The latest issue of online zine Dead Lines continues its tradition of quality horror and dark fantasy. The strong names on the TOC caught my eye, and I was extremely impressed with the contents.

While there isn’t a weak tale among this pleasing mix of voices, my favourites include At the Back of the Blue Bus by W.D. Gagliani and David Benton, which involves a murderous game being played aboard an overnight Greyhound bus.

Fatter by Wrath James White features a desperate, weight-obsessed woman and has lashings of the author’s trademark under-the-skin discomfort, both visceral and psychological.

Mutilation Street by John Everson offers a gory slice of bizarro, before Jeff Strand gatecrashes the party and upsets everybody with the utterly sick and wonderful Mr. Twitcher’s Miracle Baby-Chopping Machine. And no, that title’s not a metaphor.

Mark West’s A Cottage by the Sea provides some goose-pimples in a creepy tale of a couple’s seaside break that oozes with menace from the outset.

With excellent stories from Tim Waggoner, Gord Rollo and more, Dead Lines issue 3 is well worth an hour or so of your day. And while it is free, I would happily pay for such entertainment.

I hope it’s here to stay.