From the Borderlands: Stories of Terror and Madness

edited by Elizabeth E. and Thomas F. Monteleone
originally published as Borderlands 5
(New York: Warner Books, 2003)
Paperback, 428 Pages, Short Fiction Anthology

From the Cover: Editors Elizabeth E. and Thomas F. Monteleone have repeatedly transformed the landscape of the modern horror story with their acclaimed Borderlands anthologies. Now in an indispensable new collection, they present twenty-five all-original tales of terror by today’s acclaimed masters and the best new voices in horror fiction, including: Stephen King, Whitley Strieber, John Farris, Tom Piccirilli, David J. Schow, Bentley Little … and many others. Shocking and cutting edge, these tales of doom, depravity, and menace will chill your blood and haunt your soul. From fantastic supernatural terrors to the very real horrors waiting outside your own front door, these stories expand the boundaries of fear and madness…
This collection contains the following stories: “Rami Temporalis” by Gary A. Braunback; “All Hands” by John R. Platt; “Faith Will Make You Free” by Holly Newstein; “N0072-JK1” by Adam Corbin Fusco; “Time for Me” by Barry Hoffman; “The Growth of Alan Ashley” by Bill Gauthier; “The Goat” by Whitt Pond; “Prisoner 392” by Jon F. Merz; “The Food Processor” by Michael Canfield; “Story Time with the Bluefield Strangler” by John Farris; “Answering the Call” by Brian Freeman; “Smooth Operator” by Dominick Cancilla; “Father Bob and Bobby” by Whitley Strieber; “A Thing” by Barbara Malenky; “The Planting” by Bentley Little; “Infliction” by John McIlveen; “Dysfunction” by Darren O. Godfrey; “The Thing Too Hideous to Describe” by David J. Schow; “Slipknot” by Brett Alexander Savory; “Magic Numbers” by Gene O’Neill; “Head Music” by Lon Prater; “Around It Still the Sumac Grows” by Tom Piccirilli; “Annabell” by L. Lynn Young; “One of Those Weeks” by Bev Vincent; Stationary Bike by Stephen King.
My Review: The great thing about this collection is its uniqueness and diversity. Gone are the vampire/werewolf/serial killer/ghost stories; in place are tales, some supernatural, some horror (and a couple that aren’t) about the tricks the human mind can play. Some of these tricks stay within the mind itself some of them manifest in the physical world; in the way we interpret our surroundings. These stories are psychological horror stories, which are, in my opinion, the best kind. There are some big name people and even bigger stories in here.

“Rami Temporalis” by Gary A. Braunbeck is a great story about that guy we all know, the one that has “one of those faces,” the one that we can all talk to, and know everything is going to be alright. Well ... what if it wasn’t a mistake that we all talked to the same person? Braunbeck asks and answers that question in one of the most original and imaginative ways I have seen in a long time. Very reminiscent of a certain short story by Sir Arthur C. Clarke. I don’t want to say which one, because I don’t want to spoil the story for you, but if you are interested, and can’t keep your curiosity under control, click here to see which story I’m talking about.

“All Hands” by John R. Platt is a story that I can describe using five words: odd, odd, odd, odd and odd. What would it be like to wake up every morning with a different pair of hands? John R. Platt knows, and tells us all about it. This is an odd, odd, odd little story. Love it!

“Faith Will Make You Free” by Holly Newstein is one of my favorite stories in this particular anthology, and is a new twist on an old Jewish legend: that of the golem. Great story.

“N0072-JK1” by Adam Corbin Fusco is one of the more disturbing and twisted stories in this Borderlands collection, especially coming from a seemingly innocent premise: from whence does the human tickle response originate?

“Time For Me” by Barry Hoffman is one of those stories that makes you scratch your head and furrow your brow. Very Twilight Zone-esque in its execution, “Time for Me” is a story of the loneliness, alienation, and feelings of uselessness and self-doubt that comes when one retires.

“The Growth of Alan Ashley” by Bill Gauthier is an odd look at the reality that we create for ourselves, and the phenomenon of delusions of grandeur that we all have every so often. Only, Bill Gauthier and Alan Ashley take it to the extreme.

“The Goat” by Whitt Pond was an interesting story on a topic that I myself have often wondered about: is demonic possession (such as one finds in the Bible) truly a supernatural event, or ... are there more “mundane” explanations for it such as epilepsy, OCD, autism, and other such mental and physical disorders. Whitt Pond explores those possibilities and the outcome of such blind religious zealousness.

“Prisoner 392” by Jon F. Merz is another standout story in an anthology of greats. One part Silence of the Lambs, one part Count of Monte Cristo, one part Ambrose Bierce, and one part The Prisoner, Jon F. Merz is on to something here, and is a name to watch for.

“The Food Processor” by Michael Canfield is a strange, strange, strange little story that reminds me of a hybrid between Ray Bradbury and Philip K. Dick.

“Story Time and the Bluefield Stranger” by John Farris is a creepy ghost story ... but not your conventional type of ghost story. Farris is able to scare the pants off of you in very little time.

“Answering the Call” by Brian Freeman is another of my favorites in this anthology. A funeral home worker stays at the house of the deceased while the family is at the funeral services in order to receive flowers, thwart potential thieves, and answer phone calls ... especially those from the deceased.

“Smooth Operator” by Dominick Cancilla is an odd and disturbing story of love and obsession and the length to which one will go to obtain the object of their affection.

“Father Bob and Bobby” by Whitley Strieber takes a hard, unflinching look the Catholic church by examining the conscience of one priest who is haunted by what may be a ghost, but what is more likely a demon.

“A Thing” by Barbara Malenky is a quirky look at the premise: “that because all illness is caused by sin God made a thing to eat it and cleanse the mind and soul but there is only one in the whole universe to be passed around and if you are a chosen one you will get a chance at it and be saved” (236-237).

“The Planting” by Bentley Little is another of Little’s demented little short stories, much like the ones to be found in his anthology The Collection. A strange, often rambling, and very psychotic, “The Planting” is typical Bentley Little, even to the point of containing the “mummified creature ... a wrinkled shriveled figure that looked like a dried black monkey” (245) that two-thirds of Little’s stories (be they short or novel-length) have.

“Infliction” by John McIlveen is a story of love, despair, alcoholism, child abuse, and ... surprisingly ... circus freaks. How does it all work together in one man’s search for the family he lost? McIlveen makes it work and an engrossing story comes of it.

“Dysfunction” by Darren O. Godfrey is just that. Dysfunctional. Often times we come across an author/writer that we love, and want to find more of his work. Holly Newstein, Jon F. Merz and Brian Freeman from this particular anthology are good examples. Darren O. Godfrey is one of those “others.” If I never read another thing by Mr. Godfrey, I can die a happy Reader. “Dysfunction” is a very difficult story to read. And I don’t mean because of the subject matter – though the beating of a small, seven-year-old girl with an aluminum baseball bat does fit that description. No, I mean the way it’s written. The entire story is composed in a stream-of-consciousness, second-person-point-of-view, i.e.: “You open your eyes ... You pull on your second smile of the morning, this one a bit more real, though no less painful. ... Barbie’s House faces the street. So do you. You watch the bright, colorful cars drift by out there ... You scan for parents, guardians, leaders of field trips. When your gaze returns to the girl ...” (272-275) etc., etc., ad nauseum, you get the idea. It is my personal opinion that this sort of writing is better served penning true confession stories and letters to Penthouse Forum, rather than actual fiction (popular or otherwise). The long and the short of it is that if you happen to pick up From the Borderlands, you’d be best served by skipping Godfrey’s story and getting on to the better ones contained therein.

“The Thing Too Hideous to Describe” by David J. Schow is a great story in the tradition of the fifties monster movies where the lumbering creature terrorizes local teens at Make-Out Point. However, there’s a twist, and a what a glorious twist it is: “The Thing Too Hideous to Describe” is told from the monsters point of view!

“Slipknot” by Brett Alexander Savory explores the theory that perhaps madness is written into our genetic code, and takes it through several bizarre and shocking exponents to suggest that such a gene might have its own twisted sentience as well.

“Magic Numbers” by Gene O’Neill is another story to skip if you pick up From the Borderlands. Incoherent, rambling, too long by about sixteen pages (and “Numbers” is only seventeen long) it runs through a theme of voyeurism and numerology, and doesn’t manage to say much on either. Add to that the fact that it too is written in that awful, distracting and irritating second-person-point-of-view voice (“you do this, you do that”) as “Dysfunction” and it all adds up to the second worst story in From the Borderlands.

“Head Music” by Lon Prater is an interesting story about a man who comes upon a lumbering sea monster, washed up on the beach, and helps it to give birth to its offspring. Very, very interesting, though you may feel a need to towel off after reading “Head Music” because there is more slime here than at an Andrew Dice Clay performance. Bada-BING!

“Around It Still the Sumac Grows” by Tom Piccirilli takes us back to the horrors of high school ... and how those horrors are viewed through the eyes of the middle-aged. Again, another story written in the second-person-point-of-view voice, but for some reason, this time it is not as distracting as it was in its previous two incarnations (“Dysfunction” and “Magic Numbers”). My one beef with the story is minor: I don’t believe that Piccirilli’s Portuguese is entirely correct. It has a very just-got-it-out-of-the-dictionary feel to it, and not that I actually know and speak the language vibe. But, otherwise, not a bad little story of how you can’t go back again, and how the ghosts of a hundred kids haunt the halls of high schools across America.

“Annabell” by L. Lynn Young is the interesting story of a mother’s guilt, and the effects of that guilt on her daughters. Especially the youngest: Annabell.

“One of Those Weeks” by Bev Vincent is hands down, without a doubt the best story that From the Borderlands has to offer. This tale of one man’s deteriorating sense of reality is one of the best and most clever pieces of short fiction that I have ever read.

Stationary Bike by Stephen King. Think you know how every Stephen King story ends? I did. I found out I was wrong, and Stationary Bike was the story that proved it. This tale from the King of Horror about one man’s attempt to better himself through exercise, will make any of us think twice about getting on that treadmill, stair-climber, or .. yes ... that stationary bike. So, sit back, have a big piece of apple pie á la mode followed by a crème brûlée and sit back and enjoy Stephen King’s latest offering of the strange.