Orrin Grey is a prolific American writer of short horror fiction. Several of his stories have been assembled in his collections Never Bet the Devil and Other Warnings, Painted Monsters & Other Strange Beasts, Guignol & Other Sardonic Tales and How To See Ghosts and Other Figments. I really enjoy his stories, especially since they tend to touch on subjects I love so much: one man’s search for episodes of a lost television show for instance, the dark influence of a cosmic horror-inspired arcade game, or even a group of diabolical trick-or-treaters wearing old Ben Cooper masks – all of these and much more can be found in some of the tales below. It’s no wonder I enjoy Orrin’s work so much.
What follows are a breadth of stories by Orrin which I have read thus far. I’ll definitely be taking in more of them soon, particularly since I received his collection How To See Ghosts and Other Figments for Christmas this year.
THE STORIES (Listed by Order of Publication):
1. “Dream House” (2016) – The narrator’s search for some lost episodes of an obscure horror-oriented television series from the past, as well as the location of the real life spooky house where it was filmed, leads him down an unexpected path. This is an outstanding tale filled with references to classic movies and television series such as In the Mouth of Madness and Rod Serling’s The Night Gallery. You can listen to this story for free here: https://pseudopod.org/2020/05/15/pseudopod-703-dream-house/
2. “Invaders of Gla’aki” (2016) – Unable to play a Street Fighter II arcade game at the local Qwik Stop gas station with the coins they had, two friends resign themselves to playing a different one called Invaders of Gla’aki. Neither had heard of it before, but it turns out to be a game where the players are flying tiny ships through cities on weird planets blasting bizarre alien life forms. One of the two becomes obsessively addicted to the game which he keeps returning to play over-and-over until things get much worse. This story is an homage to Ramsey Campbell’s Lovecraftian entity Gla’aki and also contains a mention of his creation The Shagai.
3. “Granfalloon” by Orrin Grey (2017) – An expert on the occult is recruited by his ex to help investigate an old abandoned theater house with some of her students. The place is called Granfalloon (from a Kurt Vonnegut book which means ‘a proud and meaningless association of individuals’). The original owner of Granfalloon disappeared without a trace years ago, and it’s said the architecture of the place was built with occult intentions in mind. With it about to be torn down, they sneak inside to explore, making an eerie discovery in the process.
4. “Screen Haunt” by Orrin Grey (2020) – A filmmaker screens his new horror movie which is set during Halloween in the 80’s. It’s about three trick-or-treaters wearing old Ben Cooper masks who aren’t what they seem. It turns out there are some unnatural guests in attendance at this screening. This is a good, Halloween-centric story. You can listen here for free: https://pseudopod.org/2021/10/29/pseudopod-781-screen-haunt/
5. “Chanson D’Amour” (2021) – Working on a French Gallo film parallels the life of an assistant in terrifying ways. You can listen here for free: https://www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/chanson-damour/
6. “The Humbug” (2021) – When their parents are yet again delayed returning home for Christmas, a caretaker tries to allay their children’s disappointment and keep them occupied. One of the them discovers a strange bug which has Christmas colorations to it. This odd bug can’t be identified, and while a snowstorm begins to rage outside, the bug begins to grow larger. https://pseudopod.org/2021/12/24/pseudopod-790-the-humbug/
7. “Old Haunts” (2022) – A systems analyst for a phone company spends his October evenings traveling to haunted house attractions located in the various towns where his job sends him. When he pulls up to an amateur-run one in a cul-de-sac, he is surprised to find it doesn’t conform to the tropes for which he’s become so accustomed. There is something truly unnerving about this one, however. You can listen here for free: https://pseudopod.org/2022/11/12/pseudopod-838-old-haunts/
Sites:
Website: orringrey.com
Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/Books-Orrin-Grey/s?rh=n:283155,p_27:Orrin+Grey
Article by Matt Cowan
Horror Delve 
Up until last week, Painted Monsters was the only collection I owned, but happily I received Guignol and How To See Ghosts in my mailbox. Painted Monsters was so very good, I had to invest a bit more $$, and his books are increasing in price, if you can find them.
I’m definitely going to keep my eye out for more of his work. He’s such an excellent writer.