Cat Eye Glasses, Witchcraft and Whisky on the Rocks - Shirley Jackson is Back... in Spirit

Editor Ellen Datlow's new collection of short stories inspired by the infamous Shirley Jackson is simply SUBLIME. Believe me, I'm saying this as someone who isn't even an overly great fan of Jackson: each story in this book is magic!

In her introduction, Datlow explains the essence of a Shirley Jackson story as "filled with hauntings, dysfunctional families, and domestic pain; simmering rage, loneliness, suspicion of outsiders; sibling rivalry and women trapped psychologically and/or by the supernatural", adding that Jackson embodies the "dark undercurrent of suburban life".

And indeed, in each and every one of the 18 stories in this collection there is a piece of good old Shirley - haunted houses bring about madness, poisoning women in abundance, evil mothers, collective guilt, small-town horror...

As I already mentioned above, I am not the biggest Jackson-fan but it was a great pleasure to recognize traces of say, "The Lottery" or Haunting of Hill House or any other story I know by her in this uncanny and disturbing short story anthology. So let me shortly introduce to you the stories I enjoyed the most!

"For Sale by Owner" by Elizabeth Hand - I love everything written by Hand and this was no exception. The story is about three elderly ladies who decide to embark on an adventure and squat in an abandoned old house in the woods that is also for sale. They unfortunately regret it.

"Quiet Dead Things" by Cassandra Khaw - Malicious small-town horror that provokes a deserved revenge.

I hadn't read anything by Khaw before but have been wondering about their writing. If you missed the reviews of their last two books, let me just tell you that they're very controversial at the moment with insanely mixed reviews that range from sky high genius to erm... not so high opinions. I personally think that this story was awesome and if it is illustrative of their skills, I want more of it!

"Something Like Living Creatures" - You just have to love John Langan... Short, sweet and scary. Plus, spectacularly, Ms. Jackson herself makes a cameo appearance!

"Money of the Dead" by Karen Heuler - When elderly neighbors in a housing complex find "money of the dead", they have to decide what to do with it and not everybody's choice is wise. I didn't much like the ending but read the story breathlessly nevertheless and I'll read more by Heuler, definitely. I already stacked up my TBR-list with her books.

"The Door in the Fence" by Jeffrey Ford - Awesome story, awe-some! So strange too, and again, I was so enthralled. The narrator tells the curious story of his neighbor's wife, who starts acting really funny after her husband's death and ends up asking narrator to write the story of her life.

"Tiptoe" by Laird Barron - I have to admit that to me, this was the most accessible piece of writing by Laird Barron so far and I loved it. It's the story of a man who tries to find the source of his panic attacks and ends up realizing things about his childhood he maybe always knew but didn't see very clearly.

These were my personal highlights, but every single other story in this collection is great too - each of them combines the mundane and the extraordinary in a very Shirley Jackson kind of way. I can't wait to re-read.

The Shirley Jackson inspired stories found me at a time in my life when I was (and still am) kind of sick of reading the same stories about the same kind of people from the same countries always and it was a breath of fresh air in that sense; main characters that could be your next door neighbor, mothers sick of their children, old people, little girls with glasses, women who want to be free, perceptive children... They almost feel like not fictional characters but real humans.

Finally, I have to add I also really appreciate the physical book itself; the jacket, the print of Jackson's trademark glasses and the orange color, it is gorgeous inside and out. A classic. Look at that gorgeousness! Just grab it already.