I’m not much of a horror reader but I loved this! The authors did absolutely amazing. They were creepy, a little horrifying, and even freaked me out at times.

My favorite story was The Ghost on the Shore by Allison Saft, which was a beautiful depiction of grief and not wanting to let go. My other favorite story was The Tallest Poppy by Chloe Gong, which had my favorite ending because it terrified me. (When creepy shit starts happening in the allegedly cursed house, I am out.)

If you're just starting to read horror, I think this is a great book to start out with. It’s short and has a wide variety of stories with ghosts, witches, monsters, small town folklore, and even classic games we played as children like Bloody Mary and truth or dare.

Overall, I loved and you should absolutely add it to your tbr!

TW: blood, dismemberment (off-page), death, murder, SA (off-page, described), pedophilia, physical and emotional abuse (off-page, described), car crash, bones, suicidal ideation, cancer, arson, drowning (mentioned, described), grief, depictions of slavery

A perfectly creepy and shadow-tinged exploration of the horrors in small towns, wide open fields, and shaded forests. Standouts include stories from Erica Waters, Hannah Whitten, and Shakira Toussaint.

Some of these were good, some not so good. Overall this did not give me the fall vibes I was looking for, but it was still an enjoyable read.

Spooky season is my favourite season however, it feels ever-so-far away as Winter refuses to rescind it's snowy grip to Spring. When I saw this anthology pop up I figured this would be a fun way to get a dose of fall vibes to tide me over.

Stay:★★
The Tallest Poppy:★★
Loved by All, Save One:★★★★
One Lane Bridge:★★★
Ghost on the Shore:★★
Petrified:★★★
Third Burn:★★
Stays with You:★★
Truth or Dare:★★★★
Burning One:★★★★
Average Rating: 2.8 ★'s

As I actually started reading I realized that they're not really autumnal at all. It had me reminiscing of the stories you'd tell at slumber parties as a kid or around a camp fire more so then anything Fall or Halloween related.

A lot of the stories were immemorable. Many of them were trying to do too many things at once (Chloe Gong's The Tallest Poppy was probably the worst for it, but that's also a criticism I have of These Violent Delight's duology) which took away from any impact the ending's could have had. Other's took on classic folk/urban myth's but added nothing to the overall story.

The three that I rated 4 ★'s, however, were incredible. They gave me goosebumps and lingered in my mind long after I moved on to the next story. All of them have a strong air of originality which could be why I preferred them over the retellings. I'd have to say Loved by All, Save one, was the best just because it really captured the heebie-jeebies you get when home alone or being separated from friends.

My overall enjoyment of the anthology was fairy low. Most of the stories being mediocre at best but it was worth reading through them to get to the few that sent shivers up my spine. I feel like if you enjoyed Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark or Haunted Canada: True Ghost Stories as a kid you'll like what's going on in The Gathering Dark.

Love the creepiness of this anthology and I was invested in each story. However, the annoying thing about short stories is that they can’t always be fleshed out to what they could be, so I sometimes feel l like there’s a missing piece in the story.

The Gathering Dark is a collection of short horror stories by authors who know exactly how to scare you. Each story was entirely unique. I’ve read works by more than half of the authors included in this anthology and now I’m planning to read the rest! I would advise you to do the same. Each story is a preview of what the author brings to their own works. It’s a testament to their skill that they were all able to pack such a punch in each story. I was spooked, horrified, scared, jittery, shaking like a leaf, you name a synonym for scared and I was IT. If you love atmospheric horror, you need to pick up a copy of The Gathering Dark!

Anthologies are not usually my favourite types of books to read, but when I saw the author lineup here I just had to give it a try! These were all so great. The horror vibes came through excellently. Tori Bovalino did a great job compiling all of these stories together to make such a cohesive anthology. I love it - highly recommend to any horror fans out there!

Thank you to Page Street Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC. This was a great little collection of spooky stories. I didn’t expect any of them to actually make me feel scared but a couple of them did - I’m looking you Miss Chloe Gong with your creepy dolls. I also really enjoyed Hannah Whitten’s and Alex Brown’s.

I’m generally not much of a short story reader but I liked how quick yet engaging these were. Some were better than others but they were all very unique and well written. You should definitely pick this up for spooky season.