Welcome to the second iteration of Chilling Tales, the all-Canadian horror anthology. This volume is subtitled In Words, Alas, Drown I. It's apt, I think, because as an editor with an open reading period, it sometimes felt like I was drowning in words. It's worth it, though. As you'll see.
The first volume in this series, Evil Did I Dwell; Lewd I Did Live, was, by all accounts, a great success. Two stories from that first volume — Leah Bobet's "Stay" and David Nickle's "Looker" — were reprinted in The Best Horror of the Year Volume 4. A further 11 stories received Honourable Mention. Sales, as well, have been steady. Therefore, I thank you, dear reader, for making this possible. In addition, if you haven't read the first volume yet, I urge you to do so. You won't be disappointed. The hope is that there will be a third volume, and a fourth, and a fifth, and so on. For that to manifest, we need you.
In my introduction to Evil Did I Dwell; Lewd I Did Live, I postulated that not only was Canadian horror fiction as good as any dark fiction being written, but that it was, for lack of a better term, distinctly Canadian. A type of fiction writing that held a certain disquieting solitude. And I believe that to be true. Indeed, some of the subtleties and nuances may be lost on the less sophisticated reader — not you, of course! — but they are there just the same. You just have to peer a bit deeper into the abyss. That's why I believe we need volumes like this. Books that showcase Canadian talent, and books that take chances.
You see, this isn't your standard horror anthology. If you read the first volume, you'll note that there was a distinct absence of the familiar genre trappings, which, invariably, lead to musings from some quarters about what constitutes horror. How dare we try something different? Where are the zombies? Indeed, the habitual tropes — werewolves, vampires, zombies — are a very hard sell with me. That doesn't mean there aren't a couple recognizable horror tropes present in this volume. There are. However, they are written with such care and craft that they are fresh takes on the familiar. Contrary to what some may believe, I have no problem with anyone who wants to read about zombies and vampires. Read whatever makes you happy. But I'm mostly interested in new fears, the new monsters: bigotry, religious intolerance, racism, xenophobia, jealousy, secrets, despair, madness, and revenge. Perhaps some of those aren't exactly new ideas, but they are fertile ground for new approaches from Canada's dark scribes.
There are tens of thousands of books out there with zombies, vampires, etc. Some, like EDGE's eVolve series, are entertaining and do a good job with their subject matter precisely because of their conceit: they are looking at the trope with fresh eyes, free of jaundice, and taking a different tact. It isn't the same-old, same-old. Yet for the few books that do take a different approach, that do take chances and rise above the pedestrian, the mediocre, and the banal, there are also a number of books that just regurgitate the same tired clichés. So, to borrow another cliché: it's time to breathe fresh life into the monster. Behold the new monsters. Look around. You may recognize some of them.