The Trees Grew Because I Bled There: Collected Stories

The book is a collection of 8 short stories. Even the first story is puzzling in an interesting way. A dialogue between father and son. Bodies is for Burning is super exciting. One experiences the dark thoughts of a woman with a penchant for pyromania. This becomes especially critical when she is supposed to take care of her sister's baby and the desire for fire overwhelms her. The woman in the next story also thinks she is a monster. Gender is an important theme in the book. Some of the characters are queer. For example in You re not supposed to be here. A gay couple is drawn into a devilish plot when their baby is kidnapped. The cover story is particularly disturbing. 2 people share a fatal obsession. The horror genre works well when the writer manages to build a dense atmosphere, and Eric LaRocca is a master at that. His stories are pure atmosphere.