OOZE: Little Bursts of Body Horror edited by Ruth Anna Evans
Ooze: Little Bursts of Body Horror is a horror anthology edited by author Ruth Anna Evans. It was released on February 16, 2023 and weighs in at 168 pages.
I’ve seen Ooze floating around on different social media platforms for a while and finally grabbed a copy for myself. The cover really drew me in. Ruth Anna Evans is a cover creator as well as an author, and I personally find this one to be my favorite of hers that I’ve seen. It really encompasses the premise of the book and promises from the start that readers will get some oozing, gross, putrid stories of pestilence and disgust. Excellent! Little bursts of body horror is a fantastic theme for a book, and the visual sells it for me. This is the first anthology Evans has produced, and it’s a winner.
There are 21 short stories in this collection of varying lengths, each being 2,500 words or less. Readers not familiar with body horror or horror in general might not realize the emotions that can be brought out in a well-written horror story. One gut-wrenching story in particular, “If I Carry You” by Emma E. Murray, made my eyes mist up and tugged at my heart as well as “Every Part of You” by Lyndsey Croal. On the flip side, I found myself enthralled and sharing in vengeful pleasure while reading “Dr. Parasite” by Rowland Bercy Jr.
Each story in Ooze has a unique feel. It didn’t take me long to complete this collection. I was excited to get to the next tale and see what gruesome things awaited me. Overall, I was very pleased and happy I purchased a copy.
I would be remiss to not mention Bridgett Nelson’s Foreword. Bridgett, if you read this, I get you on the chickenpox. I had one on my eye. This tidbit will tie in nicely later when I mention a personal body horror story I had which was resurrected in my mind when I read Cat Voleur’s story. Who knew a horror anthology could bring about so many memories???
As a bonus, there’s artwork by Ruth Anna Evans at the beginning of each story to offer a visual taste of what you’re about to read. It really added to the enjoyment of the stories.
As I like to do with anthology collections, I’ll list the stories that made the biggest impacts on me personally. These are the stories that stayed with me after reading or just plain thrilled me while reading.
My Top 10 Stories in order of appearance in the collection:
“Teething” by Cassandra Daucus
“The Last Hamburger Restaurant in the World” by Judith Sonnet
“Every Part of You” by Lyndsey Croal
“If I Carry You” by Emma E. Murray
“Dr. Parasite” by Rowland Bercy Jr.
“Cavities” by Monica Louzon
“Family Dinner” by Ruth Anna Evans
“Proper Contact Maintenance” by Cat Voleur
“Mommy Won’t Wake Up Right” by Dan Scamell
“Screwed” by Matt Bliss
My own personal body horror story: Cat Voleur’s story “Proper Contact Maintenance” reminded me of an experience I had a handful of years ago. I wear contacts. As other wearers can surely relate, when one gets off-kilter on your eyeball or folds up and gets stuck inside your eyelid, it can be painful and difficult to open your eye. I got one lodged high inside my upper lid one morning. I desperately tried to open my eye and pluck off the devilish lens. Instead, in my pained haste, I pinched several small pieces of my sclera off the front of my eyeball. This resulted in an emergency eye doctor visit and an intense 24-hour regiment of strong drops. Thankfully the next day, things were on the mend and I could relax - though the next time I inserted a lens there was trepidation. This experience brought Cat’s story to life for me!
Grab a copy of this collection. It’s a quick and enjoyable read that will take you on a visceral journey - one of my favorite things in horror. Two bloody, mutilated, worm-infested thumbs up for Ooze: Little Bursts of Body Horror!!!
Need more Ruth Anna Evans?
Get to know Ruth Anna Evans:
Ruth Anna Evans is a writer, anthologizer, and cover designer who lives in the heart of all that is sinister: the American Midwest. She has been composing prose of all types since childhood but finds something truly delightful in putting her nightmares on the page. She has published the horror collection No One Can Help You: Tales of Lost Children and Other Nightmares, along with novellas, novelettes, and several short stories. She is the editor of Ooze: Little Bursts of Body Horror. Her work has appeared in Livestock: Tales from the Un-herd, Deadly Drabbles by Hungry Shadow Press, and she will have work appearing in Dark Town, an anthology from D&T Publishing and We're Here from Gloomhouse Publishing. Her novella, What Did Not Die will be published this summer by PsychoToxin Press.
Follow Ruth Anna on Twitter @ruthannaevans, on Facebook at Ruth Anna Evans, on Instagram at ruthannaevanshorror.
***Taken from Ruth’ Anna Evans’s website
