by: Antonija Mežnarić

During our “31 days of Halloween” challenge, of reading one short horror story per day in October, the e-ARC of Fearmoji: A Queer Horror Anthology, edited by David-Jack Fletcher, landed in my inbox. It was the best time for me to get my hands on this book, and not only because of the challenge, but also for that particular Halloween mood I was hunting for, when you watch horror movies with your friends, betting on who will get axed next, laughing over silly deaths, or dropping jaws in impressed shock when something creatively gruesome happens. This book scratches that itch, bringing you all that good horror charm, dark humor, and unnerving feelings in different flavors.

Fearmoji collects 13 short stories of queer horror that have one thing in common—emojis—the theme of this anthology. And if you want to ask ‘but why emojis’ you obviously didn’t notice how that creepy yellow smiling face emoji in Viber steals souls every time you post it on its own, enlarged and unhinged (or maybe you’re smart enough not to use Viber or emojis on their own). The stories in this anthology differ in the approach to this theme, from the comedic and bizarre to dark and disturbing, with various amounts of blood and gore spilled on the pages. We have urban legends, mysterious apps, cursed emojis, queer rage and sweet revenge, corporate satire, weird killings with confused detectives, and queer Jaws to finish us off. Collected together, these stories paint us emojis as a separate language, one you need to know to truly understand, while unknowing, not understanding, can be quite dangerous.

While I had a lot of fun with the book as a whole, as is true with any anthology, there are some stories that I liked more, some that are true gems for me, and some that simply aren’t to my taste. For a few of the stories I liked the premise and the idea, but they had something in them I didn’t like, either in clunky expositions at the end, or they were a bit too long and could benefit from shortening in the beginning or in the middle to pack a stronger punch. But all in all, this book had just the right amount of absurd humor which I love, mixed with serious and emotional, to keep me interested to the end, uncertain what the next story will bring. Not to mention all the creative ways in which authors wrote killings, deaths, and morbid body transformations to resemble various emojis. It was entertaining to see how each of the authors interpreted specific emojis and how they used them to disgust and intrigue readers.

I want to highlight some of the stories I particularly liked. Starting off with Sculpting by Gaast, a fantastic trans body horror where emojis paw the way to transformation. This weird and gory horror story, with a Cronenberg-like feel to it, reflects on gender, identity and gender expression, and brings body modifications to the extremes. Next up is The High Road by Carlos E. Rivera, a story filled with queer rage over transphobic and homophobic violence, and portraying fatherly love that can’t be stopped even in death. From the bleak beginning that had me tense, to the brutality of revenge that had me smiling, it was an emotional and hard, but satisfying read.

Similar in themes to the previously mentioned story, yet so very different, is When the Screen Lights Up My Heart Starts to Flutter by Ivana Geček, a well-known name to our readers. This story shows a masterful build-up of mystery and tension. When you know something is not right from the start, but can’t be really sure what or why, or in which direction the story will pull next, waiting for the new piece of twisted information to drop. Torturously unsettling from start to finish.

Another unsettling story with a rich oppressive atmosphere is Blood Drop React by Fendy S. Tulodo. In a style reminiscent of creepypasta, this story is an interesting exploration of emojis in the context of broader Internet culture, and its influence on people who are a part of it.

On a lighter note, I would like to highlight two bloody corporate satires: Molly, From Data Analytics by S. S. N. Smith, and 👍by David-Jack Fletcher. The first one, Molly, had me cackling. It’s a funny and entertaining horror comedy where I absolutely enjoyed the detached protagonist who was more concerned with her relationship drama than a string of weird deaths happening around her in the locked-in office building. The latter, 👍, is an explosion of pent-up frustration with energy-sucking corporate culture, and it’s a great example of how you can explain everything important without spelling it out.

And in a similar tone of absurdity and weirdness, the book closes with a wild-ride that is “Fin” by John Schlimm. Another horror comedy with a completely unhinged tale of a shark hell-bent on destroying emojis and sprinkled with the eat-the-rich theme. I truly didn’t know where this story would go or how it would finish. And the ending delivered in a way that had me laughing with delight.

I’m certain the anthology won’t be for everyone, but it doesn’t need to be. It just needs to find its right audience. So if you found something in this review that had you nodding along, something you like, or has you intrigued, do check it out when it comes out this December 15th from Slashic Horror Press. Especially if you like dark humor, weird horror, body horror, unsettling stories, and explorations of queer themes through emoji-triggered transformations. Treat yourself to this book and trust me, you’ll never see emojis on your phone in the same light. 👀

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beware: it will eat your soul