Pellucid Lunacy

by Michael Bailey, Rick McQuiston, A.J. French

An anthology of psychological horror. Twenty short stories by new and established authors from around the world.

196 pages, Paperback

First published October 21, 2010

About the author

Michael Bailey is a recipient and ten-time nominee of the Bram Stoker Award, a five-time Shirley Jackson Award nominee, and a three-time recipient of the Benjamin Franklin Award, along with several independent publishing accolades. He has written, edited, and published many books of various genres. His latest is Righting Writing, a nonfiction narrative used as curriculum for aspiring writers, and Silent Nightmares: Haunting Stories to Be Told on the Longest Night of the Year, an anthology co-edited with Chuck Palahniuk to be published by Simon & Schuster in fall of 2026. He is also the screenwriter for Madness and Writers, a creative documentary series about writers, and a producer for numerous film projects. Find him online at nettirw.com, or on social media @nettirw. He is represented by Lane Heymont of the Tobias Literary Agency.

Reviews

[Weldon Burge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insanity wears many masks. This is the apparent theme of the fine collection of 20 stories in “Pellucid Lunacy: An Anthology of Psychological Horror,” edited by Michael Bailey, author of the novels “Palindrome Hannah” and “Phoenix Rose.”

Here you will find stories about the danger of dating cougars (“Gasoline”), xenophobia and the loss of innocence (“Moonman”), the risks of psychokinesis (“Newton’s Third Law”), and the hell of shopping malls (“Sweaters”). Some stories are subtle in their horror (“I Wanted Black” and “The Truth Box”); others are unabashedly weird and stretch the imagination ("What the Walrus Hears” and “Eraser”). Perhaps the creepiest stories are those about characters who willingly embrace insanity (“Always With Me,” “This Blaspemous Mockery,” and “Sizzle”).

Themed anthologies tend to be “hit or miss” when it comes to content. Every story in “Pellucid Lunacy,” however, is a gem, and the diversity of voices and styles is impressive. If you love stories focused on madness and twisted humanity, be sure to put this anthology on your “must-read” list.

(All profits from the sale of this anthology are being distributed to charitable organizations.)