A delightfully grim collection of pieces. I loved the introductory image associated with each piece.

Howls From the Dark Ages starts the reader off on a sort of Tales From the Crypt format. By this I mean that the collection itself, and within it each story, is introduced by a narrator. The narrator is taking the reader through a collection of macabre curiosities, each of which directly ties to the story it leads into. This is such a fun way to handle an anthology, and a device that I wouldn’t hate seeing more often in collections like this.

Although there wasn’t a story here that I didn’t find incredibly entertaining, there were a few standouts for me. I have presented these in no particular order. As mentioned, I read Howls From the Dark Ages some time ago, and I’m working off my hastily scribbled notes here, which are never reliably in any sort of order:

Palette by J. L. Kiefer – seriously, could cosmetic practices from the middle ages be any more horrifying?! (probably, but let’s ignore that) Did you know that lead was a common cosmetic ingredient? It sure was – and it was applied super liberally to often horrific ends, as will forever be imprinted upon your psyche after reading this gem.
Angelus by Philippa Evans – a delightfully disgusting story centered around witch panic involving a young girl. Truly grim, and beautifully written exploration of injustice and religious/moral fervor.
The King of Youth vs. The Knight of Death by Patrick Barb – A sort of medieval Lord of the Flies, but with more lore. Really great stuff.

That is a very small list of a few of my absolute favorites, but seriously, this is a stellar collection. Every story is both gross and engrossing (haha, see what I did there?). Howls From the Dark Ages is a perfect example of not knowing you needed something (medieval horror stories) until you have them in your grubby little paws. Now you must treasure them forever.

With a whopping 18 stories inside these pages, Howls From the Dark Ages is not for the faint of heart. These stories get surprisingly gnarly, and I think you’re gonna love them. This is a really well written, well edited, and well compiled group of stories.

*this review will publish at the included link on August 14.*

Middle of the road. Found some of the stories very compelling but since these were mixed with other dull one that barely kept my attention I found it harder to get through. Would definitely recommend for some who enjoys the Middle Ages - just would encourage the reader to pass on stories that don’t keep you attention

"Howls From the Dark Ages" is a captivating anthology of medieval horror that delves into the untold history of the past through the lens of chilling manuscripts. Within these pages, readers will encounter eighteen stories that transport them to a world of ancient horrors, where cursed castles, eerie woodlands, haunted hamlets, and enigmatic monasteries hold secrets waiting to be unveiled. Featuring a diverse lineup of both established and emerging authors, this anthology explores the supernatural and the macabre within the medieval period, making it a must-read for fans of historical horror. The anthology is aptly introduced by Christopher Buehlman, the author of the medieval horror epic "Between Two Fires," who has played a significant role in this genre.

I'm not a big horror reader, so I approached this anthology with some trepidation. I needn't have worried. This was an enjoyable collection of horror shorts set during the Middle Ages. Covering fear of witches, pagan rituals, superstitions, plague, war, heretics, and more, each story crafted a vivid place and characters.

And though I wasn't fully invested in every story, this was a fairly strong collection. I liked the feelings of dread and fear the authors evoked to varying degree, and had several favourites:
-The Crowing
-Angelus
-In Every Drop
-Deus Vult
-White Owl
-The Lai of the Danse Macabre

Thank you to HOWL Society Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

I guess I'd describe this as historical horror, and it was really fun to explore these stories! Some I had to skip cause of the content (still figuring out what I'm comfortable with when it comes to horror), but overall I really enjoyed this collection.

I was really excited for this for probably the same reason a lot of other people were. I absolutely loved Between Two Fires and wanted more medieval horror. This definitely delivers some great stories, but it suffers from the same thing a lot of other collections do. The stories just aren't all the same quality. I found myself going along for a while having a great time, then having to drag myself through a mediocre story that kind of bored me and that up and down experience made it kind of hard to finish. The stories that are good are fantastic for sure, but the ones that are just ok really just made me wish I was reading a full story of some of the better ones, with their weird body and cosmic horrors and cool monsters and what not. I did really like it overall, though, and it did turn me on to some authors that I want to read more from.

Historical horror, sign me up. This is a great selection of medieval short horror stories. The selection is fascinating and crosses all cultures, curiosities and subjects. Personally as a horror fan it was a refreshing read that I wasn’t expecting. The themes are original and intriguing. A must read for all horror fans

"Howls From the Dark Ages" is a thrilling and thought-provoking anthology of horror stories set in the Middle Ages. Edited by Richard L. Tierney, the book features contributions from some of the most talented horror writers of the genre, including Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft.

The stories in this collection are dark and haunting, drawing on the fears and superstitions of the medieval world to create a sense of dread and foreboding. The writing is visceral and immersive, transporting the reader to a time and place where death and danger were never far away.

What sets "Howls From the Dark Ages" apart is the skillful way in which the stories are woven together, creating a cohesive and compelling narrative that will keep you engaged from start to finish. This anthology is a must-read for fans of horror and medieval history, and a testament to the enduring power of the genre.

This is perhaps one of the most unique presentations of a novel compilation I’ve ever seen. Though I love in-depth, and lengthy novels, I do appreciate short stories when well written.

This book is written as if the reader is on a tour in a museum of creepy curiosities. As you make your way around the room looking at objects, the tour guide tells you the creepy story behind each object. The tour is comprised of eighteen objects, and each story that goes along with it has a gothic/torture/ancient horror theme.

If you are a fan of horror short stories, or enjoy all things dark/creepy, castles, curses, monasteries, witches, torture, haunted locations, etc. this will be right up your alley! I want to say that I have a favorite story, but there were actually quite a few that really stuck with me. I also love that some of them have a great moral message along with it.

HOWLS FROM THE DARK AGES was the kind of anthology that really pushed my limits. As someone who doesn’t really enjoy body horror, this collection was a bit disturbing for me. Some stories had a lot of body horror that bordered on disgusting me, but I powered through because the ominous aura they presented was worth it.
Some stories were a bit boring, not my favorites, and some had so many foreign words or biblical references that I disconnected from them. But then there were some that I really enjoyed the themes, or the narration, or the imagery they presented.

Some of my favorites; In Every Drop by Lindsey Ragsdale, A Dowry For Your Hand by Michelle Tang, The Lady of Leer Castle by Christopher O’Halloran, Schizzare by Bridget D. Brave, The Forgotten Valley by C. B. Jones, The Fourth Scene by Brian Evenson and The Lai of The Danse Macabre by Jessica Peter.

While the rest of the stories in this collection wasn’t to my taste, this doesn’t mean that they won’t be for yours, because I truly believe there’s something for every kind of horror lover in here. All you need to do is venture in, and find your favorite.

It’s clear that a lot of work has gone into this book. I loved the way a narrator who call themselves the ‘curator’ of this museum of the macabre objects each of which represent one story in the anthology, and I can’t pass without mentioning the beautiful and haunting drawings of the artists who contributed. There was a drawing of the object for each story, and I couldn’t help but stare at them at the beginning of every tale, they were really gorgeous.

Like most collections, it's a mixed affair, but the unique direction these stories come from brings a freshness to the collection that elevates everything within.

This book was really interesting! I was intrigued by the storyline and that's what initially drew me to this title. I also really love the cover artwork.

A really good selection of dark and horrible stories set in Medieval times, which I found to be a very nice, refreshing change. Recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC to review. I am so in love with this book. I read it late, and now I'm hunting for a physical copy because it is so close to my personal interests, and writing endeavors.

In my adventure into expanding my reading horizons, I thought this anthology would be a fun way to get more acquainted with horror stories and see where my tastes fall. I have to say none of these gave me the creeps, and none grossed me out, I think that's a me thing, I'm sure if these were visual I probably would have been at least grossed out, but I wasn't so I never had to put this down for that reason. I was thoroughly entertained through and it only took me 3 days to get through this, and I can proudly say I only DNF'd one story.

Overall I think each story was decent, meaning it kept my attention and I was able to finish them, expect one of course. They each had that creepy feeling to them, some more than others. The variety was great as well, while the theme was medieval period, there where a few that were not in and english based medieval location, and one actually felt really modern. I also very much enjoyed the curator idea, each story is presented to you like you're walking through a museum and the curator gives you bit of an insight into each tale and sometimes makes a small comment on the previous tale, I really enjoyed this, instead of just jumping to each story, it gave you a minute to digest each tale after they ended.

In total I gave:
-2 stories 5 stars
-6 stories 4 stars
-7 stories 3 stars
-1 story 2 stars
-1 story 1 star
-1 story 0 star DNF

After sitting on this for a few days my favorite story ended up being The Palette by J.L. Kiefer, I really loved the overall idea of this story, A woman obsessed with her appearance to the point to where she accidentally poisons herself, it was so engrossing even if the description of her face was disgusting.

The King of Youth vs The Knight of Death by Patrick Barb was another I really liked. A child is elected king during this carnivale and basically decides to take it seriously and starts getting the other kids to attack the adults. Only to have the Adults hire the Knight of Death who LITERALLY starts murdering kids. I was like geez this is gruesome, and then the end just made me go "wow are you serious, these people are going to be mentally traumatized for forever for one person's payback" it was insane and really enjoyed it.

My least favorite story was Brother Cornelius by Peter Ong Cook, this was more humor than scary and that was not what I was looking for, but it was also due to the fact that I didn't think the type of humor used was funny. I rolled my eyes at the man getting the horn shoved up his butt, that was just dumb.

The Mouth of Hell by Cody Goodfellow was the story I DNF'd. I had a lot of issues following this story, it wasnt making any sense and it became a chore to try and figure out what exactly was going on, It gave me The Divine Comedy vibes, with a squire I'm assuming falling through different levels of hell to get his master back but I could be wrong since I was struggling with it a lot.

Overall I say each story really brought something different and entertaining a lot of variety which was nice. I will say and I mean this in the nicest way, I wish the included art had been....better, they just left something to be desired and for each story to have one depicting the main element of each story they just felt kind of bland. It was nice they were included Just maybe a bit more could have been spent on them to really make them appealing.

A well-edited anthology of horror shorts that explore the macabre in medieval settings. Each author brought their own unique twist and wrote some spectacularly spooky stuff. Stand outs were "Deus Volt" by Ethan Yoder, "White Owl" by Stevie Edwards, "A Dark Quadrivium" by David Worn, "In Thrall to This Good Earth" by Hailey Piper, and "A Dowry for Your Hand" by Michelle Tang. Definitely a book I will be recommending to my customers who love horror. After all, who doesn't want a glimpse into the darkest of ages?

Howls from the Dark Ages is the second anthology I have read by HOWL. I highly recommend this! Review forthcoming for Monster Librarian.

What a delightfully twisted cabinet of curiosities this collection of stories is! As a horror-loving Medievalist, I have to say I was giddy with excitement when I saw the news that this book was to be published by the HOWL Society. I love the ability of modern readers to make myths and tales about the Middle Ages because it offers such rich source material for imagination. Please understand that I do not mean that these authors went "willy-nilly" into writing stories only set with the Medieval period. What I hope I can express is that these authors dove deep into the tones of fear, superstition, and beliefs upheld by many who lived in these past centuries.

We know from the likes of Guibert of Nogent's 'Monodies' (and other sources) that devils, witches, and the supernatural walked hand in hand with angels, the relics of saints, and the divine power of the Almighty during this period in human history in Western Europe. It was a magnificent time for believing. While most of the stories in this collection are set within a fantastical Medieval Europe, one is set in China, and the other within the kingdom of the Maya. I greedily hope that maybe a second volume could give us even more non-Eurocentric tales?

What I especially loved about this anthology is that the narrator guides readers, like a docent at a museum or the Cryptkeeper, through a bizarre collection of items represented with illustrations that serve as preface for the story that you are about to read. It's a quirky and bold structural choice and I absolutely adored it. It recreates the curiosity that many feel when they are in contact with Medieval material culture. Sometimes the context isn't right or it's hard to understand how certain objects were used or even why particular images existed in the first place - hello, armored snails, shit-spewing monks, and penis trees of Medieval marginalia! So, yes, it's a bizarre choice and breaks up the flow of the stories, but I truly got into it, and I think other Medievalists will as well.

While the breadth of the stories range from traditional fantasy narratives, dark fiction, ghost stories, body horror, cosmic horror, and creature features, they are all bound thematically together without falling into anachronism and the HOWL Society should be heartily commended for this careful curation. By its very nature, setting the anthology in the Medieval era lends itself to these niche genres. It's a period filled with angelic visions, demons around every corner, as yet unexplainable phenomena, flagellation as religious rite, ergot poisoning, etc...

Students of the Medieval and Byzantine period will get to "nerd out" over tales of pimple-faced novices at a monastery warding off the undead, a woman so consumed by vanity that she lives to see her own demise through the use of lead-based cosmetics (very nice historical accuracy concerning the preparation of these cosmetics, by the way!), wood witches, gore-coated knights, sinister herbals, cursed relics, hellmouths, and shrieks in the dark of night, oh my! This atmospheric collection delivered much more than I was expecting or even hoping for. As a bonus, I have added so many new authors to my "to watch" list and I cannot wait to see what else they come up with.

I'd also like to talk about the production quality of this book for just a moment because the illustrations and quality of the photo paper that the book is printed on makes this an exceptionally rich volume. If you're shopping for gifts for the Medievalist or horror-fan in your life, check out 'Howls From the Dark Ages'.

Many thanks to the authors, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A really intriguing take on a compilation of horror stories. It doesn’t quite my historical passions but does in terms of horror. I’d definitely recommend this to other lovers of horror.