Mother Horror and “The Christmas Spirits”

It seems like something strange happens during the holiday season. Perhaps it’s the combination of eggnog, fruitcake, and the “Spirit of Christmas” that turns average people into consumers of cheesy books and movies with zero substance. To counter this alluring nonsense, I fill my December with Anti-Hallmark-Christmas-Horror. Instead of book covers featuring Golden Retrievers in Santa hats or sparkling toothy grins from a couple wearing matching plaid flannels — I opt for depictions of Krampus kidnapping children…

A serial killer on the loose…

An isolated cabin in the woods…

In my quest to search out yuletide tales of gore, I found The Christmas Spirits – A Tale of the White Street Society by Grady Hendrix on PseudoPod, narrated by Alasdair Stuart.

This episode is a goddamn delight. (Continue Reading…)

For Your Consideration 2021: Original PseudoPod Fiction in 2020

For your consideration we present the Escape Artists stories that ran in 2020 which are eligible in the upcoming award nomination season. The list of individual stories for PseudoPod follows in order of publication:

2020 first publications:

Reprints of stories originally published in 2020:

  • 731: The Genetic Alchemist’s Daughter by Elaine Cuyegkeng, originally published in Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women edited by Lee Murray and Geneve Flynn and published by Omnium Gatherum in September 2020
  • 733: Late Sleepers by Steve Rasnic Tem, originally published in It Came from the Multiplex edited by Joshua Viola and published by Hex Publishers in September 2020
  • 735: The Slow King by Tim Major, originally published The Fiends in the Furrows 2: More Tales of Folk Horror edited by David T. Neal and Christine M. Scott and published by Nosetouch Press in September 2020
  • 737: Workday by Kurt Fawver, originally published in Shadows and Tall Trees 8 edited by Michael Kelly and published by Undertow Press in March of 2020

(Continue Reading…)

PseudoPod 737: Workday

“Workday” first appeared in Shadows and Tall Trees 8 which was published by Undertow in March 2020

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:28 — 39.0MB)

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Show Notes

Reviews by Alex Hofelich for Shadows and Tall Trees 8 from Undertow Publishing and A Carnival of Chimera by Stephen Woodworth from Hippocampus Press.

Workday

by Kurt Fawver

MEMO

CORIVDAN INCORPORATED

 

To: All Hourly Employees

From: Human Resources

Subject: Holiday Party Attendance

Date: Nov. 20, 2018

 

Please RSVP to the holiday party by Friday afternoon. The event will be held the evening of December 21. Our caterers need an exact count of the number of people attending so that we don’t run out of food and refreshments. We will have a buffet-style meal and an open bar throughout the night. Please remember also that attendance at the holiday party is mandatory for all employees.

Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you there.

(Continue Reading…)