Where Decay Sleeps

by Anna Cheung

Where Decay Sleeps lays 36 poems on the undertaker’s table, revealing to us the seven stages of decay: pallor mortis, algor mortis, rigor mortis, livor mortis, putrefaction, decomposition and skeletonisation. Readers are summoned to walk the Gothic ruins of monsters, where death and decay lie sleeping.

Tread carefully through Satan’s garden. Feast your eyes on the Le Chateau Viande menu (before your eyes are feasted upon). Read the bios of monsters on Tinder. Discover the unpleasant side-effects of a werewolf’s medication.

Blending traditional Gothic imagery, modern technology and Chinese folklore, Where Decay Sleeps is the debut poetry collection from the haunted mind of Anna Cheung.

Genres: Poetry, Horror, Gothic, Audiobook, Fantasy

96 pages, Paperback

Published September 30, 2021

Reviews

[Nicholas Perez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't ask me why it took so long to read this. I don't read poetry that much so it takes me a hard time to focus. This was an excellent collection of Gothic poetry, some of them influenced by Chinese culture. Not all the poems were clear or produced the same catharsis, and I absolutely hated the one about COVID, but overall, Anne Cheung was beautiful writing and can invoke fear, rot, dread, and death

[Bertie (LuminosityLibrary) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where Decay Sleeps is a gorgeous gothic poetry collection that expertly combines modern technology, spookiness, and Chinese folklore to create a creative, original, and delightful read.

With 36 poems, Where Decay Sleeps travels through the seven stages of decay. From the inherent creepiness of pregnancy to monster's Tinder profiles, these poems promise a haunting, entertaining read.

Perfect for a graveyard picnic, the atmosphere and quality of this collection was superb. It has a mix of humorous and more serious poems creating a varied, compelling read. The poetry was gorgeous - lush, atmospheric, eerie, and strange. It managed this without obscuring meaning in favour of prose - this collection is perfect for readers of all levels. If you're a lover of gothic who wants to pick up poetry, this is for you. If you're a lover of poetry who wants a bit of spookiness, this is for you. A highly recommended read.

Thanks to Haunt Publishing for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

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[LittlePiscesReading · Rating 5 out of 5]

'your torso is shipwrecked; a ribcage
with the remains of a human heart'

Poetry. I'm always a little wary of it. I'm at my most cat-ish when I read poetry. But, oh my, how much I was looking forward to this. I wasn't disappointed. Where Decay Sleeps is a gorgeous collection. It's creepy and eerie, beautifully macabre and gothic. Awe-some in the old sense of the word. And also maybe not a collection to read in the dark.

I wouldn't call it scary, exactly. But the language is exquisite and the scenes it conjures are sometimes best left to the light.

I did find it could be hit-or-miss sometimes though I'd put that on myself more than anything. But it's still absolutely a five star read. I didn't have to think about the rating at all. What I wasn't such a fan of really paled in comparison to what I loved anyway. And I have every intention of digging it out again in a few days time for a proper Halloween read.

Also it has a Painted Skin poem!!!! And a Medusa poem!!!!

[V Rendina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was recently given a copy of Anna Cheung’s Where Decay Sleeps, a gothic poetry collection published through Rebecca from Haunt Publishing. I absolutely loved this book. Anna Cheung wholeheartedly encompasses the main components of gothic literature, in bite-sized, verse-filled form: terror, pleasure, and intense emotions.

The book is told 7 parts (Birth, Digital Distruptions, Psyche, Loss, Cravings, Beauty, Metamorphosis), which I personally love for establishing an overarching flow to a poetry collection, blending each movement together in their similar themes while tying the whole thing together into one fluid symphony.
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Another beauty of Anna Cheung’s work is her experimentation with structure. From the first page, we experience fractured lines and stanzas, in between standard structure, that heighten the anxiety and tension with each subject matter. The poem “Himikomori” exemplifies this break from standard structure best, making the reader feel the madness the narrator describes.

Overall, Where Decay Sleeps is jam-packed with gorgeous lines, intricate wordplay, and well-crafted poems of terror and lore. Hard work and excellent craftsmanship went into this collection, and I encourage anyone reading this review to grab a copy today.

[HFEpro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not typically a poetry reader, but I backed this project on kickstarter because I wanted more horror books to read while also helping fellow creatives get their projects off the ground.

The book lists content warnings by section and alphabetically, right up front after the table of contents section, which I appreciate for ease of communication with the reader. If blood & gore, death, and mental illness are topics you need to avoid for whatever reason, this will not be the book for you. Also giving a minor award to alcohol in that regard. There are most certainly more than that, but those are the biggest ones. And like I said, they're listed not only alphabetically, but also by poem; so you can easily skip certain poems if need be.

Even just in the first section, I was impressed by Anna Cheung's turns of phrases, use of voice, and format. This book isn't a collection of left-aligned clusters of stanzas. There's plenty of variety going on in terms of layout.

If you're looking for "darkness / rumbl[ing] with earthworms" and "fingers crawl[ing] upwards", look no further! Anna Cheung's got you covered!

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where Decay Sleeps is a collection of poetry split into seven stages of decay: pallor mortis, algor mortis, rigor mortis, livor mortis, putrefaction, decomposion and skeletonisation. Using seven themes, the poems explore haunted elements and everyday gothic, merging horror creatures with modern technology and creating spooky atmospheres.

I particularly enjoyed some of the twists on modern life, like 'Monster Tinder' and 'Dinner with Dracula', which were tongue in cheek, and the combination of those with more serious poems like 'Decay, The Stalker'. The variety of kinds of gothic poetry was nice, with some poems a walk in an eerie woods and others a sudden reveal of gruesome bodies. The poetry is accessible and it's a good collection for gothic horror fans who perhaps don't read many poems as well as poetry fans who like a bit of haunting.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anna Cheung’s new collection by Haunt Publishing is comprised of thirty-six poems of various styles organized into seven categories, and the topics and mood range from everyday grotesque to nightmarishly creepy. I developed a morbid interest in horror poetry over the past year and was intrigued to read Cheung’s release, and Where Decay Sleeps exceeded all of my expectations. The cover is gorgeous, the interior design is meticulously eye-catching, and the writing itself is exceptional. There wasn’t an entry of the thirty-six that I did not enjoy, but a few stood out in originality of form/approach or content and absolutely should not be missed.

Read which ones were my favorites in the rest of my review here at Ginger Nuts of Horror

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

if you are new to neo-gothic poetry, then this may be the collection for you.

this collection is fine. it struggle to decide whether it wants to be more instagram poetry or normal poetry. whilst I did appreciate some of the imagery, I don't feel like the chinese mythology inspiration was particularly apparent.

my favourite poems were: monster tinder, computer love, hikimori and beatrice and bluebeard. as I am going over these, computer love stands out the most. funnily enough, these are the poems with the imagery I liked the most.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I'd enjoy this and I was actually correct... I loved this collection! I also made the decision wait until I could purchase the audiobook from the publisher and hear the author read the poems herself, which was absolutely the best decision. These poems get under your skin... the best Gothic collection I've read in a while, covering femininity, motherhood and identity while creeping out your audience is no mean feat! Can't wait to see what Anna Cheung does next

[Laura Spence]

Absolutely brilliant read! each poem really captures the imagination enabling characters to jump off the page and into the mind. Each poem is laced with gothic horror incorporating themes from today such as technology and dating sites but also ghoulish tales which embed in the mind leaving you wanting more. Definitely my fav read this year!

[Joana · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can read my full review of Where Decay Sleeps on my blog: https://owlbeereading.com/2022/01/26/...

Here is an excerpt from it:

'Where Decay Sleeps is a dark, gothic poetry collection of 36 poems which, divided into seven sections, reveal the seven stages of decay: pallor mortis, algor mortis, rigor mortis, livor mortis, putrefaction, decomposition and skeletonisation. It’s the debut poetry collection from Anna Cheung. You’ll find darkness, monsters and creepy creatures lurking from the pages, haunted places, traditional Gothic images that blend with modern-day technology and Chinese folklore. I am extremely grateful for the chance to write a review for this book, as I was looking forward to reading it, I knew it would be expertly put together, I knew I would love the poems. I just didn’t know they would be that beautiful and haunting.'

[George Prew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant poetry collection - Spooky, funny, clever, and deeply thoughtful, often all at the same time. Through a brilliant framing device (dividing the poems into sections themed around the stages of decay, Cheung explores a variety of delightful horror themes - Strongly recommended!

[Kevin L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely adored this collection of poetry, which veers from grim and visceral to laugh-out-loud whimsy.

Favorites in this collection:
*The Thing on the Subway
*Monster Tinder
*Summoning Baba Yaga
*Shadow
*The haunted Forest
*The Visit

[Nelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my type of poetry, a lot of them felt more like very short horror stories

[Phoebe Munro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahhh so good! I’m not usually one to buy poetry books but I’ve recently been expanding my collection 😏
This was definetly the right one to pick up! My love of Gothic meant that I was absolutely obsessed with the structure and the uncomfortable, almost gross nature of exploring the human body and death which has been done in such a beautiful way! Will definetly be recommending this!

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous, haunting, terrifying, scary, but also utterly beautiful collection of poetry.


So I found out about Haunt Publishing sometime this year and when I saw they had a kickstarter to get their newest works up I knew I had to help out. I supported this book and two others that are set to release in 2022 and further. I was delighted when in November I got the mail with the epub/pdf for this book. And after the week I had (writing this one on 10-12) I could use something dark and haunting so I decided to read it. And WOW.

These poems are dark. They are haunting. They are at times scary. Sometimes gory. And some are surprisingly light-hearted (like the Tinder one). But with the exception of one poem (corona), I read through them all. It wasn’t always easy, but my curiosity got the better of me. I just wanted to know how things would go. See what would happen next. I was just mesmerized by the beauty and darkness. These poems will stick to me for a while.

Here are a few parts I loved:
From The Visit:
“They dig themselves out, fingers raw,
scraps on bone, hair frayed loose on scalps.
Deep inside the grey matter, memories
turn nuts and bolts of consciousness.”

From Hikikomori
“Sitting on the train
colours ran away from me
as the world scrolled past
fading everything
to monochrome
the vibrant trees and hills
and the passengers
who
hung
lifeless and grey
hand-hoooked
on hand-rails”

The Thing on the Subway:
“I sat down and there it was again,
like the previous night and the night
before, six seats down in the carriage,
alone, rigid and pale as a pile of bones.”

I loved that these poems weren’t always the standard format of verses after verses, hope that makes sense, but at times also would break apart, fall apart, words go up and down.

A big big PLUS goes to the trigger/content warnings that are given at the beginning of the book. That way I could prepare myself for what was to come. More books should add trigger/content warnings, sadly many don’t. And I definitely need them.

I loved that we were going through stages of decay and that the poems fit well with that stage. I loved how each stage was announced with a beautiful artwork with the name of the stage in it.

All in all, beautiful and haunting and I am happy I supported the kickstarter and that I got to read this book. It was just what I needed at the moment. Recommended to all.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Aria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Also on Snow White Hates Apples.

A collection of poetry that blends traditional Gothic imagery, modern technology and some Chinese folklore, Anna Cheung’s Where Decay Sleeps is centred around the 7 stages of decay — a morbid, but fascinating theme. This debut poetry collection ticks all the right boxes to pique my interest. However, as much as I wanted to love it, it’s not entirely my cup of tea.

While I adored the gorgeous, visceral imagery that this collection has in spades, I wasn’t a fan of the lack of rhythm, which is a key aspect of poetry since it’s what sets it apart from regular speech and prose. Truthfully, many of the pieces here read more like horror short stories written in verse than actual poems or poetic prose (I even read them out loud, just to be sure).

My favourite poems from this collection are:
– Claudine
– Shadow
– Porcelain
– The Painted Skin
– Tears of Medusa