Altar and Other Stories by Philip Fracassi | Cover Reveal | Ginger Nuts of Horror
Two award-winning horror collections, one hardback, and a cover by Rian Hughes.
Altar and Other Stories brings Philip Fracassi’s horror short story collections Behold the Void and Beneath a Pale Sky together in one hardback from Black Crow Books, out on 17 November 2026. Rian Hughes designed the cover, the endpapers and the debossed boards, and the edition adds a new introduction plus a brand new sequel to “Altar”. Both collections won collection-of-the-year honours, and two of their stories are now heading for the screen through A24 and Sony. Here is the cover, along with the publishing history and the critical acclaim that stand behind this handsome new edition of eighteen stories.
Available for the first time in a stunning hardback omnibus edition.
Behold the Void arrived to a warm welcome, and Beneath a Pale Sky went further still. Library Journal gave it a starred review, Rue Morgue named it best collection of the year, and it earned a Bram Stoker Award nomination.
Altar and Other Stories by Philip Fracassi, Hardback Cover Reveal
Philip Fracassi’s first story collection won two collection-of-the-year prizes. His second earned a Bram Stoker Award nomination. Now Black Crow Books is putting both books in one hardback. And we have the cover.
Altar and Other Stories is out on 17 November 2026 as a £25 hardback. Rian Hughes designed the cover, the endpapers and the debossed boards, and the edges are sprayed. Inside are Behold the Void and Beneath a Pale Sky. Fracassi adds a new introduction and a new sequel to “Altar”. That makes eighteen stories in all.
Two of them are heading for the screen. A24 has adapted “Altar”, with Kyle MacLachlan in the cast. “Fail-Safe” has become Skeletons, a Sony film starring Brie Larson and due in summer 2027.
Where the stories began
“Altar” first came out on its own in 2016. It was a novelette from Dunhams Manor Press, with cover art by Matthew Revert. A year later it found a home in Behold the Void, his first collection, which JournalStone put out in 2017. Its nine stories include both “Altar” and “Fail-Safe”, and Laird Barron wrote the introduction.
Beneath a Pale Sky came next, in 2021. Lethe Press, the US small press Steve Berman set up in 2001, put it out.
What the critics said
Behold the Void arrived to a warm welcome. This Is Horror named it short story collection of the year, and Strange Aeons did the same. The New York Times praised his gift for description and the way he builds suspense and holds it.
Beneath a Pale Sky went further still. Library Journal gave it a starred review. Rue Morgue named it best collection of the year. It then earned a Bram Stoker Award nomination for Best Fiction Collection.
A hardback to match
Matt Holland of The Broken Binding and Jamie-Lee Nardone of Black Crow PR launched Black Crow Books in 2024. Design has been part of the press from day one. Its first book, The Black Crow Book of Best New Horror Volume 1, also had a cover, logo and type by Hughes.
Hughes is a fine match for Fracassi. He has designed logos for James Bond, the X-Men, Superman and The Avengers. His novel XX uses type and layout to help tell its story. A designer who thinks that hard about the page suits a writer this precise about the world he puts on it.
The stories already have their prizes. In November, they get the boards to match.
Altar and Other Stories by Philip Fracassi
Feat. Fail-safe, the inspiration behind upcoming film Skeletons, Produced by J.J. Abrams and Directed by JT Mollner, Starring Oscar winner Brie Larson
Combining two incredible short story collections, ALTAR AND OTHER STORIES also features a brand-new introduction from the author, plus a stunning new sequel to Altar – the inspiration behind the upcoming film of the same name from A24 featuring Kyle MacLachlan.
Totalling 18 stories of terror that huddle in the dark space between cosmic horror and old-school hard-edged horror of the 1980s and the stylistic prose and modern weird of today’s literary giants.
‘Fracassi makes terror read so damn beautifully. He uses horror to illuminate human character and as a result these stories hit you in the gut and the heart’ Victor LaValle
‘Fracassi’s fiction is a mix of old and new school horrors, chock full of frightening monsters, demons, and humans. I always look forward to what he’s going to do next’ Paul Tremblay
‘A book for the ages’ Josh Malerman
Jim "The Don" McLeod has been reading horror for over 35 years and reviewing it for more than 16. He's the editor of Ginger Nuts of Horror, Europe's largest independent horror review and culture site, and a British Fantasy Award nominee for his work in the genre. When he's not busy inflicting his opinions on the horror community, he can be found annoying his family or getting thoroughly outwitted by his two dogs, Casper and Molly.
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