Into The Forest and All The Way Through — a poetry collection for the missing

Cover Image courtesy of
Burial Day Books

A collection of poems inspired by—and dedicated to—women throughout the United States who have gone missing or who have been killed with their cases left unsolved. This is an ambitious project to say the least, and a noble effort with the intent of shining a light on the prevalence of missing woman cases that go unsolved over the course of decades. Pelayo touches on two or three cases per state to fuel her inspiration, with a dedication to each case that inspired her.

The actual poems were hit and miss for me. The ones that hit, though, hit hard with a five star punch. Average them out with the still-worthy-of-merit misses, and I can give this a solid recommendation. The Horror Writers Association agrees with its Stoker Award nomination.

You can check out Into the Forest and other Cynthia Pelayo works of horror here: 

https://linktr.ee/cynthiapelayoauthor

Experimental Film by Gemma Files — A Slow Burn of a Gothic Tinged Folk Horror Tale.

 A slow burn of a supernatural mystery that takes place in the world of film as art (and not standard storytelling), the actual storytelling can be profoundly deep at times. I feel like this piece is meant for a niche audience, and yes, I just happen to fall into that category.

Cover Image courtesy of 
ChiZine Publications

The protagonist is an art film historian, a student and teacher of the movement, and me, having graduated from a state school with a film degree—under the mentoring of the likes of Ken Jacobs and Ralph Hocking, felt comfortable in the environment that author Gemma Files has created.

Within that regard, this is an interesting story. You have a mother, torn between her passion for art and her special needs child Clark. Lois, the mom, finds an important discovery in the world of underground film and film history in general, when she stumbles upon a woman who was present at the start of it all, Iris Whitcomb. But because of her mysterious disappearance, after the disappearance of her own son at a young age, Whitcomb's potential mark on the history of filmmaking has been lost. That is until Lois connects some significant dots and garners a grant to suss out the entire story, and to prove it.

Lois becomes obsessed with the project, leaving the rest of the family —her mom and her overly patient husband Simon, to do the lion's share of caring for Clark. The trick here is empathizing with Lois in her quest to find the story for the sake of film history and women in film history, and I’m not sure Files pulls it off entirely. It’s important to note that the character Lois feels guilty about Clark in some ways, never feeling like Clark quite connects with her as a mom and always feeling like he is the way he is because of her own potentially neurodivergent inadequacies.

Clark, by the way is wonderfully portrayed in my opinion. And the culmination of the secondary story and of what Lois learns and accepts—because of Clark—is worth the time to tackle this otherwise slow paced read. The horror and supernatural elements have more of a haunting gothic quality rather than outright gore, so if you’re looking for a slow unraveling of creepy ambiance, this read might be for you. But solving the mystery of Iris Whitcomb's disappearance, and its connection to an ancient folktale of a goddess who needs to be seen and worshipped is the main story, and it takes time to link it to Lois's struggle with her responsibilities as a parent to Clark.

Click on the book cover above for a link to the book's GoodReads page. 

Sacrilege by T. N. Vitus — Another Brief Book Review

Folkloric fantasy with a touch of magical realism and horror, Sacrilege is a well written novel with atmospheric charm. Emelie lives in a secluded village, cut off from the world surrounding it because of the religious elders who run it by sowing fear. When her childhood friend Halvar returns, having been banished along with his father when he was a boy, Emelie saves him from the wickedness of rumors and gossip by claiming he has returned to ask her hand in marriage. 

You see, the village has been increasingly under attack by what the elders claim are shifters and wolves, and Halvar's return coincides with a recent, and grisly death. This leads to an on the spot, forced marriage between two broken souls who…are ultimately meant for each other. Maybe Emelie's primary goal is to escape the control of her pious family and this repressive life, but leaving it under a ruse of a marriage to face the dangers of the outside world is daunting.

I found this story had hints of Beauty and the Beast in terms of the relationship between Halvar and Emelie, but make no mistake. The story and the relationship stand firmly on their own two feet. If you are more akin to romance over horror, well…this story is probably for you. The intimacy between Halvar and Emelie is perfect. Except that Maybe Halvar is too perfect. He's fairytale perfect. 

The story mostly touches on themes of being outcast and manipulated and repressed by religion—which is something I tend to gravitate to when I read (and write). Emelie is allowed to grow upon leaving her village, but ultimately she must return to face her past and the judgement of the village residents. If those are topics that you frequent, by all means check out Sacrilege.