Peep Show, Volume 2Peep Show Volume 2
Edited by Paul Fry

Short, Scary Tales Publications
Review by Sheri White

Back in the early 2000s, Peep Show was a small-press magazine based in England that was run by Paul Fry. Only five issues were published, but in that short time, there were a lot of great authors featured in that ‘zine. Unfortunately, I only have Issues #2 and #3, but in just those two issues there were some great stories, interviews, artwork and reviews. You’ll recognize such names as Graham Masteron, Ronald Malfi, Wrath James White, Alex Severin, Christopher Fulbright, Ray Garton and Mike Bohatch. Oh, and yours truly. Talk about being in great company!

But in the small-press world, ‘zines usually have a short life, and Peep Show was no exception. Many of the small-press magazines in the day of snail-mail submissions are gone. However, Paul Fry has resurrected Peep Show, only now it’s an anthology instead of a ‘zine.

Volume 2 features several known authors, as well as a few newcomers. Which is what has always been great about Paul – every writer has the opportunity to be published in Peep Show.

The anthology starts off with “The Farm House” by Jeremy Terry. It began a little “Rocky Horror-esque,” but quickly got creepy and spooky, as well as erotic. The erotica was written very well; nothing awkward, no “heaving bosoms.”

When Gene O’Neill is included in an anthology, you know you’re in for a treat. In “The Silkworm Moth Effect,” Dr. Seamus Chacon has discovered a way to make women desire him. Of course, he takes advantage of this, but doesn’t expect the end result. Again, the erotica was tasteful and well-done, and I got a chuckle at the end.

Ben lusts after his next-door neighbor Candy, much to the disapproval of her father, in the story “Curfew” by Eric Red. Although Candy’s dad warns Ben to stay away, the teenager can’t resist her. He becomes obsessed with her, to the point of sneaking in her room. Candy likes him, too, but her love is not what Ben is looking for. This was a nasty little story I really enjoyed.

There have been many stories about the girl in the trailer park who takes on all the boys. But Walter Jarvis’s “The Line-Up at Buddy Milam’s Trailer” takes the trope to another level, a horrifying level. Cissie Maxwell is paid by Buddy Milam to service anybody he wants her to. One night, after Bobby is turned down once again by his girlfriend, he joins his friends to have a little fun with Cissie. And Bobby will have a memory he can never get rid of for the rest of his life.

There are several more stories. Not all of them are great. But overall, Peep Show Volume 2 is a fun, shocking ride through sex and death. You’ll even find a man haunted by his girlfriend’s butthole. A serial killer has the tables turned on him. A writer tells her story in blood. This anthology is very diverse in its authors and tales.

If you’re someone who likes his or her erotica on the dark side, Peep Show Volume 2 will be a very satisfying read.

Peep Show Volume 2 is edited by Paul Fry and published by Short, Scary Tales Publications in Birmingham, England.

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