Spawn: Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies - edited by Deborah Sheldon
“As physical beings that can experience pain, mutilation, deformation, suffering and death at any moment, we’re not safe. Not ever. Horror fiction - in particular, body horror - digs into this fear of vulnerability in a way that other genres cannot match.”
- Deborah Sheldon, Introduction
I won Spawn: Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies, a collection of short horror stories, in a book giveaway by Horror Tree. I was drawn to the cover as soon as I saw it, as well as the title, and I admit to saving the giveaway link on my phone so I could enter daily for the best chance to win. I was thrilled when I received the news that I’d won, and I was equally as excited to receive an email from author and editor of the collection Deborah Sheldon with the link to my copy.
Spawn: Weird Horror Tales About Pregnancy, Birth and Babies was released on May 3, 2021, weighing in at a healthy 266 pages, and was published by IFWG Publishing.
This collection of Australian dark horror is based off Sheldon’s 2018 story “Hair and Teeth,” which is also featured in this collection. Three bestselling Australian authors, Jack Dann, Kaaron Warren, and Sean Williams were commissioned to write stories for the anthology, and the rest came from an open callout to other Australian horror authors. Spawn is intended to be a trilogy, and after reading it I’m anxious to see what’s next. This first collection will wow you with sci-fi, dystopian, gothic, phantasmagorical, supernatural, occult, and demon tales. Buckle up.
Having two children of my own, and having experienced a series of infertility procedures and two C-sections, I was able to relate in some ways emotionally and physically to quite a few stories in this collection. Each author brings something to the table, whether it’s about conception, pregnancy, birth, post-partum, or surrogacy. I’d give a few more subjects, but I don’t want to give away anything from any of these delightful and horrific stories. I will say as a Kafka fan, I was pleased with this collection.
While reading, I had moments of disgust, awe, sadness, and shock. I cringed. I grimaced. I loved it. I enjoyed all of the different types of stories. Not one is similar to another, and that brings such a smorgasbord of delights and horrors. Just when you think you know what is happening in some of these tales, the authors surprise you and make your jaw drop. You’ll find yourself wondering how common some of the occurrences might be, and you’ll be glad others are so fantastical. Kudos to Sheldon for putting together such an intriguing collection. I’ve been a fan of Australian horror for a while, and I’m excited to add more horror voices to my list thanks to this collection.
My Top 10 Stories from Spawn (in order of appearance)
A Good Big Brother by Matt Tighe
Beneath the Cliffs of Darknoon Bay by Rebecca Fraser
Mother Dandelion by Antoinette Rydyr
The Still Warm by Paul Mannering
Empty Bellies by Ash Tudor
A Sense of Belonging by Mark Towse
Motherdoll by H.K. Stubbs
The Red Shrine (Fingerless and Doublemouthed) by Kaaron Warren
Saturday Night at the Milk Bar by Gary Kemble
The River is Deep by Kat Pekin
Over the past few years, I’ve stumbled upon quite a few amazing Australasian horror authors. I want to shout out some of my favorites, one of which is featured in Spawn. Please take a moment to check out these talented authors as well as my reviews of their works.
Find my reviews of their works and others here.
Here are just a few of the works of the Australasian authors listed above:
