<b> Thomas Tessier’s new collection is a culmination of a storied career in writing profound, erotic, and

ambiguous horror stories. </b>

Of all the 80s horror authors, who do you think is the least appreciated? Thomas Tessier would always
be my pick. Tessier’s prose is sparse but lyrical and through it he explored themes of sexual perversion,
loss, guilt, doubt, and helplessness in the face of unknown horror. That’s right; he was already digging
into Paul Tremblay ambiguous horror territory before such became the “it” factor in horror bestsellers.
Tessier’s first novel <i> The Fates </i> maintained its ambiguity throughout the whole book which is a
bold move considering the tastes of the buying public that time was for more straight-edged and
relatable horror. (In hindsight, that’s why Stephen King’s books sold so well; everybody can relate to
killer cars, killer dogs, and killer zombie-kids!) Tessier ramped up the intensity and ambiguity of his next
books, providing us with the perverted and disturbing <i> Finishing Touches </i> as well as the
mysterious <i> The Nightwalker </i> (What was the main character? Werewolf? Madman? A man
pretending to be an animal?). Even with the occasional foray into dark fantasy and crime, Tessier would
return to his ambiguous horror with <i> Wicked Things </i> and his apparently-final novel (God I hope
not) <i> Fog Heart </i>.

Is that all to Tessier? No, there’s still his short stories.

I was planning to discuss all 28 stories in this collection but I’ve learned that there is a word count limit
here. What I will do instead is to highlight what I think are the best representatives of Tessier’s work or
what I think are under-read or unnoticed.

1. <b> In the Desert of Deserts </b>

“Before dawn, as I prepared to leave, I found the footprints. I knew at once that they were not mine.”

A man travelling alone in the vast Sahara Desert in his Rover wakes up to discover that somebody was in
his temporary camp last night. There seems to be somebody following him for footprints seem to pop
up in places he stops for the night. After a while, he realizes that he must take violent action against this
man and when he does, only the desert will know what happened.

<i> In the Desert of Deserts </i> is the perfect story to start this collection. It is a masterclass on how to
make a compelling, psychological horror story that just hooks you right into the proceedings.
Throughout the story, Tessier makes you wonder and question the identity, purpose, and morality of the
main character; just who is he and what had he done to deserve this constant stalking? The resolution
might baffle and even underwhelm the reader but at this point the story had done its job: entertain and
scare on you with such a simple premise that is brilliantly executed. Oh and did I mention Tessier
captures the loneliness and the harshness of the Sahara Desert making it as if it were a silent and
indifferent witness?

Appeared in <i> Stranger: Dark Tales of Eerie Encounters </i> by Michele Slung and in <i> Best New
Horror 5 </i> by Stephen Jones and Ramsey Campbell

2. <b> The Banshee </b>

“… she began crying in a loud and piercing screech.”

Dermot is not having the time of his life: he has attracted the attention of an eccentric woman who has
an unhealthy attachment to him and -to make things worse- he has to go back to Ireland to take care of
his dying father. After a violent altercation with the strange and kooky woman, Dermot goes back to his
father and sister. But what is the nature of that woman and the dreams of death and disaster that
plague him since he met her?

With a title like <i> The Banshee </i>, you immediately wonder where this mythic entity is and how it
manages to be the driving engine of the short story. Tessier does not lay it out like that, as he portrays
everybody in the opening act to be perfectly human and a little disappointed in their lives. When the
“hauntings” start, you presume that he’s only using the Banshee myth in a symbolic manner; there is
really no Banshee but people who act like it. When you get to the end, you start reading the story again,
this time <i> carefully </i> since you might have missed something out. Is there a Banshee in this story?
Yes, and No, but surely there is the sense of creeping dread, something that I no longer encounter in
recent horror stories.

The redoubtable Thomas F. Monteleone picked this story for <i> Borderlands 3 </i> and he mentions
that he considered the tale a “subtle, graceful, emotionally charged piece”. I can’t argue with that.

3. <b> A Grub Street Tale </b>

A lecherous editor responds to a query of a young woman who seeks to know the details of his
relationship with his former client, a famous eccentric author who committed suicide. Thinking of this as
a way of seducing the young woman, he invites her for the night. But the woman has her own story, too,
and it is infinitely more horrifying than the broken life of any dead author.

<i> A Grub Street Tale </i> has been described in the past as a metaphor for the vampire-like
relationship between the editor and the writer and could they have been referring to the twist? Once
the woman’s story comes into play, your heart is racing and you’re curious as to how it connects with
the story of the dead author. As mentioned, a variation on the theme of vampirism is present and
Tessier would expound on this idea in several other works like <i> For No One </i> and <i> Lulu </i>.
(both included in this collection)

Appeared in <i> Lethal Kisses: 18 Stories of Sex, Horror and Revenge </i> by Ellen Datlow

4. <b> La Mourante </b>

Alex and Lawrence are two yuppies who are part of a hedonistic private club called Feathers. Unable to
be satisfied with his sexual tour of India and Southeast Asia, Alex longs for a more thrilling sexual
adventure. Lawrence suggests going to the infamous yet discreet island of Fado, an island <i> dedicated
to the enjoyment of “individual practices unfettered by national laws or treaties or international
conventions.” </i> The catch? You get to have sex with a dead woman. Alex goes to Fado and meets the
woman. But what was merely a thrilling challenge soon transforms into something else as Alex becomes
too infatuated with this oddity of nature and her charms.

<i> La Mourante </i> is about death and sex, specifically how the emptiness of life makes people pursue
the highest and lowest ends of sexual pleasure. Alex in the story is portrayed by Tessier to be a glorified
thrill-seeker and this would have been an empty character had he not added the fact that Alex is bored
with his life and wants to experience it in another level. In the ultimate irony, Tessier posits that Alex
might have found meaning in life through death through its gorgeous and sexy representative. Overall, it
is a very erotic and yet profound story horror story and its poetic ending will stay with you long after you
read it.

To help you analyze the tale, “La Mourante” means “The Dying”. I’m sure it refers to more than one
person.

Appeared in <i> Kiss and Kill (Hot Blood #8) </i> by Jeff Gelb and Michael Garrett. I can’t stress enough
the quality of stories that they have procured over the years and yet still be bashed by certain editors for
tastelessness. The story above is a masterpiece, and they recognized that.

5. <b> The Infestation at Ralls </b>

Van Helsing and Dr. Charles Pollard are called to investigate a strange case in an all-girls school in
Amsterdam. It turns out that one of the girls had been raped by an unknown assailant and after three
days, she is already pregnant. Van Helsing suspects the it to the work of an evil supernatural force and
he may be right. But where does this evil hide and what was its intentions in raping the girl?

After making us read a ton of serious, philosophical, and ambiguous horror, Tessier treats us with a no-
holds-barred supernatural action blood fest! Tessier wastes no time and throws us immediately into the
fray as Van Helsing and co. try to stop the evil creatures from well… killing innocents! Blood! Gore! Axes!
Mangled Faces! Shotguns! Van Helsing is back and he’s here to help!

Appeared in: <i> The Many Faces of Van Helsing </i> by Jeanne Cavelos. (This anthology contains a more
restrained yet equally disturbing Van Helsing story from Brian Hodge, so seek it out)

6. <b> Infidel </b>

A young woman gets the thrill of her life when she is granted access to the secretive library of the
Vatican. But as she makes her way into its bowels, she unknowingly discovers somebody, a person who
should have been dead a long time ago. What this person is and what he represents is enough to change
the world and end the Church. But he has to change her first.

I found <i> Infidel </i> to be my kind of horror story: one that is laced with history, written with nuance
and intelligence, and disturbingly erotic. Read it and be surprised.

Appeared in: <i> A Whisper of Blood: Stories of Vampirism </i> by Ellen Datlow

7. <b> Nocturne </b>

Tessier’s short tale feels safe from the get go, then it turns mysterious and foreboding, eventually
cascading into the grotesque and back to normal again. I have not read any flash fiction-horror or
otherwise-that made me experience those aforementioned beats. John Langan in the introduction does
a great job of analyzing this puzzling short tale and I suggest that you read the story first before reading
his analysis for maximum enjoyment.

Appeared in: <i> American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny from the 1940's Until Now (American
Fantastic Tales #2) </i> Edited by Peter Straub

I think these tales are representative of the themes and varying styles of Tessier’s work and I leave it up
to you to read the rest.
<b> Last Things </b>

1. After you read <b> The Ventriloquist </b>, ask yourself why Tessier chose that title.
2. The story that introduced me to Tessier’s genius is <b> The Last Crossing </b>. It is not in this
collection, but it is worth reading for the incredible restraint Tessier exercises for such a
disturbing topic. It is in the <b> Hottest Blood </b> anthology by Gelb and Garrett.