Rodney Ascher’s 2012 documentary, Room 237, is, on the surface, an examination of some of the more outré readings of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. The theorists involved are not only permitted ample time in which to present their readings, the documentary also seems to help them by way of animations, maps, and lengthy, even slowed-motion, […]
It is customary to establish reality before disrupting it, but some works are uncertain from the get-go. We all know that voice, of contemplation or reserve, into which madness gradually leaches, or in which it is revealed to have been lurking all along — the idea of a weird tale being to leave us without a place to stand, […]
With the onslaught of holiday madness, it is perhaps most appropriate to look at Nina Levy’s funny, disturbing and oh-so-true portraits of social identity. Levy’s sculptures are consistently playful and grotesque, the horror of everyday masks we wear to placate or nourish others laid bare. What I like is the absence of celebration or judgment in […]
This post is part of an ongoing series on 101 weird writers featured in The Weird compendium, the anthology that serves as the inspiration for this site. There is no ranking system; the order is determined by the schedule of posts. Fritz Leiber (1910– 1992) was an influential, award-winning American writer of fantasy, horror and science fiction. H. P. […]
If there has ever been a Russian writer who mirrored his or her own creation completely, it was surely Leonid Andreyev. Haunting, disturbing, disquieting (all of these with ‑ed as well), dark, passionate, pompous, discordant, controversial — whichever word of power you choose, it is likely to describe both Andreyev and his writing. Leonid Nikolayevich Andreyev was born […]
Nathan Ballingrud is an American writer of horror and dark fiction. His first book, the short story collection North American Lake Monsters, was published earlier this year by Small Beer Press to great acclaim. Awards and honors include a Shirley Jackson Award for his story “The Monsters of Heaven,” as well as multiple reprints in Year’s […]
Michael Cisco (1970 – ) is an American writer best known for his first novel, The Divinity Student, which was published by Ann VanderMeer’s Buzzcity Press and won the International Horror Guild Award in 1999. Since then, Cisco has published The San Veneficio Canon, The Traitor, The Tyrant, The Narrator, The Great Lover, and most recently Celebrant. […]
This post is part of an ongoing series on 101 weird writers featured in The Weird compendium, the anthology that serves as the inspiration for this site. There is no ranking system; the order is determined by the schedule of posts. Margo Lanagan (1960 – ) is an Australian writer primarily known for her dark fantasy short stories, some of which […]
The following is the final part of S.J. Chambers’s column recalling her journey to various geographic locales featured in the novel Frankenstein. Although not totally necessary of this piece, we recommend reading the first installment, as well as the second, if you haven’t done so yet. – The Editors *** Letter 3 Manotel Royal, Geneva, […]
Daphne Arthur’s Smoke Drawings takes us into an other-worldly landscape that is both recognizable and yet beautifully foreign. Many of the objects in her artwork border on appearing animated, thus creating a narrative of the fantastic. Take for instance Grasses of Green Lemon Drops, where the scene resides in between apocalyptic desolation and serene beauty. The tree in […]