psychological horror | Musings of the Monster Librarian

Book Review: Madhouse: A Shared World Anthology, edited by Benjamin Kane Ethridge and Brad C. Hodson

Madhouse: A Shared World Anthology, edited by Benjamin Kane Ethridge and Brad C. Hodson, and illustrated by Aeron Alfrey

Dark Regions Press, 2016

ISBN: 9781626411166

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition.

Madhouse is a shared world anthology set in the Behavioral Health Center in Golden Canyon, Arizona. The frame story is that a supernatural sandstorm hits the facility, rendering escape futile, and an infectious wave of madness begins to spread through the facility. As the contagion spreads, and the characters attempt to discover how the madness is being passed, staff and patients, each with their own story, are driven to unleash their personally harbored madness.

Several stories kept me awake at night peering into the dark corners of my house. “Skating the Shattered Glass Sea” focuses on Lily and Timothy, twins who have an unusual ability. After a tragic accident at the age of twelve, Lily is committed to the Gold Canyon Behavioral Health Center, while Timothy goes on to have an acting career and a normal life. When he eventually visits Lily, well into his adult life, his mind starts to fall apart. They used to build lovely palaces in the air, visible palaces. What Lily creates with her broken mind is nightmare fuel to Timothy.

In “The Yellow Bug,” James, an Iraq war veteran, reveals some ugly truths about himself to Dr. Ruiz, who is suffering similar headaches to the ones James had before he gave in to his desire to kill and let go of his fear. James explains he had help from God, in the form of a yellow bug. The good doctor is harboring a frightening secret that the God bug helps him release.

“Heal Thyself” centers on the unique treatment offered by Dr. Edlehart in the facility: past-life regression therapy. He has used this treatment on many of the patients, and is mentoring Dr. Alice Jalbert on the practice. The treatment of patient Jeffrey Jackson, reveals certain truths about the good doctor.

“Bathroom” is a story that stayed with me for some time. Something about it makes me a bit nervous about going into public bathrooms now. Claire fights crippling anxiety, fear, and fascination with drains. This makes trips to the ladies’ room difficult, but her usual escort, Bruce, puts her at ease. This trip, however, is different. She hears the faucet turn on while she is indisposed, and she feels the familiar gnawing at her brain. But what is that wet, sticky sound coming from one of the other stalls? What will she see when she pushes open the door?

“Drake’s Cake” follows one of the most notorious interns in the facility. He’s extremely hostile and regularly torments the patients with physical, psychological, or sexual abuse, occasionally in combination. Somehow, the staff is oblivious to his transgressions against the patients, and no one addresses his abuses against the patients. There is nothing likable about this guy, but he gets his comeuppance in the end, when he makes a disturbing and vomit-inducing error in judgement as the madness takes hold of his mind.

A few of the other stories stuck with me as well. “Birdman” is the story of a man who was institutionalized after his penchant for turning people into birds was discovered. In “Sky is Falling,” Skylar is trying to help evacuate her ward to the first floor, and walks into an unexpected surprise. Nurse Julie helps release the demons from Trisha’s skull in “Fraud.” Agnes is the chef for the facility, and in “Appetite,” she uses special ingredients for those she deems worthy. Her own appetite is sated by the strangest of things. These are the standouts: there are additional stories in this anthology of madness, as well. The short stories can be read as standalone tales, or, read together, can form a complete novel. I can’t think of anything about this book that isn’t compelling. The editors picked a number of amazing authors for this anthology, including Mercedes Yardley, Jeff Strand, John Skipp, Meghan Arcuri, and Rena Mason.

Two illustrators have been effective in scaring the daylights out of me: Stephen Gammell, who illustrated the famed Scary Stories series by Alvin Schwartz, and Aeron Alfrey for this anthology. There were a few pieces that I found myself hypnotized by, including those for “Skating the Shattered Sea of Glass,” “Birdman,” and “Drake’s Cake.” Several of the chapters also have art accompanying them.

This anthology will keep you up at night. Highly recommended.

Contains: gore, cannibalism, violence, rape, abuse, psychological terror

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Book Review: Thirty Hours With A Corpse and Other Tales of the Grand Guignol by Maurice Level, introduced and edited by S.T. Joshi

Thirty Hours With a Corpse and Other Tales of the Grand Guignol by Maurice Level, introduced and edited by S.T. Joshi
Dover Publications, 2016
ISBN: 9780486802329
Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

S.T. Joshi has collected thirty-nine of Maurice Level’s conte cruel, or “cruel tales,” in one volume. Level, a French writer from the early twentieth century, whose specialty was short stories of the macabre, was a contributor to the Grand Guignol Theatre in Paris, known for staging gory dramas. His tales deal with the human condition and moral frailty, rather than anything supernatural.

I was enthralled with all of the stories in this anthology, but a few stood out more than others. As mentioned above, some stories focus on moral frailty. In “The Debt Collector”, a clerk turned thief takes his spoils to a solicitor’s outside town, leaves the funds under a false name, and travels back to town in order to turn himself in. Of course, he is promptly arrested, found guilty at trial, and jailed for five years. Upon release, he heads to the solicitor’s to pick up the money. The trouble is that, in the meantime, he forgot the false name he used. The story “Blue Eyes” culminates in a young woman having certain business transactions with the last man she would ever want to see. In “The Last Kiss,” a man takes revenge on the woman who blinded him.

Other stories deal with madness or psychoses. The need for peace and quiet occasionally drives us all a little mad sometimes: unfortunately for the nagging mistress of the man in “Fascination”, he takes that a step too far, and shoots her for the sake of a night in. “In the Light of the Red Lamp” is a tragic tale of a husband who develops photographs of his deceased wife, only to find something he was not expecting. In “Poussette”, a highly religious woman is betrayed by her cat, Pousette, who is only following instincts when she escapes the house to be in the company of yowling male cats. When Pousette returns, the woman’s affection for her formerly loyal pet has turned to anger and paranoia. A man’s suspicions and paranoia conclude in a familial tragedy in “The Bastard”.

Several tales take place during wartime. “Under Ether” tells the story of a patient/prisoner who discovers through conversation that his doctor comes from the same town, and that they knew each other’s mothers. What the injured man says under ether, however, is unexpected. “At the Movies” finds a mother telling her son about what is taking place on a newsreel, only to find a familiar face, one she believed to have been killed during the war.

The scariest part of these short stories is that none of them have any supernatural explanation as to why things happened. They are all driven by humanity and the wrongs that we have the capability of inflicting on each other. I highly recommend this collection, but you might need a good strong drink or cup of tea to calm your nerves.

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker