The Weird Wild West
Review of the Death’s Head Press eBook (September 26, 2023) edited by Patrick R. McDonough and released simultaneously with the Death's Head Press paperback.

[3.75 average rating for the 16 stories, rounded up to 4 for GR]
This was an excellent mix of wild west stories written with various horror tropes of hauntings, vampires, alien beings or worlds, mythology or just plain ornery evil goings on. Several of them entered 5 star territory for the imagination of the characters and place settings and their imagery.

I am admittedly always partial to anything Cthulhu Mythos related which was the case in #7 The Deviltry of Elemental Violence. Editor Patrick R. McDonough's own #12 It Calls impressed with the mystery behind the events which was left to the reader's imagination. The nihilism of the finale #16 Seeking a Grave in Canaan was a definite shock to the system.

The collection was rounded out with an Foreword by [a:R.J. Joseph|16486775|R.J. Joseph|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1500807113p2/16486775.jpg] (Rhonda Jackson Garcia) and an Afterword from the editor which told the story of the genesis of the anthology.

The descriptions below give setups only so I have not spoiler blocked them.
1. Ruthless **** by [a:Jill Girardi|15971044|Jill Girardi|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1610067034p2/15971044.jpg]. The attempted rescue of a woman who was kidnapped as a child by Comanche takes an unexpected turn.
2. Texas Macabre **** by [a:Owl Goingback|172118|Owl Goingback|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. A posse sets out after a band of horse thieves but finds that one of them is protected by dark forces.
3. Holes *** by [a:Brennan LaFaro|20859521|Brennan LaFaro|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1622047063p2/20859521.jpg]. A disgraced former sheriff finds his land suddenly erupting with dozens of black holes.
4. Soiled Doves *** by [a:Vivian Kasley|19533178|Vivian Kasley|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. A feud between dueling whorehouses gets out of hand.
5. About Her Given Name *** by [a:Kenzie Jennings|18940497|Kenzie Jennings|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1626027449p2/18940497.jpg]. A young girl grows up to take vengeance for the death of a childhood friend.
6. The Night of El Maldito **** by [a:Ronald Kelly|783444|Ronald Kelly|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1641178812p2/783444.jpg]. A mysterious force is causing the death of cattle and a posse is formed to chase it down.
7. The Deviltry of Elemental Violence ***** by [a:Edward Lee|58997|Edward Lee|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1264699422p2/58997.jpg]. A gravedigger is paid to secretly exhume a grave with shocking results. This one has a strong H.P. Lovecraft Cthulhu Mythos tie-in.
8. Old World Birds *** by [a:Drew E. Huff|22736797|Drew E. Huff|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. Surrealistic and erotic tale of a sorceress who bewitches through birds which are released from her body.
9. Sedalia *** by [a:David J. Schow|327493|David J. Schow|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1239986757p2/327493.jpg]. In a world where dinosaurs have returned to Earth, a group of drovers are now in the dino herding business.
10. Rope and Limb *** by [a:Jeff Strand|207708|Jeff Strand|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. A planned hanging degenerates into a bungled effort by a cost-cutting mayor and the residents of a western town.
11. Dread Creek **** by [a:Briana Morgan|14222301|Briana Morgan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1717500064p2/14222301.jpg]. A gang of outlaws with relationship issues with girlfriends and wives find themselves with a limited choice of water sources.
12. It Calls ***** by [a:Patrick R. McDonough|20797894|Patrick R. McDonough|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. Surrealistic tale about a family trapped by a force of light (with tentacles) which seeks to entrap them.
13. Old Habits *** by [a:L.M. Labat|14899147|L.M. Labat|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1454439635p2/14899147.jpg]. A son is writing a journal about his journeys with his father, a doctor during a Scarlet Fever epidemic in the old west. An entity is hovering in the background.
14. Hungry **** by [a:Jesse Allen Champion|5280042|Jesse Allen Champion|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. A group of Chinese railroad workers are camped near the site of a historic disaster and find themselves haunted and attacked by mysterious forces.
15. The Redheaded Dead **** by [a:Joe R. Lansdale|58971|Joe R. Lansdale|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1620763219p2/58971.jpg]. A reverend battles against a vampire which has been released during a storm.
16. Seeking A Grave in Canaan ***** [a:Wile E. Young|17571471|Wile E. Young|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1551529762p2/17571471.jpg]. A demonic sort of vigilante is hired by a family of Mormons to rescue 2 of their own who have succumbed to the enchantment of a rival religion.

I read Hot Iron and Cold Blood thanks to an enthusiastic review by GR Friend Inciminci which you can read here. Thank you Inci!