Epitaphs: The Journal of the New England Horror Writers [Paperback]

Tracy L. Carbone (Editor), John M. McIlveen (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 2011

The New England Horror Writers Association, in partnership with Shroud Publishing, are proud to debut its inaugural anthology, Epitaphs The anthology is a compilation of some of the best dark fiction from both best-selling authors and up-and-coming writers throughout New England.

Contributors include Christopher Golden, Rick Hautala, Holly Newstein & Glenn Chadbourne, LL Soares, Trisha Wooldridge, K. Allen Wood, Kurt Newton, and more. The anthology features 26 stories and poems from the delightfully scary to the deeply macabre.

Epitaphs, edited by author Tracy L. Carbone, includes an introduction by award-winning author and publisher Peter Crowther, as well as a cover by Danny Evarts.

The table of contents in this chilling anthology is as follows:

Perfect Witness, by Rick Hautala

To Sleep, Perchance to Die, by Jeffrey C. Pettengill

The Christopher Chair, by Paul McMahon

A Case of the Quiets, by Kurt Newton

Build-a-Zombie, by Scott T. Goudsward

Not an Ulcer, by John Goodrich

The Possessor Worm, by B. Adrian White

Make a Choice, by John McIlveen

The Death Room, by Michael Allen Todd

Stoney's Boneyard, by Holly Newstein & Glenn Chadbourne

Kali's Promise, by Trisha J. Wooldridge

The Sequel, by David Bernard

Malfeasance, by David North-Martino

Private Beach, by Stacey Longo

All Aboard, by Christopher Golden

Holiday House, by LL Soares

Lines at a Wake, by Steven Withrow

A Deeper Kind of Cold, by K. Allen Wood

Alone, by P. Gardner Goldsmith

Pandora's Box, by Roxanne Dent

Chuck the Magic Man Says I Can, by Michael Arruda

Burial Board, by TT Zuma

Windblown Shutter, by John Grover

Cheryl Takes a Trip, by Stephen Dorato

The Legend of Wormley Farm, by Philip Roberts

Church of Thunder and Lightning, by Peter N. Dudar

Editorial Reviews

Review

Epitaphs is an anthology that sees the writing on the headstones rather than on the proverbial wall. The quartet of tales chosen for deeper scrutiny is a sterling example of what the New England Horror Writers have to offer. --Hellnotes

About the Author

TRACY L. CARBONE (editor) (www.tracylcarbone.com) is a New England native who lives with her daughter and a houseful of pets. She has published several horror and literary short stories in magazines and anthologies in the U.S. and Canada. Her YA horror novel, The Soul Collector, will be released by Shadowfall Publications in late fall 2011. She is Cochair of the New England Horror Writers (NEHW) and a member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA).

Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: Shroud Publishing, LLC (October 13, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0982727593
• ISBN-13: 978-0982727591
• Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 5.9 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,142,273 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars NEHW ASSEMBLE! February 22, 2012

By JOA

Format:Paperback

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

I love short stories. I love to read them, I love to write them. But you know what's better than a short story? A whole freaking collection of them! And someone recently shipped me over a copy of Epitaphs, a Stoker-nominated collection of tales and poetry from the New England Horror Writers, a group that is very close to my heart. Of course I had to dive right in.

Okay, enough banter. Let's get down to the daunting task of looking at the stories themselves.

To Sleep, Perchance to Die by Jeffrey C. Pettengill: Well, let's just say the collection didn't start out so well for me. Here we have a tale of a CPAP machine gone horribly wrong. The tone just seemed to lag, and honestly the ending seemed a bit campy, though without the fun that camp implies.

The Christopher Chair by Paul McMahon: And here we go! One of the better stories in the collection, about an antique wheelchair blessed by St. Christopher that can supposedly heal the sick...for a price. Atmospheric and full of confliction, McMahon really packs a punch with this one.

A Case of the Quiets by Kurt Newton: The first poem in the collection, and a doozy. It brings to mind horror poetry of old, with a very Poe-esque flow, and comes very close to matching the former master's penchant for nailing the dark side of human nature coming from within the mundane.

Build-A-Zombie by Scott T. Goudsward: This one was quirky and fun, telling of a boy assembling an unusual gift from a new sort of gift shop. It made me want to know more about the world in which it takes place, which is a good thing.

Not An Ulcer by John Goodrich: Wow. This story, to me, was far and away the best of the bunch.... In it a man who hates everything about the world, including himself, literally separates himself from his emotions. It's "Be careful what you wish for," taken to the extreme. Tremendous, and the ending gave me chills.

The Possessor Worm by B. Adrian White: A quaint little tale told through emailed correspondences between characters, kind of an updated take of Lovecraft, if you will. In the end the payoff fell a little flat. Still pretty good, however.

Make a Choice by John M. McIlveen: Truly haunting, telling the story of a madman who torments a family for a night, forcing the parents into a decision that no parent would ever--or should ever--have to make. It's a fantastic exploration of the human condition and how survival of the fittest might not be completely erased from our cellular memory. As an added bonus, the end is shocking because of what doesn't happen, which surprisingly makes it all the more disturbing.

The Death Room by Michael Allen Todd: Another poem, this one not nearly as good as the first, but I still appreciated the creepy undertones.

Perfect Witness by Rick Hautala: Now this is a twist. A murdered man is brought back to a sort of pseudo-life for a short time in order to testify at the trial of his murderer. The interplay between his thoughts and what might actually be happening in the world outside his rotting brain was really well done. Also, the author hints that this experiment might have grave repercussions down the road. Do I smell a novel coming? Given the author's enjoyable style, I hope so.

Stony's Boneyard by Glenn Chadbourne and Holly Newstein: Atmosphere, sorrow, and forgiveness rule the day in this excellently (and traditionally) crafted short. It deals with a tattoo artist and the biker whose back represents the greatest achievement of her life. Unlike a lot of stories in the collection, this one actually ends on a bittersweet note, equal parts solemn and hopeful. Really well done.

Kali's Promise by Trisha J. Wooldridge: The third poem, and another traditionally-inspired example of getting exactly what you ask for. It's quite entertaining and told in a repetitive way that added to the tone of dread. I knew it was well written because I guessed the ending after the very first stanza and it still had me captivated.

Sequel by David Bernard: Not my favorite. I've seen this sort of plot--about a horror writer who takes his inspiration a bit too literally--many times before. It's well written, but predictable.

Malfeasance by David North-Martino: This was perhaps the most maddening story in the bunch. Just as with the previous story, I knew how it would end very early on. And yet it was crafted so intricately, I kept thinking no, I'm wrong, there's a twist here I'm not seeing. But then...it ended just how I thought it would. Disappointing in that regard, yes, but it was still very much worth the read.

Private Beach by Stacey Longo: A fun little romp that harkens back to the pulp horror era, about two beachgoers who of course ignore a No Trespassing sign and pay the price for it.

All Aboard by Christopher Golden: The second-best story in the collection. A disquieting tale of a mother and father's struggle to come to grips with the death of their child, with a dash of the supernatural thrown in. It really is a heavy-hearted story that thankfully doesn't come across as heavy-handed. By the end I was on the verge of tears--and I couldn't tell if they were happy or sad, which is a first for me.

Holiday House by L.L. Soares: This was a decent offering, about a pair of old sisters who live in a ramshackle estate (think Grey Gardens) that might be haunted, or might conceal other, more frightening entities. I particularly liked the ambiguity at the end.

Lines at a Wake by Steven Withrow: A very short poem that brings about one hell of an eerie vibe using an economy of words.

A Deeper Kind of Cold by K. Allen Wood: This one was interesting. On a space station, a woman frets while the love of her life, who is in a rather odd state, struggles to survive a mysterious sickness. The tone was fantastic, and it asks the question of what it is we actually love about a person. Though the ending was fantastic in its grim earnestness, I couldn't help but think the setting wasn't used nearly enough. The metaphor of the emptiness of space as compared to the emotional distance between the woman and her mate just never materialized, which I thought was a missed opportunity. That being said, it's still a wonderful tale. That ending alone is worth the time it takes to read it.

Alone by P. Gardner Goldsmith: A very creepy and very short story of a man wiling his hours away, isolated in his home, as the world may or may not be ending outside. It had a very Twilight Zone vibe to it, which was cool.

Pandora's Box by Roxanne Dent: I wasn't the biggest fan of this story, about a woman who suspects her husband is having an affair and gives into her impulse to follow him. The opening sequence completely gives away the twist at the end. If only that had been cut, it would've been a much more enjoyable experience.

Chuck the Magic Man Says I Can by Michael Arruda: This was a really fun and idiosyncratic little tale of two sisters staying at their parents' friends house while they're away on vacation, friends who just may hold a secret that only the precocious younger daughter can handle. I really enjoyed it.

Burial Board by T.T. Zuma: Very moody period piece about a man and a burial board that does some rather...strange things. Well written, but for some reason it didn't feel complete to me.

Windblown Shutter by John Grover: A kid sees his mother murdered and is haunted by the memory and the fact he never saw the killer's face. I found this to be a fabulous study of the cyclical and never-ending effects of grief and guilt, even if the murder mystery fell a little flat.

Cheryl Takes a Trip by Stephen Dorato: Even though it wasn't my overall favorite, this story, to me, was perhaps the most inventive of any in this collection. When a woman's spirit is cast from her body after her mysterious death, she decided to go and do the one thing she'd always wanted to do but had never done--take a trip to Bermuda. It's really a self-exploration piece, focusing on the way fear can rule our lives, and maybe even our deaths. I thought it was great.

Legend of the Wormley Farms by Philip Roberts: A haunted farm draws a trio of brothers into its sticky, legendary web. It lagged a little in the middle, but in the end I was actually quite shocked. I also thoroughly enjoyed how the author delved into the ways familial pressures and support (or lack thereof) can damage young minds.

The Church of Thunder and Lightning by Peter N. Dudar: An interesting choice to end the anthology, about a reporter and her cameraman on a mission to document the odd rituals of a Jim Jones-type cult. The cost of ambition without regard for human decency was certainly on display, and the function of the cult itself was a truly original creation.

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And that's it! Maybe the longest review I've ever written, too.

Overall, I have to say I loved this collection. While every story didn't ring true to me, the vast majority of them did, and most of those that didn't were still expertly crafted. There are a variety of unique voices, and in a lot of them you can certainly sense the slightly Puritanical undertones that most people who grew up in New England are saddled with. It's an anthology well worth your time and money, and the authors are worth keeping an eye on. Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Why are so many great horror writers from New England? December 11, 2012

By Chris McCaffrey

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

What is it about New England that makes it such a fertile ground for growing great horror writers? Being a Texan, I am mystified, but being a horror lover, I do appreciate whatever it is.

Well chosen stories by top flight authors and even takes extra points for artistry by including poems.

My favorite stories were the ones that had a bitter sweetness to them, making them more dark fiction than actually horror.

The Christopher Chair by Paul McMahon--a relic that cures also exacts a price.

Build-A-Zombie by Scott T. Goudsward--gleefully macabre story based, you guessed it, on the concept of building one's own zombie instead of a cute stuffed animal.

Make a Choice by John M. McIlveen--disturbing, realistic, and well done. I don't want to give it away but it would be any parent's worse nightmare.

Stony's Boneyard by Glenn Chadbourne and Holly Newstein--touching supernatural story. Well written, evocative of loss and what we leave behind for the people that loved us.

Cheryl Takes a Trip by Stephen Dorato--literary ghost story about regret that functions on several levels.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars NEHW At Their Finest! November 10, 2012

By Crystal R.

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Epitaphs is a GREAT read. I love the fact that they are short enough that you can finish two or three (or all, in my case) of the stories in one sitting, I love the fact that they're horror, I love the fact that the authors are all (fairly) local, and I love the stories themselves! There is something for everyone in this compilation, from SF to dark poetry and back again, with all sorts of ghosts and goblins and things that go BUMP in the night (or in your attic). The scariest ones are the things you don't see, though, aren't they? This talented group of authors brings all that and more to the table with Epitaphs! It's so hard for me to choose just one or two tales here as my favorites (although Stoney's Boneyard stands out for sure as one!). Seriously, they are THAT GOOD! Can't wait to read more!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Epitaphs is all killer, no filler September 3, 2012

By Frank Raymond Michaels

Format:Paperback

Epitaphs is a collection of short stories and poetry from the Journal of New England Horror Writers; it is a consistently satisfying compendium of the dark and dreadful. In it you will find stories that will make you shiver, and some that will make you smile, but all of them will keep you glued to the page till the end. Even the cover art is cool.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What I love about horror April 7, 2012

By Shannon Pease

Format:Paperback

I am not going to bother giving a synopsis since the title says it all.
I have been a horror fan since I was six years old and watched Salem's Lot through my fingers. I don't scare that easily anymore and I am often left disappointed in books or movies. That's not the case with these stories though. This collection is a perfect example of less being more. Some of these stories gave me goose pimples by being subtle. It didn't take 400 pages or overt terror, but instead they were horror stories that were human and thought provoking too. I laughed and even cried reading some (okay I was a blubbering idiot reading Stony's Boneyard by Glenn Chadbourne & Holly Newstein). I won't give a list of my favorites from the collection since I just finished reading it. Tomorrow my favorites may be different after I have had some time to digest them. I absolutely recommend this to fellow horror fans and even to those who don't normally read the genre because it's a great introduction to horror.