Jeff’s Reviews > Fantastic Tales of Terror: History's Darkest Secrets > Status Update

"The Return of the Thin White Duke" by Neil Gaiman: 3/5 - this wonderfully creative adventure challenges the reader's imagination more than his or her courage. An eternal monarch of a fantastic multiverse is confronted with a change of power that requires him to prove himself, experience novelty for the first time in ages and reveal his true identity. References indicate a David Bowie-Ziggy Stardust connection.

"The Great Stone Face vs. the Gargoyles" by Jeff Strand: 5/5 - the author's signature sense of b-movies come-to-life is showcased in this story about Buster Keaton filming an unusual project with a behind-the-scenes secret manifesting in an unexpected way. The story is both scary and funny, with a casually abrupt ending that leaves you wanting more and yet totally satisfied.

"Lone Wolves" by Paul Moore: 4/5 - The longest work in the collection, this might be considered the centerpiece. Moore uses atmosphere, authentic dialogue and deliberate pacing to create a masterful short about a 19th century hunt on the opens plains led by Teddy Roosevelt. It ends up being more supernatural thriller than horror, but satisfying.

"Rotoscoping Toodies" by Mort Castle: 4/5 - what begins as a creepily mystical tale about Walt Disney's secret to success evolves into a more complex character study of the narrator, concluding with a twist so bleak at the end that the story could easily be the darkest of the collection.

"The Scent of Flesh" by Jessica Marie Baumgartner: 1/5 - this clumsy fictional history of Annie Oakley as a wendigo hunter is only tenuously connected to any factual life and the poorly structured prose is the scariest thing about it. A shame to see something like this so far into such a high quality collection.

At almost 600 pages, this collection is erring on the side of excess, but I would argue that there are very few collections with such consistently high quality stories. That being said, there are a couple of curious exceptions. This one by Jessica Marie Baumgartner is one of those. She writes children's books and nonfiction more often than horror or fantasy, so it's interesting that the editor included this one

"The Washingtonians" by Bentley Little: 3/5 - this story's absolutely off-the-wall concept hints at a much larger story, and even aspects of this one seem to have gotten the Reader's Digest treatment. Extremely exciting and creative, but too short to achieve its potential. A man discovers a letter written by George Washington that implicates the historical figure in terrible acts.

"Sic Olim Tyrannis" by David Wellington: 5/5 - I've enjoyed Wellington's shorts in the past and this was no exception. A refreshing infusion of natural (yet fantastic) history evokes Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal. Such an imaginative premise, it offers an entirely new vision of the zombie apocalypse. Not necessarily terrifying or profound, yet it's still everything a horror story should be.

"Articles of Teleforce" by Michael Bailey: 3/5 - this weird fiction story of crossover histories connects Nikola Tesla, Mark Twain, the New Deal and Flight 93 in an interesting mixture of fact and fantasy. Not scary, but creative, thoroughly researched and enjoyable.

"Gorilla My Dreams" by Jonathan Maberry: 4/5 - As is probably apparent from the title, Maberry's strong sense of humor is a big part of this story. The historical aspect of it seems more focused on the plot of King Kong than anything factual, but it's a lot of fun. The story is presented as a series of conversations building up to a press conference dealing with the presence and aftermath of the giant ape.