Rating for overall collection: 3.16 stars

Sometimes you just need a break from long, dense novels, and a short story fix. In These Hallowed Halls was a fantastic collection of twelve short stories that cover a range of genres, delving into mystery, horror, and even a touch of science fiction. While all are firmly academic in nature, some have a much more lighthearted approach, while others make your stomach churn. Because of the vast differences in writing styles and creative directions, I was never bored, even though certain stories were not to my liking. This is a great introduction to dark academia for those hesitant about the genre and will be delightful for those who are dedicated fans.

Since these stories were incredibly short (most were less than thirty pages digitally) I will not be including detailed explanations of each story, but what I rated them.

1. "1000 Ships" ⭐️⭐️
2. "Delphi" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3. "Sabbatical" ⭐️⭐️
4. "The Hare and the Hound" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5. "X House" ⭐️⭐️
6. "The Ravages" ⭐️⭐️
7. "Four Funerals" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
8. "The Unknowable Pleasures" ⭐️⭐️
9. "Weekend at Bertie's" ⭐️⭐️
10. "The Professor of Ontography" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
11. "Phobos" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
12. "Playing" ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for an advanced copy! All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

"In These Hallowed Halls: A Dark Academia Anthology" is a captivating collection of twelve dark academia short stories that delve into the enigmatic and often sinister world of academia. From the masters of the genre, this anthology offers a mesmerizing exploration of the pursuit of knowledge, secrets, and the shadows that linger within the hallowed halls of higher education.

Each story within this anthology presents a unique and beguiling perspective on dark academia. From tales of revenge and retribution to mysteries surrounding missing professors and illicit affairs, the anthology covers a wide spectrum of themes that encapsulate the essence of the genre. The authors, including Olivie Blake, M.L. Rio, Susie Yang, and others, bring their own distinctive voices to the stories, making each one a memorable and chilling experience.

The beauty of this anthology lies in its ability to capture the allure of academic settings while infusing them with a sense of darkness and foreboding. The characters grapple with their desires for knowledge, power, and understanding, often leading them down treacherous paths. The juxtaposition of intellectual pursuit and the macabre creates an atmosphere of tension that keeps readers engrossed from beginning to end.

The anthology's themes are as varied as its contributors, touching on obsession, revenge, the supernatural, and the psychological. Whether through ghostly séances, sinister secrets, or enigmatic initiations, each story delivers its own unique blend of darkness and academia.

The definition of dark academia provided in the description perfectly encapsulates the essence of this anthology. It's a collection that embraces the scholarly pursuit of knowledge while delving into the more ominous and mysterious aspects of academia. The aesthetic principles of dark academia are vividly portrayed through the characters' attire, surroundings, and the atmospheric settings that range from libraries to museums.

"In These Hallowed Halls: A Dark Academia Anthology" is a must-read for fans of the genre. With its captivating stories and diverse range of themes, it offers a captivating journey into the shadowy corners of academia, satisfying the cravings of those who appreciate intellectual pursuits with a twist of the sinister. Each story in this anthology is a gem that contributes to the overall allure and mystique of dark academia.

I am obsessed with weird short story/anthology books, so when I saw this ARC I knew I had to request it! (Thank you NetGalley, this book was incredible)
In These Hallowed Hallows delivered everything promised and that I hoped it would be. I finished this book a couple of weeks ago and wanted to have time to sit with the stories. These stories are all incredibly eerie and bizarre. I have not stopped thinking about them since. In These Hallowed Hallows is truly a no-skip album, but I particularly enjoyed Kelly Andrews, J.T Ellison, Layne Fargo, and M.L Rio's stories. What I love about anthologies is that it is such a nice introduction to an author's writing style and voice. From this, I have found an entire heap of authors that I will read and recommend!

I believe this is the most mix my feelings have been on a short story collection in quite some time. Some of these stories were knock-out-of-the-park 5 stars, some were just ok, and one of them was a 1 star. I will say though that this we certainly more good than bad. The writing style of each respective author is different enough for you to tell a difference, but not enough to where the stories feel disconnected. Overall I would recommend this collection for people who enjoy dark academia and also (like me) have a short attention span.

dark academia anthology? with so many amazing authors? this has me STOKED when it was announced, yet I’m so conflicted on how I feel about this. there were definitely a few stories that I loved and wish were full length novels or novellas, but everything else was just so so for me. I just really didn’t see where a lot of these were going and could see how they would benefit from being fleshed out much more as longer stories. overall, it was a solid read but didn’t fulfill that dark academia fix I was needing.

Dark Academia. What do those words conjure up for you?
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This collection has me SO READY for autumnal vibes! The stories encapsulated everything I love about the genre, and now I NEED MORE, I’m putting my vote in for a second anthology… please? Pleaseeeee?
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Each story shines in it’s own right, but personal stand outs for me were…

📖 1000 Ships | Kate Weinberg
📖 X House | J.T. Ellison
📖 Weekend at Bertie’s | M.L. Rio
📖 The Professor of Ontography | Helen Grant
📖 Playing | Phoebe Wynne
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All of the authors in this anthology are writing at the top of their game though, and truly I implore anyone who loves to dip a toe into the dark academia world to pick up a copy!!
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Thank you to netgalley & the publisher for the arc!!

In These Hallowed Halls really solidifies the 'dark' in dark academia. All the stories in this book are based in an academic setting and have those strange, intense, kind of spooky (and well, dark) vibes that I have come to associate with this genre. All of the stories in this anthology were pretty good, but if I had to choose my favourites, I would select M.L. Rio, Olivie Blake and Kelly Andrew's stories. Conceptually, I think they were my favourite in terms of the plot and the characters; each one of them started great and ended in a way that I felt was perfect, and at the same time left me wanting more.

Honestly though, I would not mind if there was a volume 2 of this anthology with even more stories set in dark academia; because as someone who is in academia, we really need those.

Ever since it was announced both by Titan Books and by some of the authors in it which I follow, I’ve wanted to read this Dark Academia anthology. I am currently writing my master thesis on DA as a literary genre, and so I’m always looking for new books to add to my ever growing list of DA titles. This anthology also features some authors that I love so I wanted to read their stories as well.

Now here is a disclaimer, I have my own set of parameters for the Dark Academia genre, and the books I add to the list and subsequently my thesis need to check some boxes, which are different for example that just being described as being part of the DA aesthetic. For instance, the setting must be an institution of learning, weather a university or boarding school, you can’t have DA without that because DA stems from the Campus Novel, which are essentially fiction set in uni/colleges. DA also features gothic themes, and death in some capacity.

That being said, not all the stories in this anthology are part of the Dark Academia genre. Only four out of twelve are, which are as follows: 1000 Ships by Kate Weinberg; X House by J.T. Ellison; Phobos by Tori Bovalino, and Playing by Phoebe Wynne. The rest of the stories can be divided into three categories. Five of them have elements of Dark Academia, which include the aesthetic part, but for some reason they are not fully part of the genre. Sabbatical by James Tate Hill is a Campus Novel (or Campus Short Story in this case) in my opinion. And then we have the two short stories that are in no way Dark Academia, and which make me question why are they even in this anthology at all. These are The Hare and The Hound by Kelly Andrew and Four Funerals by David Bell.

I’m going to break down each of the stories below to comment them in more depth. I have given individual ratings to each of the stories, and upon calculating the arithmetic mean and rounding it up, my final rating of this anthology is going to be 4 stars. It is overall, a very good anthology, especially because 5 short stories are 5 stars and that is almost the half. I enjoyed reading these. Let’s take a closer look.

»1000 Ships - Kate Weinberg, 5 stars 💫 dark academia

The opening story of the collection, and what a start! As this was the first story I read it set a very high parameter that for a while I thought no other story was going to match (I don’t tend to read short story collections in order I just choose whichever appeals to me the most first). This is also the shortest story which just proves that quantity does not mean quality. This story is a prequel of the book The Truants, the debut novel of the author and also a Dark Academia novel. I simply loved this story. Not just because it was a DA story, and I was fearful of how many I would encounter on this anthology, but also because as a short story it was a great one. It had a very clear sense of where it was going and what it wanted to say, structurally it had a beginning, middle and end that made sense (you’d be surprised how many short stories don’t). If you’re familiar with The Truants, this story is about Lorna, and it was the story we needed! We learn so much about her and her characterization is incredible.

»Pythia - Olivie Blake, 3.5 stars 💫

Much like her famous book The Atlas Six, this story is not part of the Dark Academia genre, however it does have elements included. It is also similar to TAS in the sense that the writing is extremely confusing, apparently on purpose, and to mask the fact that the worldbuilding is a mess. However, somehow this works. The intercalation between an interview and past events, makes you aware of specific information as you go along. There are some great criticism in here as well. I think what genuinely bothered me with this one was the writing, I feel like it was such a great idea and concept but the writing prevented me from fully enjoying it.

»Sabbatical - James Tate Hill, 2.5 stars 💫

This one appears to be a prequel to the author’s novel Academy Gothic, but I cant verify that because I haven’t read that novel. It was a confusing and average story. This is the one that for me reads very much like a Campus Novel (or Campus Short Story in this case). I just didn’t connect much with this one or find anything special about it, hence the lower rating.

»The Hare and The Hound - Kelly Andrew, 3 stars 💫

This story is one of the two I don’t consider to have anything DA about it, and I don’t understand why it was even featured in this anthology. This was filled with magical realism and fantasy to the point that made me question why it wasn’t featured in a different themed anthology. It is not a bad story per se, but it’s just so off thematically from the rest. The focus here is not academic life or anything pertaining to it, the focus is a Hare and magical transformations and I was just very annoyed. It was also way too long, one of the longest of the whole anthology, and being longer didn’t even add that much to it.

»X House - J.T. Ellison, 5 stars 💫 dark academia

This one was superb. A masterpiece. A school, with four founders and subsequent four houses, we are introduced to X House and its ruthless girls. This is such a fleshed out short story, incredibly written and you can see how much the author as thought everything through. It also features multiple povs and the organisation in which it was written makes all the difference. This was amazing and so satisfying to read due to its high quality. Again not saying that because it is part of the DA genre, but because as a short story it is such a fantastic one, and so well written.

»The Ravages - Layne Fargo, 4 stars 💫

Layne Fargo is the author of the insanely good book They Never Learn, and here she follows the theme of female rage and female desire. She is a master of exploring those, and this short story was delicious to read. It’s very strong on the gothic, the atmosphere is intense, and its also very strong on the Dark Academia aesthetic. It does feature DA elements but because of one thing (you’ll know when you read it) I’m refraining from putting it as DA. That is actually the reason why I am rating it 4 stars as well because it could have easily been a 5 if that one thing were different.

»Four Funerals - David Bell, 1 star 💫

This is the worst story in the anthology and the second one that is not Dark Academia in the least. I am only going to say this once, school shooting is not Dark Academia. I don’t know where this has stemmed from, but it is absurd. It has absolutely nothing to do with what Dark Academia even stands for. Yes, it is something dark that happens in places of learning, it is the complete opposite of what both the genre and the aesthetic of DA stand for. I found it a little offensive that this story was included in the anthology, I feel like the editors made a poor choice to include this one. This is also a story that is a possible trigger warning. It does not describe the events of the shooting per se, it deals with the aftermaths, a.k.a four funerals, but it could still be triggering nonetheless. Also, there is a very strange and possible problematic message at the end of the story where it seems that both the MC and the shooters mother attempt to say that the shooter is blameless of what he’s done. I found it a disservice that this story was featured.

»The Unknowable Pleasures - Susie Yang, 3.5 stars 💫

This story had everything to be perfect, if it weren’t for the ending!! That’s what I mean when I say a short story should have a clear beginning middle and end, and this one doesn’t!! Gosh, it is so frustrating to me because I was LOVING this up until the end. It has an interesting obsessive main character, that becomes so invested in the lives of her professor and her classmate, it was such an original concept! It’s not fully DA but does have elements and it was almost perfect. I was so excited while I read this, but the ending was so annoying ugh.

»Weekend at Bertie’s - M.L. Rio, 2.5 stars 💫

I can’t believe I am giving this such a low rating but here we are. This was one of my most anticipated stories from this anthology. It’s the first piece of writing we’ve had from the author of If We Were Villains in years, and yet here we are. It was not what I expected. In both the DA sense, so little elements, and it is not set in an institution of learning… It was annoyingly frustrated because it could be fixed easily, and also in the sense of short story format, this was the type of short story that I hate. The one that feels unfinished, like a chapter in the middle of a book that you’re just trying to caught up to. It made me feel lost. It also has a very unremarkable writing which was not what I expect from M.L. Rio at all. Overall, this was boring and nobody is sorrier to say that than I am.

»The Professor of Ontography - Helen Grant, 5 stars 💫

This story will live in my mind for years to come. It is one of the best short stories I have ever read in my life. It has such a strong atmosphere, so unique and eerie. This could easily be an episode of an anthology series on Netflix (yes I am thinking about Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities). There is just a different thing here, a sense of weird and uncanny. It reminded me of Cabinet of Curiosities, of Poe’s short stories, of Lovecraftian horror. It’s just incredible. There is a clear sense of beginning middle and end that just leaves you breathless and floored after you finish. It does feature some DA elements. I just loved this one so much. I am going to be thinking about this one for a long, long time.

»Phobos - Tori Bovalino, 5 stars 💫 dark academia

While I was reading this anthology I kept asking myself, will there be a story featuring secret societies? Phobos was the answer to that question. This story was amazing from beginning to end. Frenetic, ruthless, competitive, ambitious, it was dripping with everything DA is. It was one hell of a story and I loved it.

»Playing - Phoebe Wynne, 5 stars 💫 dark academia

This was amazing. There is excellent characterization here, we get to unpeel the layers of the main character little by little, and the more we discover, the darker it gets. This is just dripping with gothic atmosphere, it’s a treat. It also has everything a good DA needs. The story itself its very full circle too, and the ending is incredibly satisfying. I had a great time reading this one, it was perfect.

As I said, the anthology in full gets a 4 star. For an anthology, this is one of the best, with more good stories than bad. I recommend it.

Many thanks to Titan Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Dark academia is back! What a wonderful anthology from some of my favourite authors. I really enjoyed seeing how each contributor put their own spin on the genre— from horror to secret societies, grief and obsession, each story was unique and a stand-alone display of talent and storytelling. My favourites were Kelly Andrew’s take on a whimsical and feverish horror-romance, Tori Bovalino’s vicious secret society and Helen Grant’s twisty thriller about a reclusive university department and the horrors it’s concealing. Like any anthology, not all were to my taste but overall if you’re a fan of dark academia this is a great taster of the genre and a perfect example of some stellar author’s short form work!

This was incredible! It's started me on a spooky anthology kick, I seriously can't get enough omg!!

I definitely had my favourites but there is something in this collection for every kind of dark academia reader!

Pythia by Olivie Blake (4*)
- This one took me a second to get into, Blake's style of writing is not usually what I gravitate towards and I find it hard to get my head around with how wordy it is. That being said, once I got into this it was so good!! It was completely absurd, and drew on universal technophobia in a really subtle, unique way- it was brilliantly uncanny. It took the 'what if' of AI and twisted it in such a way that was both bizarre and also perfectly logical. She blended real science with the speculative, and added a dash of magic to blur the lines between reality and fiction so effectively that reading this took all my attention and energy (in the best way). The ending was so good, I think it being in book form added a layer of shock when the ending was revealed; in a movie I think it may have been easier to guess it, but it was so great, I was shocked I was spooked I was dEEPLY uncomfortable, and as bad as it was (morally), I kinda had to side with the MC. The Darcy scene was also kinda funny just because of how real it was lmao. I really enjoyed this one, it was clever and spooky in all the right ways.

The Hare and The Hound by Kelly Andrew (5*)
- Okay so I only requested this collection because I knew that Kelly was contributing a story and my GOD did it deliver!! After TWD, she's so solidly in my auto-buy/auto-read author list so being able to read this story that's really a convergence of all the themes you can tell she loves to write about (mythology, mysteries, fate(?), spooky dead things etc.) and writes inSANELY well, was such a treat between TWD and YBMB! I finished it and then immediately went back to re-read it because I needed to read the start with all the new perspective I got from the ending- and it was just as good if not better the second time around.
The way she compresses so much into such a short, simple (simple in the sense that there is one story happening, no side ones etc.) story, so effectively, is a real skill - short stories are HARD to get right, especially ones that you want to leave the reader shaken at the end of. I could feel the building claustrophobia as the MC was going back and forth in his own head, the belief, the doubt, the what if, the momentary indulgence of a crazy idea that leads to obsession. How the author managed to write a descent-into-madness in a short story without it feeling rushed in anY way, I didn't know that could be done so well (the yellow wallpaper is shaking rn).
The academic backdrop really elevated it too, the nickname, even the backstory happening at a place that's such a horror/thriller imagery staple - the small details are never missed in her writing and it shOWS.
That final scene was so good - the building unease about her character, the swirling doubt and wilful rejection of myth; the way he comes so close to taking that step towards redemption (whether you think redemption is deserved is besides the point), just for it to be ripped away?? And what makes this impossible to leave on the page is the possibilities of what happens next - there's the inevitable of course, but does he stay in that state? does he get better? is she done with him? does he keep spiralling?
I felt the rising panic, the anxiety, the prickly fear with every page I read and if there's one thing about Kelly Andrew's writing- it's going to stick with you, and to you, in this case. This was amazing I can't articulate all the feelings this made me feel but oH it was brilliant and I really hope she does more of these short form works in the future!

X House by JT Ellison (4*)
This was so good, I kinda loved that it wasn't a happy ending, it was abrupt and an extreme version of what it's like to seek acceptance in the wrong places as a kid. I really liked this one, it was just a freaky, killer girls in school uniforms kind of scary (which is actually terrifying lmao). A solid one!

The Professor of Ontography by Helen Grant (5*)
- Oh this was spooky as hell, and the added element of so much time passing made what would've been a great horror story into something HAUNTING!! What was it, 30? 40? years?? Good LORD, my stomach is thoroughly TURNED. I would go back to get specific quotes and details for this review but I'm so fully traumatised that I refuse to do it (at least until I get the physical book and need to annotate it lmao send help). And just as a note, I mean this as the highest praise bc I'm a spooky horror gal, I eat it up, and it takes a lot to really spook me. Now, I hated Toy Story it also traumatised me to the point I have not watched it since that first viewing, so the comparison my brain drew between the two may have also contributed to how terrified I am lmao.
The unknown is also a huge factor in this story, it builds the anxiety and anticipation to the point of real panic. From curiosity, to obsession, to absolutely NOT, to oh dear god what did we do; and that feels like the real foundation of dark academia- something that drives you to such obsessive pursuit of knowledge or understanding that you don't realise it's destroying you until it does and the price- the price is never worth it but you always gotta pay it with tax and interest, and I think this story did that so brilliantly I have zero notes, nothing to say. Most of the story is uneventful, it just builds to that final moment, which worked SO well. On top of that, we don't get any closure. What happens next? To her? To him? I mean, just taking a minute to process the price he paid, and the LENGTH of time????? Every time she thought she made it up? I actually don't think I can think about it for more than a brief moment or I'll need to check in. We don't even know HOW that happened, we see the outcome but that's DECADES that past- is this worse than it was? Is this better than when it first happened? Oh god-
I also found out that this is the same author who wrote The Vanishing of Katharina Linden which (, if I remember correctly, it has been a decade at least since I read it) also traumatised me with the scene where they look into the well...yeah.... so what I'm getting is that Helen is brilliant at what she does- a little too good tbh.

Phobos by Tori Bovalino (5*)
- Oh this was so good- SO GOOD!! It was a classic secret society hazing story done so effectively that it felt brand new! The two MCs' dynamic is definitely what carries the rest of the story, not just the ending. The weight of what he's asking her to do, the fissure created by what he's done himself- but also the possibility this opens up- there is a tiny part of her that is relived that he's done it because that could potentially mean it's okay for her to?? The intensity of their relationship when it only just toes the line of professionalism sets everything at higher stakes by default, raising the anxiety, the anticipation, the sense of time running out. I think the intimacy of their relationship and how they communicate, and how much focus is put on this non-verbal acted as both a false sense of safety and a blaring warning signal. The line about her wanting to stay soft? To crush the club into something that is soft? That allows her to be that way? To say I collapsed on the tube would be an understatement.
The writing is gut-wrenching in its specificity of those quiet, soft emotions- the ones that make you feel like you're floating but also like they're about to cleave your chest open, yeah, the writing was incredible I cannot wait to read more by this author I'm so glad this is how I discovered her work! Thoroughly obsessed!
Idk how she did it, but that ending scene, I was feeling so much in such a short space of time, and although the ending wasn't extraordinarily novel, it was articulated in such a way that I was left in a state of screaming crying throwing up for a long time after. The line about him not being able to help himself???? While he's- it's so horrible but also I'll be the first to say I ate that up, and also the mentor mentee dynamic is so good, UGH I love it so much. I was rooting for them, but also this ending IS the perfect one, and now I'm left here thinking about all the ways that the ending changed her and what she will turn into and all the ways she might betray herself by becoming one of them- ugh, and the possible descent into madness because she will never quite fit? Or will she? AHH love love love, potentially my fave in the whole collection but idk idk

Had to DNF around 40%. The stories simply did not grab me and most fell flat. I honestly really wanted to like this as I’m a big lover of many of the authors included in this, but even the first 40% took all of my will power to push through.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me with an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

When I saw this Dark Academia anthology I got so excited! I love love looove Dark Academia!
I found in this anthology great stories and new authors to follow, but sadly not all these stories were really Dark Academia. It's not enough for a story to be set in an academic environment to be considered Dark Academia.
Some of these stories were "just" horror or mysteries which happened to take place in a university, and that's not enough.

I will certainly recommend this book as it has some good stories but I will warn my viewers that not every story is "DA".

My favourites: The Professor of Ontography, Phobos. and Playing.

— 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 —

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: In These Hallowed Halls
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: N/A
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Various, edited by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Dark Academia
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 12th September 2023
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝: 19th August 2023
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ★★★★ ¾

This was a must read for me. I have previously enjoyed books by Olivie Blake, Kelly Andrew, and Tori Bovalino, and have M. L. Rio on my TBR. Literally nobody disappoints in this anthology, and was an deeply dark and exciting way for me to discover new authors that I want to read more of.

This anthology captures dark academia in all its glory with twelve stories from twelve extremely competent authors.

1000 Ships — Kate Weinberg
★★★★★
This anthology starts off extremely strong with 1000 Ships which is a short exploration of an affair between a student and a professor. There was a malevolent air to the story due to the toxic dynamic and the retributive nature of the main character, Lorna. This is also a prequel to Weinberg’s novel, The Truants, which I now immediately must have.

Pythia — Olivie Blake
★★★★
In true Olivie Blake style, I found this one slightly difficult to wrap my head around but it was philosophically poignant in its prose as expected. I love how Blake explores the collective experience of being human with a clinical psychologist treating a super computer. This one acts as a social commentary combining science and magic to show how easily traumatic information can now be accessed and how it contributes to an anxious society.

Sabbatical — James Tate Hill
★★★★ ¼
I thought this one had great writing and even more great main character, Tate. Tate is legally blind with what seems like only partially and blurred vision available. I found the plot interesting and I was intrigued to know that this also acts a prequel to Hill’s novel: Academy Gothic. But what I found the most fascinating is the way the other characters interacted with the blind MC and the unconscious ableism that consistently appeared, with Tate’s wonderfully almost-sarcastic and non-confrontational responses. I’d read the sequel for Tate alone.

The Hare and The Hound — Kelly Andrew
★★★★★
Wow. This one packed a lot into its short lifespan. I adored the Norse mythological element which contributed some sorrowful magical realism to the story which features an accidental killer and a white rabbit, all whilst Kelly Andrew sniffs through the burrows of these characters, digging out their secrets from their little warrens.

X House — J. T. Ellison
★★★★★
This one I found really powerful, particularly the ending. X House features a new professor coming in to teach a select and strange group of teenage girls. I agree with the author that teenage girls are super scary (having been one myself) and loved how Ellison explores a nasty female clique of schoolgirls with darkness at its core in a tense storyline.

The Ravaged — Layne Fargo
★★★★★
I think this is my favourite, simply because I love a revenge story. Set within a deeply gothic archive full of notable artefacts, the LGBT main character in this story switches getting wronged by her girlfriend, to getting even. Perhaps her revenge plot was a little excessive in reality but in the deep dark world of dark academia, it was just right.

Four Funerals — David Bell
★★★★★
This short story I think was the most hard hitting. It involved a school shooting and the professor of the class that was shot at visits the four funerals of the students who tragically died. Which is difficult when most people blame the professor for grooming the shooter. Four Funerals was incredibly immersive and I didn’t want it to end.

The Unknowable Pleasures — Susie Yang
★★★★
This was a hypnotic story of obsession, secrets, and forbidden longing, but not from the perspective I expected. The main character in this story was as invested in the romance between Laurence and their professor, Elliot, in the same way that I’m invested in my cup of tea in the morning: an essential need to consume.

Weekend at Bertie’s — M. L. Rio
★★★★ ½
A creepy and malicious take on Weekend at Bernie’s with two reckless characters who hate each other discovering their employer is dead and plotting to bleed her dry. Er, her bank account that is.

The Professor of Ontography — Helen Grant
★★★★★
Easily the creepiest story out of the bunch! I was wholly haunted by this story because there is such a strong sense of foreboding from one locked door that I couldn’t stop myself from shuddering every time the main character went near it! This started off as a love story and devolved steadily into horror, set, of course, in a university.

Phobos — Tori Bovalino
★★★★★
Well, it does not get any more dark academia than this. A secret order at university wants their five initiates to kill somebody “lesser” in order to cement their place in the order.

Playing — Phoebe Wynne
★★★★★
An awkward, strange, and musical student main character, Grace, with a strong sense of narcissism, enjoys the opportunities deriving from playing the organ at so… many… funerals.

A worthy anthology full of revenge, murder, dusty books, gothic school buildings, stormy nights, the unexplainable, rivals and recluses, secret orders, professors and students that aren’t what they seem, affairs, and mysteries galore.

I feel like all these stories will haunt me in these hallowed halls of my mind.

—Kayleigh🤍

1000 Ships by Kate Weinberg: 4/5

Pythia by Olivie Blake: 3/5

Sabbatical by James Tate Hill: 1/5

The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrew: 5/5

X House by J.T. Ellison: 3/5

The Ravages by Layne Fargo: 5/5

Four Funerals by David Bell: 2/5

The Unknowable Pleasures by Susie Yang: 2/5

Weekend at Bertie’s by M.L. Rio:1/5

The Professor of Ontogaphy by Helen Grant:3/5

Phobos by Tori Bovalino: 5/5

Playing be Phoebe Wynne: 4/5

A collection of dark academy stories, however the real issue is that a lot of these didn't actually feel dark academia or even fit the description of dark academia. I was so looking forward to this and felt let down by how very little many of these stories were actually dark academia. There were some really fun stories but a lot of them just didn't really fit into the mold of dark academia and felt a bit boring.

*Thanks Netgalley and Titan Books. for sending an arc in exchange for an honest review*

In These Hallowed Halls is a carefully weaved anthology novel centering around the genre of Dark academia. It contains 12 short stories all uniquely independent. The journey itself is exciting, waiting to see how each author interprets the theme. The format is precise making it an almost black mirror type of reading experience. Certain novels stand out more than others, but as a whole it’s an adventure worth taking. It publishes in September and is the perfect spooky season read for busy minds.

Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for approving me of an ARC! I was highly anticipating this due to the anthology being dark academia, but sadly it didn't meet my expectations.

There are some that I enjoyed, like Olivie's and Tori's. I especially loved Olivie's because the way she integrates artificial intelligence into dark academia, which I think was a really unique twist to the genre especially as the genre usually focuses on non-STEM topics. So seeing a STEM topic such as AI being put into dark academia was really refreshing and in Olivie's story, it made sense.

However, the rest of the stories just did not scream dark academia to me. I know the genre is broad and there could be multiple understanding of how dark academia should be, but in my opinion, these stories do not really have that "dark academia" element. Like yes, most of them are set in a school or has that "mystery/thriller" aspect but none of the stories have that kind of passionate drive/obsession that I always see in dark academia (imo being obsessed with a professor or a student/professor affair is not dark academia sorry).

I really enjoyed most of the stories in this anthology, but I struggled with a few due to the formatting in the ebook. Some of the paragraphs felt too long and made reading difficult to do on an e-reader as there weren’t clear breaks in the text. I know these are all short stories but again I struggled to engage fully with the characters and some of the stories felt like there should have been more to them.

I’d like to read more from these writers but would prefer longer novels over short stories.

Let me tell you, the SECOND I saw Olivie Blake had a short story in this anthology I was SOLD.

‘In These Hallowed Halls’ is a dark academia short story collection from various authors and it was honestly such a fun ride!

With any collections like this, you always find there are some that are more standout than others, which, was also the case here - most notably for me - Pythia by Olivie Blake, The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrew and The Professor of Ontography by Helen Grant were my standout favourites.

However, there wasn’t any I didn’t enjoy! I loved the dark academia vibes throughout (and the different takes on what this is!) and the writing styles of all the authors was very enjoyable and I’ll be certainly checking out some more published works by the authors. If dark academia is your thing, you’re going to love this!

Thanks so much to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

➵ 4.2 ⭐️

This was a great anthology! I'd definitely recommend In These Hallowed Halls to anyone who wants to read dark academia but doesn't know where to start but also to anyone like me who's in the mood but can't make up their mind what book to pick up lol.
My absolute fav stories were Phobos, Weekend at Bertie's, The Hare and the Hound, The Professor of Ontography and Pythia.
Phobos by TB is dark academia at its best - secret societies, privilege, power, murder - the whole story was like a love letter to Ninth House and all books like it and I absolutely devoured it. As far as I'm concerned Tori can do no wrong and I only wish her story was a whole novel instead. Her debut The Devil Makes Three is one of my all time favs so if you read Phobos and you fall in love with it you should read TDM3 next.
Weekend at Bertie's is another one that just had me in its thrall the whole time. I've been meaning to read If We Were Villains for the longest time maybe now is the time.
Sabbatical and Playing were the only 2 I didn't really connect with or like. I found both boring and Playing was too repetitive. They just weren't for me at all.

- 1000 Ships by Kate Weinberg - 4 ⭐️
- Pythia by Olivie Blake - 4.5 ⭐️
- Sabbatical by James Tate Hill - 2.5 ⭐️
- The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrew - 5 ⭐️
- X House by J. T, Ellison - 4 ⭐️
- The Ravages by Layne Fargo - 4 ⭐️
- Four Funerals by David Bell - 4 ⭐️
- The Unknowable Pleasures by Susie Yang - 4.5 ⭐️
- Weekend at Bertie's by M.L.Rio - 5 ⭐️
- The Professor of Ontography by Helen Grant - 5 ⭐️
- Phobos by Tori Bovalino - 5 ⭐️ (I wish I could give this 10 ⭐️)
- Playing by Phoebe Wynne - 2.5 ⭐️

Thank you to the Publisher for the arc!

I was really excited to read this but as I was going through each of the stories. I noticed that some of them don’t really feel like they belong in this anthology. They would make a great start to a thriller but they didn’t feel and or mention anything about academia.


Also X House was the most wild out of all of them.