Pale Grey Idol, Issue Zero

by Brian Evenson, Michael Kelly (Editor), Steve Toase

"Literate and eerie."
—Locus Magazine, Paula Guran

Stories of the ineffable. Strange and uncanny tales from the best contemporary writers of folk horror and weird fiction.

Issue Zero features work from Seán Padraic Birnie, Brian Evenson, K. Wallace King, Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece, Steve Toase, and Ben Tufnell. Curated by World Fantasy Award winning editor Michael Kelly.

Genres: Short Stories, Horror

100 pages, Paperback

Published September 29, 2026

About the author

Brian Evenson is an American academic and writer of both literary fiction and popular fiction, some of the latter being published under B. K. Evenson.

Reviews

[Cail Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great short collection from the main roster of undertow contributors. The story of the man in the woods, and Brian Evenson‘s were the standouts for me. Oh, and the waterslides story was also excellent.

[Tony Ciak · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

Weird, horror,short stories, unsettling, well written.

[S.J. Shank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended. These "strange and uncanny tales" offer a perfect distillation of displacement and dread.

[Lewis Housley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent collection from Undertow. Just pick up a copy.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked three of the six stories, and there was no dreck to be found in this issue, so thumbs up here. "Stillness" by Ben Tufnell stood out in particular for me. Some very real world horror with just a subtle hint of the supernatural for those who want to see it. "The Heads" by Brian Evenson was unique and effective. I recommend this issue to those who like their horror weird and literary.

[Χρυσόστομος Τσαπραΐλης · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

"The heads", by Brian Evenson was, as expected, excellent. The other stories were rather mediocre.