WE’RE SO CLOSE TO THE END! It’s the penultimate “Dark Descent” story and it’s a whopper! “The Hospice” is quintessential Robert Aickman: it’s creepy, offbeat, weird, strange, chilling and inexplicable. We really loved it and now… only one story

The Dark Descent – “The Asian Shore” by Thomas M. Disch

27 days ago

What a mystery this story is! Willow isn’t sure if she likes it, or if it even qualifies as horror. I’m enamored of it, but can’t really decide what it’s about! PERFECT! It’s “The Asian Shore” by Thomas M. Disch!

The Dark Descent – “The Willows” by Algernon Blackwood

Mar 23rd, 2024

This week, it’s one of the most terrifying and terribly intimate stories we’ve yet covered. The cosmic horror of “The Willows” by Algernon Blackwood!

The Dark Descent – “Afterward” by Edith Wharton

Mar 16th, 2024

This week, Willow and I take a look at the creepy effects of UNFETTERED CAPITALISM with Edith Wharton’s “Afterward!”

The Dark Descent – “The Damned Thing” by Ambrose Bierce

Feb 19th, 2024

Whaddaya get when you take a dead guy, an invisible monster and a heaping dose of post-Civil War Traumatic Stress Disorder? “The Damned Thing” by Ambrose Bierce! The missingest author in the history of Weird Fiction!

The Dark Descent – “The Beautiful Stranger” by Shirley Jackson

Jan 28th, 2024

This week, Willow and Phil take a quick look at a quick story: “The Beautiful Stranger” by Shirley Jackson. We throw out a lot of theories as to the actual nature of this story, but the one thing we can agree on? That stranger is beautiful.

The Dark Descent – “What Was It?” by Fitz-James O’Brien

Jan 6th, 2024

Sometimes, you don’t even need to ask. “What Was It?” by Fitz-James O’Brien!

The Dark Descent – “The Beckoning Fair One” by Oliver Onions

Dec 30th, 2023

Boy oh boy are we ever getting tired of sad men dying for their ghosts. It’s “The Beckoning Fair One” by Oliver Onions! A good story, but jeez, guys. See a therapist or something.

The Dark Descent – “The Repairer of Reputations” by Robert W. Chambers

Dec 16th, 2023

We’ve got a big one this week! It’s “The Repairer of Reputations” by Robert W. Chambers and Willow goes OFF. If you’re looking for her sources, here they are! de Oliveira, Hugo Mendes. “An Empire of Delusion: The Process of Alienation as Expres

The Dark Descent – “Clara Militch” by Ivan Turgenev

Dec 9th, 2023

This week, we’re heading off to jolly ol’ Russia for a bit of nineteenth century whimsey titled “Clara Militch” or “Klara Milich” or any number of permutations. It’s by Ivan Turgenev and it’s a real cracker! By which I mean, we were utterly con

The Dark Descent – “Seaton’s Aunt” by Walter de la Mare

Nov 26th, 2023

It’s another headscratcher! “Seaton’s Aunt” by Walter de la Mare might not be the scariest story we’ve ever read, but it sure does make me feel sad!

The Dark Descent – “Night-Side” by Joyce Carol Oates

Nov 18th, 2023

Yes, I sing Hall and Oates at one point. It’s “Night-Side” by Joyce Carol Oates!

The Dark Descent – “Crouch End” by Stephen King

Nov 11th, 2023

We’re back in Lovecraft Country, this week! It’s Stephen King’s “Crouch End” and it’s a modern CLASSIC!

The Dark Descent – “The Signal-Man” by Charles Dickens

Nov 4th, 2023

When is a ghost not a ghost? When it’s a SIGNAL-MAN! It’s “The Signal-Man” by Charles Discken and Willow has NOTES on the story! NOTES!

The Dark Descent – “Seven American Nights” by Gene Wolfe

Oct 29th, 2023

“Seven American Nights” is phenomenal and Gene Wolfe is brilliant. That’s all.

The Dark Descent – “Smoke Ghost” by Fritz Leiber

Oct 21st, 2023

“Sssssssssmokin’!” Oh, somebody stop me. This week, we begin a new chunk of “The Dark Descent” as we wend our way into “A Fabulous Formless Darkness” by way of the game-changing short story “Smoke Ghost” by Fritz Leiber. Does it live up to the

The Dark Descent – “The Jolly Corner” by Henry James

Oct 14th, 2023

Oh, Henry James. Why must you be so obtuse? This week, it’s a return to the creeps and the spooks as we take a step inside “The Jolly Corner!” Any good? Well, Willow had no idea what was going on!

The Dark Descent – “Mackintosh Willy” by Ramsey Campbell

Sep 30th, 2023

This week, it’s a story that really left a wild impression on us. Is it supernatural? Natural? A little bit of both? Who knows! It’s “Mackintosh Willy” by Ramsey Campbell!

The Dark Descent – “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor

Sep 23rd, 2023

This week, it’s a story that is remarkably similar in many ways to last weeks. So, we both loved it, of course! Right? RIGHT?! *sigh* It’s “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor.

The Dark Descent – “Three Days” by Tanith Lee

Sep 16th, 2023

This week, it’s our first Tanith Lee story and, maybe not coincidentally, one of our favorites. Is it horror? Who cares? It’s awesome! It’s “Three Days” here on The Dark Descent!

The Dark Descent – “The Rocking Horse Winner” by D. H. Lawrence

Sep 9th, 2023

D. H. Lawrence’s “The Rocking Horse Winner” is no liar. It’s got a rocking horse. It’s got a winner. It’s all there on the tin!

The Dark Descent – “You Can Go Now” by Dennis Etchison

Sep 2nd, 2023

Are you ready for some heady noir? This week’s “You Can Go Now” by Dennis Etchison is weird and trippy and short and delightful! It’s a real headscratcher, I tells ya!

The Dark Descent – “My Dear Emily” by Joanna Russ

Aug 26th, 2023

Willow and I are back with more Dark Descent. This week, it’s “My Dear Emily” by Joanna Russ. It’s a vampire story, with a twist! The twist? Um… it’s good?

The Dark Descent – “Born of Man and Woman” by Richard Matheson

Jun 17th, 2023

If there’s one person we love talking about at The Dark Descent, it’s Dick Math! Dickie the Math Man! Richard “Richie Rich” Matheson! Yes, this week we take a look at Dickie’s first ever published story “Born of Man and Woman!” And, it’s an ick