Robin’s Review of Infernal Tramps: Tales of Weird Terror

Infernal Tramps: Tales of Weird Terror

A boy discovers his father’s oracular grotesque in a secret dungeon below their family funeral home.

An antique spiked collar transforms Philadelphia into a city that worships a dead dog.

A video game dominates the market for years and then disappears, except for one man’s memories of its horrors.

A mother with a trunkful of hungry, inhuman babies tracks down the family that abandoned them.

The warden of a penal colony offers to pardon a murderer, but only if the inmate can find the antidote to the poison wine the warden gave him.

A wealthy young woman receives a surgical implant that delivers more than just a shapely body.

Step into a world of fleshly titillation and fresh terror, a dimension of blood and consequence. But buyer beware! Crack the spine and these dark tales are not so easily forgotten.

Turn back now, if you can, or else become one of the…

Infernal Tramps!

Robin’s Review

Triggers: Gore, body horror, medical horror, rats, death, violence, disturbing imagery, poison, surgical horror, unsettling creatures, dark humor, weird fiction chaos

What Did I Just Walk Into?

I opened this book expecting weird horror and immediately realized I had not emotionally prepared for the level of “what in the haunted carnival basement is happening here” that was waiting for me.

Infernal Tramps is a collection of strange, nasty, unsettling short stories that do not politely knock on the door. They kick it in, leave something wet on the floor, and then ask if you are comfortable. No. I was not. Thank you for asking.

This is the kind of horror collection that feels like it was grown in a petri dish labeled “bad ideas with excellent execution.” There are cursed situations, disturbing bodies, grotesque surprises, bizarre creatures, and enough “absolutely not” moments to make me question why I enjoy this genre. Then I remembered I do, in fact, enjoy being personally attacked by fiction, so here we are.

Here’s What Slapped:

The variety in this collection is what makes it work so well. Each story brings its own flavor of nightmare, and none of them feel like they are politely trying to be normal. We get strange objects, creepy transformations, horrifying consequences, medical nightmares, unsettling family secrets, bizarre punishments, and rats. Unfortunately, yes, rats. My soul filed a complaint.

The stories are quick to read, but they do not feel empty. Mr. Grass has a strong imagination and clearly enjoys taking a simple idea and asking, “How can I make this worse?” Then he answers himself repeatedly and with enthusiasm. Respectfully, sir, who hurt you, and also please continue.

I also loved that the collection does not stay in one lane. Some stories are disgusting in the best horror way. Some are more eerie and strange. Some feel darkly funny, like the universe is laughing right before it pushes someone down the stairs. That mix kept me turning pages because I never knew what kind of nonsense was coming next.

The writing has a literary edge without losing the horror. It can be sharp, strange, and a little fancy in places, but it still knows how to land the creepy parts. This is not plain mashed-potato horror. This is the weird dish at the table that you side-eye, taste anyway, and then keep eating while wondering if it is legal.

What Could’ve Been Better:

As with most anthologies, some stories grabbed me harder than others. A few felt like they could have expanded a little more, because the concepts were so interesting that I wanted to dig around in them longer. That may just be me being greedy, but I said what I said.

There were also a few moments where the prose got a little dressed up for the occasion. Readers who like clean, direct horror may have to adjust to the style. Personally, I did not mind it, but now and then I did feel like the book handed me a dictionary and whispered, “Keep up.”

Still, these were small things compared to how much fun I had with the collection. And by fun, I mean the horror-reader version of fun, where everything is awful and we are somehow delighted.

Perfect for Readers Who Love:

Weird horror, body horror, grotesque short stories, dark and twisted anthologies, strange creatures, cursed objects, medical horror, unsettling endings, cosmic horror, literary horror, Clive Barker vibes, old-school creepy story collections, and books that make you pause and say, “I need an adult,” even though you are the adult.

Walk With Me Into the Dark