What do you think?
Rate this book
Wrong Things
This short collaborative collection contains "The Crystal Empire," an original novella by Poppy Z. Brite, "Onion," an original novella by Caitlín R. Kiernan, and "The Rest of the Wrong Things," a brand-new collaborative story by Caitlín and Poppy set in Poppy's fictional stomping grounds of Missing Mile, North Carolina. Wrong Things also features an exclusive afterword by Caitlín and ten full-page interior illustrations by Richard Kirk.
150 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2001
1 person is currently reading
586 people want to read
About the author
Poppy Z. Brite
164 books3,625 followersPoppy Z. Brite (born Melissa Ann Brite, now going by Billy Martin) is an American author born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Born a biological female, Brite has written and talked much about his gender dysphoria/gender identity issues. He self-identifies almost completely as a homosexual male rather than female, and as of 2011 has started taking testosterone injections. His male name is Billy Martin.
He lived in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and Athens, Georgia prior to returning to New Orleans in 1993. He loves UNC basketball and is a sometime season ticket holder for the NBA, but he saves his greatest affection for his hometown football team, the New Orleans Saints.
Brite and husband Chris DeBarr, a chef, run a de facto cat rescue and have, at any given time, between fifteen and twenty cats. Photos of the various felines are available on the "Cats" page of Brite's website. They have been known to have a few dogs and perhaps a snake as well in the menagerie. They are no longer together.
During Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Brite at first opted to stay at home, but he eventually abandoned New Orleans and his cats and relocated 80 miles away to his mother's home in Mississippi. He used his blog to update his fans regarding the situation, including the unknown status of his house and many of his pets, and in October 2005 became one of the first 70,000 New Orleanians to begin repopulating the city.
In the following months, Brite has been an outspoken and sometimes harsh critic of those who are leaving New Orleans for good. He was quoted in the New York Times and elsewhere as saying, in reference to those considering leaving, "If you’re ever lucky enough to belong somewhere, if a place takes you in and you take it into yourself, you don't desert it just because it can kill you. There are things more valuable than life."
Born a biological female, Brite has written and talked much about his gender dysphoria/gender identity issues. He self-identifies almost completely as a homosexual male rather than female, and as of 2011 has started taking testosterone injections. His male name is Billy Martin.
He lived in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and Athens, Georgia prior to returning to New Orleans in 1993. He loves UNC basketball and is a sometime season ticket holder for the NBA, but he saves his greatest affection for his hometown football team, the New Orleans Saints.
Brite and husband Chris DeBarr, a chef, run a de facto cat rescue and have, at any given time, between fifteen and twenty cats. Photos of the various felines are available on the "Cats" page of Brite's website. They have been known to have a few dogs and perhaps a snake as well in the menagerie. They are no longer together.
During Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Brite at first opted to stay at home, but he eventually abandoned New Orleans and his cats and relocated 80 miles away to his mother's home in Mississippi. He used his blog to update his fans regarding the situation, including the unknown status of his house and many of his pets, and in October 2005 became one of the first 70,000 New Orleanians to begin repopulating the city.
In the following months, Brite has been an outspoken and sometimes harsh critic of those who are leaving New Orleans for good. He was quoted in the New York Times and elsewhere as saying, in reference to those considering leaving, "If you’re ever lucky enough to belong somewhere, if a place takes you in and you take it into yourself, you don't desert it just because it can kill you. There are things more valuable than life."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 22, 2008
Poppy Z. Brite and Caitlin R. Kiernan, Wrong Things (Subterranean Press, 2001)
The title of this small collection seems rather redundant, really. Readers of the books of either of these authors should know well by now that nothing, in the world of either, is ever right, per se.
Wrong Things collects three long stories; one each from the two ladies, and a third that is a collaboration between them. The collaboration was originally supposed to be in Kiernan's From Weird and Distant Shores; at a guess, no one who reads the afterword in that book will be able to resist traking this down and reading "The Rest of the Wrong Thing." It's worth it. The story is set in Brite's fictional town of Missing Mile, taking two tangential characters and a tangential event and making them the focus of a creepy story about, as Kiernan puts it, "urban archaeology." Lovely stuff.
But the real gem here is Kiernan's solo story, "Onion." It's impossible to describe "Onion" without making it sound purely idiotic, but it comes off anything but. You'll just have to trust me on this one; "Onion" did more for raising a sense of dread in me than any story I've read since, probably, my first experience with the story "Slime" still trying to track the author of that one down) back in 1980.
You want to read this. Honest. ****
The title of this small collection seems rather redundant, really. Readers of the books of either of these authors should know well by now that nothing, in the world of either, is ever right, per se.
Wrong Things collects three long stories; one each from the two ladies, and a third that is a collaboration between them. The collaboration was originally supposed to be in Kiernan's From Weird and Distant Shores; at a guess, no one who reads the afterword in that book will be able to resist traking this down and reading "The Rest of the Wrong Thing." It's worth it. The story is set in Brite's fictional town of Missing Mile, taking two tangential characters and a tangential event and making them the focus of a creepy story about, as Kiernan puts it, "urban archaeology." Lovely stuff.
But the real gem here is Kiernan's solo story, "Onion." It's impossible to describe "Onion" without making it sound purely idiotic, but it comes off anything but. You'll just have to trust me on this one; "Onion" did more for raising a sense of dread in me than any story I've read since, probably, my first experience with the story "Slime" still trying to track the author of that one down) back in 1980.
You want to read this. Honest. ****
Want to read
May 10, 2015This is copy 633 of 1500 siged numbered copies.
January 3, 2010
It’s a real shame that this book is so hard to find because, even though it’s short (there are only three stories), it’s really quite amazing. This is Poppy Z. Brite pre-Liquor, so her novella is suitably dark and gothic. Caitlin R. Kiernan’s “Onion” is probably the finest short story I’ve read this year. It’s about a couple who, as children, briefly glimpsed other worlds, and the effect their visions have later on in their lives. The final story, “The Rest of the Wrong Thing” is a collaboration between Brite and Kiernan, and it's about something suitably horrific that happens in Missing Mile. It features a handful of the minor characters from Lost Souls and Drawing Blood (Terry Bucket, Kinsey etc). To top it off, there are also a handful of very sinister illustrations by Richard Kirk scattered throughout the book. If you enjoy stories that will fill you with a sense of dread or quietly approaching insanity, Wrong Things is one for you.
January 13, 2025
Three short stories. All pretty decent.
So, by Poppy Z Brite, I have only read Exquisite Corpse, and I've read nothing by Catlin Kiernan. But I am happy to say I was pleasantly surprised by both.
The first story "The Crystal Empire" reminded me a lot of Exquisite Corpse, in the most enjoyable way, and I had a good time around with it.
"Onion" was pretty damn weird, and in my opinion, the weakest story of the collection, but still alright.
"The rest of the Wrong Thing" however, my god. It was the best story of the collection and it makes me even more excited to read Lost Souls and Drawing Blood.
All in all, a solid little collection. 3.5 out of 5.
So, by Poppy Z Brite, I have only read Exquisite Corpse, and I've read nothing by Catlin Kiernan. But I am happy to say I was pleasantly surprised by both.
The first story "The Crystal Empire" reminded me a lot of Exquisite Corpse, in the most enjoyable way, and I had a good time around with it.
"Onion" was pretty damn weird, and in my opinion, the weakest story of the collection, but still alright.
"The rest of the Wrong Thing" however, my god. It was the best story of the collection and it makes me even more excited to read Lost Souls and Drawing Blood.
All in all, a solid little collection. 3.5 out of 5.
April 7, 2025
musician murder
cracks in walls show cracks in minds
kinsey hummingbird
cracks in walls show cracks in minds
kinsey hummingbird
February 17, 2025
➡ The Crystal Empire by Poppy Z. Brite - ★☆☆☆☆
➡ Onion by Caitlín R. Kiernan - ★★★★★
➡ The Rest of the Wrong Thing* by both - ★★★★☆
*the story was written by Caitlín R. Kiernan, but inspired by Poppy Z. Brite's real life mysteries, the setting being the fictional town of Missing Mile and the cast some of its characters (see: Lost Souls and Drawing Blood).
➡ Onion by Caitlín R. Kiernan - ★★★★★
➡ The Rest of the Wrong Thing* by both - ★★★★☆
*the story was written by Caitlín R. Kiernan, but inspired by Poppy Z. Brite's real life mysteries, the setting being the fictional town of Missing Mile and the cast some of its characters (see: Lost Souls and Drawing Blood).
September 20, 2016
I tend to like Brite's writing but have trouble getting into Kiernan's (except for her comics), and this time was no exception. So the trouble for me here is: Brite's solo story was just OK, and their collaborative piece, although set in one of Brite's story-worlds, was clearly written mostly by Kiernan.
August 30, 2010
A very quick read from my two favorite horror authors.
February 24, 2012
Not for the feint of heart. Raw. Beautiful. Scary, yet comforting.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews