Divination Hollow Reviews

View Original

Appealing Anthologies: Short Stories You Can Read in a GIF-y, Birthday Edition - Cinema Viscera and Beautiful Grotesque

Welcome to our 2nd Annual Birthday Bash as Divination Hollow Reviews!

We’ll be celebrating all month long with a series of posts by our team and esteemed colleagues and this year’s theme is “Going to the Movies!” Join us as we share themed content with special “tickets” for each category inspired by cinema.

Celebrate with us!

Appealing Anthologies: Stories You Can Read in a GIF-y, November Edition!

In which I (poorly) describe short stories with GIFs.

Covering both“Cinema Viscera” and“Beautiful Grotesque”

Cinema Viscera edited by Sam Richard

Note: These stories go pretty dark, take care and be sure to read the content warnings if you need them. 


The Watcher’s Digest by Katy Michelle Quinn

A Marriage of Blood and Pus by Charles Austin Muir

The Reassigned by Jo Quenell

Nostalgia Night at the Snuff Palace by Brendan Vidito

Where Carrion Crawls by Sam Richard


Beautiful/Grotesque Edited by Sam Richard


God of the Silvered Halls by  Roland Blackburn


Threnody by Jo Quenell

The Queen of the Select by Katy Michelle Quinn


Swanmord by Joe Koch


The Fruit of a Barren Tree by Sam Richard

Curious to know what’s happening after these mysterious clues? Purchase a copy of these anthologies here:

Cinema Viscera at Weirdpunk Books or at Bookshop.

Beautiful/Grotesque at Weirdpunk Books or at Bookshop.


I am not sure what to say about these two anthologies.  All of the stories went places I was not expecting and most of the stories are not for the faint of heart.  It is incredible that all the authors had the same prompts and yet the stories are vastly different.  All are beautifully written. Not all were to my tastes, but I am still interested in seeking out more by these authors.  As noted at the beginning, I would suggest reading the Content Warnings supplied in Cinema Viscera and read with caution if you need to.  But if you go in with an open mind, I don’t think you will be disappointed.  


Review by Teresa B. Ardrey

@teresa_ardrey on Twitter