In Somnio: A Collection of Modern Gothic Horror by Alex Woodroe

In Somnio: A Collection of Modern Gothic Horror Reviews

• 
  Michael James

  A deliciously wonderful collection of gothic stories. These stories are dripping with atmosphere and soul and are brilliantly told.
  
  Short story collections are always a bit of a grab bag in terms of quality, but these are genuinely wonderful tales and I fairly flew through the book.
  
  It's hard to pick standouts, but "Self Storage" alone makes it worth it. Probably my favorite story of the year. Junk Soul is also wonderful, and the song / story The Burning of Langston Flare that closes the book is... well, you kind of have to read it :)
• 
  Teresa Ardrey

  As with all anthologies, some of the stories in In Somnio really worked for me, and some did not, but I still found authors new to me, and said hello to authors I already knew. Making the stories Modern Gothic was a refreshing twist, and probably made me realize that I am not really sure I know what exactly Gothic means. I do know that I am glad that it is a genre that continues to grow and evolve to make room for an anthology like this one. The interior art is phenomenal, and I just really dig what Tenebrous is doing with their books, highlighting not just the authors but visual artists, making each book a masterpiece. Also, the titles of the stories are quite amazing.
• 
  Gabriele | QueerBookdom

  DRC provided directly by Tenebrous Press in exchange for an honest review.
  
  Representation: gay white protagonist, white amputee protagonist.
  
  Content Warning: death, mention of depression, animal death, mention of suicide, suicide ideation, violence, alcohol, self-harm, maiming.
  
  In Somnio edited by Alex Woodroe is an interesting collection of eighteen modern gothic stories, which I enjoyed for the most part.
  
  I quite loved three of them, namely Self Storage, The Blight of Black Creek and A House Without Ghosts. These three really captivated me with their originality.
  
  While I did not like every story present in the collection. I still think it is a work worthy of a read for horror fans, especially for the three stories I mentioned above.
  
  Senescence by J. A. Bryson ★★★,5
  The Blight of Black Creek by Mary Rajotte ★★★★,5
  Trespass by Aster S. Monroe ★★★
  Wild Things by S. E. Zeller ★★
  The Beach by Julie Hutchings ★
  Needs Must by Helen Whistberry ★
  What We Sow by Taylor Jordan Pitts ★
  Always an After by A. P. Howell ★
  Ghost Light or, to Swell So High That He May Drown Her in Him by Elou Carroll ★★★,5
  Self Storage by Barbara A. Barnett ★★★★★
  Nude in Repose #37 by Harklin Ashe ★★★,5
  Junk Soul by Lauren Bogler ★★,5
  We Named You After her by Rachel Unger ★★,5
  Silver Hands Against the Devil by Jessica Lévai ★★,5
  A House Without Ghosts by M. Lopes da Silva ★★★★
  The Reaching Sea by Victoria Nations ★★★,5
  After the Apples by Briana Una McGuckin ★★
  The Burning of Langston Flare’s Haunted Masquerade and Seafood Restaurant Experience (for Love) by Lin Darrow ★★★
  
• 
  Katelyn

  There’s nothing quite like curling up next to a fire on a rainy autumnal night with a Gothic horror in tow. Done right, the foggy tendrils will reach out for you immediately, beckoning that you should fall under its spell and follow it along the moonlit path as it whispers its tales in your ear. Such mysticism requires a deft hand to craft it, and consequently Gothic horror remains one of the most difficult yet rewarding genres to explore. I make it a habit to return to the greats every autumn, but am always delighted to discover more modern voices bringing the brightest light to one of literature’s darkest genres; Tenebrous Press’s In Somnio collection is one such delightfully unsettling surprise.
  
  One of the best things about indie press collections is that, more often than not, their as open for stories as it is possible to be, allowing a platform for writers who may have otherwise gone under a reader’s radar. More than once have I discovered someone new through anthologies like this one and gone on to feverishly pursue their growth. Bursting at the seams with tales to terrify that feel right at tonal home with some of the genres founding figures, In Somnio is a collection of 18 short stories that occasionally throw convention to the wind. From songs to conversation pieces, straightforward stories to unconventional perspectives, In Somnio is certain to have something for any Gothic horror lover. Below are just a few of my favorites.
  
  J.A. Bryson’s “Senescence” is a hauntingly beautiful, moderately monstrous tale of love taken too far. Woven with the prose pattern reminiscent of some of Poe’s finest and darkest, it echoes with the same dark, venomous longing as Robert Browning’s “Porphyria’s Lover” and marvelously sets the tone for just what kind of journey readers of this anthology are about to embark on. Part poem, part scientific body horror nightmare, “Senescence” is sure to sink under your skin and grow more terrible the longer you ponder its grotesque images.
  
  Aster S. Monroe’s “Trespass” feels right at home alongside the likes of Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived In the Castle. A young witch seeks the bones of a wrongly-murdered man to complete her spell of protection against an insidious danger lurking in her town. Framed as a conversation between the young witch and the ghost who’s bones she is digging up, “Trespass” is an unexpectedly poignant tale from all sides. The protagonist is fleshed out with such a unique relationship to sadness and loneliness that she leaps off the page and into our own misty moors. The threat she seeks to end is told in just enough detail so we may understand the stakes, and even the ghost is given space to express his own emotions. He is also given the truth behind not only his own death but also the fate of his lover, at whom he had died angry. The narrator’s emphasis on carefully explaining not only her plan and emotions but the truths this wronged man never got to hear in life makes her an especially sharp tool for vengeance. No one works as effectively as one who can see into the heart.
  
  Julie Hutchings “The Beach” is proof positive that Gothic horror can be both insidiously dark and playfully light. The wordplay at work with the names in particular adds both a levity and a narrative connection for those seeking stories with obvious connective tissue to some of mythologies heaviest hitters. It’s also just a delightful little reminder not to make fun of goth girls at beaches, lest they drag you to the depths and consume your souls. Another seaborne tale of mythologically vengeful women, “Ghost Light, Or, To Swell So High That He May Drown Her In Him” by Elou Carroll weaves a sense of equal parts wonder and danger through its siren song of a story about an artist chosen to craft pieces for a traveling show who discovers the job and its people, while enchanting, are not as endearing as they first seemed. But it will take every ounce of strength she has to escape.
  
  When not exploring the terrain of dangerous women and the even more dangerous men from whom they are trying to escape, In Somnio approaches the furtive corners of haunted — sometimes hungry �� houses. Helen Whistberry’s “Needs Must” is one such uniquely told journey through a house ravaged and wasting. Our narrator, a dog, mourns the changing temperament of his owner, who does not seem to have had the energy for much lately. The horror at work here is almost entirely beneath the surface, though just enough clues poke out to paint a terrifying picture of desperation unlike anything else in the collection.
  
  There really aren’t too many positive stories on offer here. Most of them are dipped in such shadows you might begin to wonder at the ways of humanity. But every once in a while comes a story shot through with optimism for the protagonist’s future in spite of the depths of personal history they’ve had to leave behind. Rachel Unger’s “We Named You After Her” is one such example, in which a woman is tasked with returning to her dead relative’s decaying house to retrieve the only family heirloom worth saving from the ravages of time and nature. While there she is confronted with a slimy, hungry creature who seeks to drown her alongside them. Grown from the seeds of such stories as Natalie Erika James’ film Relic, “We Named You After Her” explores the same sort of familial ground, with slightly more optimism for the future at its core.
  
  M. Lopes De Silva’s “A House Without Ghosts” imagines an entirely different sort of haunted house story. One controlled by the dominating force of a man with the power to erase the things of the world he finds distasteful. It is a sneaking, sharp approach to the topic of abuse the likes of which call to the world of Carmen Maria Machado. There’s more than one way to make a ghost, and more than one way to haunt a house, after all. In Somnio aims to uncover them all.
  
  As it began with poetry, so it ends with a song. The anthology’s final offering, the elaborately titled “The Burning of Langston Flare’s Haunted Masquerade and Seafood Restaurant Experience (For Love)” by Lin Darrow would have gotten an honorable mention on the strength of its title alone even without the disturbing tale it heads. If, like me, you have ever had a somewhat inexplicable fear of family-restaurant-animatronics, “Burning” should certainly hold a masochistic sort of appeal. An animatronic has come to life to share its blood-soaked version of the song it is bound to sing, all while it seeks to burn down the establishment that traps it. If you had convinced yourself such manmade horrors had no sentience, “Burning” just might make you think twice and cast a nervous glance on your next trip into Chuck E, Cheese, after all.
  
  Whether you’re looking to round out the spooky season or extend it as I am, Tenebrous Press has compiled a worthwhile Gothic collection with In Somnio. Even with having somewhat accidentally covered more stories than I anticipated, I have but scratched the surface of the talent and the tales they have assembled for your next crisp evening by the fire. So curl up and keep your eyes peeled; the collection is available November 1, 2021.
  
  I would like to thank Tenebrous Press for the ARC opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
  
• 
  Trey Stone

  I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
  
  Woah! – What a unique collection of horror stories. I knew immediately that I had something special in my hands.
  
  I like to read mysteries, thriller, and horror because I enjoy not knowing. A big part of that is also trying to figure out the unknown, to beat the words to the punch, to get there and reach that understanding right before it’s revealed to me. Very often I manage exactly that, and though that usually feels like a win at first, I also wish the stories managed to keep me in the dark a bit longer.
  
  Well, this time it did.
  
  The stories Woodroe has collected for this anthology are something else. Not only are the plots thick with mystery and intrigue, but they’re written in such an original way, like things I’ve never read before, things that don’t compare to anything. It was truly a breath of fresh air to sit down and read stories that felt entirely… new. With the exception of a few, I really enjoyed all the stories in this anthology, and would recommend it to any lover of horror, gothic or otherwise.
  
  I do love to have a good short story collections or anthology on hand for when time is sparse and I can only read a little bit here and there. I’ll definitely keep my eye out for more by Tenebrous Press and Woodroe.
• 
  Robin Knabel

  I was totally drawn into this modern Gothic collection of stories and artwork by 18 authors and 6 illustrators. You will be immersed in an eerie, mysterious world of stories. The characters are exciting and are excellent guides on your journey to the depths of the sea, the allure of the forest, or even a dilapidated theater.
  
  Thank you to Tenebrous Press for allowing me to read an ARC of this fantastic collection!
  
  You can read a more detailed spoiler-free review here:
  https://robinknabel.squarespace.com/r...
• 
  Jack Stark

  Not a single dud. Every story is exquisite, with each pinching at a nerve of its choosing. One of the best anthologies I’ve ever read. Highly recommended.
• 
  Molly

  Favorite stories from this anthology were "Self Storage" by Barbara A. Barnett and "After the Apples" by Briana Una McGuckin
• 
  Emma Hardy

  A truly spooky and creep mix of gothic tales to keep you on your toes, and on occasion hiding behind your sofa.
  Don't think I had a favourite as every one I was thinking ooh I like this one.
  Read it if you dare.
• 
  Holley

  Review forthcoming.
• 
  M. A. Blanchard

  In Somnio is a lovely and deliciously unsettling collection. A perfect read for the time of year when the sun retreats sooner and sooner each evening and the trees shed their leaves in favour of skeletal nakedness.
  
  While there weren't any stories in this collection I didn't like at all--truly an impressive feat on the part of Alex Woodroe, who, as far as I know, is a first-time anthology editor--there were two particular standouts I suspect I'll return to more than a few times. "Self Storage" by Barbara A. Barnett is a wonderfully touching tale about finding friendship and relief through choosing to embrace what cannot be escaped. "A House Without Ghosts" by M. Lopes da Silva is a truly eerie portrayal of a marriage--and, of course, a house--fit to be shelved beside the most indelibly disturbing of Gothic icons. These two stories alone make the book worth seeking out, though they are not at all its only excellent or memorable pieces. I also really enjoyed the theatrical glamour of "Ghost Light or, To Swell So High That He May Drown Her In Him" by Elou Carroll, the wrenching menace of "The Blight of Black Creek" by Mary Rajotte, and the disarmingly matter-of-fact narrator of "Silver Hands Against the Devil" by Jessica Lévai.
  
  I would recommend In Somnio to any readers looking for a nice selection of stylized, atmospheric dark fiction to while away the grey seasons in the company of a nice cup of tea and a plethora of shadows.
  
  I received a free e-ARC of this title from the publisher in exchange for my review.
• 
  Elise

  In Somnio is a haunting collection of 18 modern gothic horror themed short stories written by women and non-binary writers and accompanied by delightful illustrations that will give you the immersive creepy experience you’re looking for this Halloween season.
  
  I was excited to read this anthology because when I read the blurb, it sounds like a perfect fix for the spooky season–and indeed it was! Not to mention it has a ridiculously eerie book cover!
  
  I thoroughly enjoyed most of the stories in the anthology. It definitely delivered what every horror story should–chills, chills, chills, and more chills on top because these are told in a contemporary light. It’s familiar and that’s what makes it scarier. I’d describe the experience to be unsettling from the first page. Like something’s wrong with the temperature, or like a false note has been played. From there, I just knew I’m in for a hell of a spooky ride.
  
  While the overall vibes were hair-raising and spine-tingling, there were definitely stories that haunted me more and longer than others. Stories that disturbed me so much. Stories that scare me enough I do not recommend reading before bedtime with the lights off. Stories that left me hanging, and stories with endings that simply ghosted me. Stories I want to reread again and again because I don’t know what’s going on, I just feel like it’s written so well and I’m too dumb to understand.
  
  (While I wish to express my respect to those authors, I don’t want to mention them here or their stories because I don’t want to spoil the experience for you. Please read all the stories and find them for yourself.)
  
  I wasn’t disappointed, but I wasn’t completely satisfied, though. There were a few stories that, unfortunately, did not hit the spot for me, but it’s mostly due to personal preferences. I would still recommend giving all the stories a chance nonetheless. There is a lot of variety in this anthology in terms of genre, themes, tone, style, and concepts, so I’m sure everyone can find something that’s up to their taste! Some stories sound more lyrical than others, while some seem experimental in style, or are written ambiguous enough to leave room for the reader’s imagination to fill in the gaps.
  
  After all, In Somnio promises “vibrant, unique stories ranging from deeply intimate one-room settings to sprawling fantasy worlds; from the depths of darkness to comedy and adventure.” The only constant in this book was the modern gothic theme.
  
  Tenebrous Press’s latest horror anthology, In Somnio, is a delightfully horrifying read perfect for the spooky season, I assure you.
• 
  Víctor Perolio

  The stories in this book linger on your thoughts as you go deeper into it. I cannot exactly say why, but the more you read, the more you feel the atmosphere getting into your nerves. The selection was great and the fact that most of the stories are short, keeps you wanting for more even though it is a long antology.
  If I have to say what I liked the most and the least; I would say that the poetry and lyricism of most of the stories could be named as both. If you are into gothic drama/horror and open to different approaches to similar themes, go get it. If not, probably you will not enjoy it as much as it deserves.
  Best story - "We named you after her". God, it is good and sad, and beautiful, and... gothic
• 
  Alice Austin

  Great collection of stories, all of them totally unique and nailing that haunting gothic atmosphere the title promises. There were several which stuck around in my head for quite some time after I read them. The illustrations were lovely too and really added to each story.
• 
  Tonya Walter

  Each story starts with a unique, arresting voice and a vague sense of impending doom and the ends all sneak up on you. The whole anthology is beautifully haunted- eerie, quiet, and clever. This was intended to be a sample platter of modern gothic horror and I think Alex Woodroe nailed it.
• 
  Kathleen

  So many stories...well-written, weird and creepy and all different. From clackity giant crabs to a doll obsession to diseased trees to HANDS ON THE BEACH. Something for everyone. And the illustrations are gorgeous.
• 
  Jen Elliott

  I enjoyed the length of the stories and felt there was a couple of gems in there. Maybe I haven’t read enough gothic horror, but some of the stories just went over my head.
• 
  Rachel

  There were 3 stories I enjoyed immensely, the rest were meh or I ended up not reading to the end.
• 
  Elliot Harper

  This is a very good anthology with some interesting perspectives. Gothic fiction from a different angle.
• 
  SM

  A wide variety of gothic horror short stories by women writers. Ingenious and entertaining stories that will take you to places you didn't need to go.