New Arrival: Mestiza Blood by V. Castro

 

V. Castro is quickly becoming a name to watch in horror. Works such as Goddess of Filth and The Queen of the Cicadas have proved that she not only understands horror but also the importance of creating a brand as an author by using her own experiences. She draws upon her own background to create three-dimensional Chicana women who might feel marginalized by society but who also find ways, through supernatural powers or simple determination, to strike back. In her recent short story collection Mestiza Blood, she introduces the reader to several of these women and their own unique struggles.

Like many great collections, Mestiza Blood has a sampling of several of Castro’s stories. Some are dark fantasy with shades of urban folklore like “The Demon in My Eye,” but they also display Castro’s own unique worldview. Her story “Night of the Living Dead Chola” is a take on the zombie trope that shows both heart and darkness. “Street Fighter” starts with a woman who tries to be a good samaritan but ends up offering help to something more inclined to harm. “Mal de Oja” explores the horrors of prejudice and the ability to get revenge through supernatural means. The book also features two longer works, the paranormal romance body horror thriller “Truck Stop” and “The Final Porn Star,” a delightful take on the Final Girl trope that mixes Hispanic folklore with Evil Dead hi-jinks.

Horror fans, and even those who might not necessarily read horror, might recognize names like Stephen King and Joe Lansdale because they have built up a brand by offering up their own unique visions of horror. V. Castro has the ability to become a brand because she offers up spine-tingling stories seen through the lens of what the book’s subtitle directly calls “the Chicana experience.” She is adept at drawing on her own experiences and, through exploring folklore as well as exploring some more contemporary horrors, create something that is not only something that is truly hers, but something that reflects the horrors of women in a world that needs no supernatural entities to be threatening. Indeed, the supernatural here is an equalizer, even a method of getting vengeance. If these women are conspiring with evil supernatural forces, Castro might argue, they might just be choosing the lesser evil.

 

Coming January 25th, 2022