 Grey knows what and when to pull stitches tightly or let them dangle as eyelash. The voice is never harsh or hollering, never a whisper either. But sturdy and surgically sharp. How To See Ghosts & Other Figments By Orrin Grey Publisher : Word Horde (31 Oct. 2022) Language : English Paperback : 258 pages ISBN-10 : 1956252053 ISBN-13 : 978-1956252057 A Horror Book Review by John Boden This was my first encounter with the phantom that is Orrin Grey. A name I was familiar with from my skirtings with the weird horror end of town. That I admired for his ability to always seem to throw up a post about something near and dear to my younger self (who is still trapped in this achier, portlier me) and make me giddily go track down whatever it was. Now, even above that, his name goes to being synonymous with above par writing and delivering a sense of oft nostalgic, tweezed between dark and melancholy fiction. The collection opens with a brief intro from Silvia Moreno Garcia, a fantastic author. Read Mexican Gothic if you doubt me. Then we jump of the ledge and into the first tale, “How to see Ghosts ( or Surely Bring Them to You) and it was this one that forced the tooth of the crowbar in, kept me from closing myself off to what this book was offering. This story is an exorcise (yes, I meant that) in the deepest wounds we find ourselves self-inflicting. Set in a Halloween attraction and where the spooky ooky is perhaps metaphor for the creepies and crawlies we haunt ourselves with, through inaction or decisions good or bad. “The Big, Dark House by The Sea” brings us face to face with a man and his prized, captive mermaid. If only it were that simple of a tale, at only a few pages it's miles long in the somber tone it nibbles at you with. Exceptional. “Masks” is a crucial chomp from monstery teeth. It salts the wound with Bradbury and Fredric Brown and leaves it to seep and fester in you...on you. “The House On Mars” is an absolute cracker of a story where in 3 strange bodies are found in an old house, complete with bonkers Mad Scientist Lab kinda set up. Then when they awaken, things get really wild. “The Double-Goer” is a nifty ratchet of the Doppelganger/Double tale but...so much more. “The Humbug” is another old tone tale of a child who captures a unique insect and the consequences from it. “The Pepys Lake Monster” concerns a man, a special effects genius tasked to build a creature for a small town's lake. “The Split Foot Reel” is a folky horror tale of a strange and possibly cursed song. “Prehistoric Animals” is a tale of revenge and giant statues of prehistoric critters possessed. If that sounds gonzo enough, just wait til you read it! “Manifest Destiny” is a Russian Nesting Doll of a story, a tale told to a Seaman that harkens back to a war memory that is as unusual and horrific as war itself. This one was a strange one but great fun. “The Drunkard's Dream” involved a unique computer game that is much more personal than expected. Tragically so. There are several tales that I didn't call out and that has nothing to do with their quality and everything to do with word economy. Grey knows what and when to pull stitches tightly or let them dangle as eyelash. The voice is never harsh or hollering, never a whisper either. But sturdy and surgically sharp. This was my first foray in the fiction of Orrin Grey. It will not be my last. John Boden How to See Ghosts & Other Figments |
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