The story is perfectly plotted with a great beginning, a compelling narrative, and a rousing finale. The Stranger may be the strangest opponent he has ever faced. It also looks like The Stranger legitimately kills his opponent.
Jim shows Luke a video tape of an archived performance where it appears that The Stranger has supernatural agility and strength. But, his opponent is a mysterious international wrestler called The Stranger, a performer Luke isn't familiar with. But, the headliner has gone missing in Mexico, so Jim wants Luke as the replacement. The gig is at a small, but packed venue, where Jim hoped to have a big main event. So, it's with great hesitancy that he agrees to fill in at a local show from an old wrestling promoter named Jim. He's a veteran of the indy circuit and starting to draw bigger money in Japan. It's written in first-person by an indy wrestler named Luke (indy meaning not contracted to one of the bigger organizations like WWE). “The Stranger in the Squared Circle” is about Goodman's love of professional wrestling, entertainment that he describes as “the last bastion of true performance art in modern culture.” I love wrestling as well, so the idea of a vampire story set in the wild world of independent wrestling was appealing. Here are a few stories that I found as real highlights of Goodman's storytelling talent: This is his first collection and I would imagine some of these stories have been with him for a long time.
That being said, Goodman's work was really enjoyable. I appreciate the art form, but prefer novellas if it isn't a full-length. I'm not a short story enthusiast, but Stephen King's Night Shift, Skeleton Crew, and Nightmares & Dreamscapes were always on hand throughout my childhood. The book is 140 pages long and features 12 shorts, original black and white cover sketches, and notes from the author on what inspired each story. As a fan of horror and a native of Central Virginia myself, I was drawn to this macabre collection. In June of 2021, Goodman self-published his short story collection The Razorblades in my Head with a colorful and terrifying cover by Justin T.
His short stories have appeared in anthologies like Gorefest and Served Cold. The Central Virginia native is a fan of Paperbacks from Hell and enjoys writing. According to his Amazon bio, Donnie Goodman runs the YouTube show The Horror Hypotheses and loves reading, book shopping, and playing video games.
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