Charlottesville Fantastic: Arcane Echoes from Virginia’s Heartland

by James Blakey, Catherine Simpson, Deidra Whitt Lovegren

Visit a Cville that's not quite like the one you know.

Charlottesville Arcane Echoes from Virginia's Heartland invites you to explore the mysterious, the supernatural, and the humorous.

Meet unforgettable characters including a vampire at a UVA sorority, a four-hundred-year-old dragon hidden in Shenandoah National Park, and an enigmatic tuxedo cat on the Downtown Mall. Twenty tales in total, each delving into the mystical essence of the region, revealing a place where the past, present, and future intertwine in unexpected and enchanting ways.

Whether you're a long-time resident or a curious traveler, this anthology promises to captivate and thrill, offering a glimpse into a Charlottesville where the ordinary meets the extraordinary.

The line

James Blakey — “Join the Journey”
Caroline Boras — “My House Mother is a Vampire”
E.F. Buckles — “Thaw”
Julian Close — “The Copper Plates”
James Cole – “What’s Going on Here?”
Tim Freer – “Biodynamic Aeroconducive Gels”
K.G. Gardner — “An Accident on Louisa Road”
Jordan Garris — “The Gap”
Ginger Grouse — “Warriors of Kroas”
Kurt Johnson — “A Blue Ridge Tunnel Story”
Karen M Kumor — “The Untethered Visions of Henry G. in Cville”
Deidra Whitt Lovegren — “Clickbait”
Genevieve Lyons — “The Book Came Back”
Parker McIntosh — “The Girl in the Stream”
Liz P — “Transfer In Progress”
Kent M. Peterson — “Midnight on Rio Road”
Catherine Simpson — “A Hard Bargain”
J. Thompson — “Save Our Cryptids - Volunteers Wanted”
James Verlon — “The Tree That Smiled Back”
Caitlin Woodford — “Where Do the Old Things Go?”

268 pages, Hardcover

Published October 15, 2024

About the author

James Blakey is a three-time finalist for the Short Mystery Fiction Society's Derringer Award, winning in 2019 for his story "The Bicycle Thief." He leads critique groups in Harrisonburg, Charlottesville, and Shenandoah County. His paranormal thriller SUPERSTITION will be published by City Owl Press in September 2024. When James isn’t writing, he's on the hiking trail—he’s climbed forty of the fifty US state high points—or bike-camping his way up and down the East Coast. He lives in Broadway, Virginia.

Reviews

[Chasity]

Quirky

I enjoyed these stories more than I expected. A bunch of quirky and fun short stories. I liked a few better than others but enjoyed the book over all.

[Colleen]

Got this book at a book and art fair in Cville for Meggys bachelorette! had fun reading these short stories! I enjoyed visiting different parts of Charlottesville through these quirky, spooky/fantasy stories. Some were better than others so I did some skimming.

[Alexis Morris]

As someone who just visited Charlottesville last year and lives fairly close to the area, the title and cover of this book stood out to me and drew me in. The collection of stories is a real delight. All of the short stories are well written and very unique. Some of my favorites were Clickbait, A Hard Bargain, and The Book Came Back (especially the mention of the LFLs in the area as I am a steward). Those stories were just the right amount of creepy and thrilling for me! A few of the stories (Midnight on Rio Road, The Copper Plates, Biodynamic Aeroconducive Gels, and An Accident on Louisa Road) were more on the SciFi side and honestly reminded me of something you would see on The Twilight Zone. Think multi-dimensional. A few of the stories had a comedy horror tone (My House Mother is a Vampire and Save Our Cryptids- Volunteers Needed). Some of the scarier stories in this collection, in my opinion, were The Girl in the Stream and Join the Journey. The descriptions of the girl in the stream gave me goosebumps. I imagined her looking like a poster for the movie Smile.😭There is really something for everyone in this book. I typically read thrillers, but enjoy some fantasy and horror, and thoroughly enjoyed most of these short stories. I don’t want to spoil any of the stories, but if you like local folklore, this is for you! Highly recommend. I received a copy of this title from BookSirens and am offering my honest review.

[Soscha]

Like a series of weird, amusing vignettes of oddity.

Loved loved loved, ideal for quirky readers. 🧌

[Aurora]

I'm a big fan of Doctor Who, and the overall vibe of this collection of stories was similar. The quality of the stories varied widely, not just in terms of how many spelling and grammar errors there were but also in terms of how engaging and satisfying they were (I did not find the final story in the collection engaging, I don't think all of the scenes were necessary).

Some of my favorites were A Hard Bargain, The Book Came Back, and The Girl in the Stream. Some of the stories, such as The Untethered Visions of Henry G, seemed oddly incomplete. I enjoyed the more horror-like aspect of stories such as Clickbait and Join the Journey, but none of the horror was too disturbing to be more than PG-13, which I imagine is good for lots of people who enjoy family-friendly-ish horror.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Margaret Simpson]

Charlottesville Fantastic is a delightful and engaging anthology of mystical short stories that captures the spirit of the community. I enjoyed it so much and am sorry to have finished it so soon! It feels a little like finding the popcorn stand closed.. I look forward to re-reading some of my favorite short stories again!

[Cheryl]

I received an ARC of this book. With it being October, I was ready to settle in for a good read of Paranormal stories. This was just what I needed. A series of short stories to liven up the month. I definitely like some of these stories better than others, but that is usually the case with an anthology. My favorites are the lighthearted humorous, but there are some darker stories as well. Half of them were simply weird and didn’t seem to go anywhere, but the few I liked made up for them. I was looking for paranormal, and though all have an aspect, a lot of them were time travel which I am not as into. Just a personal thing. Some of them were whoa, trippy. One story could have been done well but missed the potential with all the name-dropping product placement that distracted from the tale. Others just made me go “huh?”. Favorites had vampires, dragons, scarecrows and Kiwi. There should be something for everyone even if you don’t like them all.

[Rebecca]

A well-edited compilation of tales perfect for October and Halloween days. I would recommend reading these each day leading up to Halloween. The stories are diverse, ranging from humor to spooky to historical. One of my favorites was "My House Mother is a Vampire" by Caroline Boras. Imagine a sorority house that's already haunted by ghosts, and one of the members accidentally invites in a vampire who becomes house mother. This one was hilarious--situational humor and the writing style was witty. "Thaw" by E.F. Buckles was my other favorite. This one was more serious and spanned over centuries from the viewpoint of the last dragon on earth. Overall, worth the read, and the cover also catches my eye. Perfect gift for that person in your life who loves Halloween and the spooky season.

[Sam]

I loved this book, it is an amazing selection of unique and thrilling tales. The subject of each story ranges from vampires, cryptids, fairies to cursed objects. The common theme is Charlottesville, Virginia. I loved how several of the stories mentioned the same landmarks such as The Whisky Jar. It really pulled them all together. The writing styles were also similar.

My favourite short stories were:

Thaw by E.F Buckles - a story about a dragon that is turned to stone by its owner to keep it safe but she never returned and it spent thousands of years in the same place watching life around it.

Join the Journey by James Blakey - a story about an influencer going to an orchard to film a vlog and ends up having a creepy encounter with a scarecrow.

A Hard Bargain by Catherine Simpson - a story that starts as a date for a one year anniversary, but turns into a sinister bargain with a fairy.

I recommend this book for anyone who likes something a bit different. I love folklore and cryptids so this was perfect for me. A book to be read around the campfire on an autumnal night with marshmallows and s’mores.

Thank you to Booksirens and Whitaker Lyon Press for letting me review this ARC.

[Lori]

Charlottesville Fantastic is filled with stories of good ghosts, spooky scarecrows, and water women. A personal favorite story of mine, "Save Our Cryptids--Volunteers Needed" was a tale of intrepid volunteers willing to risk life and limb for the promise of a discount at Shenandoah Joe's. If you like speculative fiction and you are familiar with Charlottesville, you will enjoy the local references to places like UVA and Grand Caverns. If you are looking for a fun collection to fill that ghostly gap in your heart, this is it.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Jesse]

Thanks to BookSirens and Whitaker Lyon Press for my copy of this delightful anthology.
With guidelines as broad as ‘in or near Charlottesville and kinda weird,’ these stories run the gamut. Past, present, future, ghosts, cryptids, aliens, just a little bit weird or a whole new world. There’s something here for everyone. It’s mostly PG so it might be good for a reader at the middle grade-YA level.
As with all anthologies, I liked some stories more than others. One or two weren’t as good as their compatriots but it was very consistent overall. A solid anthology and a fun read. I would recommend this. 4/5

[Amy]

Anthologies in general always feel a little hit or miss because inevitably some short stories will be stronger than others. And while that was certainly the case here, I was pleasantly surprised to find the majority of these stories engaging and fun. I liked some more than others, but even the ones I didn't like as much weren't bad. I enjoyed the clear passion for Virginia and creative directions the authors took their stories. There is a good amount of variety within the spooky theme. Overall, lots of fun!

[Emily]

What an incredible collection of short stories!

Charlottesville Fantastic is a anthology of stories centered around Virginia's heartland, which offers quite a brilliant setting for this collection.

As with any anthology, there will be stories that stick out better than others. What's really nice is that this book can take the reader from horror to sci-fi fairly quickly and smoothly. It's such a treat for a reader who enjoys multiple genres. "My House Mother is a Vampire" by Caroline Boras really stood out to me and I still can't stop thinking about.

[Kat M]

This was a really great anthology and enjoyed the supernatural element in this city. It had everything that I enjoyed about the supernatural genre and each story worked well overall. Each story had that feel that I was looking for and enjoyed how good everything worked. It was a lot of fun and I was glad I got to read this. Each author had everything that I was looking for and glad I got to read this.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Meredith Frazier]

Fun anthology covering a wide range of fantastic/supernatural stories set in Charlottesville and the surrounding area. The variety of supernatural elements--from vampires to dragons to Bigfoot to wormholes and more--was great, as was the range of tones, from darker (nothing was horribly dark, but some were close) to sheer fun. Nice collection overall.

I received a free ARC but am writing this voluntarily.

[Racheal Chitondwe]

In CF stories imagined come alive. Going from luke warm to highly entertaining quality horror and sci-fi stories. There is a little bit of everything in this book and something for everyone, found myself laughing and even crying a little bit but comedy horror is the spice of life in Charlottesville. A place filled with strangeness and mystery, it's more than a bump in the night collection of stories.

[Nicolle Persoon]

What a great selection of stories. A good example of the diversion in ghoulish/suspense/ghost stories.

A vampire as house mother, ghosts aiding a family member redecorate the family home and so much more goodies.

Perfect for my lunch. Just had to be careful to not start another story, because I HAVE to finish it.

I received an ARC and am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Vic]

A very strange collection on spooky paranormal stories. This book has a wide range of tales from ghost to vampires to creatures. Some are a little to far out there and some leave you with questions. If you like weird but entertaining stories give this a try. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Tina Fulcher]

A great collection of paranormal short stories, each one very different. The collection kept me gripped from start to finish. Highly recommended read.

I was lucky enough to read this as an advanced copy and leave this review voluntarily.

[Joan Smith]

This collection was so fun to read with almost a trope for everyone; from vampires to undead to wormholes and ancient gods and so much more. The stories take place around Charlottesville and surrounding cities and towns. I enjoyed this collection.

Thank you, James Blakey

[Katie]

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the characters and the character development. I thought was a really good book for spooky Season Or Halloween time. I highly recommend it.

[Barbara Behning]

Collection of short stories - lots of subjects - interesting

[Emily Haynes]

A vampire hides at a college. The woods hide an ancient creature. And other tales.

[Meghan Furey]

Quirky and spooky, perfect for Halloween/fall! Some stories definitely didn’t get read, but probably 85%!

[Heather Cole]

Weird and spooky stories set in Charlottesville, Virginia. An entertaining read for fans of science fiction and fantasy, esp. anyone familiar with the town.

[Amy Goodloe]

Some of the stories were engaging and well-written, and some were just a bit too amateurish to hold my attention, esp. when there are so many other good things to read out there. I had expected the stories to be grounded more fully in the area where I live, but many just briefly touched on aspects of the area.