Haunted Ecologies by Corey Farrenkopf is not your typical horror story. Strange things do happen, like the skeleton bird that comes to life, and there are “monsters,” like the creature in the condo basement, but they aren’t really frightening.
Most of the stories seem “average day” just a little spookier. You have Glen watching over the condemned condo. You have the researcher trying to prove wolves are in Maine. The thing is Farrenkopf writes these “mundane” events in a terrifying way. The stories remind me of campfire stories where it didn’t matter what you said it was how you said it. It reminds of an old cartoon show, I believe it was Johnny Bravo, where a character is telling a story that if you listen to just the words it was kinda boring, but it still terrified Johnny. He says something like, “I don’t know what he said; it was the way he said it.”
The way Farrenkopf formatted the book was brilliant. It started off with the sea monster. You think, “Oh, regular old horror story,” but then the next story isn’t monster-scary just normal-life-scary. Farrenkopf draws you in with a monster then shows you the real horrors of the world, like pollution and greed. I also liked how the story closes with a second part to Glen’s story. It gave the collection of short stories an ending. It made it feel more like it was a singular story instead of a bunch of stories jammed together. Then there was the call back to the wolves and Maine in one story. Not sure if it was intentional or just a fact of reality, but it sure made me wonder about other ties. It made the book feel more cohesive.
Joe Rover writes clean sci-fi fantasy stories, which are available at select retailers. Select books are available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook (digital narration) format. Some books might be available at your local library or bookstore. Check with your library or bookstore to see if they can be added to their collection.
Most of the stories were about the right length, neither too long nor too short, but some of them did feel a little long. However, Farrenkopf did an excellent job of making each world feel alive. Each character felt like a person, which is pretty impressive considering most of the stories were about 10 pages long.
Haunted Ecologies makes you stop and think about the real terrors in the world, like a mountain of extinct animals or a possibly pollution-caused mutant bird-lizard water creature. It did offer some hope like the pack of wolves or the humans who do care.
4.5/5
There was the story about the poem that could either destroy or save the world. It did have those strange creatures coming out of the sea. It felt more like a “traditional” horror story. So, there’s something for everyone in Haunted Ecologies.
Apparently, Farrenkopf has a newsletter on Substack.
Until the next wormhole…thanks for reading!
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“Mayday! Mayday!” shouted the helicopter pilot into his radio. The chopper spun wildly as the rotors smoked.
The passengers, famous singer Kim Clambake and her entourage, screamed and gripped what they could. The chopper pitched and yawed a couple times before finally stopping. The passengers opened their eyes; the helicopter landed softly in a giant pillow. A moment later, a man in a white costume and mask appeared at the hatch. “Is everyone all right?” he asked.
—Dragon Reign by Joe Rover
Joe Rover 
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