“Infernal Tramps: Tales of Weird Terror” by Alex Grass

Infernal Tramps: Tales of Weird Terror

Alex Grass
Dickinson Publishing Group (2026)
ISBN: 978-1735888569
Reviewed by Rachel Meghan for Reader Views (08/2026)

As a longtime horror reader, what intrigues me the most about a short story collection is a feeling like I shouldn’t be reading it at all. Like something about the volume is cursed, and something will happen to my psyche if I read it, not unlike Robert Chambers’ The King in Yellow. That was how I felt when I delved into Alex Grass’ new collection, Infernal Tramps: Tales of Weird Terror, a book that certainly left an imprint on my mind and gave me spooky short stories that I will be thinking about for years to come.

Grass does a good job creating his own spin on horror tropes within the short story collection. My personal favorite was “Odd Egg,” in which a woman gets an egg delivery that births a multiplying monster, continually brought to her doorstep. I’ll probably never eat eggs again after that one; it was a story that really crept under your skin and, well, laid eggs there. Another stand-out includes “Pujkamaunka Splash,” which seems to be Grass’ take on a classic Creepypasta trope, detailing the ordeal one child has to go through to purchase a long-awaited toy that only he seems to remember. “In a New World, It’s Basement” is such an unsettling and disturbing dystopian story that made me wish it was an entire novel. All stories are masterfully written, and hold their own individually as literary pieces.

This collection could sit comfortably on a bookshelf between Eric LaRocca and Clive Barker as one of the great horror short story collections. It’s always refreshing, as a horror fan, to read something that is equal parts literary and terrifying. It’s the sign of a talented short story writer to write characters and situations that you are invested in, even if it is just for a few pages. I’d love to see some of these short stories get extended into full-length novels, although these bite-sized stories certainly pack a punch with each scare and make the reader feel satiated with each final line. One thing is for sure: if you’re looking for a horror collection that will make you want to spiritually cleanse yourself afterwards, Infernal Tramps: Tales of Weird Terror by Alex Grass certainly delivers on that end.