Khairete! Salaam! Em hotep!

Welcome to the Winter Solstice 2025 issue of Eternal Haunted Summer! Our theme for this issue is The Good Neighbors. That is, the fae, the faeries, the Others, the Hidden Ones.

Our contributors to Ballads and Songs, Essays, Poetry, and Prose Poetry and Fiction embraced a broad definition of “the good neighbors” and this is reflected in the variety of the submissions. For some, the fae are spirits of the natural world, intimately intertwined with creation, its ecosystems, and elements such as water and air and fire. For others, the faeries are beings native to a realm sideways of our own, beautiful and violent and wholly inhuman. Other contributors see in the good neighbors a source of strength and inspiration, an avenue to artistic expression or communion with a creation bigger than our own selves. Some contributors see in the fae a connection to the dead, both immediate family and ancestral spirits. And for still other contributors, the fae are beings of lust and love and hunger — affairs that most often end in tragedy.

This issue also brings two new sections to Eternal Haunted Summer — Columns and Recommended Reading! We are pleased to welcome three regular columnists to EHS: Christopher Greiner, who delves into the role of fairy shamans in the folk beliefs and practices of Hungary and the Balkans; Kelly Jarvis, who discusses the Good Neighbors in the works of Shakespeare; and Gerri Leen, whose love of art leads her to interview artist Lisbeth Cheever-Gessaman.

Our Recommended Reading list comes courtesy of the readers of Eternal Haunted Summer. Here you will find children’s picture books, young adult adventure novels, adult novels, nonfiction, and poetry. Peruse the list, reach out to your local library or independent bookstore about any titles that interest you, and let us know in the comments if we missed some of your favorites.

We also feature two Interviews in this issue, one with Gerri Leen about her new collection of Goddess-oriented poetry; and one with noted poet and short story author John Shirley, focusing on his new collection, Ghost Confessions.

Finally, we close out with two Reviews; one of Complete and Total Honesty by M Anne Avera; and another of Crown Tourney: Ten Tales of Deadly Damsels, Cursed Castles, and Edged Weapons by Tansy Ranyer Roberts.

As always, our thanks to the many talented contributors who make Eternal Haunted Summer possible.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments, and enjoy!