Pay the Piper

A modern horror author teams up with a horror-cinema legend to create a modern monstrous spin on Southern gothic fiction. Kraus (Whalefall) found this half-finished novel among the personal effects of the late horror director Romero, who died in 2017. Working with Romero’s estate, Kraus has finished this story about the denizens of swampy Alligator’s Point, LA. Many in the Point lead hardscrabble lives, and several who are desperate for something different are also selling their property to oil companies to drill. As the residents of the Point try to escape the pull of the swamp, the Piper, a creature seemingly straight out of fairy tales who has sworn vengeance on the town, is luring local children away to be brutally killed. Many in the Point know of this terror, but soon their ancestors’ sins will have them all paying the Piper. Those horror fans expecting classically Romero zombie hijinks from this novel might be disappointed, but there’s plenty of gory description to satisfy them. Not only is this deliciously gruesome book teeming with classic Southern gothic trappings, it also resonates with a socially conscious message.