Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Anthology Editors?

by  Mario Guslandi

01/17/2005

Melniczek, Paul, editor. Dark Lurkers. Ontario, Canada: Double Dragon Press, 2004. 142 p.

Horror anthologies collecting stories devoted to a single theme continue to be extremely popular, although the risk of producing a boring sequence of similar plots and atmospherics is always present. Fortunately, contributors to such anthologies often tend to adhere to the proposed theme only in a very loose way, thus avoiding the editor's creating a volume of annoyingly similar stories.

This is the case with Dark Lurkers, a book in which Paul Melniczek gathers eighteen tales supposedly about things which hide within shadows and legendary creatures unknown and dangerous. Readers will find that they can glean very little about Melniczek's intentions, as he provides no introduction (who still reads them, anyway?). However, he also does not supply any biographical notes about the authors. Although some of their names will sound familiar to the genre fans, the newcomers end up hidden in shadows much deeper than those engulfing the lurkers of the title. This is a real disservice to readers.

Needless to say, as in any anthology, some stories are good, others just ordinary and some simply awkward. I have decided that the best way for me to approach this spectrum of talent is to mention the former, forgive the latter, and forget what is forgettable.

Patricia Russo sets the standard with The Bench, a piece which relates the events that are connected to a peculiar bench placed on a city street. Here, weird, sinister old men seem to be sitting all the time. In "Lured," Michael McCrann describes very effectively a terrifying, tragic diving trip to explore the secrets of a sunken ship. Readers will find McCrann to be a writer who knows how to keep up the tension throughout the story.

In Iain Rowan's "Modifications," strange noises from the apartment above conceal a disconcerting reality which will literally envelop the story's main character. Michael Manis depicts the physical and psychic downfall of a man suffering from a mysterious disease ("The Rot") which keeps him hospitalized, while in Old Ezra Jason Brannon writes about a voracious creature lurking in the woods, waiting to be fed with human blood. In spite of a certain lack of originality, the tale is skilfully recounted; it manages to grab the reader's attention from the very outset to the final sentence.

In Phil Locascio's "The Lake at Morwick Manor," we encounter traditional atmospheres: an old manor, whose aged master is ready to die--and be reborn to live forever. This time-honored theme is revisited by an author endowed with a pleasant, enjoyable narrative style. Matt Cardin contributes a piece of philosophical horror with Unfinished Nightmare, where the hidden realities of human existence constitute the true, ultimate horror. Finally the ubiquitous Paul Finch, renowned for his vivid, graphic writing style, seals the volume with "Goodfellow's Fair," a dark, powerful, nightmarish tale bound to make the reader tremble with fear.

All in all Dark Lurkers maintains a fair level of quality for a horror anthology, one which, for once, does not feature the usual list of mandatory big names, too often included just to lure potential readers. That, if for no other reason, is why readers should purchase this anthology--to encourage Melniczek and Double Dragon Press to produce similar volumes, but with one caveat: in the future, give us some information about the contributing authors, rather than leave us in the dark.