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Fear Knows No Borders in Santos’ Night of Screams

From the dark hallways of Bellevue and beyond, courtesy of Sydney Macias, emerges a captivating anthology titled A Night of Screams: Latino Horror Stories. This collection palpitates with an unearthly energy, inviting readers into a world where the horror of Hurricane Maria is recounted by the dead, the incessant struggle for Latine/Hispanic representation in media is achieved only through butchery and the lingering wailings of the Llorona persist. A Night of Screams celebrates the essence of Latino horror— or rather acknowledges the horrors of being Latino. 

Monique Quintana opens the anthology with an adaptation of the well-known urban legend of the Rainbow Ballroom in “Dark Lord of the Rainbow.” Quintana’s piece opens with a girl’s fascination with the dark and macabre. Specifically, it is her obsession with the Hooved Man that places her in the passenger seat of his Chevy Malibu. In a nutshell, Quintana warns of the danger of being seduced by a devil. As for the reader, this short story sets the tone and pace for a literary road trip that takes us through different landscapes and scary destinations. 

As we speed our way down editor Richard Santos’s highway through hell, we find ourselves in Southside California with Luisito. “Indian Blood” chronicles the life of young Luis as he struggles to provide for his aging abuelita. After a bad day at work, Luisito makes a deal with a devil and finds himself struggling with powers beyond his comprehension. Compared to other installments, Marcos Damian Leon paints a poignant picture that reminds the reader that sometimes danger lurks close to home. 

After making our way through chilling shorts and a selection of poems, the final piece in this collection is an excerpt of Ivelisse Rodriguez’s Before We Became a New People. Rodriguez ends A Night of Screams with the howling nightmare of colonialism inflicted on our gente, specifically, our boricua siblings. To accomplish this, she invokes the assistance of our ancestors and an orisha in a writing that will shock her readers.

Crafted by a diverse group of Latino authors, this anthology explores the multifaceted realm of horror. It skillfully avoids becoming redundant, using a diverse cast of voices to create an engaging experience. It excels in portraying a rich tapestry of Latino horror, transcending the genre to offer profound insights into identity and folklore. In a time where cultural understanding is being attacked by wicked forces, A Night of Screams stands as a much needed and timely exploration of the genre that transcends borders, beckoning readers to appreciate the horror of our shared experiences and to accept that “the things of nightmares” are not too scary after all.