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booksnguitars's review
5.0
13 horror stories set in the great state of Illinois, published by a small Missouri press. Full disclosure, I know editor Jerry Benns and I own a bookstore that hosted Jerry and Margie Colton for an autographing in late 2014.
As with many horror anthologies, there will inevitably be some stories that appeal more than others, but this collection contains a pretty wide variety of styles. My favorite stories tend to be those that are closest in style to a good Twilight Zone episode, and there are several of those present, although there is no one style of horror that dominates the collection. For a small press publication, the editing is top-notch, and I'm sure that will be the case for upcoming releases by the publisher.
My personal favorite couple of stories are "Drowning in the Hazel" by Eli Constant, which plays upon the fear of places dark, deep, and underwater, "My Porcelain Monster" by Eric Dean, featuring a haunted toilet that's creepier than that initially sounds, and "Piasa Remains" by Herika Raymer, and not that it was more terrifying, but because it utilized the setting of Alton, Illinois more effectively than any other location in the collection. I know the short story length doesn't give the authors many extra words for "scenery", but this particular line of fiction really will benefit from a strong sense of place and local color.
I look forward to the upcoming volumes in the State of Horror series, and as the notoriety of the publisher and line increase, I hope a wide variety of authors and experts in local history will be included.
As with many horror anthologies, there will inevitably be some stories that appeal more than others, but this collection contains a pretty wide variety of styles. My favorite stories tend to be those that are closest in style to a good Twilight Zone episode, and there are several of those present, although there is no one style of horror that dominates the collection. For a small press publication, the editing is top-notch, and I'm sure that will be the case for upcoming releases by the publisher.
My personal favorite couple of stories are "Drowning in the Hazel" by Eli Constant, which plays upon the fear of places dark, deep, and underwater, "My Porcelain Monster" by Eric Dean, featuring a haunted toilet that's creepier than that initially sounds, and "Piasa Remains" by Herika Raymer, and not that it was more terrifying, but because it utilized the setting of Alton, Illinois more effectively than any other location in the collection. I know the short story length doesn't give the authors many extra words for "scenery", but this particular line of fiction really will benefit from a strong sense of place and local color.
I look forward to the upcoming volumes in the State of Horror series, and as the notoriety of the publisher and line increase, I hope a wide variety of authors and experts in local history will be included.
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