Acquired Taste by Clay McLeod Chapman

I would like to thank Titan for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher - Titan

Published - Out Now

Price - £18.99 hardback £9.99 ebook

They're feeding on you too.

A father returns from serving in Vietnam with a strange and terrifying addiction; a man removes something horrifying from his fireplace, and becomes desperate to return it; and a right-wing news channel has its hooks in people in more ways than one. 

From department store Santas to ghost boyfriends and salamander-worshipping nuns; from the claustrophobia of the Covid-19 pandemic to small-town Chesapeake USA, Clay McLeod Chapman takes universal fears of parenthood, addiction and political divisions and makes them uniquely his own. 

Packed full of humanity, humour and above all, relentless creeping dread, Acquired Taste is a timely descent into the mind of one of modern horror's finest authors. 

Horror stories come in all sorts from not taking a book with you on holiday to tales that get under the skin, sometimes takeoff the skin or sometimes just without anything too graphic unnerve a reader. In Clay McCleod Chapman’s very interesting collection Acquired Taste we get a great assortment of tales to disturb a reader in all sorts of interesting ways.

Among the stories I enjoyed were

The Fireplace - a young family enter a new home and the very first words about the father thinking of casually tossing a bat in the fireplace grabs you with a cold hook. Our new parents are delighted with their first family home but wondering about the previous occupants brings with it a growing feeling of danger rising for very good reason.

Cyan, magentas yellow and key

A ultra conservative pastor has decided to use a scout troop to destroy the true dangers of the world - horror comics. I really liked how here we ponder who is the more horrific as the moral panic of the 50/60s is contrasted with the pastor’s bullying of the young. As expected things don’t go to plan and the story moves into very interesting weird deranged horror that a good horror comic would be proud of creating.

Who brings a baby?

Our narrator loves the cinema and hates being disturbed. While most may initially sympathise his attitude to those with young children may soon turn us against him. A dark room where you can’t quite see who you’re sneering at has a weakness and then tectonic changes delightfully into something monstrous.

The Spew of News

A disturbing tale of a man finding his parents addicted to right wing new channels have become infected in now even more terrifying ways. The horror of finding your parents changing into something you can’t control is very strong in this one.

Stowaway

A family go on a lengthy road trip and the teenage daughter is unhappy at the many rules and boring side trips that means she is missing out on summer with her friends. Chapman in our character’s narration captures that frustrated young person’s voice so well but the a chance encounter with an enigmatic stranger who appears to follow her means the story has without anything too graphic gets a feeling that something has now decided to pay attention to her.

Baby Carrots

An unusual title for an unusual story mixing the weird and body horror. A ma is often frustrated by their baby’s constant love of baby carrots and there are tensions in the marriage but things get very worse when he thinks carrots are attacking him. It’s a ride of a story and gets very disturbing and gruesome fast!

Room With A Boo

Our main character realises their department is haunted but this tale has a fine question who is being haunted more?

Pump and dump

Again the weird and body horror combine with parenthood as this time a father finds himself compelled to try a breast bump and discovers a new Lewis he loves to drink. It gets even stranger and creepier from there…

Pick of the litter

A proud parent watches the kids at a playground and this mischievous short story tells you what then is actually going on and the way it is slyly told is very effective.

Knockoffs

A fathers finds a strange ugly toy in their house and this escalates massively. The feeling parents have that toys take over a house has nothing on what Tubby Wubbies can do. The mix of humour and terror here really works!

Psychic Santa

This is a melancholic tale where a store Santa tells us his life story. Why does he do this job and it’s not nearly as heartwarming as you’d like but it’s also carries powerful story of penance and packs a punch in when we discover why he is so popular.

Sweetmeat

A father watches his teenage son go on Halloween out alone and decides to just okay his own tricks. An unusual sweet found though causes him havoc this story starts in domestic normality but again does very nightmarish and disturbing particularly at what this addictive seeet makes him do.

Nail On The Head

One of the most disturbing takes for me was this one as a man is puzzled why he is holding a hammer. Nothing is to expect but as we put the clues together this story gets very very scary fast. No explanation we get will make us feel better.

Hermit

Another tale that gets under the skin. A parent hearing about how his child is in school thinks there is a simple explanation. It’s not though ata ll and a simple pet causes a story that either is a monster tale or spending very very wrong with someone that no one has realised. This one is quite powerful in where it goes.

Nathan Ballingrud’s Haunting Stories

In a delightfully dark meta tale our narrator seek out real life horror author Ballingrud and gets more than they bargained for. A little light(ish) relief to close the collection.

This is a wonderfully diverse set of tales and many theme emerge from parenthood, US politics and growing old. I highly recommend it for horror fans seeking something to help make you shiver on a dark night.