Pareidolia

by James Everington (Editor), Dan Howarth (Editor), Sarah Read

Have you ever seen figures in the clouds, heard voices in the sound of a detuned TV, recognised faces made by the shadows in the corner of a room?Pareidolia is the phenomenon where the mind perceives shapes, or hears voices, where none apparently exist. But what if what you were seeing was really there? What if the voice you heard really was speaking to you, calling you?

Pareidolia contains new dark and surreal stories by Sarah Read, Eliza Chan, Tim Major, Rich Hawkins, Carly Holmes, G.V. Anderson, Charlotte Bond, Daniel Braum, Rosanne Rabinowitz and Andrew David Barker.

Step inside, and see if you see what they do.

223 pages, Paperback

Published July 26, 2019

About the author

I'm a writer from Nottingham, England- most of what I write is dark, supernatural fiction, although not necessarily 'horror' in the blood and guts sense. My main influences are writers like Ramsey Campbell, Shirley Jackson, and Robert Aickman. I enjoy the unexplained, the psychological, and the ambiguous in my fiction.

I drink Guinness, if anyone's offering.

Infinity Plus published my second collection of short stories, Falling Over (2013) and the novel The Quarantined City in (2016).

This year also saw the release of the limited edition novella Trying To Be So Quiet from Boo Books, and my first book as editor, The Hyde Hotel.

Reviews

[Cate Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third anthology from James Everington and Dan Howarth, the previous two were The Hyde Hotel and Imposter Syndrome. These anthologies deserve much more recognition and I look forward to their next (pick me, pick me). I was lucky enough to have a story in their first anthology.

Published in July 2019 (and signed by James Everington and Charlotte Bond), the anthology starts with the excellent Into the Wood by Sarah Read. A homeless girl survives by couch-surfing, when she meets a new man she moves in with him and his daughter, Thea. A disturbing story where the house wants to trap you in its walls. Really enjoyed, and my favourite of the anthology.

What can you do about a man like that? by Tim Major. An intelligent and subtle story about sound engineer Molly and the movie star who she once knew. The silence of an empty room speaks volumes.

The Butchery Tree by G.V. Anderson echoes Sarah Read's story. In a time of clans and princes, a butchery tree, where once boys hung, becomes a table. Madness and delusion stem from a terrible act that leads to one as vile. Anderson's words are delicious. That's all he had time for after pulling the boys' innards out, leaving them to swing by their necks, their broken ribs clacking like wind chimes.

The Lens of Dying by Charlotte Bond is a creeping, haunting tale of past sins revisiting. House of Faces by Andrew David Barker is a sad story about the aftermath of an apocalypse. Poignant given current circumstances. He didn't answer. He couldn't, he was made of windows and dirt. A gut punch of an ending.

Although I preferred the previous two anthologies, Pareidolia is still an excellent read.

[Dan Coxon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent all-round anthology from editors James Everington and Dan Howarth, and publisher Black Shuck Books. As always, some stories struck a chord more than others, but the authors deal with the theme of pareidolia (perceiving shapes or sounds where none exist) in an admirable variety of ways, ensuring that the collection never gets stale or repetitive. Personal favourites were by Tim Major, Sarah Read and G.V. Anderson, but there's plenty to like here, and some new names to discover. Highly recommended.

[Des Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

An ominously quiet coda to this haunting and overtly pareidoliac book, a 200+ page paperback that sits neatly in the pocket. My brain above ever scries pictures through its lent lens of memory and death. The shadow flits.

The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of my observations at the time of the review.