Review of Horror for the Holidays

This is a tough book sometimes as it takes sometimes what is special or even sacred and puts through the ringer turning it into something of the grotesque. For this is book that deals with turning days of joy into days of horror and at first glance, one would think that I would appreciate something like this…for my own worldview is that reality is like looking through a fun-house mirror. However, what is missing in many of these stories is the punch when the veil enveloping reality is lifted and the horror emerges. And, for that reason what passes for horror in this volume of the Cthulhuian sort (note: I did not say Lovecraftian). There is a debate within Call of Cthulhu RPG how purist one needs to go or how pulp – Trail of Cthulhu has a nice discussion - read that volume if you are undecided. For me, in my fiction, I tend to want to go for the purist satisfaction of the revelation of cosmic horror at the end. Sadly, these stories with few exceptions do not do this. This is not to say that the stories, as stories are not entertaining just not dark enough for my particular tastes for the most part. Indeed, I would wholeheartedly endorse the stories in this volume by stating they range from the good to superb with a few mundane yarns, but, there are fortunately no duds. Each story hits the target of being a monstrous accounting of a particular holiday whose settings range from the historic to the fantastic to the post-apocalyptic with jaunts into the undisclosed contemporary (the present that is not quite disclosed, familiar yet alien – my favorite of all settings).

Each of the stories evoke a particular mood capturing both the holiday magic but also the magic of storytelling by creating a pastiche of feelings. None of the tales are particularly scary or even horrific, just unsettling and disconcerting in true Cthulhuian fashion. As Miskatonic River Press also produces items for the Call of Cthulhu RPG, one might ask - is this gamer fiction? It most certainly is not. While many pieces could serve as a prelude to an investigation none of the pieces are set up to insert characters here. And, therein lays the genius of the selection and the writing of the different authors. The writing inspires by beginning the creative process but does not substitute for it. I look forward to see if any of the game designer/writers will make use of these short stories as the back story for their gaming creations…

If the work is said to have any drawbacks, it is the drawbacks of individual authors and that is a matter of aesthetic debate. However, refreshing the amateur voice is...when it paired with luminaries of the genre - the effect can be jarring. That said, some of the amateurs tell a much finer tale than some of the established writers who can rely upon flowery pose but really did not get the story right. A complete listing of the stories and the festivities the authors tease and use can easily be found on the web, those unable to find such a listing, I can gladly provide in the forum threads. Hard to say, which was my favorite, but as noted above Oscar Rios contribution but equally interesting was Robert Price’s concluding story, even though I anticipated the punch at the end of each. But, just one editorial quibble, do not number the blank pages. I expect that filler art was commissioned for these pages but never materialized. Fortunately, only a few numbered blank pages exist in this slender volume, so it is not that they were creating filler pages.

I look forward to further Miskatonic River Press fiction releases and hope that these will continue to feed into the RPG line. For they are marking a trail of returning Lovecraft's creations to being Monsters of the Id and we ourselves becoming consumed by the Great Old Ones by becoming them ourselves. Keep up the excellent work, Miskatonic River Press!

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