I read 'Blood on the Wall' in Home Improvement: Undead Edition, edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner.

DeFeo Montville, New Orleans private investigator specializing in occult cases, is pretty sure cult leader Austin Cramer is responsible for the pig's blood that keeps getting thrown on the Montville Mausoleum, but how to prove it? Meanwhile, who's responsible for some really grisly murders in New Orleans? Could they be tied to Cramer's Brotherhood?

I've liked Ms. Graham's mixture of the occult, mystery, and romance in those of her novels I've read, but this short story falls into the comedy horror genre, which made me like it even more.

a, DeFeo's ancestor, Antoine Montville, had been suspected of Satanism. DeFeo tells us whether or not he was a Satanist.

b. DeFeo works in and around the Vieux Carré (the French Quarter).

c. A shotgun house is a small house where all of the rooms are lined up with each other. (So if you shot the front door with your shotgun, the bullet would penetrate the entire house.)

d. I've suspected Ms. Graham of giving characters names similar to real persons' names, such as the historical serial killer in her Phantom Evil who shared a first initial and last name with an author of a book on serial killers. Could minor character Brian Langley be a nod to British horror writer Brian Lumley?

e. Mentions: Harley-Davidson, Aleister Crowley, Victoria's Secret catalog, Jack the Ripper, and the swimsuit issues of 'Sports Illustrated'.

Dog lovers: a giant Rottweiler named Juju has a small, but helpful part. ( )