Creature Feature Tomb of Horror

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As the pandemic drags on (and on), I’ve excavated some excellent modern Gothic chillers to put some ice on your overheated, knobby spine. Look!

HOLES FOR FACES by Ramsey Campbell

What could be a better treat for summer-blockbuster-weary horror fans than a collection of beautifully crafted knee-knockers from one of our greatest practitioners of the art of dread, Grandmaster of Horror Ramsey Campbell. With unparalleled accuracy and acumen, Mr. Campbell shoots straight for the heart with stories in which nothing is safe and no one is to be trusted, not even oneself. This world is set atilt with hidden trap doors springing open without warning. Here, we are betrayed by our senses and our most cherished beliefs, and negotiating the most well- trodden path becomes a perilous tightrope walk. These are stories of unremitting dread where an unexpected change of trains leaves a man in an eerily deserted station with only a garbled announcer’s voice for guidance; a visit to an ailing relative unearths long buried terrors; something half-heard through a hotel wall takes on sinister dimensions; monsters roam ancient catacombs; a silly rumor about a horror film takes on terrible significance; a Christmas celebration becomes a meditation upon death; a happy game of tossing a child into the air goes terribly wrong; and a true crime perpetrated by a pair of ten-year-olds who stone to death a kidnapped two-year-old takes on even darker hues in “Chucky Comes to Liverpool”, perhaps one of Mr. Campbell’s most unforgettably unsettling creations to date. This is a brilliant collection of fourteen intense terrors that ensnare the reader in persistent waking nightmares that do not fall away when the sun rises anew. No. These stories stick. HOLES FOR FACES is available in both print and electronic formats. For more about the author, please visit his website at www.RamseyCampbell.com.

MESSAGES FROM THE DEAD by Sandy DeLuca

Looking for a truly spooky read to take along when you head out for that last sun-drenched weekend before autumn ushers summer into memory? I suggest Sandy DeLuca’s haunting new horror novella, MESSAGES FROM THE DEAD, which is instantly downloadable in electronic format. In the wake of having found the brutalized body of her mother, who was beaten to death by her boyfriend, young Donna moves in with her mystical grandmother, a practicing seer and reader who takes her granddaughter into her home until Donna, searching for love and safe harbor, marries a young man with whom she has almost nothing in common. Unhappy in her marriage, Donna decides to get an education and try to make a more meaningful life for herself. An amateur painter, Donna packs her few belongings and art supplies with plans to perfect her artistic skills at New York’s Castell Community College. When she arrives, she discovers the building itself is old and forbidding, permeated dreadful memories. The moment Donna crosses the threshold, her hereditary ability to discern the paranormal kick in, and Donna soon discovers that Castell Community College has a very dark past. It was once a rehabilitation hospital for children afflicted with tuberculosis, and terrible atrocities were committed within. The restless ghosts of abused and murdered children are drawn to Donna, as though beseeching her for justice and salvation. The walls of building seem to breathe terror and agony, and Donna is no stranger to those feelings. If she can save these tortured souls, perhaps she can save herself. But there is something terrible standing in her way, and a battle is sure to ensue. Beautifully envisioned and wrought, Sandy DeLuca has crafted another heart-stopping novella that will have you shivering, even if you’re lying on the beach. For more about this talented author/poet/artist, she can be found online at www.sandydeluca.com.

Looking for some great "hunker down at home" horror reading with great entertainment value that doesn’t insult your intelligence? I’ve got two great picks for you this week. Read on!

THE OBLIVION ROOM: STORIES OF VIOLATION by Christopher Conlon

Bram Stoker Award® winner Christopher Conlon is a master of the atmospheric modern Gothic tale, and this collection of intellectually satisfying short stories is rendered in the darkest hues of utter bleakness and discord. Each of these tales revolves around characters who are imprisoned physically, psychologically, or both, and their terrible struggles to gain freedom. A woman finds herself entombed within a concrete cylinder devoid of light and turns her thoughts inward to maintain her sanity. A husband and father who murders his entire family reconsiders his actions on the day following the massacre. A dying man’s visit to a mental institution to visit his twin sister exhumes long buried memories, an elderly man who has survived an apocalypse with no company but for his dog experiences an unexpected visitation, and the demolition of a house stirs up dark reminisces for the woman who grew up there. A novella-length story closes the collection, and it is an exceptional achievement indeed. “Welcome Jean Krupa, the World’s Greatest Girl Drummer!” is told from the point of view of a young guitarist who, in 1943, gets his big break when a top jazz band loses its original guitarist. On top of the world, the guitarist recalls the night a young girl who represents herself as an eighteen-year-old sits in as drummer is hired after a stellar set. The girl, Jeannette Crupiti, is underage, but that’s not her only secret. And it turns out the narrator has some secrets of his own. These tales are razor edged, honed to a high-pitched shriek. Claustrophobic and truly unsettling, Mr. Conlon has created a collection of memorable dark stories.

SCENES ALONG THE ZOMBIE HIGHWAY by G. O. Clark

Zombies! They are more popular now than ever, and clever and talented darkscribes possess seemingly bottomless caches of ideas to keep the genre of rotting folk…fresh. Multiple Bram Stoker Award® and Rhysling Award nominee G. O. Clark takes a poetic spin through the world of zombie mores and foibles in his latest collection, crafting wildly funny yet chill inducing poems that are delightfully illustrated by the inimitable Marge Simon. Mr. Clark illuminates facets of zombie un-life that few have pondered: zombie holiday traditions and seasonal weather complications, the dating scene, zombie transportation, zombie legal systems, zombie politicians, the perils of zombie karaoke and other forms of entertainment, romance, and fashion. Find out what it might be like to be a fully cognizant zombie or the last zombie on earth—hint: not good. One poem made me laugh out loud—it is titled “Some Things Zombies Suck At”; to wit, “Conga lines and line dancing…Throwing fondue parties…Texting, and texting while driving…Public speaking of any kind” and more. As startlingly humorous as these poems are, there is an unsettling sense of brooding dread at the core of each piece, so the reading experience is akin to whistling past a graveyard. You don’t have to be a zombie fan or a poetry fan to enjoy this irresistibly entertaining and accessible collection.

To get even more information about these titles, including some of the best prices on the Internet, just click on each of the book covers and you'll be connected to

To visit the individual writer's website, just click on any underlined name.

About the Tomb Keeper (Or, who is this person of mystery)

J. L. (Judy) Comeau is an award winning short story writer whose work has appeared internationally in major horror and dark fantasy anthologies such as the Borderlands series, Best New Horror, The Years' Best Horror, the Hot Blood series, and the Dark Voices series in the UK. She is an active member of the Horror Writer's Association, and she lives in the Washington, DC area where she also teaches short story writing. Click on FIREBIRD to read one of her most anthologized stories.

To learn more about the Horror Writer's Association, just click on their logo!