As advertised, there are two creature feature short stories included in this slim edition. It is, I believe, the first volume in a continuing series of retro pulp monster pocketbooks from authors James Sabata and Vincent V. Cava. 

Mostly, I feel Sabata and Cava are on the right track with their new project. Both of their efforts are suitably monsterific and raunchy, and I look forward to future volumes to come. 

But to be totally honest, I’ve got to say that the first story in Midnight Monster Madness stumbles out of the gate. “Hair of the Dog” is a facile tale of drug use and relapsed addiction with a familiar monkey/dog metaphor. It’s a little bit funny and weird, but it’s a throwaway effort nonetheless. Note to the author, next time try to remember Kurt Vonnegut’s number one rule for writers: don’t waste the time of strangers. 

Much better is “The Thing in the Sink.” It’s a story that begins with a sink full of dirty dishes—“A miniature city made of mucky dinnerware,” explains the author. “A bustling filthtopia.”

At some point, Neal (our hero?) notices something is living in the drainpipe of his kitchen sink. Beneath the cereal bowls and encrusted dinner plates he discovers a hungry eldritch monster born from rotten food, humidity and “whatever-the-hell-else.”

It was a hideous blob of orange goop with green fur and yellow spots. Its body pulsated rhythmically, rising and falling in a hypnotic fashion. The thing’s mouth was a round suction cup with multiple rows of jagged teeth. Inside the creature’s mouth was a pink protrusion shaped like a shiv. It would use this deadly body part to puncture your skull and squeeze the life juices out of your body like a tube of toothpaste. 

After a few moments of indecision, Neal decides what to do with the “sentient mound of sink scum.” He will provide food (like turkey sandwiches and other meaty items) for the monster to consume. And, later, he will contact whatever department of the FBI handles man-eating mold monsters. 

Neal’s plan sorta works. He successfully cleans up his kitchen mess and gets rid of his thoughtless roommates, but he pays a deadly price for his Little Shop of Horrors escapade. The last sentence of the story makes it clear that the sink monster is not going away anytime soon. 

[ Midnight Monster Madness, Book One: “Hair of the Dog” and “The Thing in the Sink” / By James Sabata and Vincent V. Cava / First Printing: April 2024 / ISBN: 9798884560352 ]