Rain Shadows by Clay Vermulm and Tamara Kaye Sellman
Rain Shadows is an anthology of Pacific Northwest horror. The co-creators of the podcast Beneath the Rain Shadow have crafted a spooky anthology. They spin four distinct tales of terror set primarily in the authors’ (and my) home state of Washington.
The anthology releases on June 12th. Thank you to CVF Publishing for giving me a copy to read and review.
With that background info out of the way, here’s my take on Rain Shadows‘ four stories. I’ll review each in order of how they are presented, before giving my final thoughts and an overall rating.
“Ghosting” by Sellman
Based on the title, I thought this was going to be a dating horror story. Nope! Emily, the protagonist and first person narrator, is a night nurse working in a Tri-Cities sleep disorder clinic. She’s mourning her father, who recently passed away. A new patient, Joe Godfrey of Kennewick, comes to visit her.
Like Emily, and her dad, Joe is a downwinder (someone who suffers from radiation-related health issues due to living near a nuclear plant). Emily finds Joe peculiar and intriguing.
The story details Emily’s family’s generational trauma and her futile attempts to receive assistance from the government.
Sellman writes with the smooth prose and expansive vocabulary of a seasoned professional. She’s proficient at giving us key details without bogging the story down with excessive exposition. I enjoyed the rapid fire narration style.
“Ghosting” has a baffling and bizarre ending. I don’t know how to even begin to explain, let alone analyze, anything that happens in the last few paragraphs. This was a little frustrating, but the story has plenty of impressive qualities.
Its theme (I think?) is the hopelessness and trauma experienced by families who spend their lives fighting a futile battle against an oppressive monolithic government.
“Nurse’s Log” by Sellman
Jen and Andy are best friends on a journey deep into the woods. The duo, undeterred by signs declaring that trespassers will be shot, continue their mission to locate and snatch wild mushrooms from cannabis patches. The journey is particularly arduous for Jen, who has MS.
They decide to split up to cover more ground (always a mistake in horror stories). Hidden trail cams record their movements. The cameras fire frantic alerts to the phone of a sleepy security guard, Noah, who we learn more about later in the story.
Let’s take a moment to appreciate a story about a close platonic friendship between a guy and a gal. We hardly ever see this in fiction! Sellman could have taken the easy way out and made them a couple. Thankfully she’s far more innovative than that.
Like the preceding story, “Nurse’s Log” is written in a smooth, amiable style. Sellman switches to third person this time. She alternates between three POV’s – Andy, Jen, and Noah.
This story’s resolution surprised and delighted me. How many of my readers have seen the original Creepshow? Remember the segment where Stephen King plays a bumbling, down on his luck farmer who has an unfortunate encounter with a meteor?
His fate is somewhat similar to what we see here, although in a completely different context. “Nurse’s Log” is an unpredictable and entertaining backwoods tale.
“Faultline” by Vermulm
Tanner’s marriage is falling apart. He watches seagulls swoop and soar while toiling at his humble place of employment, a shoreside bottle shop in Blaine, Washington (which sells gas but is definitely *not* a gas station, he insists).
Tanner reminisces about the heady early days of his relationship with his wife, Monica. Seagulls are used throughout the story as an analogy for their marriage.
They met while he was working at a convenience store in rural Montana. He’s instantly struck by her amazing beauty. She’s the most gorgeous girl he’s ever seen.
Tanner is so distracted and smitten that he lets Monica get away with shoplifting, which puts his job in jeopardy. He’s thinking with the wrong part of his body, but who can blame him? Not me. The way he describes her, I would have let this hottie get away with it, too!
Monica ends up at Tanner’s house that evening, and their relationship proceeds at lightning speed. Their early years together are happy. But the red flags that Tanner ignored become more apparent, and his life begins to crumble.
It’s not just that Monica is a sociopathic narcissist who uses sex appeal to manipulate people. She’s a literal monster – a succubus!
That’s my interpretation, anyway. The story leaves her exact nature ambiguous. In any case, it’s great to see a succubus -if that is indeed what she is – in a horror story. Succubi are criminally underrated horror villains. In retrospect, I should have included them in my underused monsters piece.
Vermulm writes in a clear, straightforward first person style. I was surprised by how dispassionate Tanner often sounds. I expected him to have more rage, but he seems resigned to the hopelessness of his situation. This tone fits with the decision he makes at the conclusion.
This is kick-ass story that had me enthralled from beginning to end!
“Tiger Tiger” by Vermulm
“Mad Misty” is the creator of a little-read blog detailing the abuses of Mooney’s Menagerie, a cheesy safari-style local attraction. Misty, an idealistic young woman, is understandably outraged by the menagerie’s controversial and abusive treatment of their animals.
After failing to gain the attention of the police or local media, Misty decides to go incognito as a Mooney’s Menagerie employee. She is deeply disturbed by what she finds. The animals never seem to sleep, and they are strangely catatonic.
What the hell is going on here, Misty wonders. As her blog starts to gain traction, she discovers that the menagerie is even more sinister than she imagined.
Vermulm writes this one in a completely different voice – that of a snarky, energetic green-haired activist with an (understandable) axe to grind. I always enjoy writers who have the chameleon-like ability to change their style. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought “Tiger Tiger” was written by a different author than “Faultline.”
“Tiger Tiger” tackles corporate heartlessness. The menagerie’s animals, and even many of its employees, are nothing more than commodities. These poor creatures are ripped of their souls and valued only for performing their zombie-like duties to the company.
Final Thoughts
There is a recurring theme throughout the anthology. If you’ve read carefully, you may already know what it is – sleep! Why did the authors choose this? I don’t know, but sleep has long been a popular theme in horror. A Nightmare on Elm Street comes to mind as a prominent example.
I mean, think about it! Sleep is the closest that most of us get to being dead on a daily basis. Remember that famous Edgar Allen Poe quote about little slices of death? Of course, we will eventually die if we don’t sleep, which perhaps is the point of “Tiger Tiger”.
Before I wrap this up, a brief word on the order of the stories. For what it’s worth, I would have arranged them differently. The anthology starts with its most challenging story, and it has both of Sellman’s before either of Vermulm’s.
I’m sure the authors had valid reasons for this arrangement, but I would have preferred that the stories alternated between the two. Also, I wouldn’t have placed “Ghosting” first.
I would have arranged them like this: “Nurse’s Log”, “Faultline”, “Ghosting”, and “Tiger Tiger”.
Here’s my rankings of the stories from my favorite to least favorite. It’s worth noting that all of them are exceptionally well written. There are no bad apples here.
- “Faultline”
- “Nurse’s Log”
- “Tiger Tiger”
- “Ghosting”
Rating
Rain Shadows is an enjoyable and fun anthology co-written by authors at the top of their craft. It’s highly recommended for anyone looking for creepy stories with a Pacific Northwest flavor.
Rating from 1 (avoid at all costs) to 10 (masterpiece): 8.5
