Welcome to Corpse Child Reads
Here is where I will be sharing my thoughts of the macabre writings of demon scribes other than myself
The Unholy Corpse Child Reads,
“Nothing but Blackened Teeth”
By Cassandra Khaw:
Published in October of 2021 by Tor Publishing group, Author Cassandra Khaw’s
“Nothingbut Blackened Teeth” is a poetic, macabre novella on ghosts, both figurative—
and quite literal. 147 pages of pure supernatural dread, “Nothing but Blackened Teeth”
features the tale of young friends, love, and betrayal.
Our featured protagonist in this tale is an everywoman by the name of Cat, who
is reluctantly invited by the, rather spiteful and paranoid, fiancée of her dearest friend,
Faiz, to their wedding. The wedding is set to take place inside a rather nice venue
house in Japan. A nice house, though it may be, like any house, it isn’t without its
secrets, or its scars.
Supposedly, this very same house saw the murder and sacrifice of a young bride
(sounds like a place I’D get married in when the time came, eh?😉). Joining the reunion
are their two friends and bachelors, Philip and Lin. All goes well for a while, save for the
animosity from Faiz’s bride to be toward our protagonist. Ironically, it’s when she gets
her just deserts that things take a swift turn to the left.
During a ritual game between the friends, the bride vanishes and taking her place
is a potpourri of different Yokai who inhabit the house to taunt them. The only way to get
her back, you ask? Oh, nothing much...
Just the life of one of the party.
The struggle then becomes a test of mental endurance for Cat and her remaining
friends to either find a way to bring back their friend without spilling blood, or at least get
out while they all still had their lives...
Now, as interesting a premise as this all sounds, it’s marred by overly prosaic
writing. Understand that, as a devout Clive Barker die hard, I am appreciative of elegant
writing, but not when it clouds the events of the story. Time and time again while reading
this, I found myself having to backtrack just to try and catch what happened because
the wording was so stylized, so fancy, that the events that were supposedly unfolding
were essentially buried under it.
I honestly have the same gripes about Shirley Jackson’s classic gospel of terror,
“The Haunting of Hill house”, which is a book often referenced when others talk of this
title. The prose is flowery and poetic, but a little overbearing. In conclusion, I enjoyed
reading it, but it’s not likely one I’d try reading again anytime soon. Though, who
knows...
Maybe ghosts of my own may try goading me into it again...
Rating: 💀💀💀/💀💀💀💀💀
(3 out of 5)
The Unholy Corpse Child Reads,
"The Hands of Onan"
By Chris Dileo
“The Hands of Onan” can best be described as what you might imagine it being like if Clive Barker’s “The Hellbound Heart” were written by Drew Stepek (“Knuckle Supper”, “Knuckle Balled”). It’s comedic take on a rather strange situation, yet still overall dark and sacrilegious tone is one that resonated extremely well with me.
This book follows the tale of aspiring author Micheal Stiffe, who himself suffers from what some men may refer to as C.M.S.: Chronic Masturbation Syndrome. It’s the perfect stress reliever for him, until it ruins his marriage, and ultimately his career as an author. Eventually, though, he’s forced to sober up when he finds out his friend, Drew, has also contracted his same “disease”, and finds himself in company with so many others who worship self-fornication, the cult known as “The Hands of Onan”, based around the pseudo-biblical tale of a man who would not finish intercourse with a woman and was cursed for it.
In this cult, masturbation isn’t merely pleasure, but it is power.
I loved the way this book reminded me so much of Barker’s themes, combining erotica and supernatural religious horror. My only criticism is that the ending felt just a tad rushed in my opinion, though I’d still say that everything still concludes in a satisfactory enough way. I wholeheartedly recommend “The Hands of Onan” and any other titles by Chris Dileo!
Rating: 💀💀💀💀/💀💀💀💀💀 (4 out of 5)
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“The Hands of Onan” can best be described as what you might imagine it being like if Clive Barker’s “The Hellbound Heart” were written by Drew Stepek (“Knuckle Supper”, “Knuckle Balled”). It’s comedic take on a rather strange situation, yet still overall dark and sacrilegious tone is one that resonated extremely well with me.This book follows the tale of aspiring author Micheal Stiffe, who himself suffers from what some men may refer to as C.M.S.: Chronic Masturbation Syndrome. It’s the perfect stress reliever for him, until it ruins his marriage, and ultimately his career as an author. Eventually, though, he’s forced to sober up when he finds out his friend, Drew, has also contracted his same “disease”, and finds himself in company with so many others who worship self-fornication, the cult known as “The Hands of Onan”, based around the pseudo-biblical tale of a man who would not finish intercourse with a woman and was cursed for it.In this cult, masturbation isn’t merely pleasure, but it is power.I loved the way this book reminded me so much of Barker’s themes, combining erotica and supernatural religious horror. My only criticism is that the ending felt just a tad rushed in my opinion, though I’d still say that everything still concludes in a satisfactory enough way. I wholeheartedly recommend “The Hands of Onan” and any other titles by Chris Dileo!Rating: 💀💀💀💀/💀💀💀💀💀 (4 out of 5)
The Unholy Corpse Child Reads, "Playground" by Aron Beauregard
With word of this gory abomination circulating everywhere, I HAD to see for myself if the praise and fear of this book held true. I can confidently say, Yes, yes it does-- though it wasn't in the ways I was expecting. Where I was expecting mostly physically violent scenes to be the most "Disturbing" parts of the story, I was met with elements far, FAR worse. Understand that, as a fellow horror author myself, I do not make such claims lightly. It takes more than most to TRULY disturb me, and this book made it there. Not since Elias Witherow's "The Third Parent" have I ever been truly made uncomfortable with what I was reading like I was with "Playground". Fortunately, unlike the former, I was able to keep from DNFing this one as, the aforementioned physical violence was more than enough to bring my focus away from the OTHER elements of disturbance.
More to this book's praise, the story presented is one that, though bathed head to foot in warm crimson and viscera, is one that deserves recognition as more than simple splatterpunk. It tugs at your heartstrings, while at the same time, ripping out your guts, just like the poor little rugrats forced into this SAW-esque Death game. The characters and their bond with one another as they bleed and die alongside one another in true soldier fashion, is a kind of bond that I've only seen done before in Stephen King.
More to the character's praise, this is also a tale of redemption and overcoming of one's own personal demons. This book has all the makings of a standard bestseller, but with the added stellar of its sheer, unrestricted, unadulterated content.
All I'll say for those that want to read is this: before you read, make sure you make it known to your children that you love them, and that you'll always be there for them. Then, when alone, close your eyes, lose all faith in humanity as a species, and begin reading!
Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀/💀💀💀💀💀 (5 out of 5)
The Unholy Corpse Child Reads, "The Devil's Rite" by Dan Shrader
Fear the Tree Man, my children...
Dan Sharder’s psychological terror here is one that should not be slept on. Here, we follow the life of Brian, a little boy who snapped one fateful night, having fallen under the spell of the mysterious Tree Man and murdered his mother and father...
OR DID HE???
The buildup to the reveals are done in a clever fashion, one that takes only a short time to do— a very tricky feat to pull off, I must say. What some books take over 100 pages and hours to slog through, “Devil’s Rites” does in less than, and does so in a way that will keep you guessing even after you’ve read it, the question of:
Is the Tree Man real, and will I be the next one to fall victim to his influence?
Rating: 💀💀💀💀/💀💀💀💀💀
/ (4/5)
The Unholy Corpse Child Reads, "The Slob" by Aron Beauregard
With the powerhouse of madness and sheer terror that was Aron Beauregard’s “Playground”, it was only natural that my next read, and the first completed read of 2024, would be another infamous title of his: “The Slob”. Now, when I say that this book caught me WAY off guard, that is no exaggeration.
At first, I found the book to be a lot slower paced than “Playground” was, which almost turned me off of it. The background of our main character, Vera Harlow, who was scarred by early trauma-- in such a way that I personally found to be disturbing because, not too too long ago, it was a VERY real thing I actually went through in my life-- felt a little more dragged out than I would’ve liked. However, once you get past that, the Hell begins, and let me say right now: #FearPage40 ain’t got SHIT on the Dumbell scene from this book.
Dear God…
This book made me cringe in ways I hadn’t in a long time. From the sheer depraved, animalistic nature of the titular Slob himself, to the utter dehumanization Vera herself goes through just to get out of this veritable Hell in any pieces at all, yeah, this one is one that should be talked about more often. Definitely recommend, but not if you’re ever wanting to be a mother, or a door-to-door salesman…
Rating: 💀💀💀💀/💀💀💀💀💀
/ (4/5)
The Unholy Corpse Child Reads, "The Devil's Rite" by Dan Shrader
Now I'd heard about Crystal Baynam's abomination, and from the cover, I should've known what I was getting into. That said, I was still unprepared for what I'd encounter in this tome.
Toxic Maternal follows the story of two siblings who are compelled, VERY MUCH UNWILLINGLY I must add, to return to their wicked old bat of a mother. Mother is essentially what you get if Geraldine Borden from "Playground" had a drunk one-night stand with "The Slob", whilst including Rose the Hat somewhere in the mix.
Sadistic, cruel, manipulative, and plain evil are all words I'd use to describe this witch, though even THAT is putting it all kindly. The story is brutal, disgusting, and demented-- AND I LOVE IT!
Rating: 💀💀💀💀/💀💀💀💀💀
(4/5)