Reviews

Dark Blood Comes from the Feet by Emma J. Gibbon

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vanquishingvolumes's review against another edition

4.0

4 Stars - I Really Liked This Book

Similar to other collections of short stories, some I loved more than others however this overall collection was a delightful Halloween read. My favorite story was the Last Witch in Florida...sooo good! I can’t wait to read more from this author!

our_bookish_reads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Ok, honestly, I didn't enjoy this whole book. Some of the stories were good, some of them weren't. I wholeheartedly disliked the narrator and believe that to be the reason I didn't enjoy this book. I may end up reading a physical copy and revisiting my review at a later date.

catsluvcoffee's review against another edition

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5.0

Dark Blood Comes From the Feet might at first be considered an odd name for this eclectic collection of seventeen literary horror short stories. Once you delve within the pages, suddenly the title proves to be a perfect fit. The line is from the story, "Cellar Door" and states: "I felt your trauma. I saw it pour out from the soles of your feet. Old, dark blood. Old trauma you have hung on to for too long. The dark blood comes from the feet." If that quote doesn't immediately give you a feeling for Emma J. Gibbon's dark and gorgeous prose, I don't know what will. There's a haunting almost melodic quality to her writing.

Mainly told in first-person narrative, her characters are—like in the quote above—those who have or are experiencing something soul-changing. An awakening to a new reality if you will. The children of Lovecraftian orphanage "St. Scholastica's Home for Children of the Sea" open new and terrifying eyes for the narrator, but the monsters aren’t always the ones you expect. "Janine" tells us of a woman whose frightful experience is ultimately too much to handle; Sometimes just knowing is dangerous. The narrator in "This Is Not the Glutton Club" learns the truth about his uncle's long flirtation with disease and mortality.

The diversity of styles and settings confirm that Gibbon is nothing but adaptable. Stories with a contemporary slant like "Rise", in which a neglected wife's transformation brings freedom, fit seamlessly beside the darker, gothic feel of Victorian-set tuberculosis tale "Infection". Locations are just as varied. You will find yourself transported one moment to a post-apocalyptic world in "Sermon from New London" and the next to purgatory in "The Limbo Lounge".

Spanning horror themes from the consumptive body horror of “Devour” to the paranormal “Ghost Maker”, every story contained within this collection was a joy to read. The emotional spectrum in the stories was everything! Sadness, disgust, fear, and yes, even hope and happiness.

My personal favorite of the collection was “Porch”, about a big, black cat named Rufus bringing his barely-alive, broken treasures to his owner who becomes a odd sort of grim reaper, escorting those poor creatures from their pain and suffering. "Porch" broke my heart, as it did the narrator's, but the ending was simply beautiful. While this was my favorite, there weren't any of the seventeen stories that I didn't enjoy. Dark Blood Comes From the Feet was a delight. Emotional, visceral, and just a lovely assortment of horror.

Review at GingerNuts of Horror

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theartolater's review against another edition

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5.0

Closer to a 4.5, but I still loved this and found a lot of the stories to be great, especially "The Last Witch in Florida" and "Surviving My Parents." Not a bad tale in the bunch.

ericarobyn's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Dark Blood Comes From the Feet by Emma J. Gibbon is a spellbinding collection of dark tales that will force readers to deal will all kinds of emotion while reading. This is one you won’t want to miss!

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the editor in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.

When I started this collection, I was so excited to finally dive in! When I saw Emma’s request come through on my review request form, I was pumped! First of all, the blurb for the book rules. Combine that with the look of the cover, as designed by Don Noble?! I was totally captivated.

Reading this collection was quite the ride! Each tale was so unique. While each definitely had an element of horror, some of them had a heavy dose, while others were lighter.

I just couldn’t help myself with this one. I read through it in just two sittings.

My favorite stories from the collection include:

Sermon from New London
St. Scholastica’s Home for Children of the Sea
Black Shuck Tavern
The Tale of Bobby Red Eyes
Janine
This Is Not the Glutton Club
Rise

Per usual, here are my notes on each tale included in this collection:

The Limbo Lounge – Four Stars

When women are sent to this strip club limbo, they must understand where they are or they risk going down…

What an interesting tale on limbo. That would certainly be a tough place to wind up in day after day after day. I feel so bad for the ones that are there forever that have to try to help the others see what’s going on.

Porch – Four Stars

When a cat starts bringing small creatures home, the woman is already distressed and it only gets worse as the things brought to the porch get bigger and bigger…

This story followed a steady line as the sizing of the animals increased, but the ending was so unpredictable! I loved it!

Ghost Maker – Three Stars

A man that works on a crew of a paranormal show finds out some personal news. He reacts in the moment without giving it any thought. But can he fix what he’s done?

This story was heartbreaking. I’ll never understand why people stay in relationships they don’t see lasting. It’s awful for everyone involved.

Sermon from New London – Five Stars

Set up as a sermon, this woman is speaking to others and telling a very punk-filled story.

I want more from this one! What a blast this tale was! I loved all of the punk elements that were included.

St. Scholastica’s Home for Children of the Sea – Five Stars

The children in this home are a bit unusual. When a young woman is sent to work there, she quickly feels as though she has found her calling.

I absolutely loved this one! The first glimpse of what the children were like was wonderful. And what happens toward the end was intense!

Crab – Three Stars

When a man who is reluctant to spend a day at the beach with his family sees this his son being awfully still at the edge of the water, he goes to investigate…

While quick, this one packed an unsettling punch!

Black Shuck Tavern – Five Stars

A young woman who works at a club is unnerved by a big black dog that has been hanging around. She recognizes the dog from her childhood as well. Her boss thinks it’s Black Shuck, but could it be?

I loved how much character development we got in this one. I was really rooting for this character and wanted her to be okay. The ending was perfect!

The Last Witch in Florida – Four Stars

When a man goes to the witch to interview her, this witch has no problem chatting him up. But he’s about to find out just how smart she is.

This one was a quick one! I loved that it was basically a stream of consciousness.

Cellar Door – Four Stars

Written as a long monologue to her missing girlfriend, this is a heartbreaking tale of loss and a cursed house.

This one has some lovely gothic and eerie vibes. With each story that the main character recollects, I got more and more nervous.

Whitechapel – Three Stars

When two college students go on a death tour of Europe, the boy feels like he would just follow this girl anywhere and do anything she wants…

Phew! The tour they went on was so dark but so interesting. I was so nervous to see where these two were going to end up.

The Tale of Bobby Red Eyes – Five Stars

When bored kids decide to go to a place that is the scene of a local haunted legend, of course they try to spook each other as they’re all already afraid.

With a mix of storyline and a spooky rhyme, this story will make you a bit claustrophobic and super anxious as you wait to see what happens next.

Devour – Three Stars

This relationship is a messy one where they both crave unusual benefits from one another…

Phew. This one made me queasy. I couldn’t help but focus on how toxic the relationship was. Yikes!

Infection – Four Stars

This tale centered upon a girl that worshipped her friendship with another girl. But when the friend becomes ill, it’s a slippery slope that the main character needs to travel upon.

Another wickedly dark and heartbreaking tale. It was shocking to see how far the main character would go to be just like her friend.

Janine – Five Stars

When Amanda interviews Janine, she thinks she’s about to get a great story. But by the end of the interviews and what comes next, will she still write it all down?

When this one started going in the direction of the old urban legend, I had to chuckle. But that feeling quickly dissipated when I read what happened next. This one was so sad and scary!

Surviving My Parents – Three Stars

When a man goes home to try to talk his parents out of a crazy idea, he’s faced with more than he thought he would have to deal with…

My goodness. I can’t imagine being in this poor man’s place. What a horrible thing to have to think about!

This Is Not the Glutton Club – Five Stars

When a man goes to visit his uncle, he assumes his uncle wants to talk about his end of life plans. But when the man arrives at his uncles home, he’s shocked to see his uncle looks like he hasn’t aged since he last saw him. The uncle later beings telling a story…

Good lord, the uncle was in a club that was formed to see who can survive the most illnesses… all within just three years. But they’re still searching for the top of the illnesses.

Rise – Five Stars

A woman that is just trying to scrape by starts to have very itchy shoulder blades. She can’t afford to go to the doctor, so she just tries to cover it up.

This poor woman! But what a great story to end on!

My Final Thoughts on Dark Blood Comes From the Feet

While I would put this book squarely in the horror genre, it’s such a real-world type of horror, even with the bits of the fantastical or paranormal. There was so much within the pages of this collection that is going to haunt me. I mean, I can’t stop thinking about completing taxidermy on humans… So…

A must read for fans of horror that will creep under you skin and settle in for the long haul.