiar myths. This book better be sold in Australia so I can devour my favourites all over again and annotate a ✨forever mine✨ physical copy.

Thank you Xueting C. Ni for compiling this anthology and trying to bring the "Chinese gothic" to an international audience, thus bringing Chinese horror to the mainstream like in SFF (e.g. the works of Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù and Cixin Liu, in anthologies like The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories) as well as contemporary genres.

Thank you to the authors, Solaris and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Jamedi · Rating 5 out of 5]

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Sinophagia: A Celebration of Chinese Horror is a well-rounded horror anthology compiled and translated by Xueting C. Ni, published by Solaris Books. A book that feels as a labour of love, introduced by the own editor, which helps us to understand better why horror in Chinese is neglected many times, and that also throws some light on the cultural context. It is worth to notice (a practice that I certainly appreciate) that each story comes with a list of content warnings.

This anthology features a wide range of voices and themes, some drawing from folklore and legends, while others are clearly inspired by nowadays worries (we could talk about the fear for the past against the fear for the modern). It is difficult that all the stories end affecting you at the same level, but I found that Ni's notes after each one helped me to get some of the nuances that I might have missed, especially regarding concrete terms.

There's also something shared across all the stories, and it's the shivers/uncanniness transmitted through words; despite I cannot point to a concrete detail, that pleased me greatly. In particular, Forbidden Rooms ended becoming one of my favourites from the anthology, a really smart story rooted in the fear of society's indifference towards other people's suffering; and The Girl with the Umbrella twisted a classic trope in a really memorable way.

If you are a horror reader, this anthology is a must read; Xueting C. Ni has done a marvelous work not only to translate these stories, but to also share the nuances we might reader because of our different background. An excellent collection that brings light over many authors that might be unknown to the West, but that have an incredible amount of talent.

[Sato · Rating 4 out of 5]

(ARC for review via Netgalley. Thank you, for providing me with a free copy of this book!)

This was a very enjoyable collection of horror short-stories by contemporary Chinese authors. Naturally, some stories caught my attention more than others, but given the diverse amount of stories included that is not really a surprise - ghosts, marriages with the dead, legendary monsters, chances are high that something that will strike your fancy will be there. After every story, the editor /translator provided some background information about the topics of the stories and how they relate to Chinese society and culture. I thought that was a very good choice and there were quite a few things I could learn. In general, I felt there was a lot of thought and care put in the translation and compilation of this collection.

I am convinced that horror, meaning what we find unsettling and maybe intriguing at the same time (after all there has to be a reason why many choose to read scary tales right?), is something very subjective. Therefore, the stories I enjoyed the most, might just be okay for others and vice versa. For me, my definite highlight was 'Records of the Xiangshi' by Nanpai Sanshu, a novella about a group of soldiers hunting a monster deep in the mountains. Of course, there were also others I really enjoyed, but that one was my favorite for sure. I now have quite a few new authors that I want to check out and read more of.

If you like horror and want an interesting read for the upcoming spooky season, I highly recommend giving this a go!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC for review. To be published September 24, 2024.

From the book, “[n]obody [in China] wants to publish horror.” I could speculate on why that might be, but because I’m hoping to somehow slide into heaven I will not. I did learn some things here, for example, “the most common term for Horror as a whole is kongbu wenxhe, the same kongbu that is used for Terrorism.” Therefore, to say that horror has a bit of an identity problem in China is understating by a hundredfold.

“The Chinese view of Horror has always struck [the editor] as being unique where nearly every horror myth [she] has come across in the West is a cautionary tale, China has a long tradition of journal and documentational style writing, referred to as the “zhiguai” or tales of the strange, that mixes history with legends and hearsay. Much of that style is seen here in the book.

Given that there’s not much history nor much output of horror in China it’s not surprising that the stories included here are the most innovative or riveting, but as a huge fan of the genre, I love seeing what is being done in other countries and want to support those writers who are working in the genre. Plus, some of the stories are quite interesting from a historical perspective and I will be curious to see how the genre develops as time goes by. Writers in China definitely have a unique perspective on the world today.

The editor discussed that she had a digging time getting contributors for the volume, especially women, and God bless her for the lengths she went to to find them. There’s a fair amount of misogyny in some of the stories…equality between the sexes has far to go in China.

I was unsurprised that I had not heard of any of the authors included in the anthology. Cai Jun is, apparently, probably the best known writer of horror in China and he has a story here. My favorite story was “Forbidden Rooms” by Zhou Haohui, but several were good. I would encourage serious horror lovers to take a look at this, just to support the work being done, and so that we see more books like this.

[Aubrei K (earlgreypls) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sinophagia is an immaculate collection of Chinese horror short stories.

There are 14 stories included in the collection (although at times it feels like there are a lot more - many of the stories are not really "short"), and the editor Xueting Christine Ni is also the translator - which was super neat. Every single story in the collection is followed by a little editor/translators note where Ni explains the cultural significance of the piece, information about the author and their hesitations about being included in the collection, etc. This was SO VALUABLE and easily my favorite part of the collection. I took away so much more from the stories with these notes and they gave me time to debrief on my thoughts on them as well before jumping into the next.

Some of my favorite stories:

The Yin Yang Pot -- about a man who goes for hot pot and shares some with his ex only to find out she is dead and he is now doomed to stay with her in the afterlife. Ghost marriage/food/community

Have You Heard of 'Ancient Glory'? -- about an apartment complex specifically used for storing the ashes of the dead

Forbidden Rooms by Zhou Haohui -- two strangers are locked up mysteriously in an apartment and don't know why or how to escape

*Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Bill Hsu · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just can't take prose like this:

The night is as heavy and silent as death, and in it, the weeping becomes more distinct... She feels waves of pinpricks wash over her scalp, and she sits up on the bed like a Jack-in-the-box, her eye widening in total terror... The night is thick, and only the weakest shards of moonlight shine through the gauze curtains over the window...

Sorry.

[Mircalla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sinofagia

raccolta di racconti horror cinesi contemporanei curata da Xueting C. Ni

è una raccolta eterogenea
difficile scegliere il migliore
sono tutti racconti di alto livello
alcuni attingono alla tradizione
sulla scia di quelli dello Studio Liao
altri utilizzano aggiornamenti di vecchie paure intrecciandole con nuovi orrori direttamente derivati dalle emergenti ansie di tipo sociale

ho apprezzato sia quelle di linguaggio più classico
come Bella in eterno
e l’Hotpot dello yin e dello yang
che tracciano una linea diretta aggiornando il mito con un linguaggio evocativo

sia quelle direttamente più attuali come Conosci le torri dell’antico splendore?
che prende come spunto fatti derivati dall’adattamento di tradizioni alla nuova esigenza di tenere contenuti i costi dell’osservanza dei riti

per costruire un’atmosfera rabbrividente intorno a un racconto che cita i classici ma potrebbe persino diventare reale tra un po’

nel complesso è un’antologia che merita per varietà e per qualità

e chi non ha mai letto i Racconti fantastici di Liao

potrebbe avere una piacevole sorpresa
scoprendo che l’horror cinese è molto più spaventoso di quello a cui siamo abituati noi occidentali

molto più spaventoso

[Balthazarinblue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Averaging out my ratings for each individual story came out at 4 stars but the history and contextualization provided by the translator's notes bumps this collection as a whole to 5 stars. I enjoyed this immensely and I'm glad I took my time reading it, only focusing on a couple of stories a day.

Xueting Christine Ni set out to compile short story collection that could showcase the breadth and diversity of modern Chinese horror writing and in my opinion, she has succeeded admirably. There are stories here that touch on ghosts, cryptids, domestic violence, murder, suicide, urban legends, Saw-like imprisonment, abandoned tombs, clones, and unintentional curses. What sets this apart from other short story collections I've read this year, is the translator's efforts to expand on not just how each author fits into the modern Chinese horror scene - letting the intended foreign audience get a gauge on who is the sitting Stephen King-figure of Chinese horror and who is an up-and-coming newbie - but also how certain tropes are seen in Chinese culture. The relationship between the living and the dead in Chinese society really plays a role in how these ghost stories are constructed and learning about that enhanced my enjoyment of them. More than that, it has given me a framework to explore more Chinese horror stories, by these same authors and others, while having a deeper understanding of the genre. To me, that means Xueting has achieved what she set out to do with this collection.

I don't often buy physical copies of eARCs I've already read, but if I can get my hands on a copy here in South Africa, this is one I will definitely purchase for my shelves. I could definitely see myself rereading some of these stories.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous collection of horror stories from contemporary Chinese writers.

While I wouldn’t call the stories horrifying, they do get under your skin and some do fill one with dread. There are stories that tackle China’s 996 work culture, the use of apartments to house the remains of the dead, tomb exploring, and other unique characteristics of Chinese life. The notes after each story were also helpful.

Many of the stories appear to have been posted online, including by Chinese working overseas, and the authors gained their following on the web.

Favourite stories were The Waking Dream (about China's work culture) by Fan Zhou, Have You Heard of 'Ancient Glory'? (has satirical elements) by Zhou Zedong and Huangcun (atmospheric) by Cai Jun.

[lostcupofstars · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were a handful I didn’t like at all, but more than half that I did. There were a good few stories that have really stuck with me. I took my time reading this to allow each story to sink in and it was worth it.

LOVE that this had content warnings for each story at the start. That must have taken ages to do but I really appreciated it.

I deffo think this could have been separated into two books because some of the stories were really long and made this collection drag.

Here are my (spoiler free!) individual ratings for each story:

The Girl in the Rain 4/5
This was great story and was well told. There were parts of it toward the end that were a bit too tell and not show and I think it would have worked better to leave some things open to the readers interpretation.

The Waking Dream 3/5
I liked the point this was making but I found the world building was lacking a bit which meant the point was a bit blurry.

Immortal Beauty 2/5
I didn’t really vibe with this one. I liked the editorial notes, but the story itself was lacking for me.

Those Who Walk at Night, Walk With Ghosts 2/5
This one was too long. It had the right vibes but there was too much happening outside of the main point and I found it distracting.

The Yin Yang Pot 5/5
I will surely never forget this story. Chuan honestly gets what he deserves…but it doesn’t make it any less horrifying lol

The Shaxiao 2/5
It had some interesting ideas but it wasn’t memorable imo

Have You Heard of ‘Ancient Glory’? 2/5
This was ok but again I don’t think I’ll remember it

Records of Xiangxi 1/5
I truly did not care about this story 🥴 it was far too long!

The Ghost Wedding 2/5
I thought I’d enjoy this one more than I did. It was ok.

Night Climb 4/5
Short and sweet (or bitter!)
Could have done with a little bit more suspense, but overall a really good vignette.

Forbidden Rooms 4/5
This earned its length! It wasn’t boring for a second and I was compelled to stay awake to keep reading. It really made its point and I’ll think about it for a long while!

Ti’naang 4/5
Dammit I knew where this was going and it still hit hard. A LOT to explore here around mother x daughter relationships, women’s agency (or lack thereof) over their bodies and familial sacrifice.

Huangcun 4/5
Another solid story. I liked the layers in this and there was a lot left open to interpretation which also liked!

The Death of Nala 4/5
Oh :(
This could have used some more depth but overall it delivered.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD. Just before reading the last story, in fact, I preordered the book since it comes out in a few days.

This is an anthology of Chinese horror short stories which begins with a very helpful introduction which states that the horror genre in China has become touchy due to too many slashers and actual crimes which were blamed on horror films. So the editor, Xueting C. Ni, had to work very hard to convince the popular online horror writers to contribute their work, and I am so glad that they did. There was also a note in the Introduction which I appreciated, in which Xueting discussed coming up with a new term - kongxuan - to say that their horror anthology would be a terror-thriller rather than just jump scares and gore. This is the kind of horror that I like, the psychological thrillers and ghosts without getting too gross. I also appreciated that many of these stories were about the terror of the forest or other rural terrors. Fear of the unknown is one of humanity's greatest fears, and it always comes out in the shadows.

Here are the short stories:
1. The Girl in the Rain by Hong Niangzi- Urban legends on a college campus that kill. A very satisfying way to start an anthology, I think, by starting with a "you will die in 7 days" or "chant Bloody Mary in the mirror" style of college story.

2. The Waking Dream by Fan Zhou- Workers of the future work in a virtual world with virtual offices, and they are followed by the monsters of their nightmares.

3. Immortal Beauty by Chu Xidao- The feminine terror of being a woman trapped in a marriage to a marriage to a man who only desires beauty.

4. Those Who Walk at Night, Walk with Ghosts by She Cong Ge- Watch out when you go walking in the woods at night.

5. The Yin Yang Pot by Chuan Ge- A man splits hotpot with his ex and gets more than he bargained for. I think this might have been my favorite short story in this anthology.

6. The Shaxiao by Goodnight, Xiaoqing- A romantic enters the forest in hopes of finding and rescuing a maiden from a monster.

7. Have You Heard of 'Ancient Glory'? by Zhou Dedong- A couple is finally able to buy an apartment, but it's strangely deserted and the woman wakes up with a coin in her mouth (like the dead carry to pay the ferryman).

8. Records of Xiangxi by Nanpai Sanshu- A writer assembles local folklore about Earth Maidens, infanticide, and Zhang Qishan's army sent to hunt the mountain god.

9. The Ghost Wedding by Yimei Tangguo- How Xue Shuangxi became a ghost bride. I love a ghost bride story.

10. Night Climb by Chi Hui- Creepy hikers on a mountain.

11. Forbidden Rooms by Zhou Haohui- This one messed me up so much I had to take a break and switch to the romance novel I was also reading at the same time. A woman is kidnapped by a mysterious man who wants to torture her for her guilt in a child's death.

12. Ti'Naang by Su Min- A woman brings her fiancé to her xenophobic hometown to meet her abusive (and estranged) parents. Don't forget to ignore the help.

13. Huangcun by Cai Jun- During a signing, an author discovers that his made-up, Desolate Village is not actually made up, so he decides to go for a visit. This is a gothic story, which we all know I adore.

14. The Death of Nala by Gu Shi- A woman with a psychopathic child mourns the kitten killed by her son.

I loved this anthology, and I don't think there were any "bad" stories. This ranges from truly horrifying to my favorite kind of ghosts and spirits, and I hope that its success brings more translated Chinese horror to the English market.

Thank you to Netgalley and Solaris for this excellent ARC.

[ezra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Solaris for this ARC.

Rating: 3.5 Stars rounded up.

Sinophagia is an anthology of Chinese horror, with many of the works shown finding their way to an English-speaking audience for the first time.

As a lover of horror books and someone always looking to diversify his bookshelf I was excited when I first heard of this book, and even more excited when I got to read it ahead of publication.

First I have to compliment the editor of this anthology, Xueting C. Ni, whose insight into the stories I found absolutely indispensable. As someone who, quite frankly, has absolutely no clue of anything relating to Chinese culture and history, her commentary at the end of each story greatly helped me place them within the right context and understand them better.

The stories were mostly of a quieter, eerie sort, though also filled with lots of interesting monsters and folklore, as well as some focus on contemporary social issues.

Unfortunately I don’t think this type of horror was quite right for me, so I didn’t enjoy some of the stories as much as I think is possible to enjoy them, because there wasn’t one story here I would say felt “unnecessary” or bad, I just wasn’t the right audience.

One story that really stuck with me (which I then proceeded to tell to literally anyone that would listen) is called “Forbidden Rooms”, and even if you don’t typically love horror I would heavily recommend reading at least that one and then, if you liked it, giving some more of this book a chance, because I do think there is at least something here for everyone.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this book, it had a great assortment of stories. I only did 4 stars cause there were a few that felt especially long and overstayed their welcome a bit. Thus leading me to take longer than I wanted to read it while I got through them. Overall though a great book! I loved learning more about legends and literature and appreciated the footnotes added into the books throughout to help follow the context better.

[Melanie Schneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zum Ende hin entsprachen die Geschichten mehr meiner Erwartung, vor allem in der ersten Hälfte gab es aber viele, die von der Idee gruselig sind, aber wo die Umsetzung für mich nicht passte.

[Becca Hairfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

such a refreshing anthology from what i typically see on the shelves. themes were so up my alley.

[Peter Baran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This kind of compilation is daunting for an editor, how to do a survey of horror fiction in China right now, what do you choose to be representative, give a flavour of the scene, and try to cover a billion people and a massive country of countries? This job is made much more difficult, as editor Xueting Christine Ni explains in the excellent introduction, when the genre itself is discredited itself in China, the online and popular consumption on horror had been tainted in the last fifteen years by gratuitously gory content heavy on sexual violence, The word horror in itself put off collaborators. Pair this with the taste of your editor (again she is very open about the kind of horror she likes) and that could lead to a bit of a moribund collection. Luckily this is not the case here, potentially because I also share some of that taste (there is in the back end of the book a successful search for the Chinese Gothic).

The tales are heavy on folklore in places, a number of them rely on history repeating itself, or the "village that wasn't there" kind of narrative - the most successful of these is also a wonderfully foodie deconstruction of Yuanyang hotpot whose made-up mythology has already seeped into modern folklore. That is also a theme here, that of urban legends, or inverted folklore actually coming true (or in the case of Huangcun, a village invented for a horror story turns out to be real). Urban nightmares are not neglected, and spinning off of actual news stories for content (the idea that people are buying cheap suburban apartments to intern their dead relatives as the leases are longer than in the cemetery). Thematically the editor suggests that Chinese horror is less likely to be a cautionary tale, and that is true here - there are a few whose twists catch out an immoral protagonist but they are not that common. There is a more journalistic feel to many of these, which suggests that these things just happened, a different but effective form of horror.

There is sometimes a contradiction in horror anthologies like this which I got in the similar Japanese-themed one from Rebellion, which is that dichotomy between horror playing on the realistic, everyday fears and scenarios, and an anthology of foreign fiction being automatically othering. I think the editor has squared that circle nicely, not least around the modern set stories which play well in globalised world, but even the spookier ones set in a past that a tourist might come across. As with any anthology, it is a mixed bag, but even the tales I liked least had something of interest to them, and the good ones are very good.

[ツツ]

Maybe the real horror lies in the editor’s notes at the end of each story, which reveal how much these stories reflect real life—to the point the editor herself experienced a very similar incident described in one of them. People comment on how bleak and dark a worldview the author of The Three-Body Problem holds; maybe it’s not as personal, but a reflection of the society he’s in as a whole, maybe it’s how most of the world operates, maybe it’s so easy to forget that.

This is the first time I’ve seen a list of trigger warnings at the beginning of the book for each story. I think the intention’s good but could’ve been done better, like having additional labels like ‘intense’ or ‘mild’. I prefer not to read graphic and lengthy description of sexual violence against Women, because it’s too close to reality, too real a threat, to half of the population (and I suspect some of the other half read them as porn).
It makes me think of “trigger warning intersectionality”; for instance, this list of ‘coercion/gaslighting, disabled distress, domestic violence and abuse, graphic violence, imprisonment, sexual abuse/ violence, strangulation, torture’ doesn’t help to tell me it’s about a young woman being kidnapped to be a villager’s wife and the consequent abuse spanning 4 pages, with the whole village complicit to the point that they would help catch the woman when she tries to escape. It doesn’t seem like a good practice to pick it apart to put on single axises. Also, labeling human trafficking with ‘domestic violence and abuse’ is so inappropriate and cringe and gross. How come ‘human trafficking’/‘kidnapping’ and ‘forced pregnancy’ didn’t make it onto the warning list??

This anthology covers a wide range of (sub)genres and publication times. It provides me with so much extended reading. My favorite ones are the two sci-fi stories. I had brief encounter with Chinese horror years back and didn’t think much of it at the time other than finding it boring. It’s misogynistic, often revolves around sexual violence, and rife with anti-abortion messages (perhaps stemming from societal anxiety about the general public unironically using abortion as a contraception method). I appreciate the editor’s effort to include stories from women writers.

I think the translator's presence is too noticeable in the translation; every story felt similar in tone; with comparable turns of phrase. The prose is awkward at times. It felt unnecessary and redundant that the translator often chose to keep both the anglicized/romanized Chinese word and the word in English. The book itself felt cheaply made, and there are formatting issues and typos.

book 8 of 2025, (6 /February),
read late at night with ambient light or on PC

My ranking:
I liked:
The Waking Dream 清醒梦 by Fan Zhou (2022) I can’t find more of her work, I’d like to read more of this writer.
Ti’Naang 替囊 by Su Min (2019) I found her other works and I think she’s potentially an ableist but that describes most people.

I read all the words:
Records of Xiangxi 老九门之湘西往事 by Nanpai Sanshu (2021) the only writer here I already know, very famous.
Have You Heard of Ancient Glory? 你听说过古辉楼吗？by Zhou Dedong (2020) interesting story? Social commentary? Weak ending?
Forbidden Rooms 禁屋 by Zhou Haohui (2007) nice twist? plot hole.
The Yin Yang Pot, 鸳鸯锅 by Chuan Ge (2018) from a series of food-related horror stories

Don’t like but has element I enjoyed:
Huangcun 荒村 by Cai Jun (2004) Chinese gothic imagery
The Girl In the Rain 雨女 by Hong Niangzi (2011) plot twist, ‘classic chinese university horror’?

Didn’t finish:
Shanxiao 山魈 by Goodnight, Xiaoqing (2007)
The Ghost Wedding 喜结鬼缘 by Yimei Tangguo (2006)
The Death of Nala 娜娜之死 by Gu Shi (2014)
Immortal Beauty 红颜未老 by Chu Xidao (2002)
Those Who Walk At Night, Walk With Ghosts 但行夜路必见鬼 by She Cong Ge (2010)

Non-conformity as the butt of the horror:
Night Climb 夜攀 by Chi Hui (2024), I found more of her work, so many dialogues, for normie by normie

[C.J. Daley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Solaris, and Tantor audio for the ARC. The narration by both Emily Woo Zeller and David Lee Huynh were great!

This is a celebration of all things Chinese horror, which is fantastic. As this is audio, and I was listening at work without accompanying text, it was hard to note any of the story titles themselves, as they were in Chinese! But there were a few that stood out to me. The editor does a great job of adding notes and translations, however how some of them would pop up as footnotes right in the audio did add a slight layer of confusion for me, as they would repeat the Chinese phrase multiple times before commenting on it. It’s both necessary to define the terms used, but also took me out of the stories a lot.

One story that stood out was a mixture of ghost story, as well as a commentary on the pricing crisis on land that’s happening. An entire housing complex, which our main characters were not aware of when moving in, is mostly being used to house the ashes of the dead. While awake one night, a boyfriend finds a coin in the mouth of his girlfriend, a token used to help the dead. He freaks out and of course they desire to move. The twist that followed was not one I was expecting, and it was well done for something so short. The commentary on land, taking care of loved ones, and placing them to rest, reminded me of this year’s Korean film Exhuma.

Another I particularly enjoyed found a man and woman waking up inside an apartment. With no way out, they are trapped, and as their kidnapper knocked them out, they don’t even know where. Through various phone calls, the person on the other line offers them ways out through various tasks or tricks. I listened to this story right after watching Saw II and the comparisons cannot be understated. While there are no contraptions, the life and death possibility of being trapped, as well as the choices to save each other, does have a kind of Jigsaw feel with the person on the other end of the line. It also feels very reminiscent of those earlier 2000s movies where all the trapped person has is a phone.

Otherwise, with this being kind of mixed, as it includes short stories, novelettes, and novellas, I did struggle a bit with the different lengths, as sometimes I’d get used to a specific voice and then the story would promptly end. Then you’d start all over. I feel like collections of all shorts are a bit easier, but there were none that I disliked! As the editor notes several times throughout, some of these were what would be considered very Classical Chinese horror…which kind of felt like differing stories with the same ending of, “they were dead the whole time!” Not really displeasing, but I think it’s why I enjoyed the ones that differed the most.

[Nat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat mixed experience but on the whole I enjoyed this. I especially enjoyed the afterword to each story, where the translator talks about the cultural context for each short story and a little bit about each author.

The Girl in the Rain by Hong Niangzi - college myth about a mysterious girl with an umbrella who heralds death. On the one hand I love an urban legend but on the other hand the melodrama here was unbelievable. 3/5

The Waking Dream by Fan Zhou - working in virtual reality while your body "sleeps", but nightmares start to creep in. The imagery here was great and I liked the mix of horror and dystopian scifi. 4/5

Immortal Beauty by Chu Xidao - ghost of wife kills her lover. This is a classic ghost story but it was just a bit uninteresting. 3/5

Those Who Walk at Night, Walk With Ghosts by She Cong Ge - good level of creepiness and lots going on, although sometimes I found the story a bit hard to follow. 4/5

The Yin Yang Pot by Chuan Ge - people using hotpot to steal other people's bodies. Excellent, 5/5.

The Shanxiao by Goodnight Xiaoqing - a monster in the mountains turns into a beautiful woman. This was a clever reversal for the usual trope. 4/5

Have You Heard of Ancient Glory by Zhou Dedong - people rent apartments for the dead because they can't afford burial graves. Another really creepy one, and I liked the multiple twists. 5/5

Records of Xiangxi by Nanpai Sanshu - a bunch of guys in the jungle hunting monsters. ??????? what was going on here??? There were a million characters I couldn't keep straight and nothing in this story made any sense at all. 1/5

The Ghost Wedding by Yimei Tangguo - the daughter of a kidnapped woman ghost-marries her childhood sweetheart. Mostly just depressing, 3/5

Night Climb by Chi Hui - creepy people crawling up a mountain. This one was super short but I liked it, it didn't need anything else. 4/5

Forbidden Rooms by Zhou Haohui - saw-esque trapped room thriller. Somewhat derivative but it was definitely a page-turner. 4/5

Ti'Naang by Su Min - body doubles. Nicely done, the ending is predictable but still works so well. 4/5

Huangcun by Cai Jun - ghost city where a flute can resurrect people. There was a lot going on here but I liked the gothic elements. 4/5

The Death of Nala by Gu Shi - evil kid. I dislike evil-kid stories but this one was well done. 4/5

[Lanie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for a spooky season read, this is definitely the book for you! Normally, I try to pick out my favorites from a short story collection to discuss, but honestly, I loved each and every story in here. Ni mentions in their introduction that they tried to ensure they hit every kind of little niche sub genre in horror and they truly did from absolutely bat shit crazy humans that are scarier than any ghost or monster to ghosts and monsters and even technology as a killer this is just fantastic.

What truly made this collection of stories stand out though is that many of them correspond to a current social issue, and while yes some of them are more relevant in China than in other countries they are still relatable. And that made the reading of this all the more enjoyable. It wasn't horror for the sake of being horror. Many stories were a conversation on topics that affect so many of us.

The other portion that I want to make special mention of is the introduction. I do read the introduction to every book I pick up that has one, and more often than not, they are a snooze fest. Ni's is brilliant. Knowing the reason this collection exists and how difficult it was to put together brought an extra layer into this collection, it gave me the opportunity to understand why a particular story was chosen for the collection before I even got into it. The fact that Ni includes a commentary on the authors inspiration for their contribution as well as just some interesting facts about the author really helped to make this one of the most cohesive collections of short stories I've ever read.


Overall, I definitely recommend it, Sinophagia would make a perfect addition to any horror readers' shelves!


As always, thanks to Netgalley and Rebellion for the eArc.

[Shrike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sinophagia was my introduction to Chinese horror. While I enjoyed the overall experience, this collection did leave me with some mixed feelings.

There was a disconnect between my expectations and this book's approach to anthology. Sinophagia follows each story with a discussion of cultural and historical context. These breaks were often insightful and made the story even more interesting, but they also interrupted the pace for me. The ultimate effect was that this anthology felt less like entertainment and more like academic study. Again, this was not inherently good or bad, but it just wasn't what I was expecting.

I also noticed that everal stories seemed to overexplain the horror. I'm not sure if this was a stylistic choice, an artifact of language differences, or simple coincidence.

While I struggled with some aspects of this book, I am very happy that it exists. These stories are creative, beautiful, and haunting. I hope to see more Chinese horror enter the international book community.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to check this book out for free. I'm leaving this review of my own accord.

[Sabrina K · Rating 4 out of 5]

May 2025 Horror Book Club Pick [also, celebrating 2 years with HBC!!!!]

This was our first dip into Asian horror outside of a graphic novel that we did and this was such a great way to showcase Chinese horror and how the authors of these novelettes, short stories, and vignettes wrote about horror. A lot of the stories really reflected on what it meant to scare you in real life as a human rather than showing you the extraterrestrial or out of this world horror. This was such a great anthology to celebrate the Chinese horror and I enjoyed seeing into their world view of horror. I liked several of the stories and could definitely applaud all the authors for the way of story telling - which shows how different they viewed the genre versus their American counterparts.

There was a genre for everyone in this collection, as well as the content warnings in the front which definitely was a smart decision for several different types of audiences.

[Tullaia Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐️

This was a really unique collection of short stories. Like any collection by multiple authors, some stories were more engaging or interesting to me than others, but I enjoyed the collection as a whole. The translation is very well done, with footnotes when necessary (but not overwhelmingly) to retain the original vision of the authors. I learned a lot about modern Chinese cultural understanding of horror literature, which varies a lot from the Western style that I’m more familiar with. Dropping a star only because there were some formatting issues that were really distracting.

[Royal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Major kudos to Xueting Christine Ni, the editor and translator of Sinophagia: A Celebration of Chinese Horror for a stellar job of compiling an amazing anthology of Chinese horror and tales of the supernatural. This collection is a labor of love, and Ni starts the book with an introduction of how she started the monumental task of reaching out to Chinese authors because she wanted to bring these tales of horror to light, as the genre is often neglected even in Chinese culture. Unfortunately, she also notes that many of the submission she received were heavily misogynistic, so I actually appreciate the feminist works in this book even more. She not only wanted to showcase acclaimed Chinese authors but also support new and budding authors too.

Translation is an underrated art, and Ni does a beautiful job of maintaining a composed and descriptive writing style throughout the anthology and showcasing the original author’s work. I usually have a little trouble with anthology works because of the drastic change in tone, style, and writing talent between different authors and stories, but here is a great example of how having the same translator can really make the work cohesive.

Each story really resonated with me in an impactful and different way, and I had to pause in between some of them to recollect my thoughts - much in the same way as after watching an episode of Black Mirror. This compilation is very well curated and each story includes a wonderfully written editor’s note on the story’s background. My personal favorites were The Yin Yang Pot, as I’m partial to any story about love and food, Ti’Naang, and Forbidden Rooms.

These stories are much more complex than the scary stories most of us grew up with. Some tales illustrate the changes between ancient and modern China and provide background and commentary on mental health issues, geographical conflicts, feminism, parental-child conflicts, and the societal effects of long working hours and sweeping political decisions like the one-child policy. On the horror side, there are tales of psychological thrillers, survival horror, ghostly beings, supernatural beasts, and elements of the Chinese Gothic genre.

I’m not someone who usually seeks out scary stories (or actively avoids them), but this book caught my attention because of the introduction to a different culture’s interpretation of the horror genre. I think Ni did a fine job of celebrating Chinese horror stories and makes me look forward to the future of horror, feminist works, AANHPI stories, and translated literature.

Thank you to NetGalley and Solaris for providing an ARC for review.

[Brian M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was hands down the best short story collection I’ve ever read, and perhaps my flat out favorite book of the year.

Xueting Ni does an incredible job with not only the selection and translation of the stories but in providing accompanying context to each of the chilling tales as to their place in, and influence by, Chinese culture, history, and mythology. In fact, her notes following each story with a brief explanation of the themes were some of my favorite portions of the whole text.

It was clearly a massive effort for her to source and sift through stories, and she nailed it. This book is awesome!!

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read these 14 stories over the course of a couple weeks. This is my second anthology translated and compiled by Xueting and I am once again impressed. While Sinopticon held more personal interest due to it being sci-fi, this is undeniably a strong anthology and I’m excited to see if we get more anthologies with different genres.

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent anthology featuring new to me Chinese horror writers. There's echo of the tradition, there's the contemporary China.
Well done, highly recommended
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine