The Wailing Skin: The Skin Room is a chilling story that will make your skin crawl – or peel

 

The Skin Room

Carl Bluesy 

Independently Published, 2026

Ebook, 275 ppg. 

ISBN-10: 1069380814

ISBN-13: 978-1069380814

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You know the expression that if you play with fire you’re going to get burned?

 

That’s exactly what happens to Kenneth in this story, except that he managed to play with fire for a little too long. He enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle of using up women, stealing wives for sexual pleasure just so someone could get a good deal on the luxury cars he sold, and living comfortably in his condo with his wealth. He got away with hurting women for so long, viewing them only as sex objects to conquer, that he lost touch with his own humanity.

 

Well, he gets a good slice of humble pie in this story. The Skin Room by Carl Bluesy is a splatterpunk novel of violence, murder, and tons of gore that will make your very skin crawl. Just be glad you still have it!

 

After Kenneth loses everything and is forced to survive on the streets, he joins the homeless community and, in the process, learns to dispel with his prejudices against the homeless. He keeps thinking “I’m not one of you!” or “I’m not like you!” and carries around this fantasy that if he goes to the police enough times, they will straighten everything out just like that and he’ll be back to sipping cocktails in his condo. It takes some time for Kenneth to adjust to life as a homeless person, and he is fortunate to befriend a couple of people who are kind enough to show him the ropes.

 

Meanwhile, there is a killer on the loose, a killer known as the “Panhandle Peeler,” a serial killer preying on the homeless and skinning his victims. Kenneth tries to remain vigilant to avoid being the Peeler’s next victim, but that lasts only for so long.

 

The title of this book has to do with the type of room that Kenneth is imprisoned in after he is kidnapped by the Panhandle Peeler. What does the Panhandle Peeler do with all that skin? Well, in one case, he creates a whole room covered with it. Literally a room made of skin. There’s quite a bit of blood still on the skins, blood which sometimes pools on the floor of the room, and it is mind-blowing that the skin continues to grow, even over the door to the room.

 

There were many times I stopped reading this book, not because of the graphic scenes of victims being peeled of their skins but because I kept thinking, No way! This is too unreal! The cruelties the Peeler inflicted upon his victims are unthinkable. Only a madman would believe every single thing he does to his victims serves a bigger cause. Make no mistake, a madman is certainly what the Peeler is. And the big reveal near the end of the story is just as shocking and disturbing.

 

But it was my curiosity about Kenneth’s fate that always drove me to pick up this book again to read. Does Kenneth survive? Does he escape? What about the Peeler; will he finally be brought to justice?

 

And actually, what does happen to the Peeler at the end is just as twisted as the rest of this story. Even so, it’s a story I recommend to fans of horror and especially fans of splatterpunk novels. This story is written so well and it’s full of surprises. Where else can you find a novel that describes the removal of a person’s skin in gory detail? Or the best way to remove an eyeball? Plus, there is fruit that isn’t really fruit at all – and filled with a different kind of “juice” to drink. (That pineapple!) Readers will be treated to such passages in this book. Perhaps they will exclaim “Wow!” at the end, as I did.

 

That ending, though. It blew me away.

 

Check out The Skin Room by Carl Bluesy for the most extreme survival story of them all. What would you do to survive? How far would you go? Within the pages of this book, readers will see just what it takes for one man to survive the streets and survive imprisonment by a delusional monster.

 

 

Five stars

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Remembering the Lost Warriors: Dance of Necromance is a poetry book remembering the dead and fighting for the living

 

 

Dance of Necromance: Poetry Book of the Dead

Sumiko Saulson

Mocha Memoirs Press, 2026

ISBN-10: 1962353338

ISBN-13: ‎978-1962353335

Ebook, 72 ppg.

Buy link

 

 

For the people whose lives were cut short and wrongs have been done, writers take the time to honor them with words. Poets, too, use their craft to shed light on those we have lost as well as those whose cause must be kept alive. In the poetry collection Dance of Necromance: Poetry Book of the Dead by Sumiko Saulson, you will find poems that recognize them, remember them, and bring them to life within its pages. As ghosts, it is only fitting that they are included here in this book, a collection of poems about ghosts, haunted locations, and memories of lives lived.

 

There are poems in this book about those no longer among the living, such as a cat who once belonged to the author and a dancing Chihuahua named Coco (Cha-Cha). There is a poem about the late author Anne Rice as well, which I enjoyed reading.

 

But more importantly, there are poems that remember those in the LGBTQ community who are also no longer among the living, such as Matthew Shepard and Sylvia Rivera. Some are named and others are not in these poems; they are all remembered collectively. You will find them in various poems, either by mention or in entire poems dedicated to their memory, such as with the poem “Never Forget We Bled.”

 

“The Haunted Streets of San Francisco” is another poem I really enjoyed reading. It opens with this very intriguing stanza:

 

“When tourists come to visit San Francisco

Some of them find it a spirited place

More ghosts are found here than dancers at a disco

They add to our mystique and Victorian grace” (Page 25)

 

The poem “Death of the Artist” on page 68 is profound. I love this poem. It reminds readers to never forget those feminist, queer, and Black voices from the past who spoke out against racism, homophobia, and oppression. I like these lines especially:

 

“Dark poetry is a broader field

Than bigoted old dead white men

And includes feminist voices such as

Sylvia Plath and Emily Dickinson

 

Phillis Wheatley cries out from the grave

A voice of resistance among the enslaved

Speaking for a vast graveyard of the unknown

Over a dusty tome of pauper's bones

 

Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes

And folks who used to sing the blues

Ancestors whose oral storytelling taught

The finer points of suspense and plot

 

Audre Lorde and James Baldwin,

Queer poets of the revolution,

Spoke out against racism, homophobia

And other wicked institutions”

 

“Ghostly Muse” is another good poem, and one which touched on something I have often wondered about. Have there been ghosts reading right along with us? Have ghosts influenced writers and artists? And what history a ghost would carry with it! There’s so much that can be learned there and investigated. Unfortunately for us, however, we can only wonder and speculate over such things.

 

Dance of Necromance is a collection of poetry that will delight and entertain readers who enjoy reading horror and paranormal poetry. Combined with poems that explore the current political turmoil as well as stories of experiences in relation to current events, these poems are a voice for the voiceless as well as the endangered and oppressed. With poems honoring those no longer with us as well as poems pleading to never forget the crimes committed against marginalized people, this collection of verse stands out as one which will touch readers, incite calls for action, and create a sense of appreciation for those voices that can only exist in memory.

 

 

 

Five stars

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

 

No Spoilers Here: Tell Me How It Ends is a Collection of Horror Stories That Will Surprise, Frighten and Terrify Readers

 

Tell Me How It Ends: A Horror Collection

Desiree Horton

Independently Published, 2025

ISBN-13: 979-8285804628

Ebook, 98 ppg.

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A woman makes a horrifying discovery after her husband’s death. Trick-or-treaters get more than they bargain for after they follow a young girl into the woods. And an unusual convention has an unlucky guest. These are just some of the horror stories that await readers of the book, Tell Me How It Ends: A Horror Collection by Desiree Horton. Within the pages of this book lurk people who delight in committing the most heinous of crimes and monsters eagerly hungry for the humans in their sights. The next story I read was even better than the last one. I read this book in a day, as it was hard to put down! I could not stop reading it once I began, and the cryptic endings made me hold my breath as I got to the very last surprising sentence.

 

This collection of stories starts off strong. The first story, “The Beach House,” had me thinking that it was a story about loss or grief, but then something completely unexpected happens that changed everything I thought I had figured out about this story. This plot twist had me eagerly reading more and what happened next took me by surprise. It’s a great story that lingered in my head long after I finished reading it.

 

“Penny’s Tea” was really horrific! I had no idea what to expect, though I understood what was happening. They say we should trust our instincts when we feel that something isn’t right with our bodies, and the character, Penny, really knew that she was dealing with something not only wrong but also unnatural. Loved the surprise at the end of this story! It’s a great body horror story that sent chills down my spine!

 

“Sweeter than Candy” was another enjoyable read. I have read this Halloween story before, when it was published in Halloween Horrors: A Fundraising Anthology, but of course I read it again and it was just as enjoyable to read again! That’s one good thing about spooky Halloween stories; they can be enjoyed many times over, especially during the month of October!

 

“Family is Forever” was also another awesome story in this book. When I started reading it, I had no idea what to expect. But as I got into this story, I was drawn into the mutual grief the cousins felt over yet another death in the family. They say that grief affects everybody differently, but for Daisy’s cousin, Rosie, she puts her unusual hobby to creative use in coping with the most recent loss.

 

All of the stories in this collection were enjoyable and I loved the last one, the title story, the best.

 

Tell Me How It Ends is a collection of spooky, haunting tales that are sure to frighten, terrify and alarm readers. These stories offer a combination of monstrous characters, horrifying spectacles and spinetingling scares that are unlike any other stories out there. Pick up this book to read if you’re looking for some scary stories to enjoy and you won’t be disappointed.

 

  

Five stars

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I downloaded a free copy of this book through my Kindle Unlimited subscription.