"Fully-realized characters and evocative prose distinguish [Clint] Smith's outstanding second collection."-Publishers Weekly Starred Review
In 2014, Hippocampus Press published Clint Smith's first short story collection, Ghouljaw and Other Stories. That scintillating volume, which simultaneously drew upon the rich heritage of classic weird fiction and infused a new vibrancy into old motifs by a vibrant prose style, deft character portrayal, and innovative scenarios, was an instant hit. Now, Smith has assembled his second story collection, and it features all the virtues of his first book while adding new touches that will broaden his readership.

The Skeleton Melodies features such stories as "Lisa's Pieces," a grisly tale of cruelty and murder; "Fiending Apophenia," in which a schoolteacher reflects poignantly on his past derelictions; "The Fall of Tomlinson Hall," wherein Smith draws upon his own expertise in the culinary arts to fashion a story of cannibalistic terror; and "The Rive," a highly timely post-apocalyptic account of the horrors that inequities in health care can foster.

Other stories treat of domestic strife leading to supernatural or psychological horror, such as "Animalhouse" or "The Undertow, and They That Dwell Therein." The volume culminates in the richly textured novella "Haunt Me Still," one of the most subtle and powerful ghost stories in recent years.

Clint Smith is establishing an enviable reputation as a leading voice in contemporary weird fiction. This volume will only augment his high standing in the field.

Clint Smith is a staff writer at The Atlantic. He is the author of the narrative nonfiction book, How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America, which was a #1 New York Times Bestseller, and the poetry collection Counting Descent, which won the 2017 Literary Award for Best Poetry Book from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and was a finalist for an NAACP Image Award. His essays, poems, and scholarly writing have been published in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, Poetry Magazine, The Paris Review, the Harvard Educational Review and elsewhere. Clint received his B.A. in English from Davidson College and a Ph.D. in Education from Harvard University.