Book Review: Professor Charlatan Bardot’s Travel Anthology to the Most (Fictional) Haunted Buildings in the Weird, Wild World Edited by Charlatan Bardot and Eric J. Guinard

 

Professor Charlatan Bardot’s Travel Anthology to the Most (Fictional) Haunted Buildings in the Weird, Wild World Edited by Charlatan Bardot and Eric J. Guinard
Illustrated by Steve Lines and James Gabb
Paperback, 452 pages
Published November 2021 by Dark Moon Books

Let me start by saying that this review will be filled almost to the brim with crazy understatements. If it sounds hyperbolic at times just know this is a super cool anthology and it would impossible to overstate the amount of work involved in this project. I have been on the record on many Dark Moon books.  I think Eric’s primer series is so good. Guinard really knows how to put a collection together and give the reader value not just in content but the product of the books.

This anthology whose title is impossible to shorten is incredible on every level. The amount of work involved in just collecting close to 30 short stories on a tight theme itself is a monster task. These stories are sourced from an international cast of authors with both huge names, beginning writers from a dozen or more countries, and cultural backgrounds. Big names like Kaaron Warren, Ramsey Campbell, Lisa Morton, Nadia Bulkin, Weston Ochse, and Joe R. freaking Lansdale. Just that feat alone is an intense act of editing.  

But this book is just getting started.  Add to it collecting almost 40 flash pieces – called Tiny from authors around the world that feature names like Cody Goodfellow, Poppy Z.Brite, Han Song, and many many more. These tiny tales are like seasoning but I liked them as introductions to authors, many of whom I have never heard of.

I am not done explaining why this is such an amazing feat of editing. Working with two artists Steve Lines and James Gabb the book is filled with so many illustrations and maps. Designing and formatting that is a ton of work. Working with the artists is hours and hours of work.

Next, you have to format the book and compile all the fiction into sections that are designed and set up by parts of the world. Stories from Asia, Europe, Australia and Oceania, Africa, North America, and Latin America, and the Caribbean. Each section had to have equal stories of the long and flash formats. I know this feels like people explaining why Peter Jackson deserved the best director award. Making three epics at once was crazy. Editing this book was crazy. From the point Guinard opened submissions to when it went on sale was a super short amount of time. Throw all the awards at him.

This anthology is fantastic and really impressive. It is not just that he did all these things. They worked and the stories are great. The theme is great, a playful travel guide to (fictional) haunted spots around the globe. Guignard had fun inventing a fictional persona as his Co-editor but make no mistake this is the product of one fantastic editor.

Let’s talk about some of my favorite short stories in this book. Some of the best are of course by the long-time pros, they are in that position for a reason. That said the story representing Sweden for example, Fish Tale about a haunted fish market by Eugenia Triantafyllou was the first story to really hit me. Maybe it is the vegan in me but fish ghosts work very well for this reader. “The creature she met was not vengeful or angry. It carried with it sadness for all the wasted time it spent away from the sea.” One of the more surprising tales was about a haunted Chinese restaurant in Barcelona Spain by S.Qiouyi Lu. This was a story-heavy on the vibe that will have me seeking out this author.  

As for the stories by pros. Ramsey Campbell rarely misfires, this is true here with a haunting piece. Nadia Bulkin is consistent as ever. Lisa Morton’s Hollywood tale is a great example of how she uses her native Angeleno eye for history like a superpower. Weston Ochse uses his experience in the country to write about a haunted tank in Afghanistan. While we are talking vehicles. Joe R. Lansdale’s Dead Car is a short but powerful tale that uses dialogue to bring the creeps. Neat trick.

Some other stand-outs include Above Aimi by Thersa Matsuura about a haunted Japanese hospital. Tidemarks by New Zealand’s Octavia Cade. Kaaron Warren’s haunting story about a dying parent making a last visit to a mine. Last but not least was The Case of Moaning Marquee representing Nigeria by Suyi Davis Okungbowa.

Those were stand-outs. I enjoyed this book from top to bottom and couldn’t be more impressed with the construction. I already had massive respect for Guignard, but this is some ‘we are not worthy’ shit right here. I think most readers might not understand the magic trick Eric and his Bad Moon press pulled off here. If you like horror anthologies and short fiction this is a must-have. If you are an indie publisher or an anthology editor you need to pick up this book to see how high the bar is being raised.