Status Updates From All the Fabulous Beasts

son of the sea: what do you MEAN he ejaculated seahorses. what the FUCK.

the nature of bees: I kept thinking of bugonia while reading this. a cult of bees? obsessed with this.

the englishman: I felt SWEATY reading this. haunting.

the rising tide: a welsh coastal folk horror is for sure in my favourite subgenre of stories. really reminded me of scuttlers cove again. also yes depression does feel like drowning in your house due to a woman who haunts the narrative.

fish skins: what do you MEAN this man made himself a merman out of fish skins? was his wife a siren/mermaid all along? I’ll never know but this was crazy

small town stories: this felt so grittily british and northern.

the absent shade: when the mummy issues go a bit too far that she permanently takes your shadow away

pearls: I wasn’t expecting a medusa/poseidon romance? so rogue but not mad about it

the show: I could fully imagine myself under south bridge in edinburgh while reading this story, specifically surrounded by porcelain dolls. yes I believe this shit.

the ballad of boomtown: I’m SO confused. an owl??? three sisters??? ireland????? couldn’t wrap my head around this at all it felt so fragmentary

the sunflower seed man: this was freaaaaaky. couldn’t help but imagine jonathan bailey in wicked 2 though…

egg: you’re telling me your child FLEW OUT OF YOUR ROOF

the anatomists mnemonics: WHAT HAVE I JUST READ? what do you mean he surgically swapped two sisters hands because of his hand fetish😭. bizarre but I’m still binging through these stories.

rag and bone: a disturbed, grimy alternative imagining of victorian liverpool where tom scavenges from the poor to provide for the rich. thoroughly enjoyed this and could’ve read a whole novel about this bizarre setting.

the crow’s palace: god I love a cuckoo related horror story. never usually pick up short story anthologies but I’m already hooked on this! that last line of ‘birdies’ while pointing to julie’s stomach was TERRIFYING