ProleSCARYet

Name: ProleSCARYet
Rating: 4 (3 reviews)
ISBN: 9781736953228

By Eric Raglin

Publisher Description

Your nose is to the grindstone, day after day. You spend your work hours overworked and underappreciated, only to return home and deal with bills, landlords, and the ever-oppressive shadow of capitalism consuming you and everything you love. The horrors of capitalism are the horrors we all face every day, and they are confronted head-on in ProleSCARYet: Tales of Horror and Class Warfare. Contained within are nineteen tales of capitalism gone wrong--from designer children to deadly bosses, predatory lenders to plague-ridden laborers--all revealing the dark underbelly of economic oppression from some of horror's best independent and emerging writers from around the globe. In solidarity, there is strength against terror and fear. Let these stories be your guide, because, after all... "What the bourgeoisie therefore produces, above all, are its own grave diggers. Its fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable." -Karl Marx

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ProleSCARYet Reviews

4.0

Emmanuelle

Created 12 months ago

Haley

Created over 2 years ago

Justin Lewis

Created over 4 years ago

“For the most part, the majority of us are the working class. We have to go to work to earn money to live. We do this every day- rinse, repeat until we retire or die. Along that way we are treated unfairly, taken advantage of, made to worry about that next paycheck. One doesn't really need to add an element of horror to make these situations dire or raise the stakes, but in ProleSCARYet, that's exactly what happens in these 19 tales of economic oppression, in one way or another. Chances are you'll relate to the emotions of some of these characters; I know I did. Sure, maybe (hopefully) you haven't had these EXACT situations happen, but I've been treated and seen others treated the way a number of these characters have which makes a lot of this relatable in some fashion. I'm not sure that I'll always be able to do this, but I wrote a note for each story. I tried not to spoil anything and put "*" next to my favorites. That said, not a bad story in the lot: Variables - Clark Boyd: Pizza gets delivered to the rich flouting the rules during a pandemic. Means something different reading this in 2021 than it will later. Reminded me of THE RED MASK OF DEATH. That Ye Shall Transgress - Hailey Piper: Left home when they can’t afford to accompany their friends to Europe, the unnamed protagonist finds a channel online that will take them places. Disorienting in a good way. Salen’s Found - Corey Farrenkopf: Hal and his girlfriend are down on their luck when they starting getting pamphlets for a cult and wonder if that’s their way out. Couple goals! Beelzebub (Gas Station 1) - Nathaniel Lee Greeks: Night shift worker gets an offer he won’t soon forget. The description of the “customer’s” voice was very effective. Bearing Gifts - Ilene Goldman: Debt consolidation can be rough. I liked this story, but I’m not sure I understand the "rules". That’ll make sense after you read it. Sweet Meats: A Grisly Tale of Hansel and Gretel - Tim Kane: VERY different take on the story of Hansel and Gretel. I’m not totally sure how this fit the theme? Maybe the children were supposed to represent big business? That’s not a spoiler, but I’m curious if I’m right or not. Snap - Brennan LaFaro: A story about being disposable to your workplace. This one was kind of a bummer because part of it is probably true for a lot of businesses. Good story, sad truth. Eating Into Your Free Time - Derek Des Anges: Flashbacks of working retail with this one, though this story is set in a chain coffee shop. This one made me a little angry, but I think it was supposed to. * Suffer the Children - Laurel Hightower: An empty office delivers a message and more. Loved this story! On Probation - Donald McCarthy: A story about misplaced loyalty. This one made me mad. Turn-Around - Ty Zink: Turn-around is definitely a thing in large companies, especially when they can fire employees for anything and not give them a reason. Angry again. I’m noticing a trend. * Return Policy - Dustin Walker: Love this story. Science makes it possible to keep loved ones alive, but is it too good to be true? And at what cost? * Empty - Noah Lemelson: I really enjoyed this story. I’ve worked for companies that expected you to make the customer happy at ANY cost. Falling Apart - Tom Nicholson: Satirical take on working yourself to pieces. Sad but darkly funny. Blur - David Stevens: This story goes to some unexpected places. I’m not 100% sure I followed all of it, but still liked it a lot. *The Price of Motherhood - Tiffany Michelle Brown: Cool story about a woman who decides to “have” a child, no matter the cost. Alabaster Cities - Joanna Michal Hoyt: An entity seems to be taking over a town in this unusual tale. Really enjoyed this one. Peaveman’s Lament - Joanna Koch: I’ll admit, I had to read this one twice and I’m still sure I’m missing something. Beautifully written, but might have gone over my head a bit. CORPOS! - M. Lopes da Silva: A story about a monster of building. I liked how the "building" itself was described; I could see it very clearly in my head. After I got about 50% of the way in, I realized that I was starting to get angry. My empathy kicked in hard for a lot of these characters; lots of us have been these characters in similar (probably less supernatural) circumstances. There's a lot of injustice and hopelessness in these stories and all the credit goes to the authors for making me feel something. That doesn't always happen when reading horror and, in a anthology where we don't spend much time with each set of characters, I find it especially impressive. 4 out of 5 stars *I was provided an ebook ARC by the editor for review”