Status Updates From The Weird: A Compendium of ...

Angels in Love by Kathe Koja (1991)- A weird story, about a woman who is aroused and falls in love with the sounds of her neighbours having sex next door, and tries to discover how exactly they're doing it.

The Ice Man by Haruki Murakami (1991)- A short, lightly magical one about a woman who meets an Ice Man at a ski resort and marries him, and their somewhat distant relationship.

A sleeping sickness takes over a city. The animal kingdom reclaims the earth. An American taunts a Frenchman?

The Other Side (1908)
Alfred Kubin
p. 3-10

I began this strange, hulking tome on the first page I opened it, 765.

His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood (1990)
Poppy Z. Brite

Certainly too vile to read aloud or share.

Men with insatiable desires to push the envelope engage in the ultimate maladaptive behavior to escape apathy... find what they are looking for. A masterful romance of the abhorrent and disgudting. Brite makes modern vampire stories look foolish.

The End of the Garden by Michal Ajvas (1991)- A surreal story about a man who encounters a woman attacking a komodo dragon in her bedroom. I'm not sure what the point was, but good imagery and very surreal.

The Dark by Karen Jay Fowler (1991)- A story about a series of events in Yosemite, including disappearences and reports of plague, leading to a musing about the nature of animals in man.

Family by Joyce Carol Oates (1989)- A slyly creep story of a family on ranch, as they go through subtle transformations as the world seems to slowly collapse outside their compound.

His Mouth will Taste of Wormwood by Poppy Z. Brite (1990)- An excellent, gothic tale of two young men seeking decadence in debauchery in New Orleans.

14/110

14/110 stories

The Boy in the Tree by Elisabeth Hand (1989)- A very weird story, blending sci-fi and fantasy, about an autistic girl who is one of several empaths, who, twisted with drugs and training from childhood, are able to enter other people's dreams, and sometimes take them away as therapy. It's the story of this research institute being investigated (because sometimes the patients die) and of the head researcher's trauma.

The Functions of Dream Sleep by Harlan Ellison (1988)- The story of man, burdened with grief, who wakes up one night to find a maw on his side which closes and disappears. He seeks help through interpreting his dreams.

Worlds that Flourish by Ben Okri (1988)- The story of a man, living in an oppressed city as if in a dream, and the weird events that happen to him before and when he tries to flee.

Hogfoot Right and Bird-hands by Garry Kilworth (1987)- A story about a woman who turns parts of her body into animal pets. Short, but weird and somewhat disturbing.

Shades by Lucius Shepard (1987)- The story of a Vietnam vet returning to Vietnam as a reporter, to see a ghost captured by the Vietnamese of a soldier he knew. Really good- an excellent character portrayal, and examination of different kinds of "shades."

2025 Progress: #28-50.
Favorites: The Aleph, The Complete Gentleman, It's a Good Life

In the Hills, the Cities by Clive Barker (1984)- Reread. I remember only thinking this was okay when I first read it several years ago, but I didn't that was the case at all this time. This was great and horrific. Doesn't perhaps fit "the weirdest thing I've ever read" which I feel I've heard about it, but excellent.

Tainaron by Leena Krohn (1985)- Skipped, because I read this last year. It's a favourite though.

Bloodchild by Octavia Butler (1984)- Butler wrote this as a way of overcoming her fear of botflies? I mean it was great. But it was horrific.

The Discovery of Telenapota by Premendra Mitra (1984)- The story of finding a ruined shell of a city, interestingly told in second person future perfect.

Soft by F. Paul Wilson (1984)- The story of a plague which causes the bones of its victims to liquify, and two partial victims surviving in NYC. Gross and scary.