A review by emergencily
Howls from the Dark Ages: An Anthology of Medieval Horror by Solomon Forse, P.L. McMillan

4.25

An anthology of medieval horror stories. Overall a strong anthology with a clear thematic direction. I also loved the queer themes in multiple stories. A few stories are set outside of the European Dark Ages in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Normally, I'd love that inclusion, but I actually wasn't sure if the settings outside medieval Europe worked for the anthology. Great stories alone, but I felt they didn't hold up the anthology's strong, recurring themes of the unique horrors wrought specifically by European colonialism & Christianity -- e.g. the religious Crusades, the hierarchical Great Chain of Being, the mass fervors of witch hunting, the tortures and punishment of Catholicism.

My favourite stories:
  • "The Mouth of Hell" -- a knight expedition sets off into a lawless valley town abandoned by the Church. Seeking to rescue his knight master after he is dragged off into the night, a naive young knight descends into a hellish pit that is said to be the gateway to hell. The vividly described body horror and twisting of Christian doctrine onto its head in this story is nasty disgusting and terrifying. Exactly what I wanted out of this anthology.
  • "Brother Cornelius" -- a pair of young monks in training stumble upon a hidden room in their monastery, and then have to use the power of teamwork, Gregorian chants, and ass trumpets (literal) to seal a demon. Manages to somehow be both hilarious and terrifying.
  • "The Final Book of Sainte Foy's Miracles" -- a young boy makes a pilgrimage with his father to visit the Church of Saint Foy, child saint and patron of the wretched, famed for her double-edged miracles. After she grants his wish for his abusive father to drop dead, he is haunted by her until he makes another pilgrimage to offer his service to her. I loved the depiction of Saint Foy as both childishly mischievous and cruel, and her miracles as being both a blessing and curse (and potentially a lil demonic)
  • "A Dark Quadrivium" -- a scholar translates the forbidden, supernatural knowledge of a mysterious tome guarded by a heretic cult, and, finding the truth of his world overturned, goes mad and commits atrocities to open a gateway to another hellish world. Crazy time and space-bending cosmic and Lovecraftian horrors. Nasty body horror & gore galore

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