Midnight Self

by Adrian Van Young

Adrian Van Young beckons readers further into the shifting borderlands of the Gothic and uncanny in his second collection, Midnight Self. Space colonists menaced by a grotesque alien creature adapt a grim charter to ensure their survival. An exhausted new mother makes an uneasy discovery when her baby monitor' s signal gets crossed with another. An heiress imprisoned in a labyrinth of her own making is forced into an obliterating confrontation with grief. A carnivorous car lot tube man terrorizes a gang of transphobic bullies. An army nurse discovers that war' s terrors still hound her in new, chilling forms. Written in the tradition of Angela Carter, George Saunders and Mariana Enriquez, Midnight Self explores the dissociation of being human and the humanity of being monstrous.

Genres: Short Stories

223 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 14, 2025

About the author

Adrian Van Young has taught writing at Boston College, Boston University and Grub Street Writers, a creative writing non- profit. At various points in time, he has also taught writing and literature at the Calhoun School, 826 NYC and the Buckingham, Browne and Nichols School. In fall 2013, he will begin teaching creative writing and composition at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. He received his B.A. in English from Vassar College, and his MFA in fiction from Columbia University, where he formerly taught as well. In 2008, he was the recipient of a Henfield Foundation Prize and was nominated by Columbia's faculty for inclusion in the Best New American Voices 2010 Anthology.

The Man Who Noticed Everything, his first book of fiction, won Black Lawrence Press' 2011 St. Lawrence Book Award, and is available for purchase from Black Lawrence Press, an imprint of Dzanc Books, as of January 2013. He is currently in the midst of revising a historical novel based on the life of William H. Mumler, the father of spirit photography, and his clairvoyant wife, Hannah Mumler. His fiction and non- fiction have been published or are forthcoming in Lumina, Gigantic, Lacuna, Electric Literature, The American Reader, Black Warrior Review and The Believer. He lives in New Orleans, LA with his wife Darcy

Reviews

[Jonah Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

A series of text messages from me to Adrian Van Young, on Friday December 8th @ 6:26pm

Me:
-I'm in deep sh*t.
-At the dinner table I was sharing how you and I had a lovely conversation this morning and that you were at a reading for your new book last night
-"What's it about" my innocent children ask
-"Sebastian's dad writes spooky stories," I explain
-"Like what?" they ask while I stay ignorant of the trouble ahead
-"Well one of them is about how how you can see terrible horrible things on the baby monitor late at night."
-All hell breaks loose
-I desperately try and pivot
-Must redirect to a new story
-But the first thing out of my mouth is "SKIN THING"
-And then I'm completely f*cked.

You too can completely traumatize your family with this delightful and memorable collection of stories from the mind of Adrian Van Young. Five stars. (But don't tell my kids)

[Nicholas Arensman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of macabre, horror short stories written by my high school English teacher. Disturbing shit, but incredibly entertaining.