Grief Rituals

by Sam Richard

From Wonderland Award-Winning author Sam Richard comes twelve more uncomfortable tales of sorrow, ruination, and transformation.

A young widow joins a spousal loss support group with bizarre methods of healing. An aging punk is stalked by something ancient and familiar in the labyrinthian halls of an art complex. A couple renting out a small movie theater are interrupted by a corrosive force of nature. Through these stories of weird horror and visceral sorrow, Richard shows us ways grief can be transcendent-but only if we know which rituals to practice.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction

154 pages, Paperback

First published October 25, 2022

About the author

Sam Richard is the author of several books including The Still Beating Heart of a Dead God and the award-winning To Wallow in Ash & Other Sorrows. He has edited ten anthologies, including the cult hits Profane Altars: Weird Sword & Sorcery and The New Flesh, and his short fiction has appeared in over forty publications. Widowed in 2017, he slowly rots in Minneapolis where he runs Weirdpunk Books. You can stalk him @SammyTotep across most socials or at weirdpunkbooks.com

Reviews

[Alex (The Bookubus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another impressive collection from Sam Richard. The theme of grief is present throughout but is portrayed in a vast variety of ways from the quiet and sombre to the intense and raw with some breaks of absurdity along the way. These stories were all so good I really couldn’t pick out a favourite. I highly recommend checking this one out.

[Mae Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished Sam Richard’s collection GRIEF RITUALS. A writer’s evolution processing grief through fiction, a story for all who’ve known loss. Sad, humorous, bizarre. Stand-out stories: THE FRUIT OF A BARREN TREE, WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE JIFFY-LUBE, & WHERE CARRION CRAWLS. The best part of reading indie horror is you can pretty easily order personalized signed copies as gifts and/or keepsakes through the author websites, or in this case the press website (weirdpunkbooks . com), which is how I obtained my copy!

[Rain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sam Richard’s collection is such a generous, vulnerable piece of work, we are lucky to have it. Each tale focuses on mourning, with different tones and themes, some a blurry depressive haze, some urgent, vicious, and full of vengeful catharsis. Check it out, these are some heavy, beautiful rituals.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A monumental collection of transgressive horror. Sam is, without hyperbole, one of the most important writers working in the field today and Grief Rituals is a stunning example of his talent and range as an artist.

[Sharron Joy Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short stories of horror, of the weird, of bereavement and loss, how to deal with grief and also how not to. These were haunting and I thoroughly enjoyed them

[Michael Tichy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid collection all the way through. Sam’s heartfelt and searing prose will remind you that blood runs both ways in an open heart but the reward for keeping the wound open is to know such beauty and truth.

We Have Always Lived in the Jiffy Lube is my new favorite story by this author. It has a flawless tone. Juxtaposition of surreal events and a numb interior that is too broken to be affected by them hits perfectly. This is grief distilled to an essence that you can touch, that hollows you.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sam Richard's follow-up to To Wallow in Ash & Other Sorrows. The stories here seem to come from a town further on from his previous stories. Grief still looms large, but these stories are starting to move forward into living life while touched by grief. Richard is at his best when he's doing less - his best stories in this anthology are "We Are Eternal," "Death Reflects Us," and "We Have Always Lived in the Jiffy Lube." He lingers on a haunting mood like a doom metal band holding onto a note.

[Madison McSweeney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shows the shifting stages of sorrow through a surreal kaleidoscope, with elements of everything from ancient mythology to THE BLOB. Unnerving but also incredibly heartfelt.

[Taylor R · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is always exciting to read splatter punk books, but it is even cooler to read the locally written ones that take place in Minneapolis. I drive by the Quacking Bog every day on my way home from work through Theodore Wirth Park, and I will always think of a man looking for mushrooms but accidentally digging a body out from the moss from now on.

[John The Crippledgimp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this collection was a gut punch. Grief Rituals is a collection of stories like his first collection To Wallow in Ash and other sorrows which is one of my favorite collections ever. This collection also deals with love loss pain grief and the decent into madness that comes with dealing with loss and pain but this collection seemed like it was also dealing with healing from those things.... Like the pain and all those emotions are still there but this collection seemed more like healing and a acceptance of the loss and the grief and trying to live and deal with it. This collection was really good and I highly recommend this and all of Sam Richard's work.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for something local, and I've been meaning to check out Wierdpunk books for a while, so why not kill two birds with one stone. As the title suggests, the collection serves up the grief-horror flavor, peppered with crazy psychological and supernatural elements. Was looking for references that were closer to home, but no biggie.

Standouts:
"Taken by the Mountains"-Starting things of with a bang. Brutal and straightforward eco-horror at its best.

"Shopping Maul"-Not Chopping Mall, but pretty damn close.

"Strømtstatt"-atmaspheric premature burial story where the pace is quiet, but just right.

[Zack Wiggs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really wished I had liked it more. Some interesting concepts for stories, for sure, but felt like he tried to hard for a literary appeal. The narrators all seemed to have the same way of speaking, and it was often too wordy in times of tension. Interesting look at the theme of grief though.

[Heleri · Rating 3 out of 5]

i really wanted to enjoy it, partially did too, but mostly i was just confused