DARK DELICACIES III: HAUNTED, ed. by Del Howison and Jeff Gelb Review by ...

DARK DELICACIES 3 is the latest installment in a series of anthologies which gathers some of the biggest authors working in the horror industry today. The book is subtitled “Haunted”, which may seem like a fairly limited theme, but actually lends itself to a wide variety of stories. While you’ll definitely find the mandatory ghosts and ghouls within its covers, DARK DELICACIES 3 also deals with other variations of hauntings – guilt over past actions, worry over the future, betrayal, and even murder.

Take, for instance, Richard Christian Matheson’s “How to Edit”, the tale of an author who’s haunted by his past success and his current inability to get published. Full of dark humor and biting commentary on the act of writing, “How to Edit” was one of my favorites.

Or how about Mick Garris’s “Tyler’s Third Act”, which centers around an out-of-work scriptwriter who goes to extremes to be noticed in today’s world of “reality” TV and amateurish Youtube videos. Garris gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the machinations of Hollywood, venting his disturbing but all-too-accurate experience of what writers have to go through to get attention in the industry.

David Morrell’s “The Architecture of Snow” is similar to the two aforementioned tales in that it offers criticism (this time about the publishing industry and its focus on the Almighty Dollar), but it does so through the poignant and touching story of R. J. Wentworth, a reclusive author who withdraws from society after Hollywood butchers one of his stories on the big screen. After thirty years of isolation, Wentworth sends a manuscript to his former editor (using a pseudonym) in an attempt to help his friend’s faltering career, oblivious to the fact that his friend recently passed away. When a new editor stumbles across the manuscript and recognizes Wentworth’s distinct style, he begins a journey to find Wentworth and draw him out of his self-imposed prison.

As alluded to earlier, there are plenty of frights to be found in the anthology’s pages, the best of which is John R. Little’s “The Slow Haunting”. The story follows a boy named Timmy, who inadvertently shot his twin brother, Dennis, while playing with his father’s gun. As Timmy progresses through life, Dennis’s ghost is with him every step of the way – initially encouraging him, but as time moves on the ghost’s advice becomes darker and darker. Saying more would spoil the story, but I will mention that the ending is one of the hardest punches to the gut I’ve ever received from a piece of fiction – it’s that powerful.

Other standouts include Victor Salva’s “The Wandering Unholy”, about a regiment of Nazis who are on a quest to find a powerful necromancer they hope to use against their enemies in the war, only to find out her power is more than the troops can fathom; Maria Alexander’s “Though Thy Lips Are Pale”, about a girl who thinks she’s been betrothed to a foreign king, only to find out she’s being used as bait to capture a nightmarish beast that roams the countryside; and Ardath Mayhar’s “A Nasty Way To Go”, which chronicles a constable’s strange dealings with a husband and wife in East Texas.

DARK DELICACIES 3 has enough variety that everyone should be able to find something enjoyable within its pages. It should be noted that while the aforementioned stories are all well written, others are fairly ho-hum, succumbing to scares that fall flat or endings that fail to capitalize on their build-up. That being said, the good stories are really good, and as such I recommend the book to everyone.

DARK DELICACIES 3 is available now as a trade paperback with a cover price of $15.95. If you head over to Amazon, you can snag a copy at the discounted price of $10.85.

(7 out of 10)