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How to See Ghosts & Other Figments
When it comes to short fiction, Orrin Grey is a magician, a practitioner of an arcane art inspired by the likes of Méliès, Welles, and Bradbury. Through literary legerdemain and stylistic sleight-of-hand, he takes the well-told weird tale into a realm of the supernatural, the uncanny, the theatrical, and, most importantly, the entertaining. And entertainment is what you're sure to find in this collection of stories, provocatively entitled How to See Ghosts & Other Figments. Through the magic of the written word, you will see ghosts. And so much more! The strange! The sinister! The superlative!
Orrin Grey returns with eighteen haunting stories of the strange and supernatural.
Orrin Grey returns with eighteen haunting stories of the strange and supernatural.
- GenresHorrorShort Stories
246 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 31, 2022
3 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
Orrin Grey
104 books351 followersOrrin Grey is a skeleton who likes monsters. When asked, he claims to mostly write oubliettes.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 7, 2023
In my opinion, any new collection from Orrin Grey is something to be celebrated, and How to See Ghosts & Other Figments is no exception. While horror, Grey's work always feels like something different. It's old comic books and monster marathons; things under the bed and that old house on the corner with the boarded up windows. Comfort horror, maybe. Whatever it is, I'm always happy to see more of it. Favorite story (if forced to choose just one): "The Splitfoot Reel."
September 21, 2022
Orrin Grey is a writer I have been into a fair bit for a long time now. I’ve always enjoyed how he leans more towards the fun and spooky type of horror, rather than the more slight and abstract weird fiction type, or the grimdark everything sucks, and the world is ending type. When you read a Grey story, you know it’s not going to be as serious as all that. It is going to focus on the wonder more than on the terror if you catch my drift. Withing many of the stories that make up this collection, however, we find Grey operating in a more ponderous register. There are still stories, like The House of Mars, that are fantastical flights of fancy, but they don’t have as much impact as tales like The Drunkard’s Dream, which is easily the most compelling one in the slim volume.
Even without the author’s notes going into it, you get the sense that there is a deep longing that pulsates like a heart of darkness at the center of these tales. The title story is something of a thesis statement and was one of my favourites. I’ve always found the supernatural, ghost stories in particular, soothing and it felt nice to find a kindred spirit in that.
As with any anthology that collects writings spanning many years, it’s wildly uneven. Stories like Prehistoric Animals, The Big, Dark House by the Sea, The House of Mars, The Humbug, and Annum’s Fire stand out as particularly well-executed and inventive, while Old Haunts, The Cult and the Canary, The Double-Goer, The Pepys Lake Monster, and The Power of the Dead all present interesting concepts or moments, but either end up having rather cliché elements/endings or feeling less developed/memorable to this reader.
Luckily, the only stories that were total misses for me were Masks, Dr Pitt’s Menagerie, The Splitfoot Reel, and Stygian Chambers. 4 forgettable and slight stories in a collection of 18 is nothing to scoff at.
All in all, it wasn’t my favourite of Orrin Grey’s collections, but when it was on, it was really on.
Even without the author’s notes going into it, you get the sense that there is a deep longing that pulsates like a heart of darkness at the center of these tales. The title story is something of a thesis statement and was one of my favourites. I’ve always found the supernatural, ghost stories in particular, soothing and it felt nice to find a kindred spirit in that.
As with any anthology that collects writings spanning many years, it’s wildly uneven. Stories like Prehistoric Animals, The Big, Dark House by the Sea, The House of Mars, The Humbug, and Annum’s Fire stand out as particularly well-executed and inventive, while Old Haunts, The Cult and the Canary, The Double-Goer, The Pepys Lake Monster, and The Power of the Dead all present interesting concepts or moments, but either end up having rather cliché elements/endings or feeling less developed/memorable to this reader.
Luckily, the only stories that were total misses for me were Masks, Dr Pitt’s Menagerie, The Splitfoot Reel, and Stygian Chambers. 4 forgettable and slight stories in a collection of 18 is nothing to scoff at.
All in all, it wasn’t my favourite of Orrin Grey’s collections, but when it was on, it was really on.
June 5, 2025
As Sylvia Moreno Garcia points out in the introduction to Orrin Grey's fourth collection of short stories, Orrin is not just a master of monsters, but a master of the short story form itself. Everything from the somewhat longer form short stories here, to those that would practically qualify as flash fiction ('The Big, Dark, House by the Sea') are expertly executed. On the level of Matheson, Grey is one of the best living short fiction writers of our time.
There are more deeply personal stories here, with the Drunkard's Dream being one of them that is a personal favorite from a previous collection I'd read. Some other particular favorite re-reads and re-prints here for me were 'The Pepys Lake Monster' and 'Anum's Fire (annotated)'.
'The Cult and the Canary' is a fantastic King In Yellow influenced story, and 'Dr. Pitt's Menagerie' and the 'Double-Goer' were some of my favorites overall here. As usual, please pick this, and any of Orrin's other collections up, you won't be disappointed.
There are more deeply personal stories here, with the Drunkard's Dream being one of them that is a personal favorite from a previous collection I'd read. Some other particular favorite re-reads and re-prints here for me were 'The Pepys Lake Monster' and 'Anum's Fire (annotated)'.
'The Cult and the Canary' is a fantastic King In Yellow influenced story, and 'Dr. Pitt's Menagerie' and the 'Double-Goer' were some of my favorites overall here. As usual, please pick this, and any of Orrin's other collections up, you won't be disappointed.
December 14, 2022
Grey's fourth collection is my favorite so far. This collection amps up his tendency to keep the human heart at the center of his stories and, in this collection, I actually found less that was overtly scary and more that was moving. Personally, that's how I like my horror so it worked for me. With that in mind, this collection leans more into the fantastic as opposed to the horror (though, make no mistake, there is horror and some pretty bloody stuff too) which means any Gothic elements Grey uses actually work very well.
There's a story in this collection for most tastes and there are pieces that were written in very interesting ways that made them fun to read. The different places he pulls inspiration from also give the stories a nice variety.
For me, because of the emotional core at the center of them, Grey's stories have always been heavy, but I like it that way. If you're more into stories that are going to make you tear up, this is a good collection to go with.
There's a story in this collection for most tastes and there are pieces that were written in very interesting ways that made them fun to read. The different places he pulls inspiration from also give the stories a nice variety.
For me, because of the emotional core at the center of them, Grey's stories have always been heavy, but I like it that way. If you're more into stories that are going to make you tear up, this is a good collection to go with.
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January 3, 2023I’m struggling to describe the vibe of this collection better than forward-writer Silvia Moreno-Garcia, who notes the old-school Hollywood vibe and “mix of nostalgia and grotesquerie” shared by the stories. Reading this collection is like sitting down at a diner with a raygun gothic aesthetic – at midnight, when the only other patron is a weirdo who keeps staring at you.
Many of these tales explore the existential possibilities of art in all its forms, from music (“The Splitfoot Reel,” which evokes old folklore about the demonic potential of fiddle music) to video games (“The Drunkard’s Dream,” in which a man copes with his wife’s suicide by immersing himself into an arcade game), not to mention monster movie F/X and theme park rides. Grey’s crown jewel here is “Anum’s Fire (1987) — Annotated,” an experimental tribute to Conquest, Lucio Fulci’s surreal sword and sorcery epic. This book will make you elegiac for songs you’ve never heard and movies that never existed.
Many of these tales explore the existential possibilities of art in all its forms, from music (“The Splitfoot Reel,” which evokes old folklore about the demonic potential of fiddle music) to video games (“The Drunkard’s Dream,” in which a man copes with his wife’s suicide by immersing himself into an arcade game), not to mention monster movie F/X and theme park rides. Grey’s crown jewel here is “Anum’s Fire (1987) — Annotated,” an experimental tribute to Conquest, Lucio Fulci’s surreal sword and sorcery epic. This book will make you elegiac for songs you’ve never heard and movies that never existed.
January 23, 2023
Early access to the review up on Patreon! Full review will be up for everyone in a week.
Update: Full Review!
Long time readers of the blog might remember my adoration of writer Orrin Grey. From his wonderful collections of film reviews from decades past to previous short story collections, not a single one of Orrin Grey’s work has disappointed me in the past. Thus, when I heard that a new Orrin Grey book was out in the world last year, I jumped at the opportunity to pre-order the book directly from Word Horde.
At last, the verdict is in, and I’m happy to say this is another knockout from Grey. If anything, How to See Ghosts & Other Figments might be Orrin Grey’s best book yet.
Read the rest of the review here.
Update: Full Review!
Long time readers of the blog might remember my adoration of writer Orrin Grey. From his wonderful collections of film reviews from decades past to previous short story collections, not a single one of Orrin Grey’s work has disappointed me in the past. Thus, when I heard that a new Orrin Grey book was out in the world last year, I jumped at the opportunity to pre-order the book directly from Word Horde.
At last, the verdict is in, and I’m happy to say this is another knockout from Grey. If anything, How to See Ghosts & Other Figments might be Orrin Grey’s best book yet.
Read the rest of the review here.
November 1, 2023
Orrin Grey has yet to write a bad story. This collection is spectacular and continues his perfect streak of fantastic collections. This collection, especially, dives deeps and connects emotionally. My favorite stories are:
The Humbug
Doctor Pitt’s Menagerie
The Power of the Dead
Prehistoric Animals
The Drunkard’s Dream
The Robot Apeman Waits for the Nightmare Blood to Stop
The Humbug
Doctor Pitt’s Menagerie
The Power of the Dead
Prehistoric Animals
The Drunkard’s Dream
The Robot Apeman Waits for the Nightmare Blood to Stop
February 4, 2023
Another sterling collection from Orrin Grey! This time around, the vibe is solidly set to haunted, from Halloween haunts to people who are haunted. Wistful arcades and ridiculous cults, ominous spaces of the mundane and oddly endearing monsters—around every corner, strange magic awaits.
January 7, 2023
Orrin’s obsessions are our gain. Monsters, atmosphere, and hauntings both real and artificial. This collection is filled with these links.
February 24, 2025
Review to come.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews