Institutionalized: Stories of the Deranged and Demented

by R.E. Sargent (Editor), Richard Chizmar, Ronald Kelly

Insanity has me by the throat. I wish it’d squeeze a little harder. They call me crazy, but who are they to judge? I’m not crazy. They are. I’ve tried to reason with them, but they won’t listen. Yet. One day, they will hear me, and one day, they’ll be sorry. This is no way to live, being locked up like an animal. And I’m surrounded by lunatics. The scary girl in the corner who hears voices, the burly bald guy who lashes out with violent tendencies, the quiet redhead who lights fires, or the Rob Zombie look-alike that is rumored to have murdered his entire family. Is this real or one sick and twisted nightmare I can’t wake up from?

Institutionalized is the latest anthology from the creators of The Better Off Dead series. This installment brings you stories of the mentally unbalanced, the damaged and disturbed, and the criminally insane. Some are locked up. Some are not. We recommend you sleep with one eye open. With stories by Richard Chizmar, Ronald Kelly, R.E. Sargent, Steven Pajak, Rebecca Rowland, Mike Duke, Scott Harper, Jill Girardi, Richard Clive, Jeremy Megargee, Janine Pipe, LP Hernandez, Scotty Milder, Renee M.P.T. Kray, Brandon Scott, and David Rider.

Foreword written by Brian Asman.

Genres: Horror, Anthologies

358 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 5, 2022

About the author

R.E. Sargent, the author of Relative Terror, One-Star Review and the Fury series, lives in Oregon with his wife, Sandi and their two fur children, Mason, a Bernese Mountain Dog, and Riley, a Chocolate Lab.

Born in California, R.E. spent most of his life living and working in Arizona, where he met his wife. Between them, they raised four sons. Talk about a lot of testosterone in the house!

An avid reader, R.E. fell in love with books when he was a child and the bug never went away. It was his love for the written word--and his admiration for authors such as Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Gregory Mcdonald, Paul Gallico, Donald Westlake and Roald Dahl--that persuaded him to write novels himself. Currently, he is working on the latest novel in the Fury - Scorned series.

When not working or writing, R.E. and his wife enjoy making trips to the coast and taking in the ocean air. Life doesn't get much better than watching the waves crash on the shore as the sun sets below the horizon. Well, maybe one of those drinks with the little umbrellas would make it better. You know what I mean, right?

Reviews

[Kayla Krantz · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 Stars

Tales of madness galore!
I adore this collection by Sinister Smile Press. The variety of stories from creatures to slasher means it has a little something for everyone.
My top three favorites from the collection:

1. Out of the Box by Renee M.P.T. Kray
In this story, a woman finds a piece of her childhood after her mother passes away. A box. But not just any box. A box her mother used to seal away her imaginary friend. Who may not be so imaginary after all.

2. Lab Rats by Jill Girardi
A grad student uses rats to research the correlation between intelligence and diet. What happens when the testee becomes smarter than the tester?

3. Memory Eater by Jeremy Megargee
An elderly woman finds herself facing a creature who lives in her mind. Not just any creature, one that destroys memories and won’t stop until she’s lost everything that makes her who she is.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Likely the best anthology Sinister Smile has released (not a small feat when one considers the stellar catalog the press has gathered), Institutionalized offers a bumper crop of unreliable narrators and undulating madness. I am proud to have a story in this collection, especially since there isn’t a dud nor dull moment in the pack. I enjoyed all of the stories and writing styles.

Some particular stand outs include Richard Clive’s “When Lightning Strikes,” where dread simmers like slowly boiling water in an allegory of the building insanity that pervades an abusive relationship. Also, with echoes of Stephen King’s Later and Alejandro Amenabar’s The Others, Steven Pajak’s “Specter of Insanity” tests the boundaries of a charlatan author. Scotty Milder’s “Casey’s Last Ride” pushes the reader to consider what is real as it dances around the consciousness of patient with Cotard’s delusion (Bonus points for the Boston setting). The tale that unnerved me the most, though, was LP Hernandez’s “Hesitation Cuts,” a story that is simultaneously creepy and heartbreaking: a man believes he’s lost his wife to the ravages of old age, but it appears she’s not the only one who is lost.

A true all-star collection, Institutionalized is one of those anthologies a reader will savor, not just for the terror and trepidation it evokes but for the beautiful and gifted writing it showcases.

[Jim X Dodge · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are many ways to lose your mind, go insane, go completely bonkers. Sometimes you have already slipped a cog and just haven't realized it yet. Add these elements of madness to high quality horror stories and you get this marvelous anthology from Sinister Smile Press. Some of the names may be familiar and others will be exciting moments of discovery. Just remember, not all commitments are voluntary. -Jim X Dodge, author of Theta House and The Bite