Publication Date: December 2, 2024
Publisher: IFWG Publishing
While novels were my first love when it comes to literature, in the past few years I’ve found myself gravitating towards short fiction. That isn’t to say I don’t still love a doorstop of a book, it just means my reading habits have evened out a bit. Instead of being exclusively a novel reader with the rare novella or short story sprinkled in, it’s a much more even split. I truly think the short story is the best vehicle for horror stories. It pushes the writer to be more economical with their word choice and those word limit constraints also lead to a much more pronounced ramp-up in terms of pacing. In the context of anthologies or collections, it also serves as a literary mixtape, giving readers the chance to either sample work from a lot of authors or to sample a wide variety of work from a single author. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Greg Chapman’s work for awhile, but didn’t know where to start. So when he reached out about a review for his latest collection, Black Days & Bloody Nights, it seemed like the universe’s way of telling me to get off my ass and check out his work!
The collection kicks off with the novella “The Followers”, a post-apocalyptic story that drops readers into the aftermath of a cataclysmic event that’s decimated the world, leaving survivors to scratch and claw for survival. Father Malcolm Forde is wandering aimlessly amongst the ruins of the world when he crosses paths with a mysterious stranger who has one simple request – for Father Forde to pray with him. It’s through this strange interaction that Chapman really ratchets up the tension – who is this stranger and why does it seem like he knows Father Forde? Even when Chapman gives the reader these answers, it’s only the beginning. It raises even more questions as the narrative switches to the trials and tribulations of the Brewer family and their involvement with a fanatic religious cult. I don’t want to give too much of the plot away, but it’s packed with violence, fanaticism, and a heavy helping of grief. I think “The Followers” was definitely the right story to kick off this collection and sets the tone for the sort of bleak, visceral horror Chapman unleashes on his readers.
The titular story was another favorite of mine, which takes CDC doctor Sam Carlson and makes him confront every parent’s worst nightmare during a once in a lifetime celestial event. Chapman takes traditional cosmic horror themes and puts his own unique spin on them, creating a story that keeps ramping up the creepiness throughout and doesn’t shy away from bloody mayhem. It also serves as a great one-two punch of grief horror when paired with the next story, “The Five Stages of Grief”, where a mother will go to unimaginable lengths to try and save her son and take away his suffering. I’m also a big fan of stories that experiment with form and traditional horror tropes, so I enjoyed the creepy take on found-footage horror “Don’t Watch”. Told through traditional narrative and video transcripts, readers are introduced to Detective Dunne through an interview with a doctor at a psychiatric hospital in Kansas City. He’s rambling about a tape that has murdered kids on it and it becomes clear he is being held after shooting his colleagues and causing significant harm to himself. Chapman then takes readers on a strange, disturbing journey involving a seemingly impossible crime and a phenomenon that defies reality.
It feels weird to call Black Days & Bloody Nights a blast to read considering the heavy topics explored throughout its pages, but damn if I didn’t enjoy visiting the dark corners of reality that Chapman creates. There wasn’t a single story that I didn’t enjoy on some level and that’s a true rarity when it comes to my experience with collections or anthologies. Chapman explores a variety of different styles in Black Days & Bloody Nights, but this collection will definitely appeal to those who prefer their horror bleak and with a focus on the emotional scars that result from these nightmarish scenarios. Author Steve Stred, who contributed the intro, was right. Make sure you grab another one of Greg Chapman’s books when you order this one, you’ll definitely want to continue exploring the horrors he conjures up.
