BOOK REVIEW: HOWLS FROM THE DARK AGES: AN ANTHOLOGY OF MEDIEVAL HORROR

4/10/2022

A standout story for me was Hailey Piper's In Thrall to this Good Earth, a tale about three bounty hunters hunting a mysterious being that haunts a local baron. I loved this sly, subversive tale by Hailey Piper that ends with unforseen consequences, for both the protagonist and the wider land in general.

Howls From the Dark Ages: An Anthology of Medieval Horror by P.L. McMillan (Editor), Solomon Forse (Editor)
Publisher ‏ : ‎ HOWL Society Press LLC (12 May 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 354 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1736780042
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1736780046

A Horror Book Review by Mark Walker

I have to admit that I was initially drawn to this due to it having the name Christopher Beuhlman on the front. Obviously being a Fantasy Book Nerd, his name was recognisable to me due to his fantasy novel, The Black Tongue Thief, but not only that, his horror fiction had already caught my attention and had been added to the dreaded TBR.

However, when I investigated further, I realised that this was an anthology of stories that had been curated by the Horror Obsessed Writing & Literature Society (HOWL) revolving around horror in dark age settings.

I really enjoyed this collection. It was deliciously dark and there were a plethora of different tones with the stories. There were some that hit better than others, which obviously is something that is going to happen with a collection of stories. However on the whole it certainly did its mark.

One of the things that I was surprised was that there were a number of different settings in the book that did not wholly revolve around a European setting.

The first story, The Crowing by Caleb Stevens, who has had a number of stories published and his short story, The Wallpaper Man is currently been adapted for film, was a fantastic opening story about a young princess abducted by a coven of witches called The Old Crows. This one had a fantasy edge to it, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. When we first begin the story, we have a period of disorientation as we work out where we are and what is going on. After this initial feeling of shared helplessness, we learn that she expects to be rescued by her father, the King, along with her brother. However, now that she is turned 18, she is to undergo the crowing. I loved this story which involves themes of family and betrayal. As I said, this has some really good fantastical elements to it that really worked well. Such a brilliant opener that hooked me into the oncoming stories the book promised.

So quickly moving onto the next story, Angelus by Phillipa Evans, the co - creator of the podcast Everything is Awful Forever. The story revolves around a priest and his acolyte as they return from a witch burning. They both know that the sentence was wrong, and this has an impact on them. Father Adelard employs the help of his acolyte to craft a bell to celebrate the power of God. However, things are not as they seem.

I am not familiar with Phillipa Evans' writing, but on the strength of this I will be investigating a little deeper.

Palette by J.L. Keifer is a tale about a young woman whose obsession are her looks. She has a dysmorphic interest in powders and other image altering substances, despite the costs to herself. This is an understated story about the cost of image and beauty and the lengths that people will go.

Brother Cornelius tells the story of two young priests who find a secret room with the Brother Cornelius forever bound to writing some unknown work in their search for beer. They are told in no uncertain terms never to go near the room or disturb Brother Cornelius again. You can see where this is going can't you? This story is full of dark humour that had me chuckling away - especially with the trumpet!

A standout story for me was Hailey Piper's In Thrall to this Good Earth, a tale about three bounty hunters hunting a mysterious being that haunts a local baron. I loved this sly, subversive tale by Hailey Piper that ends with unforseen consequences, for both the protagonist and the wider land in general.

One of the tales that moved out of the European setting, In Every Drop by Lindsay Ragdale seems to be set in a Mesoamerican setting and gives a different take on a familiar theme (sorry for the vagueness, but I don't want to give spoilers). The story maintains that sense of horror and mystery centring around a terrifying occurrence which is affecting the main character's village. In this, we get a tale of motherhood and the lengths will go to protect their children.

Deus Vult by Ethan Yoder is a tale about a knight taking shelter in a village where he is told that the only aid comes from the bishop, who also happens to be the Baron. It is a tale of PTSD as the knight relives the horrors of the crusades and what he has personally done. The knight is a dead thing, and he is pressed into service as the Bishops protector. A creepy story that had echoes of Dracula in it for me. The story was a good one, but the ending came a bit too suddenly

The Final Book of Saint Foy’s tells the story of a beggar boy and his father who go to Conques to give thanks to Saint – Foy. The boy’s father is a brute and the boy prays for him to die, which he does. In recompense the boy is charged to spread the word of Saint Foy, but he does not carry this out. As punishment he is to bring the thing that he holds most dear in a year’s hence. This showed the capricious nature of children, and was quite dark in nature, especially the holy Saint Foy who meters out as much punishment as she does miracles.

The second non-European tale is by Michelle Tang called A Dowry for your Hand. This was a bit of a slow burner, but it suddenly ramps up the pace and the horror towards the end and transforms into a creepy bit of body horror.

In the mouth of Hell by Cody Goodfellow tells the tale of a page who loyally attempts to save his master from damnation. We follow him as he traverses Hell to search for his soul. I really liked this one. It showed the lengths that people will go for fanaticism. The journey through hell reminding me of Dante’s inferno and the medieval perception of hell.

Lady of Leer Castle by Christopher O’ Halloran. I didn’t really connect with this one. It does have some good bits in it, particularly the relationship between Domnall and his lover Breccan. But sadly, I left this one feeling a little underwhelmed.

Schizarre was again an understated one that had a delicious turn of fortunes. It tells of the love between two monks and how one of them, in order to obtain his heart’s desire will go to any length, when a bizarre illustration in a book shows him the location of a mushroom that grows in the Abbey. You know that things are not going to turn out as expected, but I liked the poignancy of this one.

The King of Youth vs The King of Death by Patrick Barb has an epic feel to the story. In some respects, it reminded me of Gawain and the Green Knight, particularly with its epic imagery between the two main protagonists. Again, you do not see how this one is going to end, and the ending did blind side me a bit.

The Forgotten Valley by CB Jones is another tale not set in a European setting. It tells the tale of Tsaleah, who in attempt to win back her stolen lovers heart searches for a spear that can grant wishes. The story takes a sharp left in the last quarter of the story. However, I did feel a little unfulfilled at this one.

The Fourth Scene by Brian Evenson is another of the stories that did not quite connect with me. The prose that Brian Evenson writes with is good solid prose and had the feeling of epic questing literature, and I think that that is my hang up personally as this is not my favourite kind of tale, and the end I was left with a felling of ‘Oh, Ok!’

White Owl by Stevie Edwards was just amazing. One of the standout tales in the collection for me. It had a fairy-tale edge to the prose and kind of debased the medieval view of witches, turning them into feminist protectors of the weak and vulnerable.

I think my favourite of all the tales was A Dark Quadrivium by David Worn. A gruesome cosmic horror tale that after its initial set up suddenly erupts into an otherworldly gorefest that ticked all my personal boxes. Everything about this story was fantastic, and when the cosmic horror is introduced, the story moves at a fantastically bloody pace.

The final entry of the book was The Lai of the Danse Macabre which is a poetic tale. There was some good imagery in here, but I am sad to say that on the whole poetry is wasted on me, I am not very good with it. I think far more people will get more from this one than I did because I am a bit of a Luddite when it comes to poetry, so you will forgive me if I don’t comment much on this one.

Howls from the Dark Ages is a good collection of stories set in the middle ages. On the whole this anthology hit home for me. This was a satisfying set of tales set in the dark mists of ages past, and I loved it.

HOWLS FROM THE DARK AGES: AN ANTHOLOGY OF MEDIEVAL HORROR

Uncover the secret annals of untold history in these eighteen medieval manuscripts. Each tortured scribe will bring you face to face with ancient horrors lurking in cursed castles, wild woodlands, haunted hamlets, and mysterious monasteries.

Including a lineup of authors both established and emerging, HOWL Society Press presents the first-ever anthology of historical horror from the medieval period, fittingly introduced by the writer who arguably started it all: Christopher Buehlman, author of the medieval horror epic Between Two Fires.