Story 1: Silver Dollar Eyes
A ghost/human reunion bop.
3.5 stars

Story 2: The Resurrection Doll
💔😭 whoa. Isaac loses his partner and buys a doll in his image to take his place. 5 stars

Story 3: Angel Teeth
Celine is a meth addict who is given the opportunity to experience immediate relief from addiction. But it comes at a cost. 4 stars

Story 4: Transubstantiation
LOL. To any and all recovering catholics out there, you'll dig this. 4 stars

Story 5: In His Youth
blah. sports ball. 2 stars.

Story 6: A Most Bulbous Congregation
More for my catholicism baddies. I feel like Raglin and I had a similar childhood. 4 stars

Story 7: The Last Summer
“Bad things happen when summer camp counselors have sex. Sometimes the vengeful mother of a drowned boy murder them mid-thrust.”
True, true. Super short and super hard-hitting. Oooooof. 4.5 stars.

Story 8: Elevator Boys
A group of boys go into an abandoned building with an old elevator shaft. Super short. Dark af. 4 stars.

Story 9: Dead Rain
Wait, how is this one even darker??? Apocalyptic father and son duo. They’re the last of their family to survive and the food supply is about to run out. 4.5 stars.

Story 10: A Coarse Yellow Sea
A letter from a man whose son is at the bottom of a grain silo. 3.5 stars.

Story 11: What to do with Grandpa
A grandfather has a creative idea for his future bodily remains. His grandchildren and lawyers respond in this interview-style short story. WILD. 5 stars.

This is a good October read. Bite-sized horror stories that are often pretty horrifying. He leans a little hard into gory horror, but for the most part, it worked.

give me all the weird and strange horror, push the boundaries of what fiction can do, which some stories in this certainly did, but others I completely zoned out during and the endings were pretty typical, but overall, an interesting and unique collection of stories

This short story collection does something that I thought was impossible - every single story is soo good! Recommend! I received a free eARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this opportunity.

(Rounded from 4.5)

What a strong, dark collection! Raglin does a really wonderful job of plumbing the human experience to investigate what is actually horrific. These stories were remarkably subdued, yet didn’t ever fail to creep under the skin. The title of the collection is really spot on, these are elegies. They are songs of loss and mourning and violent grief, songs that both lament and forecast annihilation.

The collection has a lot of religious horror and a lot of unapologetically queer horror, but the subgenres and outlooks/tones of the various stories are still pretty varied. Some of them are amazingly short, and I say “amazingly” because even in their brevity they are able to convey a strong sense of character and place, all while delivering a gut punch you don’t see coming. There is a vulnerability to these stories, a raw wound kind of intimacy that both repels and begets if not sympathy than at least connection. I don’t know if any of the eighteen stories totally floored me or took my breath away, but a few came close, and they were all better than “just good.”

These are really well-crafted short stories that highlight that the horrific doesn’t need to be inundated with graphic violence or gore (though this collection has a smattering of that here and there, too). They are contemplative and spine-tingling, taking up just enough mental space that you can’t quite sweep your mind free of some of them when you put the book down. It’s a definite recommendation, and I am glad I had the chance to pick it up!

I want to thank the author, the publisher Brigids Gate Press, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I had a blast with these short stories, some of them were short indeed and I enjoyed most of them. My favorites are A course yellow sea 4.5, Transubstantiation 4.5, Angel teeth 5 and The resurrection doll 4. There is a lot of queer representation. Floaters- 4 stars was really fun and ridiculous story. Some of these stories are very weird. The weirdest in my opinion is Boning 3.5 stars. Overall I had a super fun time with this – 4 stars, just one DNF which was Til the sun wheel turns no more, I just don’t relate to stories revolving music bands.
Thank you to NetGalley and Brigids Gate Press, for providing me with this collection.

I do suggest reading the content warnings before you read! These stories are intense in my opinion. The stories are short and each story reels you in.