I love anthologies. They provide new, interesting stories from some of my favorite authors and give me a look at many new to me authors. Horror anthologies are some of the best for my reading because I can easily become scared silly by some stories so these let me known the books I should not read in the dark long before I have to lock myself in a room with no windows. I gift anthologies, especially horror, to teens who can't seeem to transition from video games to reading. The short stories give them a look at gifted authors without having to commit to a complete length book. I always have a couple of anthologies going so I can read whenever, wherever I want.
This book contains 20 excellent short stories. There are no duds in here. You'll even recognize some of the people in your neighborhood in these stories and never be able to see them the same again. This is the second annual collection, now I have to go find the first one. Read, enjoy, share....

All genres contain shades of tales and with horror you can have blood-soaked gory tales but also the tales where you’re not even too sure anything supernatural happened you just feel like something very wrong has been witnessed. The tales I like are chillers where you start to feel as you read that fate is definitely locked in and something horrible is going to happen. Reading the great horror collection Beyond the Veil edited by Mark Morris I felt that feeling an awful lot as I sped through a great collection of tales perfect for dark and gloomy Halloweens

Amongst the stories I enjoyed

The God Bag by Christopher Golden – this tale looks at the pain of losing apparent to dementia and declining health which makes you sorry for the narrator watching the decline, but the tale then explores a mysterious God Bag where different types of prayers where placed over the course of his mother’s life with apparently successful results. The tale gets darker and then we get a truly terrifying realisation of what the latest prayer has cost. A slam dunk of a dark tale.

Caker’s Man by Matthew Holness – this tale uses the terror of a neighbour we try to avoid and then magnifies this into a nightmare of a tale. Our young narrator talks about a strange man they noticed ever watching them and his constant attempts to get our narrator and their sibling to eat cake. This is a spooky uncomfortable tale where we feel the child’s growing terror and sense of powerlessness. One of my favourites in the collection

The Beechfield Miracles by Priya Sharma – I loved this tale so much it tells of a near future dystopian Britain where everything has got worse from poverty, crime to food shortages and a disgraced journalist looks for a proclaimed preacher with apparent powers. The writing here is absolutely beautiful yet grim and initially feels hopeful and yet things sour and when that final shoe drops it is absolutely chilling. Excellent

Clockwork by Dan Coxon – This is an amazing disturbing tale of toxic family relationships. Our narrator has finally laid his unpleasant father to rest but starts finding cogs and automata pieces in the garden. This for me was about being trapped in an endless cycle and is startling and linger sin the memory.

Soapstone by Aliya Whiteley – This powerful tale if about grief and loss as Jen in terror avoids the funeral of her former lover. A trip to their old university haunt leads to a game that she seems so good at and yet has a price to pay. Being trapped in life and never moving on becomes something grasping in this story and you await to find out what the final cost of the game will be with dread.

Provenance Pond by Josh Malerman – this is a very strange eerie tale of a young girl and her imaginary friends who inhabit a pool and then one friend named Theo who clearly has their own agenda. This story is about fighting the dark side of growing up and staying true and it gets quite disturbing trying to work out Theo’s goals. Really brilliantly delivered all the way to the end

For All The Dead by Angeline B Adams and Remco van Straten – this tale is remorseless heading to it’s final page with a tale of women living a hard life of watching their lovers and family live and die on the cruel sea their tow lives on. Lost hopes, fleeting moments of life and a final bittersweet ending make it quite a spectacle we have to watch. A really impressive tale.

Nurse Varden by Jeremy Dyson – a man has dreaded hospitals all his life for reasons he has never been able to untangle and now needs a minor knee operation. To prepare he goes back into his memories and finds a scary figure constantly there in his life. This tale cleverly takes the author on a journey through our lead character’s life and builds up the dread of the figure’s secret but the final realisation is brilliantly delivered and tragic.

A Mystery for Julie Chu by Stephen Gallagher – a tale of strange objects with unusual properties. This creates its own strange world of secrets in miniature and the initially quite funny object in question a dancing robot radio turns into something powerful and also both light and dark. Very very cleverly constructed and you also want to know what happens next.

There are many more tales in the collection but these in particular grabbed me. These are tales to puzzle and disturb you in the ways good horror collections should always do. Highly recommended for anyone seeking reads for the dark autumn and winter nights. Highly recommended!

There are some amazing stories in this anthology, too many to name. Not a bad story in the bunch, either, and I found a few new authors to read further, too. Along with some of my favorites in the horror community, too.

Beyond the Veil, edited by Mark Morris is an anthology of short horror stories.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Flame Tree Press and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.




My Synopsis and Opinions:

As always with an anthology, I will be reviewing each separately.   There are 20 short stories, a few from authors known to me, but most of these authors are new to me.  A lot of these are about death, in some for or another.

So, let us begin:

The God Bag by Christopher Golden (American) ... A woman writes her wishes down and places them in her "God Bag".  Some on white paper, and some on red. OMG...Loved it.  5 stars

Caker's Man by Matthew Holness (British) ...  The neighbour across the street insists on providing cake for a mother and 3 children, but he's a creep.  Later, the baby-sitter takes over the cake thing. The whole story is creepy!  4 stars

The Beechfield Miracles by Priya Sharma (British) ... A journalist investigates a young woman.  Is she a miracle worker, or just a charismatic leader of a cult?   WOW, that was really good. 5 stars

Clockwork by Dan Coxon (British) ... A daughter, after burying her father, finds pieces of an automaton in his flower bed.  Didn't really enjoy this one, although it did have a certain creep factor, and the writing was fine. 3 stars

Soapstone by Aliya Whiteley (British) ... A young woman deals with the death of a friend, or not.  This was creepy, but there was something missing.  3 stars

The Dark Bit by Toby Litt (British) ... A couple get "threads" running through their bodies when entering a certain area of their home, and they deal with them.  This was simply wonderful.  5 stars

Provenance Pond by Josh Malerman (American) ... A young woman thinks back to her childhood, and her imaginary friends.  This was a little disappointing from one of my favorite authors.  3 stars

For All The Dead by Angeline B. Adams (Irish) and Remco van Straten (Dutch) ... A story about men lost at sea, and the women who wait for them.  This one did nothing for me, as it was more sad than scary.  1 star

The Girl in the Pool by Bracken MacLeod (American) ... A thief who always wanted to be a good person has the opportunity, or so he thinks.  Good writing, but missing something.  3 stars

Nurse Vaden by Jeremy Dyson (American) ... A man tries to determine why he has a fear of being unconscious.  Interesting, but the ending could have been better.  3 stars

If, Then by Lisa L. Hannett (Australian) ... A gardener experiments on his loved one to heal her.  This one did nothing for me.  1 star

Aquarium Ward by Karter Mycroft (American) ... A bug from beneath the sea emerges, and a doctor will do anything to save his patients.  Interesting!  4 stars

A Mystery for Julie Chue by Stephen Gallagher (British) ... A young woman with a knack for finding worthwhile garage sale items. Absolutely loved it!  5 stars

Away Day  by Lisa Tuttle (Scottish) ... A young woman on a team-building day gets lost.  It was okay, but I didn't really like it.  2 stars

Polaroid and Seaweed by Peter Harness (British) ... A young child, whose mother left him, decides his real mother came from the sea.  Disturbing.  2 stars

Der Geisterbahnhof by Lynda E. Rucker (American) ... A young woman goes with an old "friend" and some others in search of a ghost station in Berlin.  Eerie, but confusing.  2 stars

Arnie's Ashes by John Everson (American) ... Arnie may have been cremated, but his friends keep seeing his face.  This was comical, in a strange way.  I loved it.  5 stars

A Brief Tour of the Night by Nathan Ballingrud (American) ...  A man talks to ghosts, who sometimes answer him.  Great story.  5 stars

The Care and Feeding of Household Gods by Frank J. Oreto (American) ... A stay-at-home father figures out a way to keep the children happy, the house spotless, and elegant meals prepared.  This, although a little disturbing at times, was good.  4 stars

Yellowback by Gemma Files (British) ... A virus which attacks women by covering their face and chest with a mask is running rampant throughout the world.  That was different, but good. 4 stars




Overall, there are a lot of good stories in this bunch, more than normal in an anthology.  I never expect to love them all, but I was surprised at the amount that I did.  Yes, there were some that weren't my cup of tea, but those may be yours, so yes, you should take a chance on this book.

Happy reading!

Ever since I was a Point Horror obsessed teen, I’ve loved reading fiction that deals with the darker side of human nature. And if it comes with a supernatural twist, then I absolutely want to read it. The stories in the ‘Beyond the Veil’ collection satisfy on both counts and have a bang up-to-date feel, with references to the pandemic, killer viruses and anti -vaxxers. The near future world of Beechfield Miracles may have roots in ancient stories, but is juxtaposed with a post -Brexit nightmare world that feels uncomfortably close to the bone. Polaroid and Seaweed is the most revoltingly gothic, with some truly uncomfortable scenes that induce a sense of revulsion. The God Bag ends with a twist that seems inevitable, but is no less horrifying as it explores bad parenthood, a theme considered in several of the stories. Standouts for me were The Dark Bit, a grotesque psychological study of self harm and collective hysteria, and A Mystery for Julie Chu. The latter has a Black Mirror -esque feel with secret auctions, haunted objects and a lead with a gift. I’d love to read more of her adventures! Thanks to Flame Tree Press, the anthology authors and Random Things for the chance to take part in the blog tour.

This short story collection feels like an instant classic. The stories are all haunting and ominous. I enjoyed this book very much and would recommend to lovers of good subtle horror writing.
Thanks to NetGalley and Flametree press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This review will go live at the first link below on 27 October .

Beyond the Veil is the second volume in an annual, non-themed horror series of entirely original stories, showcasing the very best short fiction that the genre has to offer, and edited by Mark Morris. This new anthology contains 20 original horror stories, 16 of which have been commissioned from some of the top names in the genre, and 4 of which have been selected from the 100s of stories sent to Flame Tree during a 2-week open submissions window.

I will admit I didn’t know many of the contributing authors but I’d had such a fabulous time with After Sundown, the first volume in this anthology series, that I jumped at the chance to read Beyond the Veil. I have no regrets: like its predecessor, Beyond the Veil is an eclectic collection of stories, tackling many of the horror subgenres.

I love short stories, but I’m very particular about them: I need them to tell me a full story in a limited number of pages, the ideal short story is a novel told in a fraction of the pages it would normally take to tell. There is not one short story in this collection that doesn’t meet that requirement, which made me a very happy reader.

I had a great time with this anthology! It’s perfect for reading back to back, which I did when I started it on a Sunday, but also for dipping into when you have a limited amount of reading time available, which I did when I continued reading it during the workweek.

For those of you who like to know exactly what they’re buying, here’s an overview:

THE GOD BAG by Christopher Golden: the first story in this anthology and boy what a story it is. The narrator’s mum is dying, her mind is going, honestly that’s a scary story all on its own, but there is one thing she refuses to let go of: her God bag. When the narrator and the reader find out what exactly that bag contains… well, it might not have been the hugest of surprises for this reader but I sure as hell hoped I was wrong. A full story in few pages, The God Bag is possibly my favourite story in this collection. Golden will have a new book out early next year, Road of Bones, that was on my radar before but it has just climbed to the top of my wishlist.

CAKER’S MAN by Matthew Holness: so creepy, birthday cake is ruined forever.

THE BEECHFIELD MIRACLES by Priya Sharma: an understated piece of psychological horror that is weirdly thought-provoking and ends with a bang that made me hungry for more.

CLOCKWORK by Dan Coxon: short but sweet. A tad disturbing, with the sting in its tail.

SOAPSTONE by Aliya Whiteley: the aftermath of the death of a friend.

THE DARK BIT by Toby Litt: a chilling slice of body horror that made me cringe in a very good way.

PROVENANCE POND by Josh Malerman: from the author of Bird Box comes an atmospheric story about a girl, a pond and imaginary friends, or are they?

FOR ALL THE DEAD by Angeline B. Adams and Remco van Straten: in a small coastal town, the people are subject to a sea that is a fickle mistress: “she may hear you but never does she obey”.

THE GIRL IN THE POOL by Bracken MacLeod: an unsettling tale about a burglar who interrupts his thievery to save a drowning girl from a pool, but where did she come from and does she really need to be saved?

NURSE VARDEN by Jeremy Dyson: a trip down memory lane can be dangerous… An addictive story whose ending left me craving more.

IF, THEN by Lisa L. Hannett: a gardener and a lady’s maid and ifs leading to thens. To be honest, I’m still not sure what this was about, I have a theory, but am I right? I’ll never know and there is a certain charm in that.

AQUARIUM WARD by Karter Mycroft: blue-eyed bugs that are watching and waiting, superpowered meth, feds in hazmat suits: a dystopian tale told with a certain urgency, I loved it.

A MYSTERY FOR JULIE CHU by Stephen Gallagher: a hugely entertaining – if not that scary – story about a girl with a knack for finding treasure among junk.

AWAY DAY by Lisa Tuttle: I had no idea where it would go but I loved where I ended up with it, one of my favourites in this anthology.

POLAROID AND SEAWEED by Peter Harness: Christ on a cracker, what the hell did I just read?! A story that brought out many emotions in me, from pity to disgust and pretty much everything in between.

DER GEISTERBAHNHOF by Lynda E. Rucker: a tragic and unsettling story set in Berlin.

ARNIE’S ASHES by John Everson: Arnie is dead and his friends have the ashes to prove it. But then why are there people knocking on the door wearing Arnie’s face? A bit yuck, but very entertaining!

A BRIEF TOUR OF THE NIGHT by Nathan Ballingrud: one that pulled on my heartstrings quite unexpectedly and one I definitely will revisit.

THE CARE AND FEEDING OF HOUSEHOLD GODS by Frank J. Oreto: simply excellent! The suspense left me breathless and I’m still not sure what it says about me that I felt such relief at the denouement…

YELLOWBACK by Gemma Files: a horrific, terrifying and nauseating story, seriously I was so happy I wasn’t anywhere near food while I was reading this. 100% eww but a great way to finish this collection.

Last year I read and enjoyed the previous short story collection from Flame Tree Press, After Sundown, last year, so I was eager to see what was on offer this year.

Beyond The Veil is a collection of short horror stories with something for every type of horror fan, from classic monster tales to mind bending sci-fi to gruesome body horror.

I will just put a trigger warning here before I go any further. This novel contains themes of grief, suicide, child abuse, and the death of an animal.

In all honesty, most of the authors were unknown to me, so it was nice to find some new authors to add to my must read list.

Like most types of collections, I found it a good mix of styles. Of course, there were some stories I enjoyed more than others.

My standouts were:

God Bag. The story that followed a man and his dying mum who was in the last grips of dementia. She carried around a strange little God bag containing prayers that started off innocently enough until he started digging. It was both heartbreaking and creepy at the same time.

For All The Dead. A historical story about a young woman who lived in a small fishing village, where life and death were controlled by the sea. There was almost a fairytale-like quality to this one that I found magical.

The Girl In The Pool. A thief breaks into a house planning to rob the place, instead finds a young girl dead in the pool. This was a gripping tale of monsters and morality.

A Mystery for Julie Chu. A young woman has a knack for finding strange artifacts, but when she picks up an old radio from a car boot sale, she gets more than she bargained for. I loved the mix of mystery and spookiness of this one.

The care and feeding of household gods. This is a story about a stay at home dad who makes household gods to help him get everything done. This one took me by surprise, starting off innocent enough, then got more and more sinister. I still can't stop thinking about this one!

I would highly recommend Beyond The Veil if you're looking for a variety of short, sharp and shocking stories.

Don't come to this collection looking for Cosy and Comfort; you won't find Comfortable Horror here. Remember October 2020's eye-opening Horror collection AFTER SUNDOWN, also collated by Editor Mark Morris? Mr. Morris now brings 2021's non-themed Horror Anthology, BEYOND THE VEIL, 20 stories to make you wish you'd read in daylight and with the lights on.
Come on, open this Anthology: you know you really do want to be scared...

Beyond the Veil is the latest horror anthology collection from one of my favorite publishers, Flame Tree Press. It contains 20 short stories by some of the best horror authors. This compilation begins with The God Bag by one of my favorite authors, Christopher Golden. It is a solid 5 stars all by itself. The Care and Feeding of Household Gods by Frank J Creto is also another 5 star story. These two stories alone make this book worth reading. There are also solid stories from Josh Malerman, Stephen Gallagher, John Everson, and Gemma Files. Overall, most of the stories are well fleshed out. Of course in any anthology there are stories that don’t necessarily resonate with every reader. That doesn’t mean that the stories aren’t good, just that they aren’t for every reader. I enjoyed the book and look forward to the next anthology collection from Flame Tree Press.

I love short horror stories. Anthologies are my addiction and I pick them up whenever I can. I read and enjoyed last year's anthology from Flame Tree Press (After Sundown) and I was so excited to see that they will continue this annual tradition. This year's offering, Beyond The Veil may be even spookier and darker than the first volume.

The first story The God Bag by Christopher Golden is about a woman near the end of her days, who has managed to keep a secret from her family until now. It raises the bar pretty high for those that have to follow, and yet the majority of these tales managed to keep up the deliciously grim tone that blasts off from the beginning, leading us through a procession of the macabre. Another story in the same vein was The Care And Feeding of Household Gods by Frank J. Oreto in which a happily married stay at home dad finds a bit of otherworldly help to get through his daily chores. I was holding my breath at the end of this one, afraid of where it was going to take me. Caker's Man by Matthew Holness was downright scary. A neighbor who has never bothered to introduce himself in the year since he's moved in suddenly becomes extremely pushy in very creepy ways. The Dark Bit by Toby Litt is a gruesome work of body horror not for the squeamish. For All The Dead by Angeline B Adams and Remco Van Straten takes place in a small coastal village where the women know that their men may not always return from the sea. This was suspenseful, sad, and spooky all at once. Away Day by Lisa Tuttle is about a woman who is always left out of everything, until at last she finds a place to belong.

These are just a few of what for me were 5 star reads. If you enjoy short horror stories you are going to want to add this to your collection.

This was an explosion of horror from authors that I’ve read a lot of and some brand new authors that I’ll be reading more of in the future!

Caker’s Man by Matthew Holness was full of a kind of sinister dread. The wildly inappropriate, but seemingly physically harmless, old man neighbor. He’s off putting and builds enough disgust throughout the story that you know something really bad is coming.

The Darkbit by Toby Litt had me visibly cringing. This tale was part “haunted” house and part body horror.

A Brief Tour of the Night was a spin on the ghost story. Allen is haunted or rather he seeks out ghosts in order to be haunted. But why? The ending is painful and heartbreaking.

Yellowback by Gemma Files hits close to home with a pandemic tale. Not our current world or our current pandemic, but still enough similarities to be eerie. The world building was amazing. This could be a novella or even a full fledged novel.

Unsettling reads for a dark October night! Hit all the right moods for me!

An anthology of truly disturbing, and new, stories. A great collection of authors and a satisfying depth of variety. One of the stronger anthologies I've read. No filler or fluff in this one.

Beyond the Veil gathers 20 horror short stories. I had the best time reading this varied collection of creepiness! I love short story anthologies, especially scary ones. So, I took my time....savoring each story and just enjoying the horror.

Most of these writers are unfamiliar to me, which put a bit more fun in the mix. I love trying out new-to-me authors and adding their books/stories to my TBR. New styles. New ideas. Different shades of horror. Loved it!

My favorite story? So hard to choose one -- I enjoyed reading every single one. But if I have to pick one....I'd choose: Arnie's Ashes by John Everson. I've read several of Everson's books....and this short story was short and creepy. Loved it! But, like I said, all of the stories in this book are good!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this story anthology from Flame Tree Press. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

The book is a horror anthology of twenty stories. The book does not have a theme to it except that it is horror. Many of the authors that are included in this anthology’s reply top notched writers. The stories are scary and surprising. This is an excellent way to see what is currently being written in the horror genre. It covers the wide genre of horror. I think it’s a great collection! There is a story for everyone — horror lover or not.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Flame Tree Press in exchange for an honest review.

It's somewhat rare for me to enjoy the majority of a horror anthology, despite my love for horror short stories. I am pleased to report that Beyond the Veil is one of the best ones I have read in a while. There is no strong theme or link between the stories but most are supernatural and all have the same kind of 'feel' to them, which makes for a great reading experience. I also appreciated the distinct lack of erotic horror as it's a genre I find often isn't done well (or maybe doesn't mesh with me personally) and can dominate anthologies without any warning that it's there.

There are tons of stories included and I can't talk about them all without a super long review, so I'll just mention some of my favourites.

The God Bag by Christopher Golden-A man discovers his dying mother has a secret prayer bag with a dark twist. This is the first story in the anthology and it really set such a strong precedent for the others. I was completely absorbed by this one and, though it wasn't surprising, it was a fantastic short story.

Caker's Man by Matthew Holness-A creepy neighbour obsessed with feeding the narrator cake fuels this story. I wasn't super keen on how it ended, but the atmosphere was great and it's one of the most unique horror stories I've read in a while so I definitely appreciated that.

A Mystery for Julie Chu by Stephen Gallagher-A woman buys a strange object at a car bootsale with spooky results. This was one I really wished was a full-length story as I was desperate to read more. Great characters and a setup which made for a nice break from the darker stories in this collection.

Overall, I couldn't recommend this more. This really is a solid collection of horror stories and there is something here for most tastes. It would serve well as an introduction for someone looking to branch into reading horror, or just as Halloween reading for a longterm horror fan.

Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing me with a free e-book ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review.

For me, Beyond the Veil was a 4-star read and I highly recommend it for fans of scary stories. I mostly enjoyed the stories in it, though it was somewhat of a mixed bag at times. Most of the stories have interesting unexpected moments and/or really creepy events happening, but a couple of the them fell flat for me.

Overall, I’d say this collection is worth your time if you are in the mood for some horror and weird tales.

The new collection from Flame Tree Press is an uneven collection of short stories that worm their way into your subconscious that stay with you long after the final words are read.

The stories held within are well put together with a consistent flow from one tale to another. Although with most anthologies, there is an uneven appreciation for some as you find you like some a lot more than others while others make you feel cold. This may have more to do with liking a story so much that the next one pales in comparison and find when reading an anthology, it is best to read a short and then read something else before moving to the next. This helps me open my mind to the next story to help look at it from a fresh pair of eyes.

There are some real gems to be found within the pages and although most are written in the first person, the subject matter still holds some surprises for the narrator. As shorts all come down to personal taste there are some that stand out more than others but personally there really isn’t a bad tale to be told. All are well written and have their own unique style and prose to send a chill up and down the spine.

Overall, this dark, twisted collection is recommended and feels that Mark Morris has done an excellent job putting this together. This is a real taster from this group of authors and piques one interest in reading more from everyone involved. It is slightly uneven but there is more excellence than below and even the below only pale to the stories that are around them. On their own, they have their own unique excellence. Recommended.

This collection is full of stories about bargains: is the thing I desire worth the life of a child? Can I make a deal with god? In this way, the collection lives up to the blurb that it's very Shirley Jackson-esque. But many of the stories fail to thrill or horrify or even retain interest. Honestly, I'd say skip buying this one (get it from the library) and just go read Shirley Jackoson--or M. R. James--again.

Beyond the Veil is the second non-themed horror anthology from Flame Tree Press edited by Mark Morris, following on from last year’s After Sundown. I had a enjoyable time reading the first book so I approached this one with a great deal of anticipation. I’m pleased to say I was not disappointed.

There are 20 stories in Beyond the Veil, 16 of which were commissioned from some of the best writers working today, with the remaining 4 selected from an open submission window in which Morris invited the public to send stories into Flame Tree Press for consideration. This is an ideal way to balance ensuring both a good foundation of quality to the book’s contents, whilst also allowing a way to foster fresh talent from emerging writers.

An anthology stands and falls by its stories. And yet it’s only reasonable to expect that not every story works on the same level for each reader, and so this review comes with the age-old caveat that the stories that I preferred might not necessarily be the ones that are liked by everyone. It’s fair to say that Christopher Golden’s The God Bag might not have the most original plot, but nevertheless it’s delivered in a masterful way. Caker’s Man is a wonderfully unsettling tale about a young family’s rather grotesque elderly neighbour. The always-brilliant Priya Sharma’s contribution, The Beechfield Miracles, is a slice of near-future dystopia, covering Brexit and xenophobia, food-shortages, and a society on the brink of collapse. Its prescient almost-believable truth makes for uncomfortable reading, and it builds to a superb climax. Clockwork by Dan Coxon was another favourite, detailing a man’s uncanny discovery of some metal items in his garden, building towards a dark suggestion of what caused the breakdown of his relationship with his recently-deceased father. Aliya Whiteley’s Soapstone is dreamlike and hypnotic, and Toby Litt’s The Dark Bit is equally as unsettling (in a way that is difficult to describe).

Provenance Pond by Josh Malerman is an evocative tale, written from the point of view of ten-year old Rose and her childhood recollections of an area of water in their garden and the shadowy characters that lingered there. Stephen Gallagher – who contributed one of my favourites in a previous anthology edited by Mark Morris, New Fears – here delivers another fine story in A Mystery For Julie Chu, which is incredibly engaging and comes with a satisfying twist. Lisa Tuttle’s Away Day concerns a work trip to Inverness in which put-upon Kirsty journeys north, losing her way and finding rather more than she feared. Polaroid and Seaweed is a disturbing, and at times funny, story about troubled child Daniel and his broken family and unpleasant classmates. Lynda E Rucker’s Die Geisterbahnhof is a wonderfully-written haunting tale of regret and nostalgia; another highlight. The Care and Feeding of Household Gods by Frank J Oreto reminded me fondly of the Pan Book of Horror Stories with its accessible tone and dark twist. There’s a strong sense of body-horror which chimes uncomfortably with the recent global pandemic in Yellowback by Gemma Files, a writer whose work never fails to deliver.

There are also stories by Bracken Macleod, Angeline B Adams & Remco van Straten, Lisa L Hannett, Karter Mycroft, John Everson, Nathan Ballingrud, and a rather Tales of the Unexpected-esque story from Jeremy Dyson. There is a high quality of stories here and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good horror story. The themes and styles are varied, and editor Morris – a fine author in his own right – has done a great job of assembling a selection of work that represents contemporary horror in all its forms, highlighting the nuances of the genre and, above all else, entertaining greatly. Recommended.