Euan’s Reviews > The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories > Status Update

The Country Doctor by Steven Utley (1993)- a short and interesting one about what's unearthed when a graveyard is exhumed

Last Rites and Resurrections by Martin Simpson (1994)- A sad but sweet one about a man who hears the ghosts of roadkill after his son dies

The Ocean and All of Its Devices by William Browning Spencer (1994)- A good, eerie one about a strange holidaying family and their rituals with the ocean.

Replacements by Lisa Tuttle (1992)- A story about strange creatures which appear and disgust the male narrator, but seem to fascinate women.

The Diane Arbus Suicide Portfolio (1993)- A story about a crime scene photographer who photographs Diane Arbus' suicide, which leads to strange encounters for those photos

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.

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.

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."

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.