I've always loved the history and lore of holler witches and backwoods folk magic, so I was excited when I found this book on the Facebook group "Books of Horror". I'm the type to reach out and ask the author questions when I read a book and I rarely get an answer, but Tony Evans was more than accommodating and great to chat with! Learning that he grew up in the foothills of the Appalachians, listening to stories like these as a child made the experience of reading them that more interesting.
Tony gives his characters authentic voices and honest emotions (and flaws, like the mysogynistic pig in Your Notches Are Like My Tattoos), making the reader cheer on the good guys (and sometimes the monsters!) and hope for a positive ending. True to the genre, though, the protagonist doesn't always win. In at least 2 of his stories, the twists were a complete surprise, and I'm usually pretty good at figuring them out well before they are revealed.
This collection is well thought out, giving the reader a wide taste of Appalachian folk lore full of superstition and mystery. I can't imagine hearing horrifying tales like these as a small child, especially when they're told as truths and rules to be followed! If I ever find myself in Kentucky, though, I'm no longer keeping "visit a holler" on my to-do list. Fiction or not, I will now always believe there's something not quite right in those creepy hills, and it'd be best to leave the experiences to the locals.