I Read Books: Pareidolia
Disclosure: This was published by Black Shuck Books, a small press run by Steve Shaw, a friend of mine I have known since we started secondary school and who gave me the copy I read.
Pareidolia is the phenomenon where one sees a coherent shape or hears a voice where none exists. In this anthology several writers have explored this idea. They range from creepy to weird, and from the phenomenon being taken at face value, a false signal emerging from noise, through ambiguous resolutions to definite things appearing from the background.
What Can You Do About A Man Like That by Tim Major is a story of Molly, a sound designer, who can hear different silences, create the correct sound for a film. There’s no creatures coming out of the sounds, and she’s not losing her mind (she’s a little obsessive) yet the story succeeds in its creepiness.
Meanwhile Joss Papers For Porcelain Ghosts by Eliza Chan is my favourite of the dead appearing in items (which comes up several times); obviously a little creepy this is more a story about family and heritage and denial of them.
There is a wide variety in tone and also theme. Although seeing and hearing things that aren’t there is mostly used as horror, other, quieter ideas are here too.
Read This: For some cool and creepy stories and also to support Steve, you know you want to
Don’t Read This: If images appearing in everyday things is too weird
In Addition: Daniel Braum's How To Stay Afloat When Drowning from this volume was selected by Ellen Datlow for Best Horror Of The Year Volume 12 suggesting that, at the very least, this story is worth considering as part of the conversation of horror.
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