If there’s one thing I’ve discovered from this blog, it’s that I love themed horror anthologies! Whether it’s one of Ellen Datlow’s preeminent collections, an indie press striving to highlight diverse voices, or a scholar dredging up forgotten classics, there’s something irresistible to me about many different authors coming together to bring their unique voices and interpretations to a shared subject. So you know my ears perked up when I heard about a new anthology coming out from the creator of the Castle of Horror podcast that would be inspired by the classic illustrations on the covers of pulpy Gothics from the ’60s and ’70s. Castle of Horror Anthology Volume 4: Women Running from Houses, edited by Jason Henderson, comes out tomorrow, October 13, just in time for Halloween season.
For many readers (even those who missed the heyday of this genre and know of these books mostly through reputation), the phrase “women running from houses” conjures a very specific image that represents an entire genre of books: an illustrated book cover with a woman in the foreground, usually in a flowing dress or nightgown, long hair loose, glancing nervously over her shoulder at a dark castle or manor in the background, with a single window glowing ominously. Dozens of covers following this formula adorned pulpy paperback novels that flooded bookstores in the midcentury. Novels of this type were often called “Gothics,” distant descendants of the traditional Gothic novel that tended to follow the Jane Eyre model of a young woman becoming romantically involved with a mysterious, brooding man and discovering his dark secrets. Jason Henderson, a horror author and podcaster, chose this image as the theme for his fourth volume in the Castle of Horror anthology series. Sixteen authors came at this prompt from very different angles, resulting in stories that range from traditional Gothic romances to post-apocalyptic science fiction. I found the stories to be a bit hit and miss; not all of the authors seem to have fully grasped the genre this anthology riffs on, and the quality of writing varied significantly. Plus, the anthology was overwhelmingly male—with a dozen men and only four women among the authors—for a genre that has long been dominated by and associated with women, which perhaps accounts for some of the disconnect. But several gems really shine out of this collection for both engaging with genre traditions and giving it a fresh new twist.
Two of the stories in this collection were by favorite authors of mine who have played in the Gothic sandbox for many years, and whom I knew I could rely on to bring a deep understanding of the genre to this prompt. Unsurprisingly, their two stories were some of the most traditional in the collection, though each with their own unique spin. One of these was “The Rathburn Legacy” by Amanda DeWees, the one story here that could be accurately described as a “Gothic Romance.” In it, a headstrong female photographer finds herself at the crumbling manor of Mr. Rathburn. In true Gothic hero fashion, Mr. Rathburn has a dark secret—his family suffers under a curse that causes Jekyll-and-Hyde-like shifts in personality. Though he urges the photographer to leave him alone for her own safety, Miss Douglas instead devotes herself to breaking his curse. The second of these stories was “Sea-Found” by Leanna Renee Hieber, which also had romantic elements but drew on the tropes of the traditional ghost story genre. In this tale, a lonely young woman becomes obsessed with a local legend about the spirit of an aristocratic artist that haunts the seaside town where her family spends their summers. In love with the idea of this ghost, the young woman withdraws from the world and devotes all of her time to summoning him through her art. Obsessive love is a dangerous thing, though, especially when vengeful spirits are involved. If you are used to the happily-ever-after romances of Leanna Renee Hieber’s novels, you’ll be in for a shock with this one, as Leanna explores the dark and sensual side of spirits that we usually only glimpse briefly in her villains.
In contrast, my other favorite stories in this collection were those that diverged most strongly from the prompt in terms of genre, yet still managed to carry with them the spirit of “women running from houses.” The three science-fiction tales all accomplished this in different ways. My favorite was “The Ghosts of Glenmirror” by Scott Pearson, in which a neuroscientist finds herself trapped in a Gothic dreamscape. The tale contains classic gothic themes of gaslighting and betrayal, but Dr. Moira Ready eventually wrests her agency back and enacts a satisfying revenge. Alethea Kontis’s “A Poor Man’s Roses” traces a similar path from victimization and imprisonment to agency and vengeance. In a post-apocalyptic setting, Kerri is kept prisoner by her husband so that he can harvest and sell her valuable superblood. Yet, the very nanomeds that make her valuable to the black market also allow her to take back her power and punish the man who betrayed her. Lastly, In Chirl Yo’s “The Fantasie Impromptu” also takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where dangerous men ensnare the women around them. In this far-future sci-fi tale, Natalie has been sent across galaxies on a mission to determine whether the Earth, ravaged by solar flares, might soon become safe to return to. While searching for signs of life on the planet, she discovers Ainsleigh Manor, a Victorian home that seems to exist outside of time—and outside of the extreme climate that renders the rest of the planet uninhabitable. But its master, Mr. Ransley, is not the charming gentleman he appears to be, and Natalie will need to act quickly if she doesn’t want to be trapped there forever.
If these stories and the anthology’s premise pique your interest, you can preorder a copy just in time for its release, tomorrow. The eBook is available on Amazon, or you can purchase the paperback and support The Gothic Library in the process using this Bookshop.org affiliate link. Let me know what your thoughts are, and which stories are your favorites!
So glad you liked my story, “The Ghosts of Glenmirror”! I’d never written in the gothic genre before and enjoyed trying something new.