Hearing, sight, touch, smell, and taste: Our impressions of the world are formed by our five senses, and so too are our fears, our imaginations, and our captivation in reading fiction stories that embrace these senses.
Whether hearing the song of infernal caverns, tasting the erotic kiss of treachery, or smelling the lush fragrance of a fiend, enclosed within this anthology are fifteen horror and dark fantasy tales that will quicken the beat of fear, sweeten the flavour of wonder, sharpen the spike of thrills, and otherwise brighten the marvel of storytelling that is found resonant!
Editor Eric J. Guignard and psychologist Jessica Bayliss, PhD also include companion discourse throughout, offering academic and literary insight as well as psychological commentary examining the physiology of our senses, why each of our senses are engaged by dark fiction stories, and how it all inspires writers to continually churn out ideas in uncommon and invigorating ways.
Featuring stunning interior illustrations by Nils Bross, and including fiction short stories by such world-renowned authors as John Farris, Ramsey Campbell, Poppy Z. Brite, Darrell Schweitzer, and Richard Christian Matheson, amongst others. Intended for readers, writers, and students alike, explore THE FIVE SENSES OF HORROR
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[SOMEWHERE ABOVE YOU CAN HEAR your wife and the young man talking - HEADING HOME BY RAMSEY CAMPBELL]***
(Dark Moon Books, 9 July 2018, 310 pages, ebook, copy via @ericjguignard and voluntarily reviewed)
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Stories included:
- Heading Home by Ramsey Campbell
- Soft by Darrell Schweitzer
- Feel the Noise by Lisa Morton
- In the Cave of the Delicate Singers by Lucy Taylor
- Sounds by Kathryn Ptacek
- Malleus, Incus, Stapes by Sarah Totton
- His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood by Poppy Z. Brite
- Cassilago's Wife by Sarah Singleton
- Sweet Subtleties by Lisa L. Hannett
- The Beholder by Richard Christian Matheson
- In the Porches of My Ears by Norman Prentiss
- The Impression of Craig Shee by David McGroarty
- Shem-el-Nessim: An Inspiration in Perfume by Chris Bell
- The Scent by John F.D. Taff
- The Odour of Violets by John Farris
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This is another cracking collection of stories from Dark Moon Books. I'm very impressed by the quality of the stories in their collections I've read so far. The Five Senses of Horror is quite an original concept for a collection of horror stories and this works really well. Most anthologies have at least a few duds but I enjoyed every story in this collection. I especially loved In the Cave of the Delicate Singers by Lucy Taylor, His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood by Poppy Z. Brite, Sweet Subtleties by Lisa L. Hannett and Shem-el-Nessim: An Inspiration in Perfume by Chris Bell.
