Long before the film there was the written word. Long before we settled down in
front of video or now DVD players for our fright-fests, we would read tales of 
terror by candlelight.
For most, this has been lost, however there are still those that prefer the pages
to celluloid or even both and why not?
This section then is for you. To help you to search through the rubbish and find
stories worth your time to read. If you're an avid reader of horror novels then
why not join 'Castle Dracula' as an official 'staff member' reviewing them.
To do so, just click on the 'Join My Staff' link in the menu to the left for details
of this and other vacancies.

- A Choir Of Ill Children -
- Tom Piccirilli -

There is always a place in horror for those traditional southern gothic romance 
tales that involve legend, plantation houses, voodoo magic, alligators, and the 
sultry sweet nights blooming with orchids in the deep swamps. The world of Tennessee
Williams and William Faulkner is rife with romance and horror and Tom Piccirilli’s 
novel 'A Choir of Ill Children' fits right in to the southern gothic tradition set 
my these masters in the twentieth century. Recapturing some of the magic that the 
south holds, while creating an updated nightmare, 'Choir....' is a fascinating and 
spellbinding look into the world of isolation, fear and superstition that many small 
southern communities have created for themselves.
'Thomas' is a man who has taken over the Mill that his parents used to run. He also 
is in charge of the huge southern mansion that he inherited, along with his three 
younger brothers 'Jonah,' 'Sebastian' and 'Cole.' Three boys with three different 
personalities and three different names, but one brain. They are attached at the head. 
The disfigured Siamese triplets are completely dependent on 'Thomas' for their lives 
and their care, and are the object of fear and ridicule among the community. With 
only a young girl named 'Dodi' to help him take care of them, he finds his life 
unsettlingly empty. With a past that is complex and brutal, 'Thomas’s' family hides 
many secrets that no one knows, but that everyone suspects. These secrets haunt the 
family house and the minds of 'Thomas' and his brothers and seep into the community 
of 'Kingdom Come,' their small southern town. These secrets and dark energies that 
threaten to upset the entire town and all of its inhabitants are thwarted by the 'Granny 
Witches,' a group of women who perform voodoo and other forms of magic to protect 'Thomas' 
and the other townsfolk. However, they can only protect 'Kingdom Come' for so long. 
The dark forces are too powerful and it is up to 'Thomas' to unravel the mysteries for
his own sake, and the sake of his family and friends. 'Thomas' must come to terms with 
his relationships with several other characters in the tale. 'Maggie,' a girl he married 
as a child and now longs to be with as an adult, 'Drabs' his best friend and a prophet of 
God’s Words, his three deformed brothers, and his believed-dead father who disappeared 
long ago. 'Thomas' must also face a fear from his childhood that has haunted him for years. 
With faith, trust, and a little magic help from the 'Granny Witches,' 'Thomas' can overcome
his family’s past in order to create a future free of secrecy and darkness.
A novel written in 1983 by Katherine Dunn called 'Geek Love' immediately is called to mind 
when one reads the artful and interesting prose Piccirilli has fashioned. Like Dunn, 
Piccirilli writes with astonishing grace and power about deformity, isolation, and fear. 
With a quick wit as well as an artful style, Piccirilli writes interesting prose that is 
easy to understand but at the same time complex enough to intrigue the most avid reader. 
Weaving in and out of the genres of horror, romance, and fantasy, 'A Choir....' is none
and all of these things at once. 
With the imagination of Phillip K. Dick and the ability to weave nightmarish legends of 
Ann Rice, Piccirilli tells a classically gothic tale of modern horror. Anyone who is a fan
of fiction that transcends genre and flows like it should be on the literature shelves next 
to Flannery O’Connor will enjoy this book. Definitely original and well written, Choir is 
a refreshing take on the idea of horror in a modern novel.

Reviewed By Heidi Martinuzzi.

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