The Halloween season is officially upon us. During this time, I go out of my way to indulge in more horror titles and stories than usual. Clay McLeod Chapman’s ACQUIRED TASTE was a nice place to start.

Chapman aptly named this collection, as his work exhibits his own tastes and proclivities that often run to horror/satire directly aimed at the culture of our world around us. However, there are times when he steps away from these targets and conceives some horrendous events that ring true.

The following are my favorite stories from ACQUIRED TASTE.

"From scary to unsettling to just plain satiric, ACQUIRED TASTE shows Clay McLeod Chapman using his unique voice to cover horrific moments and thoughts that reflect on both the hidden and overt things in the modern world around us."

“The Fireplace”: This tale begins with the disturbing idea of tossing a newborn baby into the fireplace. The narrator confesses to battling this feeling for the past month. Behind these thoughts is an ancient evil that may be haunting the house and its inhabitants. The ending is indeed memorable and visceral.

“Who Brings a Baby?”: This story toes the line between horror and satire and is based on a premise that any modern moviegoer can appreciate. In addition to having to deal with those rude patrons who use their cell phones while a movie is being shown in a public theater, there has always been the taboo of bringing a crying baby to one. In this case, it turns out to be more than one baby, and they may be crying for other reasons. This unsettling tale has a great finale.

“Stowaway”: “The Family Vacation By Car that Goes Horribly Wrong” could be the subtitle for this story. Teenage Sara is having the toughest time of all dealing with her obnoxious little brother, a mother who disapproves of her swimwear, and a father who insists on traveling off the beaten track and hopping from one rundown motel to the next. It is here where Sara meets the strange man by the pool who then seems to follow the family to each motel and beyond.

“Fairy Ring”: The narrator’s mother is suffering from dementia, and one of the odd things she mentions is the fairy ring in their yard that she used to warn him about when he was a boy. She indicates that anyone who breaks the ring will have bad luck and that this is where the devil resided. Now, as an adult, he may be faced with just how true this warning actually was.

“Keep It Civil”: This exceptional story reflects on the modern-day cancellation of Civil War monuments during this era of wokeness and cancel culture. In this case, attempting to move, destroy or relocate these monuments could come at an unexpected price.

“Debridement”: This great piece of body horror could have been turned into a David Cronenberg film. Our narrator is facing some serious physical infections that demand debridement of the skin and more to get fully healthy. Of course, the solutions detailed in this story will get quite extreme.

“Nathan Ballingrud’s Haunting Horror Recs”: I enjoyed how Chapman created a short story using the work of a fellow horror writer, Nathan Ballingrud, to tell this tale. A small group of obsessive fans are on a road trip to see the bookstore that Ballingrud allegedly worked at. What they find may be more than they ever bargained for.

From scary to unsettling to just plain satiric, ACQUIRED TASTE shows Clay McLeod Chapman using his unique voice to cover horrific moments and thoughts that reflect on both the hidden and overt things in the modern world around us.