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Enter at Your Own Risk: Dark Muses, Spoken Silences
Some of the most enduring masterpieces of Gothic fiction are as intriguing for the stories they don't tell as for those they do. The voices hidden in the wall of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat;" the secrets buried beneath the earth of Sleepy Hollow in Washington Irving's legendary Headless Horseman tale; the dreams of a monster and an ancient book with a life of its own in H.P. Lovecraft's "The Call of Cthulhu;" and stories that reveal Polidori's hypnotic, archetypal Vampyre as far more than what he first appears to be. In Firbolg Publishing's third volume in the Enter at Your Own Risk series, ten modern storytellers reimagine the mysterious characters lurking within four classics of Gothic literature. As you read the original stories, a sinister whisper drifts in on a cold chill. But there are other voices beneath the whisper. You can hear them crawling out of the growing darkness. Then the whispers become a scream...
With an introduction from acclaimed author Gary Braunbeck, Dark Muses, Spoken Silences invites you into the hidden shadows of four of the most famous dark fiction tales ever told.
Are you brave enough to enter?
With an introduction from acclaimed author Gary Braunbeck, Dark Muses, Spoken Silences invites you into the hidden shadows of four of the most famous dark fiction tales ever told.
Are you brave enough to enter?
- GenresHorror
330 pages, Paperback
First published September 29, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 10, 2014
Given the nature of its theme, this collection was clearly a challenge. The fact that the editor included the original tales which were reimagined by their modern counterparts shows a kind of bravery and confidence in the contributors that is matched only by their ability to rise to the occasion. In a reverent intro from the brilliant Gary A. Braunbeck, he lauds both the extent to which Dr. Alex Scully is versed in academia and the impressive task each writer took in the modern retellings of classic tales. Editor’s notes from Dr. Scully reveal the conception of the theme and prepares us for a collection which answers questions these classics left in their wake...they are “stories within stories; spoken silences in the dark muses of yesteryear.”
Blaze McRob’s “The Wife and the Witch” is a clever reimagining of “The Black Cat”, told with a steady voice which is reminiscent of Poe without parroting it. His apparent ease with which he takes on the form of a female narrator lends itself to the emotional pull of this tale; he is successful in making us empathize fully with the protagonist’s loss of a loving companion: “He was my bastion of strength.”
Then Timothy Hurley’s brave, unexpected, and deft tribute in “Poe’s Black Cats” seems to steal the show with both language and content, with an eerie sense that he may well be channeling Poe with lines like “At my master’s side for seven years, I learned the practice of execution by hanging, and Mr. Malachi commended the alacrity of my acquisition of necessary skills.”
“Satisfaction Brought Her Back” is yet another brilliant take on the classic, though I wish I knew who to thank for such a clever and well-crafted tale.
T. Fox Dunham leads off the re-imaginings of Irving’s “Sleepy Hollow” and reveals an undeniable grasp on the art of prose: “He practiced a barren visage; showing no emotion would serve him best when he soon shared countenance with a demon wind.”...“As the evening fell upon the world and a gray mist flowed off the river, the water decorated with early Autumn decay--of leaves brown orange, and crimson, castoff from ungrateful trees to soak and sink...”
Carole Gill’s “Katrina’s Confession” follows, a thoroughly enjoyable and inventive postscript to the legend, with a darkly humorous ending that affirms the respective perks and price of beauty, youth, and being enchanted by a dark lord.
To choose favorite lines from the haunting “Horseman’s Tale” by Marcus Kohler would be like choosing a favorite child.
What can one say about Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu” that hasn’t already been said? Nothing, other than writing fine tributes like Mike Chin and Gregory L. Norris do. These were impressive, like the others--but Lovecraft shines as the most difficult master to tackle, and the re-imaginings are perhaps the most valiant of all. Norris is one of the most prolific writers I have ever encountered, and somehow his unwavering balance of humility and infinite literary genius gives a unique flair to his writing which never fails to leave a deep chill in the bones.
The final challenge: Polidori’s “The Vampyre; A Tale”. The other glaring theme here--besides the obvious one of contemporary explorations of gothic classics--is the particular choices such as this one; the most ancient and pivotal ancestor of the genre. Once again, the modern counterparts meet, and likely exceed, the editor’s lofty expectations.
B.E. Scully doesn’t mess around, and sinks her teeth into the reader with her very first line: “The fangs of ice violating the defenseless windowpanes were a welcome intrusion into the otherwise slow suffocation of another winter season.” Talent obviously runs in the family.
After having Jon Michael Kelley on my “to read” list for some time, I was blown away by his talent--it is no surprise his work appears in other prestigious collections, all of which I intend to read and seek out his contributions. He writes with confidence and grace--“I had not intended to drain her to the extent that I did, and in doing so made an even bigger mess of the floor with my regurgitations. I was voracious, and justified that enthusiasm with the recollections of mornings spent watching her, craving her, coveting her and the elations she aroused in both real and subconscious states.”--and ends this fine anthology on a sublimely intelligent note with both historical and literary relevance.
The concern for repetition among the pieces is outweighed by the broad range of talent and seemingly endless abilities in re-examining these gothic classics. This collection is stellar...both in concept, creation, and delivery.
Blaze McRob’s “The Wife and the Witch” is a clever reimagining of “The Black Cat”, told with a steady voice which is reminiscent of Poe without parroting it. His apparent ease with which he takes on the form of a female narrator lends itself to the emotional pull of this tale; he is successful in making us empathize fully with the protagonist’s loss of a loving companion: “He was my bastion of strength.”
Then Timothy Hurley’s brave, unexpected, and deft tribute in “Poe’s Black Cats” seems to steal the show with both language and content, with an eerie sense that he may well be channeling Poe with lines like “At my master’s side for seven years, I learned the practice of execution by hanging, and Mr. Malachi commended the alacrity of my acquisition of necessary skills.”
“Satisfaction Brought Her Back” is yet another brilliant take on the classic, though I wish I knew who to thank for such a clever and well-crafted tale.
T. Fox Dunham leads off the re-imaginings of Irving’s “Sleepy Hollow” and reveals an undeniable grasp on the art of prose: “He practiced a barren visage; showing no emotion would serve him best when he soon shared countenance with a demon wind.”...“As the evening fell upon the world and a gray mist flowed off the river, the water decorated with early Autumn decay--of leaves brown orange, and crimson, castoff from ungrateful trees to soak and sink...”
Carole Gill’s “Katrina’s Confession” follows, a thoroughly enjoyable and inventive postscript to the legend, with a darkly humorous ending that affirms the respective perks and price of beauty, youth, and being enchanted by a dark lord.
To choose favorite lines from the haunting “Horseman’s Tale” by Marcus Kohler would be like choosing a favorite child.
What can one say about Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu” that hasn’t already been said? Nothing, other than writing fine tributes like Mike Chin and Gregory L. Norris do. These were impressive, like the others--but Lovecraft shines as the most difficult master to tackle, and the re-imaginings are perhaps the most valiant of all. Norris is one of the most prolific writers I have ever encountered, and somehow his unwavering balance of humility and infinite literary genius gives a unique flair to his writing which never fails to leave a deep chill in the bones.
The final challenge: Polidori’s “The Vampyre; A Tale”. The other glaring theme here--besides the obvious one of contemporary explorations of gothic classics--is the particular choices such as this one; the most ancient and pivotal ancestor of the genre. Once again, the modern counterparts meet, and likely exceed, the editor’s lofty expectations.
B.E. Scully doesn’t mess around, and sinks her teeth into the reader with her very first line: “The fangs of ice violating the defenseless windowpanes were a welcome intrusion into the otherwise slow suffocation of another winter season.” Talent obviously runs in the family.
After having Jon Michael Kelley on my “to read” list for some time, I was blown away by his talent--it is no surprise his work appears in other prestigious collections, all of which I intend to read and seek out his contributions. He writes with confidence and grace--“I had not intended to drain her to the extent that I did, and in doing so made an even bigger mess of the floor with my regurgitations. I was voracious, and justified that enthusiasm with the recollections of mornings spent watching her, craving her, coveting her and the elations she aroused in both real and subconscious states.”--and ends this fine anthology on a sublimely intelligent note with both historical and literary relevance.
The concern for repetition among the pieces is outweighed by the broad range of talent and seemingly endless abilities in re-examining these gothic classics. This collection is stellar...both in concept, creation, and delivery.
November 3, 2013
Originally Published at Horror Novel Reviews
I love Poppy Z. Brite. I’ve read her books, shorts stories, and blog. I buy books just because she does the introduction. Her dark fiction is my favorite, and I’ve been hearing rumors about her return to horror writing for months now. I think I’ve found her. In the new anthology, Enter at Your Own Risk: Dark Muses, Spoken Silences, there is a story from an “anonymous” author. It has Brite’s style all over it. But I get ahead of myself.
This is a unique horror collection. There are four incredibly famous stories. Poe’s “The Black Cat,” Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu,” and Polidori’s “The Vampyre.” Each one is a masterpiece on its own, but there are also stories from modern authors about these famous stories. Each modern writer takes a character and rewrites the story from a new point of view.
Poe opens the collection. The classic tale is a first-person story told by a madman. In what I believe to be Brite’s story, the tale is turned inside out and we see everything from the black cat’s perspective. Suddenly a tale of madness takes on a dark, fierce tone as this small creature battles human evil for its survival. The story becomes a battles of wits setting Man against the animal kingdom. The story has Brite’s lyrical, poetic style throughout. Both of the other offerings are interesting, including a view questioning the very authorship of the tale, but the “anonymous” story is the standout in this set.
We move on to “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” T. Fox Dunham takes the macabre rivalry between Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones and gives it a twist that gives the story a completely different meaning. Marcus Kohler gets inside the mind of the headless horseman and we finally learn why the dark rider carries his head around under his arm! The story also creates a chilling link between the town and the ghost that will leave you with shivers every time you pass through those small, isolated places.
The two stories for Lovecraft are both brilliant. Mike Chinn builds a surreal, fantastical tone as he tells the story of the Necronomicon. It’s a dark tale, and links with the theme that “anonymous” uses in the Poe. Man is the evil that warps the world. Gregory Norris continues that same theme in his exploration of Chtulhu. Man becomes the genesis of sinister evil. Darkness feeds on humanity and we give it strength. Humanity is definitely not the victim here.
John Polidori’s story, “The Vampyre” set the stage for vampires in the 1800′s. Anne Rice resurrected that image and returned the elegant, sinister fanged one to the horror world. B.E. Scully’s version, called “The Tygre,” reveals a world even more macabre than Polidori’s blood-sucking Lord Ruthven. Potions, spells, murder, soul transfers, and vampires are the only answer for a young woman trapped in a world of frilly gowns, shallow conversation, and marriage.
I was disappointed here and there, particularly with the last story. Ruthven is the mysterious center in the original story, but we really don’t ever learn that much about him. Polidori never develops the character and this collection missed the opportunity to fill in the gaps. The last story doesn’t follow the events of the original book. There are glimpses here and there, but the long passages about Charles Darwin, dolls, and London magazines weren’t what I was looking for. I wanted Ruthven. The killer, The seductive, sinister vampire. Aubrey’s tale vilified him. Was there a story of redemption there? We never get it.
This is a daring anthology. In something this tough, there were bound to be weak spots. The classic tales are masterpieces worth the read on their own. Each new perspective gives the old story a different angle and infuses the old stories with new blood. A great read.
I love Poppy Z. Brite. I’ve read her books, shorts stories, and blog. I buy books just because she does the introduction. Her dark fiction is my favorite, and I’ve been hearing rumors about her return to horror writing for months now. I think I’ve found her. In the new anthology, Enter at Your Own Risk: Dark Muses, Spoken Silences, there is a story from an “anonymous” author. It has Brite’s style all over it. But I get ahead of myself.
This is a unique horror collection. There are four incredibly famous stories. Poe’s “The Black Cat,” Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu,” and Polidori’s “The Vampyre.” Each one is a masterpiece on its own, but there are also stories from modern authors about these famous stories. Each modern writer takes a character and rewrites the story from a new point of view.
Poe opens the collection. The classic tale is a first-person story told by a madman. In what I believe to be Brite’s story, the tale is turned inside out and we see everything from the black cat’s perspective. Suddenly a tale of madness takes on a dark, fierce tone as this small creature battles human evil for its survival. The story becomes a battles of wits setting Man against the animal kingdom. The story has Brite’s lyrical, poetic style throughout. Both of the other offerings are interesting, including a view questioning the very authorship of the tale, but the “anonymous” story is the standout in this set.
We move on to “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” T. Fox Dunham takes the macabre rivalry between Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones and gives it a twist that gives the story a completely different meaning. Marcus Kohler gets inside the mind of the headless horseman and we finally learn why the dark rider carries his head around under his arm! The story also creates a chilling link between the town and the ghost that will leave you with shivers every time you pass through those small, isolated places.
The two stories for Lovecraft are both brilliant. Mike Chinn builds a surreal, fantastical tone as he tells the story of the Necronomicon. It’s a dark tale, and links with the theme that “anonymous” uses in the Poe. Man is the evil that warps the world. Gregory Norris continues that same theme in his exploration of Chtulhu. Man becomes the genesis of sinister evil. Darkness feeds on humanity and we give it strength. Humanity is definitely not the victim here.
John Polidori’s story, “The Vampyre” set the stage for vampires in the 1800′s. Anne Rice resurrected that image and returned the elegant, sinister fanged one to the horror world. B.E. Scully’s version, called “The Tygre,” reveals a world even more macabre than Polidori’s blood-sucking Lord Ruthven. Potions, spells, murder, soul transfers, and vampires are the only answer for a young woman trapped in a world of frilly gowns, shallow conversation, and marriage.
I was disappointed here and there, particularly with the last story. Ruthven is the mysterious center in the original story, but we really don’t ever learn that much about him. Polidori never develops the character and this collection missed the opportunity to fill in the gaps. The last story doesn’t follow the events of the original book. There are glimpses here and there, but the long passages about Charles Darwin, dolls, and London magazines weren’t what I was looking for. I wanted Ruthven. The killer, The seductive, sinister vampire. Aubrey’s tale vilified him. Was there a story of redemption there? We never get it.
This is a daring anthology. In something this tough, there were bound to be weak spots. The classic tales are masterpieces worth the read on their own. Each new perspective gives the old story a different angle and infuses the old stories with new blood. A great read.
August 10, 2016
I admit it took me a long time to read all these stories, by no means because of the content ... I bought the anthology while I was in the middle of another book, with another three queued up, but out of curiosity I read a few lines from one of the short stories and realised that I couldn’t stop so I ended up picking up the book every now and then, alongside my other reads, when I knew I had some time to dedicate to reading at least 2 or 3 tales at once. Personally, the appeal and beauty of a collection of short stories is that I can in theory read any story individually as and when suitable ... however this anthology comes with a catch ... and what a catch! The stories are, for obvious reasons, grouped and connected. For best results one should (re)read the 'original' version, a classic tale from one of the Gothic short story master writers, first, and then plunge, with a degree of wonder and curiosity and maybe even some skepticism at first, into the two or three newer versions on offer, all told from one of the minor characters' point of view, written by a contemporary author in the same style as the original tale. In truth each of the stories can be read as a stand-alone story and, in fact, if one hasn’t read the original, it would be difficult to tell which is the classic and which the more recently written ‘version’. I don't know if this has ever been tried before, I am an avid reader of short stories and I hadn't come across anything like this until this anthology was published, but I hope it isn't the last. All in all it sounds like a rather ambitious project to re-write a newer, perhaps a little different, version of any classic short story from the likes of Poe and Lovecraft, however, it soon became apparent that the whole project was never a case of vainly trying to fix what was not remotely broken, but more a case of filling in the gaps (hats off to the editor for the title!), of sensing and giving a voice to the feelings and experiences of those unexplored characters introduced to us by a classic author, then left to one side and never fully developed in the original tale. These new authors give those minor characters a one-off chance to be heard and to become the central character of their very own story. All the re-takes are written, with impressive skills, by some of the most talented emerging writers of this genre. I'd go as far to say that some of the stories were in fact even superior to their original counterpart in style, plot and even chilling factor.
4 stars from me only because I make a point of reserving a 5 stars rating to rare and exceptional cases, if the rating range was between 0 and 10 I'd give it a 9.
4 stars from me only because I make a point of reserving a 5 stars rating to rare and exceptional cases, if the rating range was between 0 and 10 I'd give it a 9.
March 25, 2014
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
You have to give mad props (ok, so I have a teenager and a pre-teen living at home… I’m bound to pick up some of their language here and there…LOL) to any author who takes on the monumental task of rewriting a classic. This book is a series of classic short stories followed up by a modern day retelling with a twist. The new stories are told from a different characters point of view. It’s not the first time I’ve come across an anthology like this, but I have to say this is the best one I’ve come across!
The classics contained are some of my favorite gothic pieces of all time and I was a little leery about someone messing with them. Poe, Washington Irving, Lovecraft and Polidori. I guess I am one of those people that subscribes to “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”… but I was pleasantly surprised with the group of authors and their imaginative retellings. The integrity of the stories were kept intact and really just put you right back into the story, but looking at it from another angle. They kept to the classical gothic concept of unnerving readers; it’s more about getting inside your head than being gory and distasteful.
All of the authors that contributed to this anthology are “new to me” authors (even though most of them have been doing this for years) and I will definitely be checking out some of their other works.
This anthology deserves 5 stars! Kudos to the editor (Dr. Alex Scully) for compiling such an amazing group of authors! If you love classic gothic horror stories, you most certainly will not be disappointed with the modern day retelling within this book.
You have to give mad props (ok, so I have a teenager and a pre-teen living at home… I’m bound to pick up some of their language here and there…LOL) to any author who takes on the monumental task of rewriting a classic. This book is a series of classic short stories followed up by a modern day retelling with a twist. The new stories are told from a different characters point of view. It’s not the first time I’ve come across an anthology like this, but I have to say this is the best one I’ve come across!
The classics contained are some of my favorite gothic pieces of all time and I was a little leery about someone messing with them. Poe, Washington Irving, Lovecraft and Polidori. I guess I am one of those people that subscribes to “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”… but I was pleasantly surprised with the group of authors and their imaginative retellings. The integrity of the stories were kept intact and really just put you right back into the story, but looking at it from another angle. They kept to the classical gothic concept of unnerving readers; it’s more about getting inside your head than being gory and distasteful.
All of the authors that contributed to this anthology are “new to me” authors (even though most of them have been doing this for years) and I will definitely be checking out some of their other works.
This anthology deserves 5 stars! Kudos to the editor (Dr. Alex Scully) for compiling such an amazing group of authors! If you love classic gothic horror stories, you most certainly will not be disappointed with the modern day retelling within this book.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews