Title: A Wisconsin Harvest of Horror by Horror Writers Association--Wisconsin Chapter 

Authors: Margie Sponholz,  J.L.Royce Brent, Michael Kelley, Steve Fox, Dean H. Wild, Nora B. Peevy, Natasha Morningstarr, David J. Rank, Nikki Kallio, Christopher Welch, Christopher A. Micklos, Jessica Drake-Thomas, Elise Posledni ,Dean M. King

Publisher / Publication date: Wisconsin Writers Association Press (March 3, 2026)

Language: English

Format / # of Pages: Softcover, Hardcover, ebook, 230 pages

Genre: Horror

ISBN Paperback: 979-8-3493-4116-8

ISBN Hardcover: 979-8-3493-4143-4

ISBN ebook: 979-8-3493-4140-3

Reviewed by: Bibi Belford

http://bibibelford.com

Short Stories. Long Hauntings. 

This review is for non-horror readers like me. Those who like All Creatures Great and Small, Remarkably Bright Creatures, or A Man Called Ove. Those who leave the porch light on when home alone. Trust me when I tell you these shorts are creepy and clever, contemplative and evocative, innovative and nostalgic. And they are horrorful, but we of faint heart can read them and enjoy the tingle. Like an intense wasabi bite, or a landing at Chicago’s Midway Airport. Knowing that after the shuddering, life will resume. 

I’m a wannabe Wisconsinite, or is it a Winsonsonian? Tied to the dairied and diverse region by my Swedish relatives and eager to hear tales about my mother’s glaciated state. So, as I read, I clung to the image-filled writing of hodags, northern woods, and lonely parks. Stories set in Door County—where I spent my honeymoon, Whitewater—where we fill our water bottles, Milwaukee—where we brewery hop, and other wilder regions, where mosquitoes have stolen my blood.

I found these tales imaginative and inventive with eclectic characters, twisted plots, and ingenious horror devices. And to be honest, I reread some of the authors’ bios, all Wisconsiners, out of genuine concern for them. I have a few favorites, but this is a no-spoiler review, so let’s get a coffee or a Spotted Cow and compare notes later, after my visit to the salon of haunted mirrors. Where shall we meet? A dark closet or a cave? In a cabin or an inn? Maybe at a state park after midnight near the landfill by a lake during a storm. Don’t mind the strange footprints or the howling screams. We will choose to ignore them. It will be fine.