Nightmare Magazine 63: December 2017

by John Joseph Adams (Editor), Breakermaximus (Illustrator), Nino Cipri

NIGHTMARE is an online horror and dark fantasy magazine. In NIGHTMARE's pages, you will find all kinds of horror fiction, from zombie stories and haunted house tales, to visceral psychological horror.

This month, we have original fiction from Nino Cipri ("Which Super Little Dead GirlTM Are You?") and Matthew Kressel ("Will You Meet Me There, Out Beyond the Bend?"), along with reprints by Tamsyn Muir ("The Woman in the Hill") and Lisa Morton ("Poppi's Monster"). As for nonfiction, we've got Paul Jessup discussing ontological horror and the weird in the latest installment of our column on horror, "The H Word," plus we have author spotlights with our authors, and Adam-Troy Castro brings us a movie review.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fantasy

77 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 30, 2017

About the author

John Joseph Adams is the series editor of BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY. He is also the bestselling editor of many other anthologies, such as ROBOT UPRISINGS, DEAD MAN'S HAND, BRAVE NEW WORLDS,WASTELANDS, and THE LIVING DEAD. Recent and forthcoming books include WHAT THE #@&% IS THAT?, OPERATION ARCANA, PRESS START TO PLAY, LOOSED UPON THE WORLD, and THE APOCALYPSE TRIPTYCH (consisting of THE END IS NIGH, THE END IS NOW, and THE END HAS COME). Called “the reigning king of the anthology world” by Barnes & Noble, John is a two-time winner of the Hugo Award (for which he has been nominated nine times), is a seven-time World Fantasy Award finalist, and served as a judge for the 2015 National Book Award. John is also the editor and publisher of the digital magazines LIGHTSPEED and NIGHTMARE, and is a producer for Wired's THE GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY podcast. You can find him online at www.johnjosephadams.com and on Twitter @JohnJosephAdams.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only, The Woman in the Hill by Tamsyn Muir

Of course I'll love her take on Lovecraft. :D

[Krk]

rating for Tamsyn Muir's"The Woman in the Hill." 3 stars.

[Zana]

The Woman in the Hill by Tamsyn Muir
3.5/5 stars

Here we go in my quest to read everything Tamsyn Muir's ever written because she's one of my favorite authors.

The Woman in the Hill was creepy enough imo. It has a pretty tropey premise (mysterious entrance to a cave; white settlers skeeved out by indigenous practices), but the historical New Zealand setting gives it some life. It's pretty decent and kept me reading, although I didn't think it was one of the author's best works.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average rating: 3.5 stars. This is a very short magazine, just 4 short stories and a couple of interviews. I read it for Tamsin Muir's short story - definitely the best of the lot - but most of the stores were good. This will appeal most to those who like horror. I prefer classic horror, modern horror that reads like classic horror, and creepy stories that don't approach too closely to the boundary of plausibility (I don't want to read about real horrific things! ... just the imaginary ones).

Which Super Little Dead Girl™ Are You? Take Our Quiz and Find Out! by Nino Cipri
4 stars - This is a unique and entertaining character study in quiz format. I enjoyed the unconventional delivery

The Woman in the Hill by Tamsin Muir
5 stars - This story is the reason I decided to read this magazine. I'm a fan of Muir's writing style. She really nailed the Lovecraftian ambiance with this story. This modern short reads and feels just like classic horror, and the letter format is the perfect vector. Muir is such a talented writer - I just want to read everything she's written. This is currently my favorite of her short stories.

Will You Meet Me There, Out Beyond the Bend? by Matthew Kressel
4 stars - Haunting! I would read more from this author.

Poppi's Monster by Lisa Morton
2 stars - This is well written, but it's the child abuse flavor of dark and disturbing that I don't appreciate. It definitely packs a punch on the sad reality scale. I truly hope this doesn't stem from the author's own experiences (or experiences of anyone she knew). I'll probably avoid this author in the future.

[emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

read only "The Woman In The Hill" by Tamsyn Muir, and holy shit was it creepy. i really love this category of modern lovecraftian eldritch horror that uses the format and style of 19th century eldritch horror, the epistolary structure, and of course Tamsyn wields it impeccably. caroline's letter takes us so far into the events that led her to the present that we almost forget that it began with "this is the last time i will write to you"-- and by the time we remember that, we realize what she's about to do, and how the story will end. perfection.

you can read the story here: https://www.nightmare-magazine.com/fi...

[Joshua Dancer · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's always weird trying to give a rating to any sort of anthology. I thought most of the short stories were good to great. I enjoyed the interview with Nino Cipri, but the rest of the non-fiction stuff didn't excite me. So, basically, too uneven to rate highly, but good enough that I've started a subscription.

[Ashley]

Tamsyn Muir’s “Woman in the Hill.”

Definitely my least favorite of all the TM short stories I’ve devoured the last couple days.

I think this is the first TM piece of fiction I’ve read that’s clearly set in NZ, and I enjoyed the historical aspect.

3 stars

[b · Rating 4 out of 5]

rating for The Woman In The Hill, which I thought was delightful

[LaShawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

For “The Woman In the Hill” by Tamsyn Muir

[Brian]

I only read The Woman in the Hill by Tamsyn Muir. It's a well-executed take on a Lovecraftian mystery.

[nekrow]

The Woman in the Hill by Tamsyn Muir