What if the world’s most notorious serial killer never meant to hurt anyone at all? Jack the Ripper is probably the serial killer to most often appear in fiction, as the unsolved mystery has led writers to conjecture about his motives and identity for well over a century. Interestingly, some of the earliest of these conjectural works present the Ripper himself as a victim rather than a ruthless killer. The Hypno-Ripper, edited by Donald K. Hartman, collects fictional accounts contemporaneous to the killings that posit the murders were committed (at least in part) by someone under a hypnotic trance. The Hypno-Ripper is part of Hartman’s series on the portrayal of hypnotism in Victorian and Edwardian literature, serving as a sort of sequel to his earlier collection, Death by Suggestion, which I reviewed back in 2019. The Hypno-Ripper came out in May of this year and is perfect for those fascinated either by the Whitechapel murders or by the turn-of-the-century phenomenon of hypnotic suggestion. Continue reading Review of The Hypno-Ripper—Victorian Crime Fiction
Month: October 2021
Gothic Settings: Ancestral Homes
It’s time for another installment of Gothic Settings, a series of posts in which I explore recurring landscapes and structures that serve as the backdrop to innumerable Gothic stories. So far, we’ve explored such iconic settings as the classic castle and the romantic moors. This week’s setting is one of my very favorites: the ancestral home.
Review of Nothing But Blackened Teeth
“It gets lonely down in the dirt….” Five young adults make the mistake of partying in a haunted, Heian-era manor in Cassandra Khaw’s hotly anticipated horror novella Nothing But Blackened Teeth. I had the pleasure of interviewing Khaw last month to get their thoughts on haunted houses and the horror genre. And then I devoured this bite-size novella in just a few sittings. If you’re looking for a horror story to eat like candy on Halloween, grab Nothing But Blackened Teeth when it comes out next Tuesday, October 19. Continue reading Review of Nothing But Blackened Teeth
Review of The City Beautiful—Jewish Historical Fantasy/Thriller
“The body cannot sustain two souls….” A young Jewish immigrant is possessed by the dybbuk of his murdered friend in Aden Polydoros’s debut YA novel The City Beautiful. I’ve been eagerly awaiting this book since Aden first announced his book deal several years ago! As a Jewish teen growing up, I rarely got to see my culture reflected in anything other than “issue books” about the Holocaust, so I’ve been delighted by the recent uptick of Jewish-inspired YA fantasy with books like Spinning Silver and The Sisters of the Winter Wood. But The City Beautiful is the first book I’ve encountered that really reaches into the deep well of Jewish folklore and draws up its horror elements. The City Beautiful comes out tomorrow, October 5. Continue reading Review of The City Beautiful—Jewish Historical Fantasy/Thriller