Creepy. Gruesome. Sinister. Weird. The creepy house-on-the-lake atmosphere was good. None of it made sense, though: not the behaviour of the characters, the things they said, nor what was actually going on nor why. After halfway, incoherent. Would probably work better on-screen. ( )

This is a must read after you read the story (actually I recommend you read it first):
Ten Questions with Kelly Robson About “A Human Stain” Jan 22 2019 by Richard Thomas https://whatdoesnotkillme.com/2019/01/22/kellyrobson/?fbclid=IwAR2HAl6R4jr3F3TA3.......

I tore through the novelette. She writes very well and kept it suspenseful. But all is not clear by the end which seriously effects my enjoyment and my interest in reading anymore by this author.

The Q&A I linked above explains so much. That information, so crucial to the story's understanding, should have been worked into the story. I assumed the wires were to hold the damaged jaws closed. But no... mind control wtf!!! And to find out Peter is in a metamorphosis stage. I am not smart enough to figure that out while reading the story. It is genius in hindsight but I'm pissed that I had to find that out, outside the story. ( )

This is a delicious slice of Gothic weird horror fiction from Ms Robson, wherein a rather outre young Englishwoman is rescued from her Bohemian poverty in Victorian Paris by one of her louche friends. He employs her as governess for his orphaned nephew, at a remote Bavarian Schloss. Robson's writing is sublime, the language pitched perfectly for the mood and setting, and the horror nicely grotesque.


I particularly like that the protagonist's sexuality - in the manner of the era we should say she is (gasp!) a Sapphist - while it is part of her disreputability, is in no way a cause of her predicament, as it would once have been (and all to often still be) written; the sense is far more that she has been entrapped and her fate is very much in keeping with the kind of bleak inevitability found in all the best Gothic horror, and that we now associate with Lovecraft. ( )

Nicely classical gothic horror that happens to be an actual, nicely gruesome, horror. :) What is it about Germany and crypts, anyway?

Ah, kids. Nothing scarier in the world. ( )

So, quick take on this one. It's definitely creepy. Kelly Robson sets off right away by building tension, and it keeps you guessing for a good half of the story. When the actual cause of all this tension broke through the story though, I kind of lost interest. I don't know what I was expecting. Honestly. Still, the twist here was just a little too odd for me to wrap my mind around. Be warned that this is a bit gory, which should be evident by the title but I figured I'd put a warning out. Overall, not a bad way to pass a half hour or so! ( )