Leslie J. Anderson’s debut novel, The Unmothers, is a chilling folk horror that delves into the darkest corners of motherhood. Published in August 2024, this slow-burn tale introduces a world where women’s rights are under threat.

With a subtle touch of Eldritch horror, Anderson weaves a narrative that explores the complex themes of motherhood, choice, and the lengths a woman might go to maintain control over her own body and destiny.

The Story.

Journalist Carolyn Marshall is sent to cover the story of a horse giving birth in the rural American town of Reaford. The attraction of this occurrence for a newspaper? That the baby is a healthy human baby boy. Marshall quickly debunks this story but decides to stay in town and follow her journalistic instinct to a bigger scoop.
Beneath the town’s quaint facade, Marshall uncovers a web of dark secrets. A drug epidemic is ravaging the community, immigrant workers are dying under mysterious circumstances, and the town’s powerful patriarch, John Daily, seems to hold everyone in his debt. As Marshall delves deeper into these troubling issues, she becomes increasingly entangled in the lives of the locals.
Through her interactions with the townspeople, Marshall hears whispers of a sinister presence lurking in the nearby woods. The locals share chilling tales of what a young woman in Reaford might do to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. As the story unfolds, Marshall must confront the terrifying truth about the town’s hidden past and the dangers that lurk within its borders.

Highlights.

I was never a young girl that oohed and aahed at the sight of a horse. After reading The Unmothers though, yeah, I get it. Anderson’s vivid descriptions of these magnificent creatures brought them to life in a way I’d never experienced before. The way she portrays their gentle nature, combined with their raw power and potential for brutality, is both captivating and unsettling. It’s a testament to Anderson’s skill as a writer that she can make even the most mundane details of these animals feel extraordinary.

Drawbacks.

The Unmothers is a complex novel that delves into the interconnected events of a rural town, both past and present. In the first half of the book, the sheer number of characters and viewpoints can make it difficult to keep track of the plot. However, there are a few pivotal revelations that occur near the midpoint. This helps certain characters become more prominent and memorable, making the story easier to follow.

The Final Take.

The Unmothers is a haunting and unforgettable read that will leave you both terrified and deeply moved. Anderson’s masterful storytelling draws you into a world where the line between the natural and the supernatural is blurred.
The novel’s focus on horses, a subject I’m not particularly knowledgeable about, was a pleasant surprise. I was fascinated to learn about the unique characteristics of foals, including the tentacle-like growths on their hooves which had me Googling for proof.
This book is a must-read for fans of horror, folk tales, and thought-provoking fiction. It’s a powerful exploration of motherhood, choice, and the dark forces that can lurk beneath the surface of even the most seemingly idyllic communities.

(4 / 5)

Released in 2011, Grave Encounters is one of the better-liked-found horror movies by both critics and horror fans alike. At least, that’s the opinion of the few who’ve seen it. For some reason, it’s not as well known as many others in the genre. So today, let’s spread awareness for this overlooked spooky gem.

The story

We begin our story with a TV executive, talking about an ill-fated reality show named Grave Encounters. He explains that everything went south during the taping of episode six. While the footage was retrieved, the ghost hunters were not. Our TV executive assures us that what we are about to see is not a movie, and has only been cut for time.

We then dive into the footage collected from episode six. The ghost-hunting team will spend the night in an old mental hospital called Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital.

During the night, the team does see a few eerie things. A door slams shut. A wheelchair moves on its own. Fairly standard ghost-hunting fair.

The real horror starts when the team isn’t released from the hospital in the morning. Because morning doesn’t come. The sun doesn’t rise and the doors don’t open to the outside world. Lance, TC, Sasha, Matt and Houston are all trapped inside an ever-changing hospital, with the patients who remain even in death.

What worked

The first thing I want to talk about, and the part that attracted me to the film in the first place, is the parody element. Fans of ghost-hunting shows like Ghost Hunters will recognize many of the same elements. The title even has a very similar font. As someone who loves a good ghost hunt, but often finds that these shows take themselves a little too seriously, this was quite enjoyable.

Another thing I loved about Grave Encounters was the effects. The ghosts were shocking, not just the first time we saw them but every time. This is even more impressive when we remember that this movie had a budget of $120,000. The creators taught themselves how to do these effects, and most of them are practical, not CGI. This would have been impressive if the effects were just passible. And they were far more than that.

Finally, I want to talk about the character development. We start the film without much sympathy for our characters. Especially Lance. Lance was so punchable at first. He was flippant about others’ pain. He was clear that he’d make up evidence if he couldn’t find any. And he didn’t seem too interested in listening to his team.

By the end of the movie, though, we care about him and the rest of the team. And it takes so little time for us to change our minds. We see TC talk to his daughter, and realize he’s never going to get home to her. We see Sasha care about the people lost in the hospital. We see Lance protect Sasha and the rest of his team. We see that these people, as willing as they are to financially benefit from other people’s pain, actually do care about each other. No one is a coward. No one is leaving people behind. That’s admirable. And that makes me give a damn about them.

What didn’t work

All that being said, it wasn’t a perfect movie. To start with, there are some questions we don’t get answers to. And not in an acceptable way. It’s okay that we don’t know what really happens in the end. It’s okay that we don’t know how the spirits manipulate time. It’s not okay that one character is simply eaten by fog. That scene, close to the end, just felt lazy.

I will also say that some of the acting wasn’t great. Especially from Sasha, played by Ashleigh Gryzko. I won’t say she was terrible. But her acting was overdone. She was also a bit of a scream queen. We didn’t learn much about Sasha, except that she’s the token girl. Her character could have been fleshed out a bit more.

Overall, Grave Encounters is a great film. Whether you’re a fan of found footage, ghost hunting, or just spooky stories well told, this is one to put on your TBW list sooner rather than later.

For Haunted MTL, this is Nicole signing off.

(4.5 / 5)

The gorse bush seemed taken aback.  It bristled and exclaimed, “A bush!”

“I am so very sorry, my Lord, I can explain,” the goblin cleric bowed in reverence, eyes glued to the ground.  Everything about his body language was submissive and nervous.

“Of all the useless…  How is it that I got reincarnated as a bush?!”  The shrubbery prickled, growing more and more agitated.  “I should have come back as a great King, or an Angel, or a Demon, or a dragon, or something even grander…  Hell, I’d have settled for returning as the undead Lich King Tyrant Boss-Man you all came to know and love and revere.  But no, that wasn’t in the dice.  And now here I am, A Bush!”  The spiky leaves trembled and rustled as they spoke, both emphasizing and decrying their verdant stature.

“Well, we were in a rush to revive you, after that run in with the goody-two-shoes 20^th level adventurers and the awkward retreat,” the goblin knelt before the bramble-vine.  “All of our best clerics, necromancers, and acolytes were tapped for spells or had perished in the great battle.  Those of us who got out of the caves were lucky to escape with our lives and make it to this little clearing on the mountainside.  And we desperately needed your guidance.  We still do…”

“That doesn’t explain why I’m a bush now,” the gorse stretched to its full height, about two-and-a-half feet of thorny rage.  “And a Gorse Bush at that!  Before too long I’ll have a stand of satyrs piping along with a centaur drum circle, all strumming up some fertility ritual at my feet… er, roots…”

“Well, I’m multi-disciplinary you know.”  The goblin spell-caster muttered and meekly shifted to his other foot, bracing for the inevitable, “Sometimes I get the cleric and druid magics confused a little.”

“Confused a little?” the bush growled, “Confused A Little?!”  The bush’s rage turned to magic as it burst into flames.  “I’m A BUSH!!!  That’s not just some modest little cleric-druid spell translation issue!”

The goblin shrunk from the blaze, “But my Lord, you are a mighty bush.  The greatest bush, really terrific…  The gorsiest, bushiest bush in all of shrub-dom…  Other bushes?  Losers!  We all agree, your Lordship.”  The trembling goblin horde in the scrubland shadows at the edge of the small clearing nodded emphatically in response, fearing their bushy leader’s wrath.  And rightfully so…

A tongue of flame erupted like a lightning bolt from the gorse and zapped the goblin cleric-druid where he stood, leaving nothing but a smattering of ashes drifting towards the ground.  The flame erupted through the goblin horde in a huge explosion that engulfed everything in its wake, leaving a circle of scorched earth covered in a fine layer of sooty ash, smelling a bit like cordite.

The bush sighed and took note of its surroundings, sulking.  It waited for some would-be adventurer to wander up the mountainside to find it there, where they could revel in its awkward awesomeness.  Seasons came and went, and time seemed to stand still for nigh eternity as the gorse bush seethed beneath its crown of thorny brambles.  Perhaps it should have convinced the goblin cleric to transplant it to a more trafficked location first.

If you enjoyed that bit of snarky fantasy, check out Ppppffffttt my previous Poised Potion Poison Potential story.

And feel free to check out more of Jennifer Weigel’s work here on Haunted MTL or on her writing, fine art, and conceptual projects websites.