A Night of Screams: Latino Horror Stories

By Santos,Richard Z.

The movement of the old woman’s hands is quick and youthful as she works the dough for tamales on Mars’ dusty, dry surface where their cohete broke apart and crash landed. She, her husband and their only son survive, and the old man curses the coyotes who took his money for a rocket not built to accommodate his family of eleven. A storm is coming, and he rails at his wife that she’s wasting her time. “We’ll be dead by the time you finish your goddamn tamales.” This riveting collection of horror stories—and four poems—contains a wide range of styles, themes and authors. Creepy creatures roam the pages, including La Llorona and the Chupacabras in fresh takes on Latin American lore, as well as ghosts, zombies and shadow selves. Migrants continue to pass through Rancho Altamira where Esteban’s family has lived for generations, but now there are two types