T. Kingfisher is known for fantasy and more recently, romantic fantasy, but I believe her horror novels and novellas to be some of her best work. This retelling of Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher is creepy and chilling and well done.

Our narrator for this story is retired Lieutenant Alex Easton, who is summoned to the Usher estate by their childhood friend Roderick, on behalf of his dying sister Madeline. As soon as Easton steps foot on the dilapidated estate, full of weird funguses and creepy local wildlife, they know something is wrong. That feeling only escalates when Madeline and Roderick’s appearances show their deep decline. Easton, along with another houseguest, American doctor James Denton, set out to discover what is causing the siblings to sicken and what their link to the estate may have to do with it.

I won’t go too deep into the plot, but I will say the sinister atmosphere and shocking revelations kept me glued to the page. Fans of this author and the horror genre will not want to miss.

This book has guaranteed I will never eat another mushroom again. I absolutely adored The Fall of the House of Usher, and this book is not only a fantastic retelling but it carves out it's own place as well. Easton is such a great point of view character. I wanted to stay with all the characters forever but the book doesn't stretch out too long, or wrap up too quickly. The whole thing was satisfying from beginning to end.

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher is a horror novella, and basically a re-make of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher".

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Tor/Nightfire (and in particular Jordan Hanley) and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Retired soldier Alex Easton visits his childhood friend Madeline Usher, after receiving a letter saying that she is very unwell, and that her twin brother Roderick is very concerned with her health.

The decline in health of both Madeline and  Roderick comes as a shock to Alex.  They are both emaciated, both almost white in colour.  Roderick is overly anxious and Madeline has problems sleepwalking, and even her gait is strange.  An American doctor is visiting, and he is baffled as well.

In the countryside, a British mycologist is studying mushrooms and fungal growths in the area, and Alex wonders if there is something in the area that could be causing Madeline's illness.  Something is certainly affecting the wildlife and lake.


My Opinions:  
First, the cover creeped me out.

Second, I was surprised (pleasantly) with the humour and writing of this short novella.  I don't generally enjoy humour in my fiction/horror, but there were some great lines!   I hope the author starts writing more books for adults,  or I'm going to have to start reading children's books...

Third, I love the way she described tinnitus and balance issues.  I have Meniere's and it's so true!

The actual plot, although taken from Poe's epic short story, has it's own twists and variations.  It was very atmospheric and creepy.  The characters were great.  I thought Hob the horse was classic, as was Mrs. Potter (apparently Beatrix Potter's maiden aunt).  I loved the use of pronouns, and the fact that Alex was non-binary.   Both the house and the tarn took on new meanings for creepy characters....not to mention the hares!

For a short story, you couldn't ask for more!

The House of Usher, which was first published in 1839 in Burton’s Gentlemen’s Magazine, has always been one of my favorite Poe short stories so I couldn’t resist checking out T. Kingfisher’s retelling, What Moves the Dead. Kingfisher fleshes out the Poe’s short story with more fully developed characters, but keeps the haunting gothic quality of the original. In this version the narrator is Alex Easton a retired Gallacian soldier, who was assigned female at birth but began using a gender neutral pronoun, ka, specifically used by the military for soldiers in the Gallacia’s language, comes to visit kan friends the Ushers when ka hears kan friend Madeline is ill. Also in the mix are an American doctor and British Mycologist, but time is running out to uncover the mysteries of the House of Usher. Besides her other adult novels, Kingfisher also writes books for children under her name Ursula Vernon.

This is a reimagining of Edgar Allan Poe's classic "The Fall of the House of Usher". While not as short as Poe's, this is also a very quick read that I zoomed through in less than a day. All twelve chapters are creepy and completely addicting. I got some grossed out shivers during this book and that normally doesn't happen. T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon) does a fantastic job of expanding and building upon a classic horror tale. An award should be given to whoever made that amazing cover art. I desperately want this to come to life on the big screen!

I would like to thank MacMillan-Tor/Forge for providing a complementary digital copy of this novel. This is a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's short story, The Fall of The House of Usher. I loved the author's prose. She does an excellent job of building tension and keeping the reader on their toes. As an educator who teaches microbiology, I loved the discussion of fungi throughout the novel. I also enjoyed the exploration of fungi in relation to humans. This is a quick, engrossing, satisfying read.

Brilliant! Astonishingly, horrifically, full body chills inducing brilliant.

This slightly twisted retelling of The House Of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe for exceeds any and all expectations I could have had. I’ll admit that it was the cover that drew me in. It’s just so horrible and beautiful and I couldn’t stop looking at it. Turns out it perfectly captures the book as well. It’s hard to say anything super specific about this won’t giving an important details away. It’s very short, think novella which was just the right length. It honestly made the pacing and the horror much more visceral because it all happened so fast. And yet nothing felt rushed. Honestly, if you have any interest in horror, horror retellings, mixed pronouns, clever prose, and a dash of humor please pick this up. It’s incredibly satisfying. Now I’m off to pick up everything else the author has written.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Tor for this delightfully creepy read.

Having never read the Poe classic that WHAT MOVES THE DEAD is based on, I went into this one totally blind. I ended up really enjoying it and found it just creepy enough to hold my attention. A quick read but definitely a Gothic inspired slow burn and I have to admit that there were a few times my stomach lurched (if you know...you know.)

If you enjoyed MEXICAN GOTHIC you will love WHAT MOVES THE DEAD!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for my #gifted #arc

What Moves the Dead? I am pretty sure it’s Edgar Allan Poe turning over in his grave after the publication of this anemic adaptation of his short story The Fall of the House of Usher.

Location, location, location is the mantra of real estate agents. However, atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere is not enough to elevate this book above the mediocre. Why would a best-selling author attempt to remake, and ostensibly to improve, a master storyteller? I don’t know but it doesn’t go well.

When a sibling duo start dying of a mysterious disease, everyone suspects the mold within their crumbling mansion. But what if it is something more sinister? Who are the suspects and what are their motives?

The plot is excellent because it was lifted fully born from the forehead of Edgar Allen Poe. However, this book is equally stilted and slow-paced, so I recommend reading the original for free online instead. It’s better. Poor Edgar, I guess that’s what happens when your copyright expires. What Moves the Dead is only recommended for readers unfamiliar with the original tale. 2 stars.

Thanks to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

Super atmospheric and creepy, I think any horror fans would love this retelling of The House of the Fall of Usher. I adored the detailing of the fungi, as a fungi person.

You may be thinking "How can mushrooms and fungi be scary? They can't even run after you or bite your ankles!" Let me tell you that this book will make the skin crawl right off your body. Fungi don't need to chase you down; they infiltrate from the inside. FROM THE INSIDE! I'm not generally a fan of body horror but thankfully this is only moderately gruesome and, as a science nerd, I actually found it very biologically interesting and only slightly disturbing. Except for the bunnies. Those poor, creepy creatures!

I love a gothic setting and the dilapidated, isolated Usher Manor is perfection . Edgar Allan Poe is a master of ambience and T. Kingfisher takes those bones and twists them into something even more haunting. For such a short novel I felt like I spent at least a week in that dark, damp manor and I just want a hot shower and a good scrubbing!

I enjoyed everything about this book; from the suspenseful plot, to the likable non-binary main character, Alex, to the satisfying ending. This is horror done right. I will never look at algae infested ponds in the same way!

Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tor Nightfire for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

That sound you heard was this story sucking me in and not letting go until the very end. Fortunately today is not a work day AND this is a short book! Set in the 1890s, it's gothic, creepy, and atmospheric, and I loved everything about it.

If you never want to look at a rabbit the same way again, read this book.

Also, yes, I know that rabbits and hares are two different animals, but close enough. The hares in this book are unnerving. Although, I found myself wondering once or twice why it was only the hares. Were there any other woodland creatures who might have drunk from the tarn? Apparently not, since the woods around the House of Usher were full of creepy hares who followed the main character around for apparently no other reason than to freak them out.

The scene with the hare autopsy was….-shudder-.

The hares’ symptoms and their connection to Madeline and Roderick was the perfect setup to get the reader’s hackles raised and to prep for the finale, which came way too quickly for my liking! I could have spent another 100 or so pages with these characters. True to T. Kingfisher’s usual form, all the characters were incredibly likeable. It’s always refreshing to read a horror novel where the horror lies clearly outside of the characters and their personalities and histories.

Easton is from Galicia, which in this book has 7 different forms of pronouns.
The different pronouns were a nice little tool in Kingfisher’s toolkit. Easton’s feelings about how they were treated due to their presenting gender (female) were tied to the pronouns they used. Also, the pronouns showed a culture that used gender neutral pronouns as regularly as they used gender conforming pronouns. Easton, a sworn soldier, uses “ka” pronouns, like all other Galician soldiers. “Ta” is used to address children. Ex-soldiers like Roderick can keep the “ka” pronouns, or revert back to “he/him” pronouns. Galicia, which was a real country in what is now Ukraine and Poland, did have many forms of pronouns. However, I couldn’t find anything to indicate that these particular pronouns were historically accurate.

I cannot get enough of T. Kingfisher!

If she wrote a book a week I would probably devour them all. Fungus seems to be in right now with horror writers. In fact, Kingfisher even acknowledges some of the parallels to Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia in her afterward. However, What Moves The Dead is something else entirely, even if the cause of all the horror is the same. It’s full to the brim with Kingfisher’s trademark wit and scares. Unputdownable.

What Moves The Dead is a retelling of Edgar Allen Poe’s, The Fall Of The House Of Usher. I am not familiar with the classic version of the story, but love T. Kingfisher, so I knew it was going to be creeptastic.
The story is a whole vibe. It’s gothic, earthy, haunting and beautiful. There are disgusting spore puffing mushrooms, strangely still rabbits that are always watching, and a lake with no bottom that calls to the people of the house. No matter where you turn on the Usher property, something strange is waiting for you. The Usher’s themselves, are just as haunting. Once you meet them, they will lurk in the back of your mind.
Most novella’s leave me wanting more. This one is wrapped up and finished so nicely, I was completely satisfied in the end. I’d love to see this come to life as a Tim Burton film. Burton would bring Poe and Kingfisher together in a cinematic masterpiece.

I wasn't really sure if I was going to like this book after the first chapter, but I ended up finishing it all in 1 weekend while camping. I really enjoyed it and it kept me thinking about it the next day. Definitely want to check out more from this author.

What Moves the Dead is a deliciously creepy gothic horror that is deeply unsettling. Told through the eyes of Alex Easton, a retired soldier, this slim little novel takes us on a horror-filled journey to uncover the mysterious afflictions that have fallen upon Alex's childhood friends. Incredibly atmospheric and chilling, What Moves the Dead is sure to leave readers deeply disturbed and thoroughly satisfied.
Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

This was a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Fall of the House of Usher.’ When Alex Easton receives word that his childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they rush back to the remote countryside of the Ushers ancestral home to see her. What they find is not the Madeline he remembers; she looks ghostly and sleepwalks at night, speaking in strange voices. A strange fungal growth has also taken over the residents and it’s surroundings. The wildlife seems possessed, and the lake is a dark thing full of evils.

—-

“𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘳.”

I went into this one having not read the original story by Poe, but I have read another retelling, Ushers Passing by Robert McCammon, which has become a favorite of mine. While these stories had similarities, they went in very different directions and this particular story had such a cool and creepy premise. I loved the incorporation of the fungus, and the possessed wildlife were absolutely chilling!

If I was to pick something I didn’t like about this story, I would maybe say the ending and how things were handled? That being said I don’t know what would have worked instead, but it just felt a bit lack luster to me..

Overall tho, I enjoyed this one! It was a great length and it gets extra points for the high creep factor. I feel like I really need to read the original story now to see how they compare 🙌.

You ever sit down and think to yourself, you know, hares sure are creepy little critters aren’t they? No, me neither. But then I read WHAT MOVES THE DEAD by T. Kingfisher and I’ve been swayed into thinking that yes, those unblinking beady eyed creatures can be quite unsettling after all.

WHAT MOVES THE DEAD is a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic story THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER wherein the author is able to simultaneously show reverence for the original tale while also expanding upon that foundation (and dare I say the horror as well) all the while making it her own. Insert hair-raisingly (sorry I couldn’t resist) eerie hares, weird fungal infestations, and stinking mushrooms here. Oh, and did I mention there is also a character inspired by beloved children's author Beatrix Potter. This novella pretty much has it all.

My introduction to Poe coincidentally just happened to be THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER which I read at the beginning of last year. I still remember that brooding sense of gloom Poe’s words evoked within me the first time my eyes fell upon Usher's house.

“During the whole dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country; and at length found myself, as the shades of the evening drew on, within the view of the melancholy House of Usher.”

Kingfisher captures that same palpable feeling of despair, an ever growing sensation of things being off kilter with Roderick, Madeline, and the entire Usher estate. Through the perspective of ex-soldier Alex Easton, whose arrival at House Usher was prompted by an urgent request from their childhood friend, we are confronted with the shocking and ghastly visage of Madeline who looks to be a stone's throw away from death’s door. As Alex spends sleepless night after sleepless night within the confines of the ruined estate they slowly begin to unravel the truly horrific and sinister nature behind the mysterious malady afflicting Madeline and in turn Roderick.

You may be asking yourself if you need to read THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER before diving into this novella and the answer to that is no, no you don’t. This story stands completely on its own whether you have any knowledge of the original or not. But should you read it though? Yes, I suggest that you do so. Having read both myself I believe that I had a greater appreciation for the added nuance, depth, and embellishment that Fisher is able to inject into this retelling.

WHAT MOVES THE DEAD by T. Kingfisher is an insidious gothic delight crawling with delectable grotesqueries. A classic retelling for a modern audience. Elaborating upon the seemingly purposeful vagueness of Poe’s original tale while finally unearthing the truth of what moves the dead. This was my first experience reading T. Kingfisher and I am looking forward to seeking out more of her work.

Alex, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying. When Alex arrives at the Usher House, they discover strange fungal growths, possessed wildlife, and a glowing and pulsing tarn (lake).

What I loved:
✨Nonbinary representation and Kingfisher’s clever use of pronouns.
✨Gothic Vibe - dilapidated old mansion, supernatural events, Madeline in distress
✨Atmospheric storytelling
✨Creepy hare - I will view the rabbits in my yard differently now. 😬
✨Slice of sly humor throughout the novella
✨Narration - top-notch! Roque captured all the tension and creepiness awarded to What Moves The Dead!!

Read this if you like:
✨Edgar Allen Poe's stories or Mexican Gothic by SMG
✨Dark reads - paranormal, horror, sci-fi, fantasy
✨Fascination of fungi and mycology

Kingfisher knows how to do weird. Weird and horror and twisty things and I was here for all of it. Also, it involves fungi and I am such a fan of fungi so that had me hooked from the word go. If you've read any Kingfisher before, you'll enjoy the heck out of this. If you haven't? Well there's no time like the present to start.