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Scary tales planted in ‘Potter’s Field 3’
Review by LEE CLARK ZUMPE
| Article published on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 |
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| “Potter’s Field 3,” edited by Cathy Buburuz, is available from Sam’s Dot Publishing. |
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Like its predecessors, “Potter’s Field 3” digs up some frightfully delightful tales of grave horror unearthed by some of the most promising names in horror fiction today.
Published by Sam’s Dot Publishing and edited by Cathy Buburuz, the tales in this themed anthology all contain references to unmarked graves and run the gamut from spooky traditional ghost stories to apocalyptic nightmares.
The anthology opens with “The Stone Heart” by Alison J. Littlewood, a tightly written yarn about a church converted into a single-family home complete with a graveyard and a skeleton in the closet – or, in this case, the church tower. The ending does not quite live up to the overture, but it is still enough to give the reader a good shudder.
“Deadline,” by Michael James McFarland, follows a writer who experiences an unusual telephone conversation while working on a short story. A story that easily fits into the “Twilight Zone” motif, McFarland weaves a chilling tale of an urban haunting.
Lorne Dixon’s “Much of Madness, More of Sin” reverberates with themes found in Edgar Allan Poe’s works, including vividly dreary settings, decomposition and claustrophobic spaces filled with nasty critters.
It’s a period piece and it adds a nice touch to the collection.
The apocalyptic tale, “Plague Dogs,” by Joe McKinney, is more a gut- wrencher than a goosebump-inducer. Short and necessarily graphic, its pessimism is unsettling and its observation on the potential fate of civilization is stark.
“Whisper,” by Mark Onspaugh, is a rare weird western that works wonderfully in this themed milieu. A botched bank job leads to an encounter with a supernatural being. The author manages to surprise the reader at several twists in the tale.
Other stories include Ronda Scheerer’s “The Course of Reckoning,”
Rebecca Nazar’s “The Caulbearers,” Dev Jarrett’s “A Feeling Like Freedom” and Pete Mesling’s “The Worst is Yet to Come.”
Illustrators lending their talents to the anthology include Tom Moran, Marge Simon and Jacob Parmentier.
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Article published on Wednesday, May 27, 2009
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