Sower Books celebrates Easter with the morbid and strange

Colorful plastic eggs, fluffy bunnies and zombies will all be coming together this Easter Sunday. While one of these things may not seem like the other, local bookstore Sower Books thinks otherwise. 

Tory Hall, owner of Sower Books, had been approached by local horror authors about hosting a horror-centered event at the store. Rather than waiting until the typical Halloween season, Hall decided Easter was as good a holiday as ever. 

“Easter is like zombie Jesus. He rose from the dead,” Hall said. 

Zombie Jesus Horror Sunday will feature five local horror authors, in celebration of all things scary on Easter Sunday. 

“Sometimes Nebraska feels like a very normal place and to its detriment,” author Eric Raglin said. “To create these little pockets of culture that invite room for a little more strangeness, a little more outsider morbidity, I think it's really lovely.” 

Raglin is a short story writer who used to live in Lincoln, but now lives in Minneapolis. He also owns Cursed Morsels, an indie publishing press of short horror and weird fiction pieces. 

“In terms of the formation of Cursed Morsels press, I wanted to try my hand at editing, and I specifically wanted to target the type of fiction that I most enjoy reading, which tends to be queer, tends to be anti-fascist, anti-capitalist, tends to be a little bit weirder, a little darker,” Raglin said. “So I was like, ‘Well, you know, why not create the opportunities that I want in this world for the type of fiction that I most enjoy reading?’”

Horror is an underrepresented genre, according to author Michael Bettendorf. The online indie horror and speculative fiction is a closely connected circle of people, he said.

“There's just extremely diverse horror authors right now all doing exceptional work,” author Mike Bockoven said. “If you have only ever read Stephen King…please read more horror, there's just amazing stuff out there.”

Bockoven is an author of multiple books and short stories from Grand Island, Nebraska. His most well-known work is “FantasticLand,” a thriller about teenagers stranded in a themepark after a hurricane, described as a modern meeting of “Lord of the Flies” and “Battle Royale.” 

“Interacting with people is the best part of the whole thing,” Bockoven said. “Yes, I've had a little bit of success with ‘FantasticLand.’ Yeah, there's been a lot of different things people said about it. It's all very gratifying. But the best part is talking to other people about it, and them getting excited over something you do.” 

Bettendorf is an author from Lincoln, who recently released his book “TRVE CVLT,” a choose-your-own-adventure where readers play as a drummer whose band starts to get into occult rituals. The book was released through Tenebrous Press, another indie publisher of weird horror. 

“(Horror) is a really good avenue to explore humanity. And as a genre in general, it's like a reflection of society at any given time,” Bettendorf said.  

Anthony Engebretson is an author originally from Nebraska who has published multiple novels and novellas, many of which are set in Nebraska. He writes both horror and dark fantasy. 

“There's a lot of potential for interesting stories, with Nebraska's history and the setting of the Great Plains, I think there can be a lot of potential for horrors here,” Engebreston said.  “It's kind of cool to have a place that doesn't show up in stories a lot, and to be able to kind of tell unique stories through the lens of that location.” 

M.W. Nissen is the author of the independently published book, “Defacer.” The book is about a man who is possessed by a dark entity with a desire to kill. 

While some of the authors have met each other before, the event will bridge connections between the five of them. The event will also give them an opportunity to meet readers. 

“We write to be read, and to know that we have readers out there just really, really motivates you to keep going, keep the process going, keep putting out stories, because you know that there are people out there who want them,” Engebretson said. 

The event will also feature art on display and for sale from T.J. Roe, an artist originally from Grand Island. Additionally, Alvin Coffee, a pop-up coffee bar, will be serving drinks for the entire afternoon. 

“It was one of those, draw in as many other groups as possible (for the event). Share the love, share the space,” Hall said. “We've got a big space, and so anytime I can share that with others, I am totally on board for that.” 

The authors will table for most of the event. Readers will have the opportunity to meet and talk with all of them. 

“Readers are normally introverted, and we don't necessarily thrive on talking with people,” Hall said. “But it’s your hyperfixation, so when you find someone who likes the same stuff that you do, it's like, ‘okay, now I can yammer at you for hours.’ That is the vibe that I have been trying to cultivate here at Sower.” 

Zombie Jesus Horror Sunday runs from 12-4 p.m. on April 20. More information about the event can be found on the Sower Books’ website. 

Published in the Daily Nebraskan, read here.

Art by Sophie Goessling