folklore – Tattered Covers & Broken Spines

A genre-blending novel by Kristopher Triana

5/5 Star Review

I will say it again, once more for the readers in the back: If you are a fan of the horror genre and haven’t yet read Triana, you are seriously missing out! With his latest release, Gone to See the River Man, Kris carves out an expertly crafted blend of extreme, cosmic, and folk horror.

Lori is a lady who has never been lucky in love. Her relationships never seem to flourish, or even come to fruition, due to familial challenges and trauma. As the novel opens, Lori is writing to an inmate named Edmund Cox, a notorious serial killer. She can’t explain exactly why, but she feels a kinship with him – a sameness – and wants him to divulge his secrets only to her. After a face-to-face visit with Edmund, Lori decides to take him up on a quest he asks her to undertake. The task is simple: Find his family’s cabin along the river, retrieve a key, and deliver it to the River Man – Edmund even draws a map. Lori, along with her handicapped sister, Abby, embarks on this seemingly simple journey that will finally prove her devotion to Edmund. Lori quickly realizes this may not be a simple journey after all and the sisters find far more than they ever could have bargained for.

I don’t believe the location of this novel is ever specified, but it has a distinctly Appalachian feel. When you veer off the beaten paths in this region, you will find it’s a completely different way of life and rich with its own folklore. Every bit of the River Man story sounds like it could have happened anywhere in the area. I hesitate to say any more because I don’t want to spoil this book for anyone, but the blending of folk lore and cosmic horror in this story is just phenomenal. Triana’s use of colors as descriptions near the end of the sisters’ journey is Just. So. Good. A highly recommended read!

Please note that I did receive this title as a review copy in exchange for an honest review. I have also done a spotlight post on some of Triana’s other titles here.

New American Folklore written by John Brhel & Joe Sullivan and illustrated by Chad Wehrle

5/5 Star Review

I first found out about this collection from a bookmark that was included in my January (I think…) Night Worms subscription box. Shortly thereafter, I stumbled upon Cameron Chaney’s BookTube channel and saw a great review for it (here). I knew I had to have it.

If you were a child in the 90’s and a fan of all things creepy, chances are you read Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, written by Alvin Schwartz and illustrated by Stephen Gammell. I sure was and can remember checking these books out from the school library over and over again. I loved them – and they terrified me. The illustrations alone were solid nightmare fuel.

Why am I waxing nostalgic about Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark? Let me tell you – Corpse Cold is a gorgeous homage to these childhood classics. Brhel & Sullivan have written a brilliant new collection amassing classic folklore tropes, local legends, and personal experience and packaging it all into this little book that is most definitely not for children.

Standout stories for me were Czarny Lud, a story of the Polish boogeyman and misbehaving children; Autoplay ‘On’, a cautionary tale of the dark web; Moss Lake Island, on why you should never trust witches; It That Decays, body horror that is not for the faint of heart; and Jesup, a tale of a boy and his pets.

Special recognition goes to Chad Wehrle for his illustrations in this collection. He truly captured the grotesque beauty that Stephen Gammell was known for and brought these stories to life with his artwork in Corpse Cold.

If you are jonesing for some scary stories and wishing to recapture that campfire nostalgia, look no further – you need Corpse Cold in your life. Brhel & Sullivan own and publish under their own imprint, Cemetery Gates Media. They have several other story collections that you can guarantee I will be ordering soon!