Dark Distortions: Volume 1, edited by Molly Feese and C.D. Allen

An impressively heavy volume, Dark Distortions, edited by Molly Feese and C.D. Allen, is the premiere title from Scotopia Press, designed to be a compendium of dark creative work from poetry to novellas.
First up is “Last Word” by Daniel L. Naden, an “Interview with a Ghost” tale about a reporter who finds a bit more than he expects when he pursues an interview with the neighborhood creep who turns out to be dead. This tale embodies flashes of gore as it depicts those who are violent, or nosy, getting their comeuppances.

“Waking the Reaper” by Sarah Deckard is also a supernatural tale, but this one takes on the Reaper himself. A writer whose very life depends on her next book proposal takes a drive through the countryside looking for inspiration. Instead, she finds a sect of monks who welcome her as a Lost One. Their religion and the sense of peace surrounding their commune call to Lorraine, but there’s a dark side to their all-encompassing goddess. Despite the sense of spiritual deepness to the subject and much of the action, the plot doesn’t dip beyond the surface level, bringing the tale to an expected end.

The first poetry offering, “The Poetry of Fools” by Scott Craw, is less a narrative and more a commentary on writers, implying that the ego and pomp involved in creating must truly be astounding.

“The Snow Demon” by David W. Landrum pits two sympathetic women, both trying to find their own place after having been abandoned by their fathers, against a difficult to see, selfish enemy who wishes to use them for its own ends. The setting is somewhat oblique, a small town, large enough to have a bar but small enough to still have a near-collective consciousness. Native legend says that there’s a demon somewhere in the woods tended to by the people of the town. It’s a secret everyone knows, real enough to enforce silence on the residents but not enough to keep an anthropologist on a mission to meet the beast from buying his way into its sacred space. There’s the sense of an interesting theme here, particularly in the relationship between the two women. Unfortunately, it fades away behind a sudden and somewhat confusing change of character and a climax that finally throws the face of the legend into the mix. What starts as something different becomes another monster story in the end, which some readers will see as the only satisfying conclusion, but others might find a bit disappointing.

“18 Wheels of Hell” by Mark E. Delay is a fairly standard angels-demons-serial killers hybrid. A man’s daughter is abducted by a dragon-like creature that turns out to be a demon collecting souls. Filled with chance happenings, similes, and clichés, this story is fast paced but mediocre.

Two works of poetry come next: “Homage to Azrael, The Angel of Death” by Theresa Cecilia Newbill brings a dose of vibrant visuals to the anthology. “Fallen Angel” by Robert Brian Newbill, the best poem thus far, is a rhyming ode to love between damaged creatures.

“The Fall of the Angel Nathalie” by Jamie Brindle continues the streak of religious-themed tales. The plot is, unfortunately, completely divulged by the title. Nathalie is an angel who has been worn down by the constant struggle against corruption. She’s on the edge from the beginning, with players on both sides betting on when she’ll fall. Perhaps her one-sided view of the world exacerbates her plummet as her near militant view of the war against evil leads her to be the one tempted for once.

Eric R. Lowther’s “Alley Cat” leads Dark Distortions away from its biblically themed path and back down to a bloody Earth. Rupert is a an ex-con really looking forward to his nefarious 16th of the month activities. If only he can finish up a psych. evaluation, first. The story might be a familiar one for well-read horror fans, but “Alley Cat” boasts solid writing that holds an edge of promise.

“The Woodshed” by AJ Brown is one of the best stories of this anthology. Brown delves beyond the mere surface in this tale of a childhood survivor of abuse haunted by his abusers and presents an unflinching look at domestic violence. He refuses to shy away from the worst but also layers deeper effects, making the characters more sympathetic and believable.

“Fear & The Storm” by Chris Morrow takes a completely different tack in spinning a tale of survival. But unlike in “The Woodshed,” instead of struggling against the darkest parts of the human psyche, aging, ordinary, panicky Jill finds herself facing off against the rage of Mother Nature. One of the most hopeful tales here, “Fear & The Storm” has a surprising, uplifting ending.

“Thin Walls” by Trevor Price is a long, slow-paced novella. Stewart is a typical, but mostly unlikeable, character who has just inherited his uncle’s home in a small, poor town in England. In chronicling Stewart’s progression into insanity, the pacing and length sap the power from his descent, only displaying this power in the last page and a half or so.

In “Enthralled” by Gerald C. Matics, two college students find more than they bargained for when they venture to a fortuneteller to divine their futures. Suddenly, a momentary bit of entertainment turns into a long, fear-filled trial, as Marie tries to fight a future that seems to be more than a self-fulfilling prophecy; Madam Wanda appears to be acting to guarantee that her predictions come true. “Enthralled” came together nicely at the end, making it one of the more satisfying reads here.

Next up is Ralph Robert Moore’s “Red Boat,” a novelette comprised of character development. Peter is a horrible person—manipulative, self serving, and a little bit cruel. He falls overboard from his cruise ship and is rescued by a vessel filled with strange people. The captain, the strangest of them all, is a massive man who constantly wears a hood. This story felt muddled, a different one at the beginning than at the end. It indulges in a side jaunt—the long, life story of the menacing captain—and distracts readers from the main narrative. The story loses steam and depends on its ending, admittedly the strongest part, to seal the deal.

“Delusions and Definitions” by Frank Sullivan is a flash piece with a lot of character and a plot straight out of a crazy house. It works well, flows smoothly, and has an engaging voice, but its placement midway through the anthology caused it to feel predictable, as by now, the reader has pegged the collection’s style.

C.D. Allen’s “The Rector House” is a truly powerful, Lovecraftian-influenced Victorian tale. A man’s proposal to the object of his affections is disrupted by the suicide of a woman who turns out to be his sister. Learning his father is ill, he travels back to a home he never knew and discovers that he was better off not knowing his roots. Delightfully sinister and a touch maddening, as a classic tale should be.

Giving the reader a bit of a breather from the longer works, Theresa Cecilia Newbill’s “An Offering for Hades” has a Greek flavor. Centering on the most bipolar story of the mythos, the love of Hades and Persephone, it is full of vibrant imagery and a tinge of sadness—a beautiful moment to enjoy.

“The Noah Hypothesis” by Ken Goldman gives us high class horror when Prentice Blake, a normal man trying to please his wife for once on their anniversary, travels to the home of a very strange private collector of wine who promises him the finest bottles of vino available to man. While “The Noah Hypothesis” could have been tighter, it offers an interesting view of human nature and our habits with an unexpected element of darkness at the end. There’s an intriguing hint of inspiration from the classic Poe tale, “The Cask of Amontillado,” but this story stands on its own, strong legs.

Brandy Leah Schwan’s “Retribution is a Temptress” is another fine, savagely beautiful bit of verse that meshes nicely with the previous poems. Most of the poetry in Dark Distortions ties together in form or theme; this one is another artist’s reflection on fallen heavenly beings.

“Gigging the Rawbox” by Lorne Dixon is a standout here. Told in segments, a woman battles the traumatic loss of her bandmates in a tragic van crash, her own aging, the short attention span of the people around her, and the call of artistry versus the demands of motherhood. Add in a conspiracy of rock and roll religion, and the darkly fueled spirit of a woman who leaves her child with a sick, aging grandmother to chase the lost glory of her former years, and you get a complex plot that keeps the reader engaged and sympathetic, despite the main character’s flaws. One of the most human stories in this anthology, it examines the darkness of the human soul without needing to go to extremes.

“Onus” by Kim Despins is a solid story about the effect of a damaged mind on the world around it. The ending makes it more than an ordinary horror tale, showing the natural and horrifying evolution of what initially seemed like a minor evil within the main character.

“Night of the Cheddar Moon” by Michael Anthony feels like something of a sore thumb. Rather than aiming for a beginning that starts fine and goes dark, from the start, the world seems determined to see Roland fail. He is the obvious victim of a class war, living literally on the wrong side of the fence. Nearly every prejudice is blatantly on display as Roland tries to beg for, buy, and even steal the medicine he needs to help his young daughter recover from a deadly fever. Not even the child’s own grandfather will help, declaring poverty to be a disease of laziness and his granddaughter thereby worthless merely for the blood she carries. With strong metaphoric visuals, this could be the first voyage for Anthony into a world that may still have many shadowy corners to explore.

“Pick” by Erik Smetana is an incredibly disturbing look at a man obsessed with ingesting scabs—possibly even more disturbing than JA Konrath’s “Thems Good Eats” (in Gratia Placenti, Apex Publications). “Pick” is less over the top and more serious, which lends a sinister and sickening weight to it, perfect for the gross-out hounds, and an unexpected bit of intensity.

“Web” by John Logan starts off similarly to “Last Word.” Will has traveled to a strange office in New Orleans to hear a scary story and prove that the mysterious storyteller with a reputation for driving his listeners insane is a fraud. But the storyteller is a creature of nightmares, and “Web” ends with a darkly surreal feel. However, the beginning is far more compelling to the characters than the reader. The spider metaphor is strong enough to spike interest but jars with the feeling of normalcy at the beginning.

“Caldwell 2222″ by Jeffrey Buford is initially about a man who leaves his teaching job at a public school for a position at a private school. The teachers are dispassionate, the children are hiding secrets, and Alex is in denial about something that morphs the story from a Children of the Corn-esque tone into something else. But this shift doesn’t make much sense; the school is blatantly off from the beginning in a way that is more confusing than disquieting. Fear and panic overwhelm, stripping “Caldwell 2222″ of any ability to evoke sympathy or create a connection with the characters. While making the reader feel a little bit insane may be the point, this extreme threatens to push them out of the story altogether.

Rick McQuiston gives us rural horror steeped in the southern countryside in “To Keep Something In,” set in a place where it’s easy to believe one could turn a corner and run into a Civil War battle site. Dylan discovers that Grandfather’s old tale of Civil War black magic is closer to the truth than anyone suspects. The setting is interesting, and Dylan is a bold player, but the ending feels rushed. And whatever evil that awaits in the hills of Grandpa’s land remains only hinted at, never seen.

“Shade” by Petra L. Miller is part vampire-inspired and part Firestarter, except that it’s not the sun that blisters and burns the child victim of a secret experiment; it’s the shade. While there isn’t much action here, this is another gem.

D.C. Sowders’s “A Night Encounter in Confederate Virginia” is a novelette, but it doesn’t need to be. Starting where “To Keep Something In” left off, with a bit of black magic tangled up in the Civil War, a man has called back a friend he met in the war to help him with a reoccurring problem. After the friends reunite, the narrative launches into a recounting of how they met. While relevant, the structure weakens the story’s flow, piling another flashback—for a different character—into the middle of the first. Bouncing around between points of view and dates, the reader ends up distracted from the original plot which gets lost in the drama of the Civil War battles and the hunt for a nocturnal creature that’s feeding off the troops.

“How the Smokecarver Crete Cadwallader Saved America” by Tom Miller is a hilarious novelette excerpt that truly stands out—more dark humor or American tall tale, even historical urban fantasy, than horror. Lucretia “Crete” Cadwallader is a backwoods girl who can carve, weave, and knit smoke into usable items, and her aunt is the town witch who no one seems to notice when she stands in people’s gardens, painting in the middle of the night. Then there’s Carlyle Wozney, a bona fide professional braggart, and if that isn’t enough to make readers want to take a peek, be assured that this one is lively, compelling, and hard to put down.

The last poetry offering is a Young Author selection, “The Passing Bells” by Sophia Ahnikalish Schwan. Directly, almost conversationally, it speaks to the reader, telling a sensory tale of a life ended but not lost.

The final story is the second Young Author offering, “The Old House on Willow Street” by Ashley Hughes. Emma is spending the summer with her friend, Tom. But Tom’s neighborhood is haunted by an evil house, and Tom’s friends are typical kids, fueled by peer pressure and teasing, not listening to their instincts. It’s a decent attempt that shows the budding promise of a writer who, with time and persistence, will surely be seen in more publications in the future.

Dark Distortions has great aspirations. Its contents run the gamut of horror, from paranormal to psychological to splatter. Intimidating in size, it contains stories for true genre fans and several contributions from emerging stars.

Publisher: Scotopia Press
Price: $21.95
Trade paperback: 587 pages
ISBN: 9780977826292