Status Updates From The Dark Country

"Calling All Monsters"---After reading, one may want to rethink one's "organ donor" status...

"The Dead Line"---A depressing story about a man whose wife is in a coma and essentially brain-dead but is being "harvested" for body parts and organs by a near-future health care system. This is the third story in a row about "organ donor" body horror.

"Today's Special"---A local Jewish butcher fires one of his employees, Luttfisk, who happens to be everyone's favorite. So, by popular demand, he's bringing Luttfisk back. This one is straight from an old Tales from the Crypt...

"Machine Demands a Sacrifice"---A frightening futuristic look at privatized---and ruthlessly competitive---paramedics...

"The Pitch"---a mean little story about a salesman hawking kitchen utensils to annoying housewives, only these utensils are missing a few parts, especially ones that make them safe to use...

"You Can Go Now"---Not sure about this one. It seems to be about a man locked in a loop of death and grief and guilt; dying over and over again in different ways.

"Daughter of the Golden West"---Two high school buddies investigate the mysterious disappearance of a third friend. A quiet new girl may hold the secret.

Slow build to a crazy out-of-left-field reveal at the end...

"We Have All Been Here Before"---A woman helps the police with her psychic powers to solve crimes, but, as the story progresses, the reader discovers that the psychic may not be helping anyone but herself...

"The Walking Man"---A very weird story, one that may take multiple readings. It's a definite nod to crime noir, filled with noir tropes---the femme fatale, the private eye, a morally shady narrator---that doesn't really go anywhere, and yet it's still riveting and terrifying due to the things that lurk beneath the surface. Reminds me of David Lynch's brilliant noir/horror film "Blue Velvet"."

"It Only Comes Out At Night"---A couple traveling a desolate desert road at night. A rest stop. Deserted cars with layers of dust. Wait, is that a person's silhouette in the front seat? What's that in the back seat? Is that--- Etchison lets your imagination run rampant in this one. And you'll never want to stop at a rest stop at night ever again.

"Sitting in the corner"---Man walks into a laundromat..."