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thegothiclibrary's review against another edition
3.0
For many readers (even those who missed the heyday of this genre and know of these books mostly through reputation), the phrase “women running from houses” conjures a very specific image that represents an entire genre of books: an illustrated book cover with a woman in the foreground, usually in a flowing dress or nightgown, long hair loose, glancing nervously over her shoulder at a dark castle or manor in the background, with a single window glowing ominously. Dozens of covers following this formula adorned pulpy paperback novels that flooded bookstores in the midcentury. Novels of this type were often called “Gothics,” distant descendants of the traditional Gothic novel that tended to follow the Jane Eyre model of a young woman becoming romantically involved with a mysterious, brooding man and discovering his dark secrets. Jason Henderson, a horror author and podcaster, chose this image as the theme for his fourth volume in the Castle of Horror anthology series. Sixteen authors came at this prompt from very different angles, resulting in stories that range from traditional Gothic romances to post-apocalyptic science fiction. I found the stories to be a bit hit and miss; not all of the authors seem to have fully grasped the genre this anthology riffs on, and the quality of writing varied significantly. Plus, the anthology was overwhelmingly male—with a dozen men and only four women among the authors—for a genre that has long been dominated by and associated with women, which perhaps accounts for some of the disconnect. But several gems really shine out of this collection for both engaging with genre traditions and giving it a fresh new twist.
See my full review: https://www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-castle-of-horror-anthology-vol-4-women-running-from-houses/
See my full review: https://www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-castle-of-horror-anthology-vol-4-women-running-from-houses/
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