By Matthew J. Barbour
From the days of Edgar Allan Poe and HP Lovecraft to the present day, short stories have always been associated with horror fiction. Short stories provide a way to test out new concepts, styles, and themes. Most horror writers started out by writing short stories. Arguably, Clive Barker and Stephen King’s greatest works are short stories. That being said, short story collections are often a great way to introduce readers to new voices in the genre.
this DOA: Extreme Horror Anthologyor subtitle Extreme horror seriesedited by David C. Hayes and Jack Burton. Published in 2011, this collection of short stories features slasher punk/hyper-horror stories from a group of lesser-known writers. Included in the book are:
Cherry Clubbing by Kenneth Yu
Filled in by Subject by J. Grant
The Devil’s Lie by Atris Ray III
Caterpillar by Craig Saunders
Edward Rosick’s Cold Air
Adrian Ludens’s “Art Theme”
The Plague Hulk by Glynn Barras
The Devil and Jim Rosenthal by CM Saunders
Chad McKee’s “Cena”
Frogger by JW Schnarr
White Out by KJ Moore
Spiric Satisfied by John McNee
“Everyone Has a Voice” by Piper Morgan
Vampire Sperm by Michael Bracken
The Devil’s Key by Calie Voorhis
The Addict and the Savior by Quinn Hernandez
Digital Media by Michael Cieslak
Chris Reed’s Sisters
My Dark Lover by Stacy Bolli
The Cathartic for Writer’s Block by Forrest Ingle
In the Intimate Room by Matthew Kewell
Sickened by Tonya Brown
Robert Essig’s “Asking for It”
Guys by Eric Dimbleby
Go to Your Room by Shane McKenzie
“NREM Sleep” by AR Braun
“Dad” by Yuri Gray
The Good Girl by R. Warren Smith
Saving Ralph by Alec Cizak
As with any collection, the quality of the work varies. However, all of the stories are intended for an adult audience. Many of the stories feature graphic descriptions of violence and sexual acts. These include, but are not limited to, torture, rape, and pedophilia. DOA is not for the faint of heart.
Forrest Ingler’s “The Cathartic for Writer’s Block” is probably the most shocking story in the collection. In the book, the narrator argues that the key to writing is to draw inspiration from real life. Here, the author intends to write extremely horrific stories. To get inspiration, he chooses to rape and kill a young girl.
However, not all stories are pure evil. Sometimes, good guys win. In The Bogeyman’s Key by Calie Voorhis, Melissa is distraught after having dreams about her stepfather, Clark, raping her. Clark has learned how to enter other people’s dreams. He twists dreams to suit his own evil desires. However, what happens when Melissa starts to control her night terrors? The predator becomes the prey.
Dark humor (e.g., The Devil and Jim Rosenthal), social commentary (e.g., Digital Media), and nods to other early slasher punk writers (e.g., Art Theme) abound. Expect the unexpected. While much of the subgenre focuses on serial killers, spirits (e.g., Cherry Clubbing), vampires (e.g., Les Sperme Vampire), ancient gods (e.g., My Dark Lover), ancient things (e.g., In the Make-Out Room), and psychological horror (e.g., Spiric Satisfied) also lurk in the series.
Most of the authors in the DOA: Extreme Horror anthology remain unknown to horror fiction fans. Many do not deserve this anonymity. But that should not be the case. Pick up this anthology and discover new voices in horror literature.
Order yours here.
score: 3/5
