Dreams from the Witch House: Female Voices of Lovecraftian Horror
Edited by Lynne Jamneck
Dark Regions Press
Reviewed by Brian M. Sammons
H.P. Lovecraft was a great author, one of my all-time favorites, and one of the most influential in the horror genre. But he wasn’t the most progressive thinker. If you weren’t exactly like the man, then in his literary world you would be ignored at best, or demonized at worst. Now while it is a sad fact that HPL was an out-and-out racist, I haven’t seen any evidence of him being a misogynist. So while Lovecraft didn’t hate women, it did seem like he didn’t have much use for them. Well, as far as his stories go, the only women mentioned were secondary, deeply ancillary characters, witches or shape-changing wizards looking to possess your body. Yes, really. Maybe that’s why for many years, what is sometimes referred to as Lovecraftian fiction, Cthulhu Mythos fiction, weird fiction, etc. has largely been the realm of men. Now yes, there have always been women that played in Cthulhu’s sandbox with the boys, and thankfully there are more excellent female authors spinning tales of cosmic horror now than ever before, but this is something that needs to be explored more. I mean, women make up over half of the population on the planet, and I don’t think Lovecraft’s Old Ones are sexist when it comes to deciding who they will torment, drive mad, eat, and often all three. So why aren’t there more female-centric weird tales? With that in mind, file Dreams from the Witch House: Female Voices of Lovecraftian Horror under ‘about time.’ And thankfully this new anthology by editor Lynne Jamneck for Dark Regions Press is not only timely, but damn good, too.
Here you get 20 tales by some of the best authors of weird horror fiction. Joyce Carol Oates, Collen Douglas, Cat Hellison, Kelda Circh, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Lucy Brady, Christine Morgan, Marly Youmans, Sanya Taaffe, Gemma Files, Molly Tanzer, Karen Heuler, Lois H. Gresh, Nancy Kilpatrick, E.R. Knightsbridge, Amanda Downum, Storm Constantine, R.A Kaelin, Tamsyn Muir, Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette all make notable contributions. Each story also has a beautiful full color illustration accompanying it by one of the best artists working today, Daniele Serra, who also supplies the captivating cover.
All the stories range from good to excellent, but that’s not to say that they all hit the mark with me with equal force. Humor and Lovecraftian horror is a tough sell to me, and some stories here stepped a little bit too much over that line for my taste, but that’s only what it is: my personal taste. Others rode that line exceptionally well, like “Pippa’s Crayons” by Christine Morgan. While not out-and-out ha-ha humorous, it was full of charm and had me smiling from word one until then end. But then, Christine Morgan is one of my favorite authors – I’ve never read anything by her that I didn’t like, so I would expect no less.
Storm Constantine is an author I wasn’t familiar with until reading this book and her story, “From the Cold Dark Sea,” but after that, I’m going to have to look for more of her work because I loved it. It was sad, creepy, and beautiful all rolled up in one. It also takes some standard Lovecraftian conventions and does new things with them, which is always a good thing.
Speaking of always, the always enjoyable Joyce Carol Oates starts things off right for this book and gives us “Shadows of the Evening,” where a granddaughter recounts a tale of lost homes, new beginnings, and strange songs. It is a rich, flavorful story that was a delight to savor.
There are many more (17 to be exact) great stories to be found in Dreams from the Witch House, but those I mentioned might be my three favorites. If you are a lover of Lovecraft and want to see those ideas and elements utilized through a refreshingly feminine gaze, this book is for you. If you are just a fan of good, creepy, and often beautiful stories, Lovecraft or not, written by and about women or not, this book is also for you. So yeah, what I guess I’m saying is that this is a must get book. Consider it highly recommended. If you would like a copy, you can get one from Amazon or various other online retailers, or direct from the publisher. No matter how you get it, just get it.
