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WITCHCRAFT
Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane, Eds.
Flame Tree Publishing (February 17, 2026)
Reviewed by Carson Buckingham

Witchcraft, another in Flame Tree Publishing’s Beyond and Within series, edited by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane, had a lot of living up to do with the previously published volumes in this long line of excellence. And while the stories were well written, I really felt that the editors could have done better with their selections. There were only six stories out of the seventeen included that I would call excellent and that I really enjoyed. There was so much that could have been done as far as unique approaches to witchcraft go, and for the most part, it just wasn’t there. I’d have liked to have seen some off-the-wall treatments of this subject, for example: how about a sci-fi story with witches in space, or as astronauts? How about a witch as a modern-day schoolteacher who is burned in the parking lot by her students, and the fallout from that? A witch as a librarian who gives you the books you need, not the ones you ask for…until a man plotting murder comes for a book? A witch who owns a toy store and sells odd dolls that do interesting things? A witch policeman? Can a computer be a witch? Why not? How about a witch who has writer’s block and what she does about it? A witch in the Air Force? And how about some male witches? Some child witches? A witch stuck inside an animal? There were so many interesting tangents that could have been explored, and weren’t, that it stuck me as a missed opportunity to do something really unique with this age-old subject.

At any rate, this is only my opinion.

Here’s what you get:

“Apotropaic” by Ally Wilkes—This is a ‘witch in the woods’ story. The witch has a reputation for evil, but it is undeserved. It is the people who come to see her who have evil intentions. This is the first of the six that I thought was excellent.

“Stranded” by Eliza Chan—A witch, an old house she’s restoring, and an entitled woman who realizes what a mistake she made demanding to be let in out of the rain.

“Murder Ballads by Moonlight” by Angela Slatter – A young witch helps four dead girls deal with their killer. The second of the six that I thought was excellent.

“The Smokeless Fire” by Mark Chadbourne—A witch on the battlefield in Afghanistan teaches an NGO medic to walk with the Djinn.

“Wedding Planner” by Muriel Gray—A couple has rented an old, deconsecrated church for their wedding. But this church comes with a tradition in that any wedding held in it must also be attended by a paid ‘Guardian.’ The couple decides not to honor this tradition and save on the fee. They learn, too late, that they would have been better off spending the money. This is the third of the six that I thought was excellent.

“What Bones Remember” by Buhlebethu Sukoluhle Mpofu. A young kitchen witch is possessed by a Yaga (a Death Witch or Bone Witch), and she learns that death is not an ending but a transition.

“Jackie’s Dust” by Alison Moore—An eccentric woman in town becomes the center of talk and rumor, and urban legends spring up around her.

“Oro, Plata, Mata” by Gabriella Buba—A Filipino girl with a witch background tries to keep a low profile, until one of the island’s noblemen calls on her for help. She married into a wealthy family with a set of very strange stairs and a family curse.

“The Witch of Withered Hill”—by David Barnett—A witch outwits the Owd Hob—the spirit of Withered Hill, who demands a yearly sacrifice for good crops and fat cattle. A cute twist at the end.

“Catharsis” by Aveline Fletcher—A journey into Greek Mythology, with a tale of Circe, her niece Medea, and a lesson about remaining true to yourself, no matter what men tell you or believe of you.

“Remembrance” by Helen Grant—A youngish witch who has visions of the future tries to help a friend and gets more than they both bargained for.

“A Woman Grown” by Lisa L. Hannett—A lonely witch wants company and attempts to create life in a most unorthodox way, revealing something about how the witch herself came to be. This is the fourth of the six that I thought was excellent.

“The Stone Boat” by Melissa Bobe—Lupe is a coder who created the Nairn—to study and tame rogue magic. The story brings us gamer manifestations into the physical world. It had a great beginning, but a weak ending.

“Kittycat” by Amanda Mason—It’s better to live in a town that holds a vestige from the past that you hate, rather than none at all, and cave to modernity.

“The Tallow Feast” by Damien Kelly—After her mother dies, Alma makes tallow from her fat to use to summon powerful beings in an offering of a ‘meal’ of it in exchange for power. The witch she summons learns not to underestimate Alma. This is the fifth of the six that I thought was excellent.

“Flame Water Turns” by Eugen Bacon—Domestic violence and the pursuit of motherhood by a witch and her familiar.

“The Weaver” by Kay Hanifen—Be careful who you call a witch—it can have consequences. This is the sixth of the six that I thought was excellent. As a matter of fact, this one was my favorite of the entire book.

So, there you have it. And let me reiterate—not one of these stories is bad or poorly written, most of them just aren’t as interesting as I thought they could have been.

3.5 stars out of 5.

Acolytes of the Dead

W.D. Gagliani and David Benton’s Acolytes of the Dead is a transgressive work of erotic horror that revives the mummy myth with a seductive, modern twist on ancient Egyptian secrets. This thriller masterfully blends archeological intrigue, shocking bloodshed, and kinky sex magick, delivering an unrelenting narrative that haunts long after the final page.

The story centers on disgraced Egyptologist Professor James Blackstone, hired by reclusive billionaire Alton Chambers to translate mysterious hieroglyphs from smuggled panels and ghostwrite his memoir. What begins as a lucrative gig for a failing academic spirals into a nightmarish descent into the Chambers family’s dark legacy of sex and murder. Beneath the opulent estate lies a reconstructed tomb housing “the Occupant,” a mummified entity that’s anything but dead, promising immortality through blood rituals and forbidden pleasures. Blackstone’s entanglement with Aton Chambers’ daughter and adult granddaughter ignites steamy encounters laced with supernatural dread that blur the line between myth and reality.

Gagliani and Benton excel at building tension through dual timelines: the present-day horrors faced by Blackstone and flashbacks to Chambers’ 1950s discovery of the Occupant’s tomb in the Egyptian desert. The prose is crisp and visceral, evoking Richard Laymon and Edward Lee’s raw intensity. Erotic scenes pulse with heat, serving the plot rather than purely gratuitous thrills. Here, sex magick becomes a conduit for the Occupant’s influence, exploring themes of power, addiction, and eternal life. Vivid imagery of violence, sex, and treachery fills this delightfully sleazy (in the best possible sense) novel.

This modern occult horror classic is a riveting, erotic feast. Engrossing, suspenseful, and terrifying. Frankly, I would have enjoyed if the Grand Guignol elements of the novel had been dialed up even higher. Acolytes of the Dead clearly demonstrates Gagliani and Benton are masters of intense, boundary-pushing terror. If you like explicit sex mixed with your horror, you should definitely check this one out.

DARK ROOTS

Hello, Horror Fans! Today’s review subject is Dark Roots by Sheldon Higdon; a powerful combination of constantly twisting mystery and chilling horror that holds readers in its werewolf fangs and never lets go. Never.

Ben is a college professor who’s got a lot going on in his life. Some things are good, like his beautiful girlfriend Aisha who really wants him to put a ring on it. Other things are downright terrible, like the shocking death of his father who suddenly commits suicide at 83 after popping by Ben’s apartment for dinner. Sure, he was getting older, but left in a good mood with muscles that a man half his age would’ve been happy to have, so what the hell?

This leads to Ben tearfully driving back to his dad’s farm at 2 a.m. to meet up with his Uncle George, who lives just down the road from his dad. He gives Ben the keys to his dad’s place and surprisingly, an offer to take it off his hands. What’s a city boy need with a farm anyway? Might be best…George has the money and Ben agrees to think about it. But he wants to check out the old homeplace and reconnect with his roots before making any major decisions.

Turns out that it might’ve been easier to just take the money and run. As Ben pokes around the old house and barn, ghosts start talking to him. Correction: they start screaming at him. While that’s creepy and unsettling, the weird part is that Ben feels like he’s heard their words before. But how could that be? He hasn’t lived there or even visited for a long time and his childhood memories are vague at best. The one thing he does recall is a lot of negative energy, which is why Ben relocated his life elsewhere.

Things progress to downright terrifying when Ben discovers a hidden trapdoor in the barn and finds a bunch of dead bodies stacked up inside. Yikes! Not only that, but a search of his dad’s house reveals most of their identities and why they’re on his father’s farm. None of the information is good, especially the discovery of what Dad’s baseball card collection really is. Ben is horrified and disgusted by his findings. His dad was a salt of the earth, working the land, and repairing things when they broke kind of guy whose only pleasure in life was collecting baseball cards. Well, at least that’s what most people in their small town thought. What the hell is all this other shit? Everything sends Ben’s mind and body reeling until he’s teetering on the brink of sanity.

So Ben does what most people would do, he calls the cops. Except that out in the middle of nowhere, he doesn’t get a whole team of forensics experts; there’s just the sheriff and his not particularly bright deputy. Great. While they poke around and try to make sense of things, Ben calls his girlfriend, hoping for a sympathetic ear and some good vibes to balance out all the badness. Instead, he ends up trying to comfort her. Darren, her son and the light of her life, has been kidnapped.

From here, the book, which was already perking right along, picks up speed. The horrible discoveries continue while Ben and Aisha try to figure things out with both the country police and some detectives from the city who are also trying to rescue Darren. As the heat builds, masks start to slip until the line between good and bad becomes invisible. Everything becomes a question instead of a fact. Did Ben’s dad actually kill himself, or did he have unwanted help? Why is Uncle George so interested in keeping his brother’s farm? Why doesn’t Ben remember his mom, and why did she leave them? How can he and Aisha get Darren back? A standoff situation develops at the farm, pushing Ben past his breaking point. He responds by taking matters into his own hands with some very permanent solutions. Will his gamble work, or is he too late? Available at your favorite bookseller now!

I rate Dark Roots a serious 5 Stars. JournalStone and author Sheldon Higdon have once again delivered a real gripper of a novel with more twists in it than a spiral staircase. Highly recommended! The whodunnit part of Dark Roots is powerful and will keep you turning pages until the wee hours of the morning, and it’s entirely worth it. I lost count of how many times I “figured everything out” and knew exactly who the bad guy was. “Wrong again, Watson!” Well played, Higdon! Dark Roots is a book that never lets up, not even at the end. It has teeth and they are very sharp.

Trigger warning: This book contains scenes of child abduction and violence that might be upsetting to some readers. The author does a great job of keeping anything graphic minimal, using a few brief scenes to establish an undercurrent of evil that drives the story forward. Being a person with PTSD, I just wanted to give readers a heads up so they’re not surprised.

Thank you for taking a few minutes check out this review and your interest in independent horror writers and publishers!

For more information about Sheldon Higdon and his other books, head on over to: www.sheldonhigdon.com

For more information about JournalStone Publishing and their many, many awesome releases, please visit their website: www.journalstone.com

For more information about Brian James Lewis, pop on over to his website: www.damagedskullwriterandreviewer.com

Songs of Shadow, Words of Woe

Matthew R. Davis’ Songs of Shadow, Words of Woe is a symphony of darkness that resonates long after the final note fades. This collection of thirteen short stories and novelettes masterfully blends horror with the raw energy of music, myth, and human frailty, showcasing Davis’s prowess in crafting tales that are as melodic as they are menacing. Drawing from Australian countercultures—particularly the gritty underbelly of rock scenes—Davis peels back layers of the uncanny, exposing hearts beating with melancholy and monstrosity.

The stories pulse with a rhythmic intensity, often intertwining supernatural elements with personal demons. Standouts include the Australasian Shadows Award-winning “Steadfast Shadowsong,” where a band’s religious entanglements spiral into cosmic dread, and the Shirley Jackson Award-nominated “Heritage Hill,” a chilling road trip that confronts ancestral horrors in the outback. “Andromeda Ascends” stutters with guilty conscience as a sibling’s dramatic vanishing unfolds like a tragic aria, while “The Ballad of Elvis O’Malley” channels rock ‘n’ roll folklore into a poignant tale of teenage tragedy and lost dreams. “I Do Thee Woe” delivers meta chills through an obscure arthouse film that blurs reality, and “The Black Regent” haunts an abandoned theater with echoes of strangled screams and forgotten glamour.

Davis’ prose is elegant yet visceral and grounded, shifting seamlessly from classic ghost stories to eldritch terrors and modern thrillers. He infuses empathy for outsiders and victims, tempering frights with humane insights that catalyze subconscious fears. Themes of revenge through songs, haunting memories, and treacherous language weave a cabal of disturbances, as praised by luminaries like Kaaron Warren and J.S. Breukelaar. The collection’s regional flavor—set in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley and derelict Aussie landmarks—adds authenticity, making the horrors feel intimately real.

This powerhouse rewards horror fans with riveting unease and beautiful darkness. Shortlisted for the 2025 Aurealis Award for Best Collection, Songs of Shadow, Words of Woe cements Davis as a maestro of morbid melody. Terrifying, touching, and utterly metal.

Vampire Verses
LindaAnn LoSchiavo
Independently published (November 28, 2025)
Reviewed by Nora B. Peevy

 This is a delightful little chapbook you can really sink your teeth into. Pun intended. LindaAnn LoSchiavo writes about vampires in Section I. The Dead Travel East, which showcases fifteen poems, some following traditional vampire folklore and some reimagined, but all juicy. She then follows with Section II., which was my favorite, A Tribute to Bram Stoker. Her words are simple, yet elegant and her sense of humor shines through this collection. I recommend it for some light night reading before bed. It’ll put a smile on your face.