Synopsis:
With fourteen horror stories set during the decade of flannel shirts and neon dolphin Trapper Keepers, AHH! That’s What I Call Horror features a PHAT (pretty horrific and terrifying) collection of totally rad horror and weird fiction authors exploring the darker side of what many consider a time of relative peace and prosperity. With Communism falling and Clear Channel rising, the horror of the 1990s requires peeling back layers of safe, sanitized media to reveal the nightmares waiting beneath. When it comes to ‘90s horror, this is one anthology guaranteed to be all that and a bag of haunted chips.
You won’t need a dial-up connection to reach the beyond in this time-warp to the ‘90s. With undead grunge rock icons, menacing action figures, family sitcoms gone very wrong, and more: these terror tales will return you to the end of the old millennium.
How will you get back?
Like, who says you will?
My Edition:
Paperback
My Thoughts:
AHH! That’s What I Call Horror is a fun, spooky time machine back to the 90s. Which sucked, but also had some high points (believe me, I was there).
This is a really fun book. There’s music, and Blockbusters, and folk horror.
Wait – mini rant incoming: why does everyone remember Blockbuster so fondly now. They actually sucked pretty hard. They didn’t keep jack for genre stuff, they edited their movies, and their late fees were absurd. I’m a Hollywood Video girl myself. Blockbuster can cram it. Also, remember when video cassettes were, like, literally $100?! And you had to go to Suncoast and ask them to order them for you? I paid $65 for Strangeland at Suncoast. No joke.
Ok, back to the book. There are a lot of fantastic stories here. Among my favorites are:
- “The Harvest Queen” by Bridget D. Brave – a folk horror tale set inside a high school dance hall.
- “Between the Barbie and the Deep-Blue Ranger” by Christopher O’Halloran – babysitting is SCARY STUFF
- “Caution: Choking Hazard” by Mathew Wend – “Stay hydrated, Cabbage Bitch!”
If you lived through the 90s, or for some reason think the 90s seems totally cool (you’d be wrong, but I understand why you’d think that since at this point I think we only look at the highlights reel), you’re probably going to enjoy AHH! That’s What I Call Horror plenty. I know I did.
Although, if you look at that Instagram caption, I’m wondering how we failed to explore the horrors of 90s-era hair gadgets. It is a ripe field right there for the picking. Maybe there will be another one? Maybe I can submit something about the Topsytail slowly but methodically twisting personalities or doing general brain-ripping? Maybe Gak becomes sentient and starts blobbing kids? Mighty Max rampage? I don’t know. I’m just saying things.
Rating:
Like I said, this is a solid collection. You should definitely give it a go. Also, Cassie Daley’s artwork on the cover is FANTASTIC.
AHH! That’s What I Call Horror: An Anthology of '90s Horror
Edited by: Chelsea Pumpkins
PIT
Published: January 1, 2023
ISBN: 9798215796863
Paperback, Ebook
293 Pages
