Dark Draughts

by John Goodrich

Culled from nearly a decade of work, Dark Draughts is the first collection of John Goodrich’s short fiction. Discover a terrifying new god, and an old, well known one just as malicious. Encounter horror tropes broken and remade; dead and undead pharaohs, a compassionate ghoul, and a serial killer who discovers something darker than himself. Find out what happens to a man literally at war with himself. With stories set in Arkham, ancient Egypt, the blood-soaked battlefields of World War One, rural Vermont, and a hideous apocalyptic future, these stories encompass the terrors of the past as well as our fears for the future. Dark Strong medicine for what ails us all. *** "With Dark Draughts, John Goodrich casts a new, clear-eyed vision of horror. Revitalizing familiar tropes with new energy, he brings a fresh, dark sensibility to his writing." — Richard Dansky, author of Firefly Rain "Goodrich's writing shines bright, but never brighter than when he's probing the dark corners of history or plumbing the depths of unexpected venues for horror." — Errick A. Nunnally, author of Blood for the Sun "Caveat Dark Draughts is sixteen unnerving little tales that, like an occult text, compel you to keep reading long past the point of safety. With his self-assured writing and intimate knowledge of history, John Goodrich reminds us that evil is real, has been here all along, and worse, has plans for us." — Dana Cameron, author of the Fangborn series John Goodrich’s Dark Draughts has all the soul of the shudder pulps, and a strong, beating modern heart. He captures the adventure of the classic thrilling tale while crafting believable characters with real sympathy. From World War I flying aces, to the modern zombie menace in the corn fields, to a God of Chickens, and an occult gathering that puts a man face to face with an eldritch god, Goodrich proves again and again that he is the kind of craftsman who understands the last line of a story is every bit as important as the first. — Bracken MacLeod, Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of Stranded and Come to Dust "John Goodrich is an experienced world-traveler of the weird, a savvy and capable tour guide moving smoothly among settings and eras, effortlessly crossing both the borders of genre and the boundaries of sanity." — Christine Morgan, author of The Raven’s Table and Spermjackers From Hell “Dark Draughts will burn your throat and disturb your sleep. From the dusty American West to the blood-soaked battle fields of WWI, from ancient Egypt to rural Vermont, John Goodrich shines a ghastly light on our human insecurities and lizard-brain impulses. He has a flair for Lovecraftian horror worthy of the master himself, and mines the canon of terror tropes in original, witty, nightmarish ways. With tales sure to delight horror aficionados and novice fans alike, Dark Draughts will make you think twice before turning out the lights.” — Shawn MacKenzie, Author of The Dragon Keeper’s Handbook and Dragons for Beginners

264 pages, Paperback

First published March 10, 2018

Reviews

[Darrell Grizzle]

John Goodrich is a master of Lovecraftian horror and pulpy aviation-based adventure. Those two genres combine in The Patriot, one of the excellent stories in this new collection, Dark Draughts. Goodrich is at his best when writing historical set-pieces, and this collection has several that are outstanding, most notably Captains of Industry, set in 1921 Boston, and Pharaoh Comes to Lonely Mile, set in the Old West. The only sour note in the book is the gross-out horror story Champagne, which will not be to everyone's taste (as it wasn't to mine); other than that, this collection is highly recommended.

[Rachel]

Great read, stories range from the mildly creepy to terrifying. I liked how each story, while short, still felt complete; I find with a lot of short stories that not the case. Though I will say I hope to see some of the worlds in these stories does get more work done about them as they were interesting.

My favorite story was "Pharaoh comes to Lonely Mile". I really loved the setting and overall feel of this story. It is also one of the stories that I hope the author will expand on. My least favorite was "Champagne", this was actually amazing well written but it was so gross that I actually started to gag from the mental images.

Overall an entertaining read for horror fans.

[Samantha Françoise Dark Regions Press Proofreader]

I thoroughly enjoyed this literary piece and had the pleasure of working on it with Crossroads Press. A must read! I have also read the following which are wonderful to add to your collection:

* Hag
* Terrible Things