News — Beth Griffith

Authors have words. Their livelihood is literally combining words to create images in the reader’s minds. The images can be any variety of things, from the informative to the fantastic. They can build worlds, they can tear them down. An author is not limited to books; there are authors in every kind of media. Yes, that favorite totally unscripted, completely true reality show you love has a screenwriter, just like that obviously scripted movie with the talking hamsters you...

Filling the Soul Hole

Part 2: Joy

In the last article I talked about how even the most seasoned horror aficionado can still experience empathy if they are connected with the right author. This article will seem even more grandiose because I am here to convince you it is still possible to feel joy. Oh hush, I hear your grumbling. Hear me out! We both have that empty little soul hole in our hearts. Sure it is gritty and partially mummified, but it is...

Filling the Soul Hole

Part 1: Sorrow

As an avid reader of horror, you may worry that you have been desensitized towards certain deeply felt emotions. You’ve read it all. Guts festoon the trees of your dreamscapes. You’ve made a cozy nest for the hideous monsters lurking in your basement. Any small children that cross your path are likely demon-possessed. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’ve seen it all. You worry that you have lost the ability to empathize. You have an empty spot in the center of your heart where your soul used to be. You...

Anthology Smackdown! “Echoes” vs. “Hex Life” 

I have recently finished two highly anticipated new-release anthologies, “Echoes” and “Hex Life”. I wanted to write an article comparing them based on my drastically different experiences with each book. Before the actual smackdown starts, let’s learn a little more about each competitor. 

“Echoes”, edited by Ellen Datlow, is an anthology of ghost stories. There are thirty stories compiled, totaling in at an impressive 781 pages. Ellen Datlow is known for her popular annual “Best Horror of the Year” anthologies, plus she has...

“Fat Camp” by James Sabata is a classic slasher book with a chubby little twist. An unknown, masked psychopath is cutting down fatties left and right at Camp Wašíču.... does Phillip have what it takes to save his friends and himself? 

As a fat child who blossomed into the curvy goddess you see today, I appreciated the insight Sabata provided into the mind of an adolescent with an eating disorder. If you read this book and wonder if the morbidly obese really think about Snickers that much... I can...