Irrational Illusions

"He didn’t die from getting up quickly, trying to zip up his blue jeans when he saw me appear in the shadows of the tent he and his girlfriend were getting hot and heavy in, and by tripping and breaking his neck, as one might expect. No, he saw me coming, took out a butcher knife from somewhere on his person, said that this way is more considerate to the schedules and personal lives of all parties involved in this situation, and stabbed himself twice in the chest."

Andrew Buckner’s IRRATIONAL ILLUSIONS: THIRTEEN TALES OF DRAMA, COMEDY, AND TERROR is an inventive, terrifying, darkly comedic collection that transforms superstition into philosophy, laughter into tension, and innocence into suspicion. In these stories, horror movies come alive. The characters are caught between faith and fear, humor and madness, all while the teeth of something unseen close in.

A multi award-winning poet, filmmaker, and screenwriter from Ohio, Buckner continues to prove his mastery of tone and form. This marks his fifth release with Alien Buddha Press, following Exitus Marquee and Broadcasting from the End of the World (2024). Each page burns with imagination and the strange, persistent glow of belief.