A review by inciminci
There is No Death, There are No Dead by Michelle Belanger, Nadia Bulkin, Catherine Lord, Gwendolyn Kiste, David Demchuk, Gemma Files, Kathe Koja, S.P. Miskowski, Helen Marshall, Laird Barron, Seanan McGuire, Chesya Burke, Jess Landry, Lee Murray, Aaron J. French, Lisa Morton
4.0
I was equally thrilled to see There Is No Death, There Are No Dead opening with Gemma Files’ eerie but friendly medium Carraclough Devize as I was to encounter horror’s favorite professional bad-ass final girl Jessica Maze (as written by Laid Barron) in the last story. Nice touch, there. If you’re not familiar with the two protagonists don’t worry, this is not a class reunion for indie horror lovers. It is a fresh anthology of sometimes classic scary, sometimes sad and sometimes quirky short stories revolving around people who can communicate with ghosts. And you can find them everywhere; in amusement parks, in morgues, traveling, going to work, writing newspaper articles, studying or being haunted themselves.
If you’re a fan of old school gothic hauntings, you can find plenty of séances, creepy kids, Ouija boards from the late 19th century here but the stories that I enjoyed most were the more unusual ones set in our times; “Mad Munk” by Gwendolyn Kiste where the ghost of Rasputin haunts a working class housing complex in the Chicago area; “Talitha Cumi” by Chesya Burke where pain is explored through the lens of the African-American experience and “The One Word I Can’t Say” by S.P. Miskowski – especially those who have an annoying sister who steals your stuff will enjoy the ghost of this annoying sister. With Michelle Belanger’s “The Shape of Her Soul” I have read my first piece of writing which acknowledges the COVID19-pandemic; here the face mask which bears an almost political symbolism in the USA is used in various ways, and that was the first time I read about the “new normal” in literature. Makes you feel weird. And finally, in “A Feather for Mrs. Edmond” by David Demchuk I found the most evil and creepiest kid ever, I don’t think I’ll ever want to meet that boy.
So, those were my highlights, but I also enjoyed any other story. There Is No Death, There Are No Dead is a very much recommended anthology for anyone who is a lover of ghosts, mediums and anything related.
If you’re a fan of old school gothic hauntings, you can find plenty of séances, creepy kids, Ouija boards from the late 19th century here but the stories that I enjoyed most were the more unusual ones set in our times; “Mad Munk” by Gwendolyn Kiste where the ghost of Rasputin haunts a working class housing complex in the Chicago area; “Talitha Cumi” by Chesya Burke where pain is explored through the lens of the African-American experience and “The One Word I Can’t Say” by S.P. Miskowski – especially those who have an annoying sister who steals your stuff will enjoy the ghost of this annoying sister. With Michelle Belanger’s “The Shape of Her Soul” I have read my first piece of writing which acknowledges the COVID19-pandemic; here the face mask which bears an almost political symbolism in the USA is used in various ways, and that was the first time I read about the “new normal” in literature. Makes you feel weird. And finally, in “A Feather for Mrs. Edmond” by David Demchuk I found the most evil and creepiest kid ever, I don’t think I’ll ever want to meet that boy.
So, those were my highlights, but I also enjoyed any other story. There Is No Death, There Are No Dead is a very much recommended anthology for anyone who is a lover of ghosts, mediums and anything related.