Russell Smeaton

Excellent Halloween themed second issue of Ravenwood Quarterly. Once more high-quality standards are maintained, and in most ways I would say this issue is superior to the first. Standouts include the King in Yellow variation A Fall of Leaves by DJ Tyrer, the heartbreaking Eleven-One by Philip Fracassi, the very clever Turn Off the Porch Light by Tom Breen with it's a brilliant twist, elegant period piece Lady of the Hill by Scott Thomas, an awesome mini-comic written by Brandon Barrows with art by Stephen Sistelli called Episode 666, the dark gothic prose-poem hybrid The Reaping by Brian O'Connell which features sinister diabolical overtones, the creepy-candy sex-and-body horror story The Street by Russell Smeaton, two stories by SL Edwards; the darkly clever Cthulhu Candidate and a smart unreliable-narrator, is she / isn't she a werewolf story Skins, and then there is the melancholy history of The Preachers Tale by John Linwood Grant. Add to this mix some excellent poetry by Ashley Dioses, KA Opperman, Christopher Ropes, and Donald Armfield, a selection of brief-but-insightful interviews and all and all Ravenwood is shaping up to be a serious contender in the horror / weird zine world.… (meer)