Betty Bites Back: Stories to Scare the Patriarchy edited by Mindy McGinnis, Demitria Lunetta, and Kate Karyus Quinn

Demitria Lunetta, 2019

ISBN-13: 9781733666749

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Betty Bites Back contains sixteen short stories and poems about girls and women who are done being held down, stepped on, and demeaned by a world that favours misogyny and the patriarchy. Stories include dark fantasy, body horror, murder mystery, and more. I found each of the stories in this anthology to be unique and well written. A few of my favourites are the following.

In “Vagina Dentata” by Mindy McGinnis, a woman talks with a plastic surgeon’s physician’s assistant about a unique opportunity.In  E.R. Griffin’s “What She Left Behind” a teenage girl discovers that the house she and her mother moved into is haunted by a girl whose trauma bridges the gap between them and pushes an act of violent revenge. In Jenna Lehne’s “@Theguardians1792”, a teenage girl is tired of being harassed by boys about her changing body and standing up for herself, leading to her getting punished for their actions. She discovers a group calling themselves @Theguardians1792 on social media, and boys in the area are found beaten, bloodied, or worse. In “The Whispers” by Lindsey Klingele, set during the time of the suffragettes fighting for the woman’s right to vote, a small community faces a boisterous, loud, and assertive group of young women, quite the scandal of the time. After they are silenced by a mysterious and ill-meaning doctor, murders of prominent community members occur, and women in white are seen around the edges of town.

There is a short author biography at the end of each of the stories, as well as a brief statement by the authors about their inspiration and influence for writing their particular tale. Though short, they provide a great insight into the authors’ processes, and other works that they have written for further reading. I highly recommend Betty Bites Back readers of feminist horror, especially indie horror.

Contains: blood, gore, misogyny, murder, racism, rape, sexual assault, sexual content, suicide

Highly recommended

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker