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Prairie Gothic
It’s scarier when you can’t hide …
That’s the idea behind Prairie Gothic, an anthology of psychological and supernatural horror from Prairie Soul Press. Gothic tales, set in decaying, abandoned settings and characters with dark secrets mingle on the high Canadian Prairies.
That’s the idea behind Prairie Gothic, an anthology of psychological and supernatural horror from Prairie Soul Press. Gothic tales, set in decaying, abandoned settings and characters with dark secrets mingle on the high Canadian Prairies.
262 pages, Paperback
First published November 30, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 7, 2020
Growing up in a very, very small town in the middle of nowhere in BC created one of the weirdest small townism that has stayed with me until this very day.
When I was young, we had three TV channels: CBC, BCTV and The Knowledge Network. One of my favorite shows was a CBC show called ‘On the Road Again,’ which was hosted by Wayne Rostad. It ran for 20 years, from 1987 until 2007 and was an early inspiration for The Mercer Report with Rick Mercer. Wayne would travel to the smallest towns and meet the people and participate in whatever it was that the town did for fun. During one such episode, Wayne travelled to New Denver. HOLY HELL! New Denver, I thought. Why that’s thirty minutes from Nakusp. And Nakusp is only thirty minutes from Burton and that means Wayne Rostad is only an HOUR from me! To this day, any mention of those small towns brings that same sense of wonderment. That shared moment of ‘you’ve been to the middle of nowhere to!’
So it was, that recently I became Facebook friend with Craid DiLouie. I’d recently read ‘The Children of Red Peak’ from Mr. DiLouie and was stunned that he was living in Calgary. We chatted a bit on messenger and then I saw him share the release details for ‘Prairie Gothic: An Anthology.’ Featuring stories centered around Alberta, I knew I needed to read this and if anything, discover new authors with Alberta links. I’ve become friends with Mike Thorn, so I was excited to see his name on the list, especially being a fan of his work.
I grabbed a Kindle copy and this group of stories was so well done, I ended up reading it in one sitting.
What I liked: Well, after such a long-winded intro, I better do this book justice! The book opens with a fantastic poem/lyrics by Jim Jackson and an introduction by Stacey Kondla. This did a great job of setting the tone for what was to follow. Within the mix of stories, the authors really highlighted various dark fiction plots/tropes and not a single story was a miss for me. I need to highlight that again. Typically in a collection from a single author or an anthology such as this, there will inevitably be one or two where you read it and go ‘yeah, that was alright but not for me.’ Not with this one.
Saying that, I do want to highlight the stories that really stuck out for me, starting with story number one. ‘Darling House’ by PJ Vernon was a truly phenomenal opener. This story was simple in delivery but wow did it pack a punch. Staying spoiler free – I just want to say, you’ll never look at candles the same way ever again.
‘Mini McDonagh Manor’ by Mike Thorn was pristine and showed why I love Mike’s writing so much. Following a woman who needs to confront things from the past, Mike does a really great job of encasing an entire ‘haunted house’ book in a dozen or so pages. Well done.
‘The Frostlings’ by Chris Marrs was truly creepy. This one was tough to peg down with the emotional response it gave me, but I think the word that keeps coming to the front of my mind is chaotic and claustrophobic. Loved it.
For me though, the one that I truly loved the most was from Stacey Kondla herself. ‘Don’t Count Your Chickens’ might have been the shortest story in the anthology, but for me it packed the biggest punches, both for unnerving energy and creep factor. The story, and I need to keep this brief to make sure I don’t ruin it for you, is about something outside, something in the night. God, that’s all I can share! I wish I could say more, but this story was A+ infinity. Stunning stuff!
What I didn’t like: As I said earlier, every story worked for me here, so I’m going to go in a different direction here. What I don’t like about this anthology is that I’M NOT SEEING IT MORE OFTEN! This thing is amazing and truly deserving of being showcased wide and far. I’m a bit annoyed myself that I already posted my top ten anthology/collection list, because truthfully this would easily be featured on there.
Why you should buy this: I just want to thank Craig for bringing this anthology to my attention. That’s all it can take to make a sale, sharing a book on a social media platform, so I’m grateful to him for that post. I don’t think this will appeal to only ‘Albertans’ or ‘Small Town Canadians.’ The fact is, every town is haunted, every place has a house you avoid, a street you don’t walk on after dark. I grew up in a town of less than 100 people and we had both. This will speak to every reader who loves dark fiction, but for those of us who’ve been to many of these locations, it may just amplify the creeps a tiny bit more.
This brought a number of new-to-me authors to my attention and in 2021 I’ll be looking to read more of their work, but for now, I have to say – this is one of the best anthologies I’ve ever read. And I’d really love it if you would read it as well.
When I was young, we had three TV channels: CBC, BCTV and The Knowledge Network. One of my favorite shows was a CBC show called ‘On the Road Again,’ which was hosted by Wayne Rostad. It ran for 20 years, from 1987 until 2007 and was an early inspiration for The Mercer Report with Rick Mercer. Wayne would travel to the smallest towns and meet the people and participate in whatever it was that the town did for fun. During one such episode, Wayne travelled to New Denver. HOLY HELL! New Denver, I thought. Why that’s thirty minutes from Nakusp. And Nakusp is only thirty minutes from Burton and that means Wayne Rostad is only an HOUR from me! To this day, any mention of those small towns brings that same sense of wonderment. That shared moment of ‘you’ve been to the middle of nowhere to!’
So it was, that recently I became Facebook friend with Craid DiLouie. I’d recently read ‘The Children of Red Peak’ from Mr. DiLouie and was stunned that he was living in Calgary. We chatted a bit on messenger and then I saw him share the release details for ‘Prairie Gothic: An Anthology.’ Featuring stories centered around Alberta, I knew I needed to read this and if anything, discover new authors with Alberta links. I’ve become friends with Mike Thorn, so I was excited to see his name on the list, especially being a fan of his work.
I grabbed a Kindle copy and this group of stories was so well done, I ended up reading it in one sitting.
What I liked: Well, after such a long-winded intro, I better do this book justice! The book opens with a fantastic poem/lyrics by Jim Jackson and an introduction by Stacey Kondla. This did a great job of setting the tone for what was to follow. Within the mix of stories, the authors really highlighted various dark fiction plots/tropes and not a single story was a miss for me. I need to highlight that again. Typically in a collection from a single author or an anthology such as this, there will inevitably be one or two where you read it and go ‘yeah, that was alright but not for me.’ Not with this one.
Saying that, I do want to highlight the stories that really stuck out for me, starting with story number one. ‘Darling House’ by PJ Vernon was a truly phenomenal opener. This story was simple in delivery but wow did it pack a punch. Staying spoiler free – I just want to say, you’ll never look at candles the same way ever again.
‘Mini McDonagh Manor’ by Mike Thorn was pristine and showed why I love Mike’s writing so much. Following a woman who needs to confront things from the past, Mike does a really great job of encasing an entire ‘haunted house’ book in a dozen or so pages. Well done.
‘The Frostlings’ by Chris Marrs was truly creepy. This one was tough to peg down with the emotional response it gave me, but I think the word that keeps coming to the front of my mind is chaotic and claustrophobic. Loved it.
For me though, the one that I truly loved the most was from Stacey Kondla herself. ‘Don’t Count Your Chickens’ might have been the shortest story in the anthology, but for me it packed the biggest punches, both for unnerving energy and creep factor. The story, and I need to keep this brief to make sure I don’t ruin it for you, is about something outside, something in the night. God, that’s all I can share! I wish I could say more, but this story was A+ infinity. Stunning stuff!
What I didn’t like: As I said earlier, every story worked for me here, so I’m going to go in a different direction here. What I don’t like about this anthology is that I’M NOT SEEING IT MORE OFTEN! This thing is amazing and truly deserving of being showcased wide and far. I’m a bit annoyed myself that I already posted my top ten anthology/collection list, because truthfully this would easily be featured on there.
Why you should buy this: I just want to thank Craig for bringing this anthology to my attention. That’s all it can take to make a sale, sharing a book on a social media platform, so I’m grateful to him for that post. I don’t think this will appeal to only ‘Albertans’ or ‘Small Town Canadians.’ The fact is, every town is haunted, every place has a house you avoid, a street you don’t walk on after dark. I grew up in a town of less than 100 people and we had both. This will speak to every reader who loves dark fiction, but for those of us who’ve been to many of these locations, it may just amplify the creeps a tiny bit more.
This brought a number of new-to-me authors to my attention and in 2021 I’ll be looking to read more of their work, but for now, I have to say – this is one of the best anthologies I’ve ever read. And I’d really love it if you would read it as well.
December 20, 2020
What a fantastic anthology. Incredibly well written, deeply dark and disturbing – there is not a story between these covers that do not absolutely deliver on the promise of “Prairie Gothic.”
I enjoyed each and every story in this book but have to single out two as being my absolute favorites. Those are “The Frostlings” by Chris Mars and “Grass Gods” by Elizabeth Grotkowski for being the two that creeped me out the most (that’s a compliment!). They deliver chills without gratuitous gore and both have delightfully twisty (and twisted) endings. I also wanted to mention “Grasshoppers and Mountain Cats” by Rhonda Parrish which was a delight to read. Parrish is a wonderful wordsmith and her opening paragraph to this story was pure poetry.
I would definitely recommend this book to fans of horror or dark fiction in general. I can promise that you will not be disappointed.
*I was given an ARC of this anthology in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed each and every story in this book but have to single out two as being my absolute favorites. Those are “The Frostlings” by Chris Mars and “Grass Gods” by Elizabeth Grotkowski for being the two that creeped me out the most (that’s a compliment!). They deliver chills without gratuitous gore and both have delightfully twisty (and twisted) endings. I also wanted to mention “Grasshoppers and Mountain Cats” by Rhonda Parrish which was a delight to read. Parrish is a wonderful wordsmith and her opening paragraph to this story was pure poetry.
I would definitely recommend this book to fans of horror or dark fiction in general. I can promise that you will not be disappointed.
*I was given an ARC of this anthology in exchange for an honest review.
April 14, 2024
There were a few stories in this that I quite liked, and others that I was rather indifferent toward. I admit that I am not a fan of short stories and that they are hard to do right. A few stories in here would have worked much better in a longer format, as there was just so much background info and worldbuilding going on.
As I understand it, this anthology was done by invitation instead of tender offer. Unfortunately, this presents the problem of making a lot of the stories very same-y. Of course, gothic is inherently a derivative genre that keeps referencing itself, but at the third "*gasp* the cellar!" story, I was a bit tired and I might have liked the story better if I hadn't just read two quite like it. There were also multiple "I am a woman and I have trouble with my husband, parents, and/or children, one of whom is dead" stories that just felt old really quickly. Some were full-blown fantasy/sci-fi stories more than gothic, which is fine as well but not what I'm looking for in a gothic anthology.
Overall, I think the problems I had with this anthology were equal parts with the anthology itself, and with me. Other people might enjoy it much more than I did.
As I understand it, this anthology was done by invitation instead of tender offer. Unfortunately, this presents the problem of making a lot of the stories very same-y. Of course, gothic is inherently a derivative genre that keeps referencing itself, but at the third "*gasp* the cellar!" story, I was a bit tired and I might have liked the story better if I hadn't just read two quite like it. There were also multiple "I am a woman and I have trouble with my husband, parents, and/or children, one of whom is dead" stories that just felt old really quickly. Some were full-blown fantasy/sci-fi stories more than gothic, which is fine as well but not what I'm looking for in a gothic anthology.
Overall, I think the problems I had with this anthology were equal parts with the anthology itself, and with me. Other people might enjoy it much more than I did.
March 3, 2021
This was a wonderful, scary, eclectic book set in the unique environments of the Canadian prairies. It was a wonderful opportunity for me to read a sample of work from many authors I'd never read before. So many great stories, but some that stood out for me included "Dry Town," by Sarah L. Johnson, which had a nice twist at the end, "The Frostlings, by Chris Marrs, "Quickly, Something Familiar," by Chris Patrick Carolan, and "Insatiable," by Marty Chan. "Breathe," by Calvin D. Jim was particularly scary.
August 30, 2022
A anthology of stories with prairie gothic settings. I loved reading creepy stories set on the prairies. Liked some stories more than others. I hope we get to see more collections like this.
December 26, 2020
Creepy, scary, mysterious. These short stories are about ghosts, malevolent spirits, possessed people, possessed houses, etc. The stories leave you hanging as to what will happen next but the results are inferred. You must use your imagination and powers of deduction. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
December 22, 2020
I really enjoyed all the stories. It's a nice collection of twisted horror stories set on the Canadian prairie. They'll make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Great read for a cold, dark winter's night!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
December 23, 2020
A most unusual collection.
This anthology is a very interesting collection of stories centered in the prairies of central Canada. This has been a very strange and enjoyable read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This anthology is a very interesting collection of stories centered in the prairies of central Canada. This has been a very strange and enjoyable read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
December 21, 2020
The late Rod Serling, the man behind the original 'Twilight Zone', would have definitely swooped down to grab these 14 stories. One word - atmospheric. I was gifted this from author Rhonda Parrish.
August 9, 2021
I, unlike most of the other reviewers, did not receive this book from booksprout. Although my review is voluntary.
So, I think this was pretty good. It was certainly a fun touch to hear Calgary mentioned in a book. The prairie setting is certainly underused in fiction. Personally, I’ve always hated the prairies, and while that hasn’t necessarily changed, there is some magic in the place for sure that the book has illuminated for me. In particular, I was a big fan of grass gods, grasshoppers and mountain lions, the frostlings and breathe. The exploration of the different demographics of the prairies was really cool, and I loved how the authors were able to tie in so many myths and monsters.
While I liked the accessibility of the anthology format, I found myself wanting more out of a few concepts. The grass gods and the jiangshi for sure. Honestly I think they could’ve been turned into full novels that I would’ve read the hell out of. There’s just so much promise there!! It felt like they were diminished by being in such a short format.
This was certainly a fun read and I hope it gets more traction in the future. Definitely captured the creepiness inherent in the giant open prairie.
So, I think this was pretty good. It was certainly a fun touch to hear Calgary mentioned in a book. The prairie setting is certainly underused in fiction. Personally, I’ve always hated the prairies, and while that hasn’t necessarily changed, there is some magic in the place for sure that the book has illuminated for me. In particular, I was a big fan of grass gods, grasshoppers and mountain lions, the frostlings and breathe. The exploration of the different demographics of the prairies was really cool, and I loved how the authors were able to tie in so many myths and monsters.
While I liked the accessibility of the anthology format, I found myself wanting more out of a few concepts. The grass gods and the jiangshi for sure. Honestly I think they could’ve been turned into full novels that I would’ve read the hell out of. There’s just so much promise there!! It felt like they were diminished by being in such a short format.
This was certainly a fun read and I hope it gets more traction in the future. Definitely captured the creepiness inherent in the giant open prairie.
December 28, 2021
I read a few stories of this anthology of gothic/light horror as it was nominated under the "Best Related Work" category for the Aurora Awards. I came back months later to finish it as I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed these stories, most of which are solid and atmospheric, and sometimes even devastating. Gothic and horror are not my typical choices of genre, but this book might have even convinced me to give them more of a shot in the future.
January 9, 2021
Prairie Gothic by Rhonda Parrish is a great horror story that I have read. I really enjoyed this story very much and I can not wait to read more from this author in the future. I recommend this story to everyone who likes reading about suspense and horror.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
January 3, 2021
This is not my usual genre but, I am so glad I picked up this amazing anthology. It started slow and built to a crescendo. It is the first time in a long while, where a book was so good that wanted to look for more books by an author. I will be doing this for a few of the authors in this book.
August 29, 2021
A solid psychological horror anthology. Many of the stories are good ones, with the few that don't hit for me not really distracting from the good of the collection overall. Some familiar authors too!
January 5, 2021
This is such a wonderful collection which will draw you in and keep you there until the very last page
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
January 10, 2024
4.5* but I'm giving it a 5 because I enjoyed Breathe so much.
My favourites were:
- Darling House
- Dry Town
- The Frostlings
- Breathe
- Don't Count Your Chickens
- Insatiable
- Arsenic and Old Men
- Grass Gods
I'll always appreciate the prairies getting some horror love and overall it was a solid solid collection.
My favourites were:
- Darling House
- Dry Town
- The Frostlings
- Breathe
- Don't Count Your Chickens
- Insatiable
- Arsenic and Old Men
- Grass Gods
I'll always appreciate the prairies getting some horror love and overall it was a solid solid collection.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews