WHEN ANTHOLOGIES GO WEIRD BY JOHN LINWOOD GRANT

What is weird fiction (or weird horror, if you prefer)? Nobody has a definitive answer, but most people say they recognise it when they see it. A mood more than a genre, some believe, a way of exploring and challenging ‘reality’. The sense that the illogical, unnatural, and unpredictable have slipped in when you weren’t looking — perhaps neither you nor the world are what you thought they were. As such, it may evoke doubt, horror, disgust, even sometimes wonder and revelation — or simply make you think. A tricky beast, then. And yet I often write this sort of thing myself.


So when Belanger Books asked me, a while back, if I’d edit an anthology which introduced the strange, weird and occult to the logical existence of Sherlock Holmes — without wrecking the traditional Great Detective in the process --  I had to have a go. Surprisingly, that simple start has so far launched not one but five successful anthologies — HOLMES & THE OCCULT DETECTIVES VOLUMES I to IV, and a further massive volume, THE BOOK OF CARNACKI, a celebration of another famous period detective. That chap, Thomas Carnacki, written by William Hope Hodgson (a contemporary of Conan Doyle), definitely slid us into the weird. But where next?


We decided to strike out into even stranger waters. We would produce two brand new books of weird period-set horror, leaving the detectives, traditional or occult, behind for a while. These would include stories which were disquieting and disturbing — tales of troubled minds and disjointed, even terrifying circumstances. The psychological, the ab-natural, and yes, even outright horror. In keeping with Belanger’s core output, and some of my own interests, we settled for a focus on two distinct historical periods — the broad Edwardian period, a time of huge change, and the Second World War, with its own terrible events.  Thus were born our latest projects:

1. ALONE ON THE BORDERLAND, an anthology of new weird fiction set roughly between 1900 and the end of World War One.
2. A DARKER CONTINENT, an anthology of new weird fiction set between 1939 and 1946, focused on Europe during those dark years.

And one of our challenges is to try and go beyond fusty faux-Victorian supernatural tales in the first case, thrilling Boys’ Own war/horror stories in the second. To deliver something a bit different — and a bit worrying. Maybe even liminal, if you like that odd word which is often used about weird fiction — playing with perceptions, crossing borders, and in transition.


So it was YES to tales of unnatural menace and unease on factory floors, in shadowed parlours, and hostile forests; NO to the same exhausted ghosts going ‘Woo!’ in the Blue Room. YES to the soldiers and refugees far from home, who no longer comprehend the nightmare around them; NO to plucky British vampires charging Jerry tanks (or vice versa). We want to keep it strange, keep it weird. Can we do it? We shall see. The stories are already coming in.


For those who write weird horror fiction — we are OPEN right now to submissions. As editor, I’m keen to see the widest possible range of stories from the widest possible range of writers across the world. ALONE ON THE BORDERLAND is open until 30th June; 

A DARKER CONTINENT is open until 31st August. Everything else you need you know is here: http://greydogtales.com/blog/new-anthologies-of-the-weird/ and you can query me via linwoodweird@gmail.com or through Messenger any time. For those of you who read it — both books will be out in 2024, after modest Kickstarters to gather additional advance interest and get the search engines churning...


Whether writer or reader, we hope you’ll join us!


( HOLMES & THE OCCULT DETECTIVES VOLUMES I to IV and THE BOOK OF CARNACKI, edited by John Linwood Grant, are all available on Amazon now in PB and Kindle)

John Linwood Grant

John Linwood Grant is a professional writer/editor and old wreck from Yorkshire. He generally calls his work strange fictions, and has had some eighty tales published in the last few years, including in award-winning anthologies, plus a novel and novellas. His second collection, Where All is Night, and Starless (2021, Journalstone), was nominated for the Shirley Jackson Award. As an editor, he is responsible for the Sherlock Holmes & the Occult Detectives series (Belanger) and other anthologies, as well as the successful Occult Detective Magazine (Cathaven). He can be found regularly talking nonsense on Facebook, and at his eclectic website http://greydogtales.com/blog/

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