Quite possibly the greatest collection of short stories ever published. Does Alice Munro deal with randy leprechauns? Did Raymond Carver ever confront fundamentalist mummies? Chekhov wrote some short stories but did he ever deal with the issue of people gambling on baby vs. monkey pit fights? I think not.

However, you will find that this book does not shy away from any of these controversial and sensitive subjects. Every single one of these stories was turned down by the New Yorker, which might be the greatest mark of quality of them all.47 s Marc *Dark Reader with a Thousand Young! Iä!*894 205

Re-read of The Christmas Spirits, which I have now chosen to be an annual tradition. Highly recommended! It's gut-bustingly funny, over-the-top, gleefully monstrous. You should probably also read the book's introduction and story notes, to make sure that you understand the context for the characters' absurd racism, xenophobia and general obliviousness. It's on purpose, and it's for a purpose. Some people might not get that and think the story is deliberately offensive to orphans, Germans, actors, Christmas carolers, and everyone.
As I walked to the White Street Society clubhouse, I sucked in great gulps of cold Yuletide air until my lungs froze solid with Christmas cheer. My feet were numbed with holiday spirit as they tramped the icy streets. My face and whiskers were chapped with all the joy of the season. Six carolers raced past me, screaming, their exposed skin red and blistered with burns, their wet clothes steaming, flesh hanging from one of their faces in sheets. I smiled to myself a secret Christmas smile.

***************************

A new edition was released on e-book only, November 27, 2020. It adds a new story, introduction, and story notes to this previously self-published collection of linked short stories, written sporadically since 2001. It is just in time for the holidays, with an absolute must-read Christmas story.

The White Street Society is a nineteenth century men's club based in New York City, whose members ostensibly investigate supernatural occurrences. In truth, only one member, Augustus Mortimer, does the investigating (or more usually instigating) while the others support his ego, although the stories' narrator, William, plays the hapless sidekick in some adventures. I love this type of social group as a story frame, ever since the first such I read as a teenager, Stephen King's "The Breathing Method" in Different Seasons and "The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands" in Skeleton Crew. The latest similar example in my own reading history is the Cannibal Club, a real-life 19th century british dinner club for social misfit aristocrats, fictionalized in Mark Hodder's excellent steampunk Burton & Swinburne series; although the Cannibals were not a storytelling group, they demonstrate this type of gathering's typical drunkenness and classism.

While the Society's purpose is to investigate supernatural threats, the author's purpose is to highlight the abject racism expressed by venerated figures of the 19th century. Our whitewashed history presented these Great (white) Men in carefully edited versions that preserved their nobility but elided their attitudes toward child labor, racial difference, inflicting violence. . . . It's an uncomfortable fact that angels and evils often resided in the same nineteenth century skin. . . . Let's not pretend that Lincoln didn't personally order carnage on a scale that would horrify most modern minds, that Roosevelt wasn't an unapologetic imperialist, and that Anthony didn't advocate views about the humanity of Black men.
The White Street Sociey stories are my tiny attempt to inject the violence, stupidity, and general horror of that era back into genre fiction.Hoo boy, did Hendrix ever succeed at this! These are hilarious stories, packed with ridiculously extreme casual racism and other prejudice from utterly oblivious characters, Augustus Mortimer chief among them. It is so over the top that the author's explanation in the introduction is unnecessary, but since it is there, even Kai can understand that these stories use the characters' racism to illuminate the horror of these attitudes.

The story notes at the end provide excellent brief history lessons, and there is no harm in reading them before the stories themselves. Reading them first can make the stories even more enjoyable, I think.

The stories start strong and get even better as the writing-order collection progresses. The first story lampoons early American attitudes towards the Irish. The next is founded in African colonialization and Sudanese history in particular; the story notes are especially helpful here. Then, it's on to early Chinatown in New York. Second-to-last is the shining gem of them all: "The Christmas Spirits," featuring carollers, orphans, Germans, and of course, Krampus. Let's just say that Augustus Mortimer is not a fan of the season: "That is what this time of year represents, when the city's patron saint, The dread Saint Nicholas, hies hither in his monstrous carriage drawn by ferocious reindeer: the shitting, screaming Hell beasts of Lapland. The Dutch hiss his name as Sinterklaas, and the thought of his obese form slithering into my home a murderer in the night, stuffing my socks with foul and rotten oranges, saliva-coated nuts torn from the claws of rabid squirrels, and his own rotten piss fills me with terror, as it should you!"This was the most uproarious and bloody Christmas story I have ever read, and I have the original Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special #1 AND have seen Silent Night, Deadly Night one through four. It is the best example of how goofy, crazy, and over-the-top Hendrix can get when unleashed. His humour thankfully goes way beyond the boundaries of good taste, such as when a lovely young german woman comes calling at the door to the White Street Society:"First, allow me to bid you guten evening." She gave a charming curtsey. "I am named Greta von Hitler und vhy are you holding ein pistol?"
"Oh, pardon me!" I cried, stuffing it into my waistcoat. "What a charming name you have!"
"Ya, it is from mein fadder," she blushed. "It means 'vun who lives in der hut.'"
"That is quite handsome," I said.I mean, WHO DOES THAT?

The last story, an alternate history tale involving President Lincoln with many choice comments about politics, is good but a mild letdown after the Christmas one.

The final benefit of this collection is vocabulary enhancement, with some choice terms that will tax your dictionary: Gallathumpians, taz, and belsnickeler are just the beginning.self-published-properly35 s Suzy216 17

'Dead Leprechauns & Devil Cats' is Hendrix before the hype. He self-published this short story collection (following the exploits of an old fashioned gentlemen's club involved in supernatural escapades) back in 2012, and I was interested to see what he had come up with before the input of a publisher was a factor in his works. If you've read from Hendrix before, you'll know that he tends towards the twisted and the grotesque, and he certainly didn't hold back on this occasion.

Hendrix managed to shoehorn 4 equally bizarre short stories into just 85 pages. Told with what I believe must be a trademark wit that's both sharp and remarkably well disguised as crudity, he takes us along on the misadventures of the White Street Society, based in New York City in the 19th Century. The stories are imaginative, tongue in cheek and, beyond all else, entertaining. But they're also offensive at times and you should be warned going into this that this book won't be for everyone. Hendrix seems to enjoy finding the line and taking a big step over it. (There are plenty of other addressing this from what I've been able to see, so it's worth looking through if you want more info.). This book seems to confirm my suspicions that Hendrix is as divisive as they come. I personally really enjoy his works, and I wasn't disappointed by this offering (even if I was wincing at some of the more provocative parts).

Its imaginative, laced with dark humour, and is even surprisingly astute at times. The first story in the collection, 'The Hairy Ghost' feels a not-so-subtle jab at homophobes both in the last two centuries and this one. The second story, 'The Corpse Army of Khartoum' , does the same thing towards capitalism.

If I could sum up this book in an analogy, it's best described as a longer, much more elaborate and definitely more deviant version of one of those old school jokes that's told in a pub, about a man walking into a bar. If you Hendrix, definitely give this one a go.kindle-books-owned own9 s AlexAuthor 3 books25

Grady never ceases to amaze me with the time and research he puts into satirizing racial prejudices and accepted social norms. I found his essay on the research behind The Yellow Peril enlightening and horrifying. We to think we’re in a post-racial society, but the “missing dog and cat” jokes told at Chinese restaurants today are only one notch removed of the accusations levelled near the turn of the century of cooking rats. The accusation of uncivilized ingredients is a Society polite version of othering as aspersions of cannibalism.

And not just with the White Street Society, but also in stories “Mofongo Knows” that skewers pulps that aspire to be as sensitive and inclusive as the work of Edgar Rice Burroughs. In Horrorstor, he sticks a pin in the nihilistic enthusiasm of corporate consumerism with the break room motivational poster declaring “Work Sets You Free!”

You can check out some of these stories and more at Pseudopod:
http://pseudopod.org/2008/02/08/pseud...
http://pseudopod.org/2009/02/27/pseud...
http://pseudopod.org/2016/12/23/pseud...
http://pseudopod.org/2009/06/20/flash...
5 s Christopher42

I've never described a book as "refreshingly racist and misogynist" before, but Tales of the White Street Society is hilariously that. All too often in period stories the protagonists have modern 21st century attitudes, but the author keeps our, 'morally flexible when it comes to the lives of orphans' characters firmly rooted in Victorian Natural Superiority. They use capital 'S' science to investigate (Investigate in this context defined as shooting at or clubbing to death) the lowercase 's' supernatural. I heartily recommend this book, and hope the author has the good sense to continue the adventures, although I would warn that once the audience gets comfortable with the politically incorrect (ala Mad Men) that there should be a more substantial plot waiting. All in all, excellent.science-fiction4 s Denny322 27

After enjoying Horrorstör and My Best Friend's Exorcism, I was disappointed by this earlier offering, which Hendrix self-published at the beginning of his fiction career. It's quite clearly meant to be a spoof of a genre that was popular in the 19th century, that of the English Gentlemen's Club ghost storytelling variety. I found it to be dated, offensive, and quite ridiculous. The themes of racial and socioeconomic prejudice that characterize that genre play very poorly in 21st-century Western society. Although, sadly, it seems that particular wheel may be in the midst of a cyclical downturn.

I'm sorry, Mr. Hendrix, but I wish I hadn't spent my ninety-nine cents on this one.fiction horror satire ...more4 s Heather AlbanoAuthor 10 books97

If you grew up on gaslight adventure stories, you'll love this.

Or you might be horrified by it, but it will earn your respect even as you scream and run away.

Grady Hendrix pulls no punches in this bitingly funny collection. Not for the politically correct or the faint of heart, each story manages to be both hilarious and a sharp commentary on what we choose to romanticize. The final story had me actually laughing out loud, which is not an easy task to accomplish. I look forward to more White Street adventures! 4 s Angie Bennett81 9

I love everything Grady Hendrix writes. He had me at hello, or more specifically the line that read ““Dr. Hagedorn and I had served one another, unofficially, as consultants on difficult diagnoses, usually through the post as he is the possessor of a singular personal odor: that of a large, sweating cheese. Being Italian, it is to be expected, but even after years of association I was unable to acclimate myself to his unpleasant bouquet.”
God, thank you for this man and large, sweating cheese.4 s Christopher TantilloAuthor 2 books100

2.5 stars rounded up.

This was my first foray into Grady Hendrix. This was originally a self-published collection from back in 2012. There is an author's note in the beginning explaining the reason he wrote these stories and an afterword giving context and history behind each story, as these are all horror satire stories about real people or real events, but made absurd.

I really wanted to this collection more than I did. There is a Christmas story that is an absolute delight to read. I also loved the afterword learning about the real life history. But I found the rest of the stories to be kind of meh? The writing isn't bad, and I enjoy satire quite a bit as a genre, especially in horror. But there is so much racism here. These characters are so vile and horrible and racist that it just felt a bit too much. But the author does state it's there to serve a purpose, as when we learn history it's often glamorized and romanticized. We praise historical figures for all the good they've done while willfully ignoring all the horrible things they did as well.

While not objectively bad stories, these just were not for me. I d the history behind them and seeing how the author injected his satirical brand of absurd humor into them, but the stories themselves did little for me. Hardcore Hendrix fans may find more to here than I did. I do plan to read his other books. Those easily offended should look elsewhere, but if you can put aside how racist these characters are for humor, then you may find more enjoyment than I did.3 s Josh1,696 160

A series of surreal shorts more humour than horror-themed though not without a few gruesome passages to raise the goosebumps. Not quite what I was expecting but I did enjoy the tongue and cheek tone. horror humor kindle ...more3 s Jim27 4

Unfortunately this was a rare Grady Hendrix miss for me. He is ostensibly lampooning Victorian era pot-boiler fiction with its severe casual racism. However, there is no context that provides the reader with this knowledge. This book is in desperate need of an introduction. Also, I didn't find it very funny. I still love Grady, though, and will continue to read everything I can find by him.3 s Amy Noelle265 200 Shelved as 'dnf'

Dnfing. I just have to accept I donÂ’t get on with GradyÂ’s early stuff. ??
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