Ryan Whitley
@frryanwhitley.bsky.social
All things horror/fantasy/sci-fi. Whiskey and the Weird Podcast. The Bibliothecar at The Miskatonic Review for Lovecraftian and Horror Short Story Reviews (on hiatus). Episcopal Priest. He/Him. Same handle on Twit…X.
“Lost in the Dark” by John Langan. Org. pub. HAUNTED NIGHTS, ed. Ellen Datlow, Lisa Morton, Blumhouse Books, 2017. Read in LOST IN THE DARK AND OTHER EXCURSIONS by John Langan, Word Horde, 2025.
August 21, 2025 at 4:01 PM
“Lost in the Dark” by John Langan. Org. pub. HAUNTED NIGHTS, ed. Ellen Datlow, Lisa Morton, Blumhouse Books, 2017. Read in LOST IN THE DARK AND OTHER EXCURSIONS by John Langan, Word Horde, 2025.
“The Face of the Monk” by Robert Hichens. Org. pub. BYE-WAYS, by Robert Hichens, 1897. Read in HOLY GHOSTS: CLASSIC TALES OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL UNCANNY, ed. Fiona Snailham, pub. British Library, 2023.
August 19, 2025 at 1:08 AM
“The Face of the Monk” by Robert Hichens. Org. pub. BYE-WAYS, by Robert Hichens, 1897. Read in HOLY GHOSTS: CLASSIC TALES OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL UNCANNY, ed. Fiona Snailham, pub. British Library, 2023.
“The Great God Pan” by Seabury Quinn. Org. pub. in Weird Tales, October 1926. Read in: THE HORROR ON THE LINKS: THE COMPLETE TALES OF JULES DEGRANDIN, Vol. 1, pub by Night Shade Press, 2017.
August 18, 2025 at 1:52 AM
“The Great God Pan” by Seabury Quinn. Org. pub. in Weird Tales, October 1926. Read in: THE HORROR ON THE LINKS: THE COMPLETE TALES OF JULES DEGRANDIN, Vol. 1, pub by Night Shade Press, 2017.
“Madame Painte: For Sale” by @johnlangan.bsky.social, org. pub. In BEHOLD! ODDITIES, CURIOSITIES, AND UNDEFINABLE WONDERS, ed. by Doug Murano, Crystal Lake Publishing, 2017. Read in: LOST IN THE DARK AND OTHER EXCURSIONS by John Langan, pub. @wordhorde.bsky.social, 2025.
August 15, 2025 at 6:40 PM
“Madame Painte: For Sale” by @johnlangan.bsky.social, org. pub. In BEHOLD! ODDITIES, CURIOSITIES, AND UNDEFINABLE WONDERS, ed. by Doug Murano, Crystal Lake Publishing, 2017. Read in: LOST IN THE DARK AND OTHER EXCURSIONS by John Langan, pub. @wordhorde.bsky.social, 2025.
“Lot No. 249” by Arthur Conan Doyle. Org. pub. in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, September 1892. Read in: HAUNTINGS: TALES OF THE SUPERNATURAL, ed. Henry Mazzeo, pub. Doubleday, 1968. Illus. Edward Gorey
August 12, 2025 at 3:52 PM
“Lot No. 249” by Arthur Conan Doyle. Org. pub. in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, September 1892. Read in: HAUNTINGS: TALES OF THE SUPERNATURAL, ed. Henry Mazzeo, pub. Doubleday, 1968. Illus. Edward Gorey
“Still[er] Life, From Hunger” by Caitlín R. Kiernan. Org. pub. In Sirenia Digest #173, June 2020. Read in: BRIGHT DEAD STAR, pub. Subterranean Press (@subpress.bsky.social) , 2025.
August 12, 2025 at 12:57 AM
“Still[er] Life, From Hunger” by Caitlín R. Kiernan. Org. pub. In Sirenia Digest #173, June 2020. Read in: BRIGHT DEAD STAR, pub. Subterranean Press (@subpress.bsky.social) , 2025.
“The Chartreuse” by Mona Awad. Org. pub. The New Yorker, July 28, 2025. Read in: the same.
August 11, 2025 at 1:28 AM
“The Chartreuse” by Mona Awad. Org. pub. The New Yorker, July 28, 2025. Read in: the same.
“Passage to Dilfar” by Roger Zelazny. Org. pub. in Fantastic, February 1965. Read in: POWER AND LIGHT (THE COLLECTED STORIES OF ROGER ZELAZNY, VOL. 2), NEFSA Press, 2018.
August 7, 2025 at 2:21 AM
“Passage to Dilfar” by Roger Zelazny. Org. pub. in Fantastic, February 1965. Read in: POWER AND LIGHT (THE COLLECTED STORIES OF ROGER ZELAZNY, VOL. 2), NEFSA Press, 2018.
“The Black God’s Kiss” by C.L. Moore, org. pub. in Weird Tales, October 1934. Read in JIREL OF JOIRY pub by Paperback Library (1969).
While not a bad story at all, I had somewhat higher hopes for this one.
While not a bad story at all, I had somewhat higher hopes for this one.
August 5, 2025 at 4:10 PM
“The Black God’s Kiss” by C.L. Moore, org. pub. in Weird Tales, October 1934. Read in JIREL OF JOIRY pub by Paperback Library (1969).
While not a bad story at all, I had somewhat higher hopes for this one.
While not a bad story at all, I had somewhat higher hopes for this one.
“No Abiding Place on Earth” by Matthew M. Bartlett, org. pub. in Nightscript, Vol. 2, ed. by C.M. Muller (2016), pub. by Cthonic Matter.
August 4, 2025 at 2:02 AM
“No Abiding Place on Earth” by Matthew M. Bartlett, org. pub. in Nightscript, Vol. 2, ed. by C.M. Muller (2016), pub. by Cthonic Matter.
“The Bingo Master” by Joyce Carol Oates. Org pub in DARK FORCES ed by Kirby McCauley (1980), by The Viking Press. Read in the same.
August 2, 2025 at 8:55 PM
“The Bingo Master” by Joyce Carol Oates. Org pub in DARK FORCES ed by Kirby McCauley (1980), by The Viking Press. Read in the same.
“In the Lost Lands” by George R. R. Martin. Org pub in AMAZONS II (DAW Books), 1982, ed by Jessica Amanda Salmonson. Read in DREAMLANDS, VOL. I
Honestly, I read this because I saw a Netflix movie of the same name advertised and I wanted to read the original first.
Honestly, I read this because I saw a Netflix movie of the same name advertised and I wanted to read the original first.
August 2, 2025 at 2:29 AM
“In the Lost Lands” by George R. R. Martin. Org pub in AMAZONS II (DAW Books), 1982, ed by Jessica Amanda Salmonson. Read in DREAMLANDS, VOL. I
Honestly, I read this because I saw a Netflix movie of the same name advertised and I wanted to read the original first.
Honestly, I read this because I saw a Netflix movie of the same name advertised and I wanted to read the original first.
“Jack O’Dander” was tonight’s scary story & it confirms @priya101.bsky.social place among the S-tier of contemporary horror writers.
Her prose is exquisite & her command of characters & their motivations, their “moments before” (as actors say), is stupefyingly precise. The mother in this one…lawd!
Her prose is exquisite & her command of characters & their motivations, their “moments before” (as actors say), is stupefyingly precise. The mother in this one…lawd!
February 8, 2025 at 2:45 AM
“Jack O’Dander” was tonight’s scary story & it confirms @priya101.bsky.social place among the S-tier of contemporary horror writers.
Her prose is exquisite & her command of characters & their motivations, their “moments before” (as actors say), is stupefyingly precise. The mother in this one…lawd!
Her prose is exquisite & her command of characters & their motivations, their “moments before” (as actors say), is stupefyingly precise. The mother in this one…lawd!
Someone in another group asked what was the best horror anthology around. I said it was a tie: David Hartwell’s THE DARK DESCENT and Kirby McCauley’s DARK FORCES. What say you?
February 8, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Someone in another group asked what was the best horror anthology around. I said it was a tie: David Hartwell’s THE DARK DESCENT and Kirby McCauley’s DARK FORCES. What say you?
Read Ray Cluley’s story in Best Horror of the Year Vol. 16 tonight and man, was it good! I’m reading them in order; this was the standout of the first four by far. Told in kind of an old style, it details the demise of a village woman and only gives dark hints to the why. Subtle, deft, & brilliant.
February 3, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Read Ray Cluley’s story in Best Horror of the Year Vol. 16 tonight and man, was it good! I’m reading them in order; this was the standout of the first four by far. Told in kind of an old style, it details the demise of a village woman and only gives dark hints to the why. Subtle, deft, & brilliant.
The Christmas haul! 📚
December 27, 2024 at 6:52 PM
The Christmas haul! 📚
2024 Books Read #44
WARBREAKER by Brandon Sanderson
3 ⭐️ - Like every other Sanderson book I’ve read (Elantris, Mistborn era 1) I enjoyed the read but was underwhelmed by the plot. The characters and magic and all that are interesting (if a bit too tidy)…
WARBREAKER by Brandon Sanderson
3 ⭐️ - Like every other Sanderson book I’ve read (Elantris, Mistborn era 1) I enjoyed the read but was underwhelmed by the plot. The characters and magic and all that are interesting (if a bit too tidy)…
December 16, 2024 at 2:29 PM
2024 Books Read #44
WARBREAKER by Brandon Sanderson
3 ⭐️ - Like every other Sanderson book I’ve read (Elantris, Mistborn era 1) I enjoyed the read but was underwhelmed by the plot. The characters and magic and all that are interesting (if a bit too tidy)…
WARBREAKER by Brandon Sanderson
3 ⭐️ - Like every other Sanderson book I’ve read (Elantris, Mistborn era 1) I enjoyed the read but was underwhelmed by the plot. The characters and magic and all that are interesting (if a bit too tidy)…
2024 Short Stories Read #95
“The Old Nurse’s Story”
By Elizabeth Gaskell
A snowy, creepy ghost story of generational trauma, patriarchy, and sibling hatred. Delightful. The house in this story might be my favorite haunted house now.
“The Old Nurse’s Story”
By Elizabeth Gaskell
A snowy, creepy ghost story of generational trauma, patriarchy, and sibling hatred. Delightful. The house in this story might be my favorite haunted house now.
December 13, 2024 at 2:33 PM
2024 Short Stories Read #95
“The Old Nurse’s Story”
By Elizabeth Gaskell
A snowy, creepy ghost story of generational trauma, patriarchy, and sibling hatred. Delightful. The house in this story might be my favorite haunted house now.
“The Old Nurse’s Story”
By Elizabeth Gaskell
A snowy, creepy ghost story of generational trauma, patriarchy, and sibling hatred. Delightful. The house in this story might be my favorite haunted house now.
2024 Short Stories Read #94
“In a Cavern, In a Canyon” by Laird Barron.
Thought I’d read this before but I don’t think so. Creepy monster tale that wanders a bit but in the end is very effective. I do not advise reading while camping.
“In a Cavern, In a Canyon” by Laird Barron.
Thought I’d read this before but I don’t think so. Creepy monster tale that wanders a bit but in the end is very effective. I do not advise reading while camping.
December 12, 2024 at 2:55 AM
2024 Short Stories Read #94
“In a Cavern, In a Canyon” by Laird Barron.
Thought I’d read this before but I don’t think so. Creepy monster tale that wanders a bit but in the end is very effective. I do not advise reading while camping.
“In a Cavern, In a Canyon” by Laird Barron.
Thought I’d read this before but I don’t think so. Creepy monster tale that wanders a bit but in the end is very effective. I do not advise reading while camping.
2024 Books Read #43
THE PREFECT by Alastair Reynolds
4.25 ⭐️ - Reynolds proves, over and over again, to be a master of intimate stories played out over cosmically enormous backdrops. I always love how his sci-fi dips a few toes into horror.
THE PREFECT by Alastair Reynolds
4.25 ⭐️ - Reynolds proves, over and over again, to be a master of intimate stories played out over cosmically enormous backdrops. I always love how his sci-fi dips a few toes into horror.
November 27, 2024 at 5:22 PM
2024 Books Read #43
THE PREFECT by Alastair Reynolds
4.25 ⭐️ - Reynolds proves, over and over again, to be a master of intimate stories played out over cosmically enormous backdrops. I always love how his sci-fi dips a few toes into horror.
THE PREFECT by Alastair Reynolds
4.25 ⭐️ - Reynolds proves, over and over again, to be a master of intimate stories played out over cosmically enormous backdrops. I always love how his sci-fi dips a few toes into horror.
I watched HERETIC this afternoon and my goodness, what a bloody masterclass in acting by Hugh Grant. Serious dread and edge of your seat anxiety throughout! That aside, were I an acting coach, I’d make my students watch this over and over again.
November 18, 2024 at 2:39 AM
I watched HERETIC this afternoon and my goodness, what a bloody masterclass in acting by Hugh Grant. Serious dread and edge of your seat anxiety throughout! That aside, were I an acting coach, I’d make my students watch this over and over again.
2024 Short Stories Read #93
“Ymir” by John Langan
Had to stay up to switch the kid’s laundry over to the dryer last night and so chose some Langan to keep me awake. What an awesome story, and the ways it slipcases into the Barron-Verse were super fun. Oh yeah, and it's creepy!
“Ymir” by John Langan
Had to stay up to switch the kid’s laundry over to the dryer last night and so chose some Langan to keep me awake. What an awesome story, and the ways it slipcases into the Barron-Verse were super fun. Oh yeah, and it's creepy!
November 15, 2024 at 12:59 AM
2024 Short Stories Read #93
“Ymir” by John Langan
Had to stay up to switch the kid’s laundry over to the dryer last night and so chose some Langan to keep me awake. What an awesome story, and the ways it slipcases into the Barron-Verse were super fun. Oh yeah, and it's creepy!
“Ymir” by John Langan
Had to stay up to switch the kid’s laundry over to the dryer last night and so chose some Langan to keep me awake. What an awesome story, and the ways it slipcases into the Barron-Verse were super fun. Oh yeah, and it's creepy!
Here’s a book of stories I don’t see talked about nearly enough. Livia Llewellyn’s FURNACE. Her story “Stabilimentum” here has and likely always will stick with me, like waking through a spider web.
November 14, 2024 at 1:25 AM
Here’s a book of stories I don’t see talked about nearly enough. Livia Llewellyn’s FURNACE. Her story “Stabilimentum” here has and likely always will stick with me, like waking through a spider web.
Oh hey! Now hitting the first novel in the Alastair Reynolds ‘Revelation Space’ universe chronological reading order. Several novellas came before this. I have not read THE PREFECT before and so far it is awesome. Cocoa, however, turns up her nose at it.
November 11, 2024 at 1:18 PM
Oh hey! Now hitting the first novel in the Alastair Reynolds ‘Revelation Space’ universe chronological reading order. Several novellas came before this. I have not read THE PREFECT before and so far it is awesome. Cocoa, however, turns up her nose at it.
Of a Saturday morning, my reading buddy and I.
June 8, 2024 at 3:19 PM
Of a Saturday morning, my reading buddy and I.