Mauls of the Wild
A book review by Aaron Barrocas

Mauls of the Wild is a recently released anthology of previously published and brand new short stories, plays, and screenplays by Evan Baughfman exploring our complicated relationship with the animal kingdom. Baughfman is a middle school teacher and a wildly prolific author. His works have been published in numerous anthologies, his plays have been produced internationally, and his screenplays have won awards at a variety of film festivals.

The first thing one will notice when turning the pages of this slim volume filled with stories of creatures real and imagined, and a few combinations of both, is that Evan’s writing has teeth. It’s gritty, and ugly, and it forces you to feel something. In fact, having read many of Evan’s stories geared towards children, I had to quickly realign my expectations after his surprisingly violent first entry, Slaughter Hearse. The second chapter of the book, On Scarlet Wings, is more a headline than a story; a brief, under one-page article describing a memorable and horrific tale. One of Baughfman’s great talents is his skillful use of sparsity.

This pattern established with the first two chapters - an intricate, involved story followed by a short, sweet series of memorable sentences - continues throughout the book, giving us a deep dive followed by a quick breath, never knowing exactly where each story will take us.

Working through Evan’s various tales of terrifying brushes with nature, one thing is very clear: Baughfman understands fear. So many of these stories involve a character overcoming their fears - taking action in what should be the pinnacle of fear paralysis, whether the fear is heights, sharks, the supernatural, or often death itself.

There are stories of strength and survival. The things that haunt our dreams and frighten us at a subconscious level. Stories of the things we hope we would do if disaster struck, and also stories of how we might realistically behave in those situations, sometimes with both angles covered in one tale.

Evan’s voice varies greatly from chapter to chapter as we meet characters in a variety of situations. He finds a distinct tone for each individual yarn.

As what is essentially a short film script in the middle of a short story anthology, Audition Tape: Survival Island threw me for a bit of a loop, but the painfully cynical final few paragraphs were the greatest chef's kiss I could have asked for. If I hadn't been reading for a review, my lazy self might have skipped this chapter and jumped to the prose, but my time was well rewarded here.

Stories like Afloat (a respectful nod to Jaws) are engrossing dark, suspenseful page-turners. Baughfman understands how to write a lean thriller, and his readers are rewarded with a few of these throughout the collection.

Bring Him Back is the darkest imaginable take on W.W. Jacobs’ The Monkey’s Paw, as if Baughfman felt the original story was too fluffy and warm.

The tragic Buckman's Traveling Zoo contains the grimmest character arc, as a decent man learns the meaning of cruel to be kind.

The 79th Annual Cheerington Christmas Parade contains the following two sentences, which is all one needs to know about it:
Bridget ducked, covering her ears as her date and other NRA members filled Rudolph with hot lead. Bullets tore the red nose from the reindeer's face, felling him mid-run.

This Little Piggy is the disturbing story of a guinea pig named Anthony Porkins whose better nature was misnurtured.

Appetite for Fear, one of many stories where Baughfman reminds us that we are responsible for what we put out into the world, benefits from his talent for imagining unnerving creatures.

What You Saw is truly the stuff of bad dreams.

Life and Limb is both a treacherous and a heartwarming cactus tale. An exercise in perspective, and a perfect combination of horror and humanity. It is on my future re-read list.

Notably absent from this collection is a play hinted at in the author's notes called “Tarantulanche!”. Learning of its existence after completing the anthology was both enticing and cruel, especially for those of us who enjoy a good spider story. I guess I’ll have to seek that one out elsewhere.

This collection serves as a perfect introduction to Baughfman’s work. He shares some conspicuous commentary on the world we know, some very wry humor, and enough of a sample of his style to turn most genre fans into Evan enthusiasts (Baughfman Buffs?). If you like your horror in small, grisly bites, Mauls of the Wild is strongly recommended.

Aaron Barrocas is an award-winning screenwriter, filmmaker, and editor living in Los Angeles. He has spent the past 25 years as an active part of the entertainment industry. AaronBarrocas.com