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CREATIVE BIO:
Victoria Dalpe is a Providence-based horror writer and painter. She has published over sixty short stories in various collections. She has written the gothic horror novel PARASITE LIFE, the short story collection LES FEMMES GROTESQUES and the horror fantasy trilogy SELENE SHADE: RESURRECTIONIST FOR HIRE with CLASH Books.
Book 2 SELENE SHADE: LOVING THE DEAD will be released August 2026. In 2025, her short story “The Cleaner” was included in the Best Horror of the Year Volume 17 edited by Ellen Datlow and her short story “Because it was Worse Outside” was included in the Shirley Jackson winning anthology WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST LEAVE? edited by Nadia Bulkin and Julia Rios.
INTERVIEW
What got you into horror to begin with – what’s your core Horror memory?
I was spooky from day one, this is in part because my parents (and my Memere on my father’s side) were all horror people and I grew up on a rural farm where we raised and slaughtered our own animals.
An imaginative and macabre child, I was always fascinated by the idea of two worlds: the one seen and the one below that was unseen.
A core early horror memory would be watching The Shining with my father when I was much too young and being both enthralled and terrified by it in equal measure. I could feel his pride at sharing something he loved with me, making it all the more important that I didn’t flee or cover my eyes watching a father try to kill his child (who was probably older than I was watching the movie.)
Another would be the Alvin Schwartz ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark‘ books, which I adored and read over and over The art in particular forever seared into my mind, especially Harold the scarecrow.
Do you have a favourite horror subgenre (or more than one) and if so, what is it? What/Who are your favourite books/films/podcasts/artists/creatives working in that subgenre?
I will always have a soft spot for the Gothic, love run down estates, family secrets, mad wives in attics and all of that. Any variation on the Gothic will catch my eye.
I also love the liminal and the weird in horror fiction, exploring spaces that are hard to navigate and storylines and characters that are left open to interpretation.
I love the vibe and aesthetic of the Italian Giallo films- leaving narrative to the side to explore through dreamy set-pieces, bold color, fashion, and music.
I like genre bending and circumventing expectations and think all horror, regardless of its subgenre or medium, is best when you are never totally certain what will happen next.
Some favs- Shirley Jackson, Anne Rice, Robert Aickman, Kelly Link, Ilona Andrews, Clive Barker.
In film- Cronenberg, Hitchcock, DePalma, Argento, Bava, Ken Russell, Jean Rollin.
What is the horror project of your heart – perhaps something you’ve already got out there, something you’re working on now, or something you’d like to do?
I have wanted to do something in the vein of House on Haunted Hill/Ten Little Indians [And Then There Were None] type story for ages. A novel where a group of people is brought to a strange location for a strange purpose by a strange person. I love the setup and while cliche, would love to do one with my personal stamp on it. So that’s something I’ve been thinking about in between deadlines lately.
Which 5 horror books can you not stop thinking about, or have influenced you most in some way? (If not books, you can pick 5 films, 5 pieces of art, 5 songs… or mix & match!)
These types of questions are always hard for me, once I start thinking out it the list can just go on and on, but I will try to whittle it down some- Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link is a collection that just changed the rules on what can happen in a story for me, the way she blends genres, tones and breaks rules is so inspirational to me. Her work is often whimsical and chilling.
The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice is just such a lush big and fun book, great scenes, great characters, she was at the top of her game when she wrote it and Lestat is one of the best characters of all time (I am also loving Sam Reid in the tv show).
Cabal by Clive Barker was the book kid me wished I had written. I love the concept of a monster city hidden away under a cemetery and the idea that the last monsters of the world all went there to hide from the world.
Robert Aickman’s short stories are also a master class in disorienting eerie storytelling his signature abrupt endings have a tendency to leave me thinking about them long after.
The movie Lake Mungo is something I also think about often, how little happens on screen, how dry it is in the documentary style, but the film bothers me and leaves me with dread.
For my fifth choice I will go with Candyman because I think it is one of my favorite adaptations, it does such a good job of using the original material- so much of it is line for line, but by moving it to the US and infusing an overt racial component, filming in real locations, and referencing real events (like a killer coming through a mirror in bathroom into another apartment) added so much to the original story without taking anything away. That’s my favorite adaptation or use of a familiar trope/storyline/cliche is to take it and then twist it, circumvent expectations and take something old and make it feel fresh.
If you had to describe the tones and themes of your own work in terms of movies, books, songs, or art, what would you choose and why?
As a writer and visual artist, I like my writing to immersive. I am often more concerned with character than plot and like the idea of keeping a reader a little off kilter. I enjoy setting up familiar frameworks and then shifting the expectations. I often write from a feminist perspective and love monsters, often pulling from folklore.
Introduce us to something you’ve created, and pitch it to the audience!
My trilogy Selene Shade: Resurrectionist for Hire is a love letter to subgenres. I had been trying to find a way into the dark urban fantasy world for a long time, theres a lot out there, so it was a challenge to come up with something that felt different and personal.
It’s funny, it’s scary, it’s complicated. There’s magic, monsters, weirdness and even a little bit a romance (which was a first for me to write).
Book One is out now and having an ebook sale for 99 cents! And book 2 Selene Shade: Loving the Dead will be out August 2026. Book three set for summer 2027 release.
Synopsis below:
In the first installment of Victoria Dalpe’s new dark fantasy series, we meet Selene Shade, a resurrectionist for hire who might just have taken on the wrong case. With the ability to restore life to the dead, “Zombie Queen” Selene Shade has earned quite a reputation. Not that it helps her get dates. Her bed may be empty but business is booming.
That is until her life is thrown into disarray when a brutal killer comes to town and all signs point to her being the next victim. Enlisted by the police department due to her unique craft, she must make new alliances, deal with old rivals, and maybe even save the world—whether she wants to or not—all the while avoiding the gruesome allure of dark magic and the sacrificial ritual of a mad cultist.
In Resurrectionist for Hire, Dalpe weaves a dire tale of magic, murder, and romance. To survive, Selene will have to harness her power of the dead and overcome her struggle to connect with the living.