This is a great collection of horror stories by Black authors. The stories range from futuristic to fantasy with plenty of other genres in between. I love short stories, I find it easy to keep on going and read one more story!

While I'm familiar with many of these authors, there are several that are new to me. I definitely added a few of their books to my wish list!

My favorite story was The Rider by Tenanarive Due. I'm familiar with this author but have not yet read any of her books. That will definitely change in the future! This story is about two sisters trying to meet up with the Freedom Riders during the civil rights movement. In just a few pages Due creates full personalities for these two sisters.

Like many reviewers, I saw Jordan Peele's name (along with other well-known authors) and instantly requested this eARC. While some stories dragged for me, most of them are strong, terrifying, and draw heavily on African mythology and culture for their horror and conventions. Standouts include N.K. Jemison's "Reckless Eyeballing," Rebecca Roanhorse's "Eye and Tooth," Nnedi Okorafor's "Dark Home," L.S. Lewis' "Flicker," and P. Djèlí Clark's "Hide and Seek."

Jordan Peele's mind has always intrigued me, beginning back in Key and Peele. I love his movies and simply knew that a collection of black horror anthologies would blow me away; especially when I saw the line up of authors. There were some stories I liked a lot more than others, but that's typical for a collection of stories, but I never thought any of them were plain bad. I don't think I'm necessarily the target audience for it, but the stories hold such truth and pain. This was phenomenal and Id love to either see another collection of stories or a full novel written by Peele himself.

Content Warnings: racism, body horror, death, murder, addiction, drug use, gore, violence, police brutality, confinement, death of a parent, alcoholism, child abuse, child death, profanity, gun violence, misogyny, suicidal thoughts, mass shooting, pregnancy, car accident

› Reckless Eyeballing by N.K. Jemisin
"Black female, approximately mid-thirties, alone. Driving a hundred-thousand-dollar Tesle? Yeah, Carl would've stopped her regardless."
Sometimes Carl sees eyes instead of headlights. The eyes even blink. He starts pulling over every car with eyes, trying to figure out what they mean.
My rating 3/5

"N(ora). K. Jemisin is a New York Times-bestselling author of speculative fiction short stories and novels, who lives and writes in Brooklyn, NY. In 2018, she became the first author to win three Best Novel Hugos in a row. She has also won a Nebula Award, two Locus Awards, and is a recipient of the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship." https://nkjemisin.com/about/

› Eye & Tooth by Rebecca Roanhorse
"First class ain't what it used to be so it's not like you're missing out."
Zelda and her brother Atticus have special talents that save people from horrors.
My rating 3/5

"Rebecca Roanhorse is a NYTimes Bestseller and a Nebula, Hugo and Locus Award-winning speculative fiction writer and the recipient of the 2018 Astounding (formerly Campbell) Award for Best New Writer. Her novels include TRAIL OF LIGHTNING, STORM OF LOCUSTS, STAR WARS: RESISTANCE REBORN, and RACE TO THE SUN." https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15862877.Rebecca_Roanhorse


› Wandering Devil by Cadwell Turnbull
"When he was a kid, Freddy's grandmother would joke: 'It is like you have a face on the back of your head and feet that go both ways, the way you're always off somewhere as soon as you arrive.'"
Freddy led a life of running from the future.
My rating 3.5/5

"Cadwell Turnbull is the award-winning author of The Lesson and No Gods, No Monsters. His short fiction has appeared in The Verge, Lightspeed, Nightmare, Asimov’s Science Fiction and several anthologies, including The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018 and The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2019. Turnbull grew up on St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands." https://cadwellturnbull.com/about/

› Invasion of the Baby Snatchers by Lesley Nneka Arimah
"Used to be, you could tell an alien pregnancy from a human one with your naked eye, back before they'd figured people out."
My rating: I enjoyed the story, but the ending went over my head 3/5

"Lesley Nneka Arimah was born in the UK and grew up wherever her father was stationed for work, which was sometimes Nigeria, sometimes not. Her work has received grants and awards from Commonwealth Writers, AWP, the Elizabeth George Foundation, the Jerome Foundation and others. She currently lives in Minneapolis." https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14548993.Lesley_Nneka_Arimah

› The Other One by Violet Allen
"I smoke a cigarette on the roof and look up into the starless sky."
Angela sends a text to her ex-boyfriend Ogelthorpe and it turns ugly.
My rating: 5/5

"Violet Allen is a writer based in Chicago, Illinois. Her work has appeared in Lightspeed, Liminal Stories, Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, Resist: Tales from a Future Worth Fighting Against, A People's Future of the United States, and elsewhere." https://www.worldswithoutend.com/author.asp?id=7211

› Lasirèn by Erin E. Adams
"When I try to wrap my lips around a story I'm not supposed to tell, it sours on my tongue."
Tragedy can come without warning.
My rating: 5/5

"Erin E. Adams is a first-generation Haitian American writer and theatre artist. She received her BA with honors in literary arts from Brown University, her MFA in acting from The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program, and her MFA in dramatic writing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts." https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21725767.Erin_E_Adams

› The Rider by Tananarive Due
"The silver-haired window clerk at the Tallahassee Greyhound station glared at Patricia Houston when she and her sister, Priscilla, pivoted to walk toward the shiny wooden benches in the Whites Only waiting area."
My rating: LOVED this one. 5/5

"TANANARIVE DUE (tah-nah-nah-REEVE doo) is the award-winning author of The Wishing Pool & Other Stories and the upcoming The Reformatory...Her books include Ghost Summer: Stories, My Soul to Keep, and The Good House. She and her late mother, civil rights activist Patricia Stephens Due, co-authored Freedom in the Family. She and her husband live with their son, Jason." https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/23417.Tananarive_Due

› The Aesthete by Justin C. Key
"I asked my Creator about the Collector after my freshman year of high school."
My rating: another ending that left me confused, but I loved the writing style. 4/5

"Justin C. Key...blended his passions for science and writing by penning short stories in middle school...His short stories have appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Crossed Genres, and KYSO Flash, as well as in the revolutionary children’s iPad application, FarFaria...Justin lives in Los Angeles with his wonderful wife, two sons, and daughter. Even as a full-time Psychiatrist, he finds ample time to write..." https://www.justinckey.com/about

› Pressure by Ezra Claytan Daniels
"Your ears still haven't popped since this morning's flight."
Written in the second person, this story is terrifying, unique and poignant.
My rating: 5/5

"Ezra Claytan Daniels is a writer and illustrator based in Los Angeles, CA...His graphic novel, Upgrade Soul, was the recipient of the 2017 Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics, nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album, and was named one of the best books of 2018 by Publishers Weekly, Vulture, The Library Journal, and Paste." https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1405468.Ezra_Claytan_Daniels

› Dark Home by Nnedi Okorafor
"I couldn't let go. I didn't want to let go. It didn't matter how crazy shit got; I was ready to stop time if I could."
Sometimes you just need to let go.
My rating: 5/5

"Nnedi Okorafor is a New York Times Bestselling writer of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults...Her many works include Who Fears Death...the award winning novella trilogy Binti...the Lodestar and ...LaGuardia ...and her most recent novella Remote Control...She lives with her daughter Anyaugo in Phoenix, AZ." https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/588356.Nnedi_Okorafor

› Flicker by L.D. Lewis
"Kamara signed indecision while her brother flicked the lens options back and forth between blurry and slightly-less-blurry-sort-of."
What would you do if the sun randomly shuts off for 30 seconds?
My rating: Unique! 3.5/5

"L.D. Lewis (she/her) is an editor, publisher, and Shirley Jackson award-nominated writer of speculative fiction...She is the author of A Ruin of Shadows...and her published short fiction and poetry includes numerous appearances in online publications...She lives in Georgia on perpetual deadline, with her partner, two cats, a coffee habit, and an impressive LEGO build collection." https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16295308.L_D_Lewis

› The Most Strongest Obeah Woman of the World by Nalo Hopkinson
"From the minute Yenderil jumped into that brackish blue hole water, she started out on a journey that couldn't have no good end."
A girl hunts a sea monster.
My rating: Weird...it was okay. 3/5

"Nalo Hopkinson is a Jamaican-born writer and editor who lives in Canada. Her science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories often draw on Caribbean history and language, and its traditions of oral and written storytelling." https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/27528.Nalo_Hopkinson

› The Norwood Trouble by Maurice Broaddus
"They thought that we were too young to understand, but children knew. We learned the lesson early, felt it down to our bones: Of all the tools of oppression, fear was the cruelest."
Elders are the wielders of tradition.
My rating: WOW. 5/5

"His books include the urban fantasy trilogy, The Knights of Breton Court, the steampunk works, Buffalo Soldier and Pimp My Airship, and the middle grade detective novels, The Usual Suspects and Unfadeable. His project, Sorcerers, is being adapted as a television show for AMC. As an editor, he’s worked on Dark Faith, Fireside Magazine, and Apex Magazine." https://mauricebroaddus.com/about/

› A Grief of the Dead by Rion Amilcar Scott
"Some days I wonder after my twin brother's body - at all the ways in which decomposition has deformed it."
Mahal mourns their twin brother Jamal.
My rating: Heart-breaking and disturbing. 3/5

"Rion Amilcar Scott is the author of the story collection, The World Doesn't Require You ... His work has been published in journals such as The Kenyon Review, Crab Orchard Review, and The Rumpus, among others. He lives in Annapolis, MD with his wife and two sons." https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7796391.Rion_Amilcar_Scott

› A Bird Sings by the Etching Tree by Nicole D. Sconiers
"My father was a trucker for a steel mill and he taught me the rules of the road."
My Rating: unique point of view. 3/5

"Nicole D. Sconiers is the author of Escape from Beckyville: Tales of Race, Hair and Rage...Her work has appeared in Nightmare magazine, Lightspeed magazine, ... and other publications. Her short stories were published in the anthologies Black from the Future: A Collection of Black Speculative Writing, December Tales and Sycorax’s Daughters...She co-wrote the psychological thriller A Mother’s Intuition..." https://nicolesconiers.com/about/

› An American Fable by Chesya Burke
"Private First Class Noble Washington hadn't paid attention to the man behind the glass at the bus depot as he read the headlines from the newspaper stand."
My rating: heartfelt, emotional 3.5/5

"Dr. Chesya Burke is an Asst. Professor of English and U.S. Literatures and the director of Africana Studies at Stetson University. Having written and published over a hundred stories and articles within the genres of horror, science fiction, comics, and Afrofuturism, her academic research focuses primarily on the intersections of race, gender and genre." https://www.thechesyaburke.org/about-1

› Your Happy Place by Terence Taylor
"Martin woke from the smell of blood and pus."
My Rating: Wow. Hit me in the heart. Scary, disturbing, sad, angry. So many emotions. 5/5

"TERENCE TAYLOR is an award-winning children's television writer, whose work has appeared on PBS, Nickelodeon, and Disney, among many others. After a career of comforting young kids, he's now equally dedicated to scaring their parents. His short horror stories have been published in all three "Dark Dreams" horror/suspense anthologies. "BITE MARKS: A Vampire Testament" is his first novel. " https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1241978.Terence_Taylor

› Hide & Seek by P. Djèlí Clark
"Mama shakes and spasms, her willowy limbs twisting and jerking in a strange dance as her eyes flutter like butterfly wings."
Magic isn't always a good thing.
My rating: 5/5

"Phenderson Djéli Clark is the author of the novel A Master of Djinn, and the award-winning and Hugo, Nebula, and Sturgeon nominated author of the novellas Ring Shout, The Black God’s Drums and The Haunting of Tram Car 015. His short stories have appeared in online venues such as Tor.com, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and in print anthologies including, Griots and Hidden Youth."https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15117586.P_Dj_l_Clark

› Origin Story by Tochi Onyebuchi
"Setting: Humanities Building classroom
Time: Thirty minutes before Ms. Geraldine Cunningham's Grand Unified Theory of Whiteness seminar"
My rating: 3/5

"Tochi Onyebuchi is the author of Beasts Made of Night, its sequel Crown of Thunder, War Girls, and Riot Baby, published by Tor.com in January 2020. He has graduated from Yale University, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Columbia Law School, and L’institut d’études politiques with a Masters degree in Global Business Law." https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7324271.Tochi_Onyebuchi

Overall Rating for the Collection ★★★★


Average Story Graph Rating 4.1

Average Goodreads Rating 4.04

› Final Thoughts
• Out There Screaming is a dark, tense, emotional, and unique horror story collection that feels purposefully cultivated. I loved how the stories had similar aspects. My favourites are The Other One, Lasirèn, The Rider, Pressure, Dark Home, The Norwood Trouble, Your Happy Place, and Hide & Seek. I can't wait to read more by these authors.

I knew I would love this one as soon as I saw the cover and saw Jordan Peele's name attached to it. With Us and Get Out being some of my favourite horror films, I knew that this book would be nothing short of a wild ride. Perfect for spooky season, awesome short horror stories. Highly recommend!

As a person that doesn’t typically read horror, this was such a fun, chilling, and thought-provoking read. Each story was so unique and really made me consider these things actually happening. Some of these stories even haunted me in my dreams. As a Latina woman, a lot of these themes and experiences are not normally experienced by me but there are some experienced that resonated with my life as a child of immigrants. Some of these stories we sad and made me angry, while others ended on a better note. I definitely spent a lot of time reflecting on each on of the stories and how incredible it was that someone could come up with them. My favorite one was Lasiren. They made me uncomfortable in ways that I did not think possible. Whether you normally read horror or not, these stories would be enjoyable to all!

Thank you to Penguin Random House, Jordan Peele, and all the authors for the arc and for letting me read this anthology of new Black Horror.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the eARC.

OH I loved this. I have done a few horror short story collections this year but this one takes the cake. I had to not read some of these at night because Jordan Peele really got a great collection together.

Well, I will start by saying that horror is definitely outside my normal reading purview. That be said, this was definitely well thought out compilation of tales and I found good writing and plot development despite being new to the genre. My favorites include Lasiren, The Anesthete, Dark Home, Flicker, The Norwood Trouble, A Grief of the Dead, A Bird Sings by the Etching Tree. However, the one that I think was the best was Your Happy Place which was truly disturbing and well written. Only one story was did I DNF, but I will not taint others perceptions by specifying which one. Overall, I can see the intrigue in this volume of tales and the inclusion on some well known authors definitely heightened even my expectation.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity this opportunity to step outside my comfort zone.

Jordan Peele is an absolute genius and this collection of short stories, though not written by him, speaks to his prowess in the horror genre.

Out There Screaming, edited by Jordan Peele, is an anthology of short horror stories by Black authors. The collection includes a diverse range of stories, from traditional ghost stories to science fiction horror to stories that explore the intersection of race and horror.

One of the things that makes Out There Screaming so special is the quality of the writing. Each story is well-crafted and suspenseful, and the authors do a masterful job of creating characters that you care about, even though you know they are in danger.

Another thing that makes this anthology so stand-out is the unique perspective that each author brings to their story. These stories are not just scary, they are also thought-provoking and challenging. They explore themes of racism, social injustice, and trauma in a way that is both disturbing and illuminating.

Some of my favorite stories in the collection include:

"Reckless Eyeballing" by N.K. Jemisin: A police officer gets his comeuppance for pulling over innocent Black people.
"The Wandering Devil" by Cadwell Turnbull: A man finds a place to call home, but he is haunted by a terrifying apparition.
"The Rider" by Tananarive Due: Two Freedom Riders are joined on their bus by a strange being who may spell their doom.
"The Norwood Trouble" by Maurice Broaddus: A Reconstruction-era community calls upon higher powers to bring justice to a lynch mob.
"Dark Home" by Nnedi Okorafor: A woman returns to her childhood home to find it haunted by something ancient and evil.
Overall, Out There Screaming is an excellent collection of horror stories that is sure to please fans of the genre. It is also a must-read for anyone who is interested in reading stories that explore the intersection of race and horror.

Anyone who’s enjoyed Jordan Peele’s movies, Get Out, Us and Nope will love this collection of horror stories assembled by Peele. He gives various horror writers a stage to showcase their work, and the end product is multi-faceted and addictive. I can easily see any of these becoming Peele’s next blockbuster film.
Thanks to Random House Publishing Group- Random House for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date was October 3, 2023.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Jordan peele is one of my favorite horror writers in the world, so I was very excited for this collection. I was super impressed with the lineup and was ready for it! These stories all deal with the black experience with a supernatural element to it. I enjoyed seeing the different avenues the stories took. There were lessons and metaphors in everything and the horror was spooky and subtle.

My favorite stories were:
Eye and tooth- Rebecca Roanhorse
Pressure- Ezra Clayton daniels
Flicker- L.D.Lewis
The Norwood trouble- Maurice broaddus
A grief of the dead- rion amilcar Scott
A bird sings by the etching tree- Nicole D. Scoiners
Hide & seek- P. Djèlí Clark

Every story was powerful in their own way. I had a lot of fun reading this collection and I’m excited for more from these authors!

The stories I enjoyed the most:
- "Reckless Eyeballing by NK Jemisin
- "Eye & Tooth" by Rebecca Roanhorse
- "Lasiren" by Erin E. Adams
- "The Rider" by Tananarive Due
- "The Norwood Trouble" by Maurice Broaddus
- "A Bird Sings by the Etching Tree" by Nicole D. Sconiers
- "Your Happy Place" by Terence Taylor
- "Origin Story" by Tochi Onyebuchi

This horror collection touches on so many subgenres, themes, and tropes - science fiction, social horror, monster hunting, body horror, and more. Horrors of the imagination and drawn from the realities of anti-Black racist societies abound. I appreciated the balance of well-established authors with new-to-me authors whose future work I'll be keeping an eye out for.

I don’t have anything to say that isn’t positive. A perfect collection of short stories by brilliant Black authors like the Queen of Horror- Tananarive Due, compiled by Jordan Peele. Horror fans should rejoice- I certainly did.

This is perfection, and should be celebrated.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Random House for allowing me to read this fabulous collection. My opinions are my own.

So short stories in general have never been my vibe. I like my door stopper books that I can immerse myself into for significant lengths of time. I often avoid collections and anthologies for this exact reason. I realize how much amazing writing I miss by doing this, so when I saw Jordan Peele (does “I Got Five on It” immediately play in anyone else’s head when they say his name?) was releasing a new anthology he’d curated, I decided to give it a shot.

Some of the stories didn’t resonate with me. They felt too abrupt or simply lacking. But many of the stories I absolutely enjoyed. My favorites were:

Your Happy Place by Terence Taylor
The Rider by Tananarive Due
An American Fable by Chesya Burke
Hide & Side by P. Djeli Clark

I definitely want to push myself into reading more short stories in the further.

Highly recommended.

Anthologies are not always my favorite to read, but I do find that they are great to pick up when you need a change of pace or hit a reading slump. I always find that for some reason they’re always hard to rate, but Out There Screaming was pretty good. It covered a multitude of horror sub genres and for the most part I loved them all, but of course I enjoyed a few more than others. Out There Screaming is the perfect book to sit down with during spooky season, and I hope you give it a chance! Thanks to Random House for my eARC!

Out There Screaming is an anthology of short horror stories that were edited by Jordan Peele. 

I was so dang let down by this book. When I found out that Jordan Peele edited this book I was so excited. He is one of my favorite recent horror directors. The problem with this book is that I found none of the short stories all that scary. I also felt like some of these stories ended super abruptly. I wish there was more that this book had to offer. However, before reading this I was unaware of the authors featured in this book. I do want to read more by some of these authors. But just wish this book was a little better, just missed the mark for me.

Overall I really enjoyed this short story collection there were definitely some that I got into more than others and I’ll be sure to call out a few of my favorites. At first I was trying to read through this one story after another but some of the story’s had such similar themes that I found myself mixing stories up or getting a little bored. I found for me this is definitely a collection I want to pick up from time to time when I am in the mood for a social horror story. I think all of the writing in this book was amazing some of the stories went a little over my head but the majority I really enjoyed! I would like to thank net galley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

Some of my favorites !
5/5!!
Your Happy Place Terence Taylor
Dark Home by Nnendi Okorafor
The Rider Tananarive Due
The Other One by Violet Allen

Thank you so much to Netgalley for allowing me the chance to review this book!
For starters, anything Jordan Peele has a part in, I want to read. Anything he has written or edited or touched, I want to read. Because I’ve yet to be disappointed by anything his name is attached to and at this point, I don’t think I will.
With most anthologies, there are some phenomenal stories, some good ones, some okay ones, and ones you just don’t vibe with. This collection does not have a single story that I didn’t vibe with. All of them were at the very least intriguing enough to want to keep reading, and at the most, creepy and unsettling as hell.
All of the authors that take part in this are so talented and now I have more authors I want to check out!
I absolutely recommend this book, especially for the Halloween season!!

I will admit to being a biased Peele fan because I have seen his vision for horror. This collection of short stories did not at all disappoint. There is everything from body horror, science fiction, and paranormal horror. It was really fun to read a different story a night. Although I will always be an epic novel kind of a girl, this was a solid line up of short stories and I definitely plan on keeping some of these authors on my BOLO!

I was SO excited about this one. I love scary movies and Jordan Peele is one of my all time favorite directors for Get Out, Us and Nope. His movies aren’t just scary, they are smart and unique so I was so excited to get a copy of this book…but I had to DNF! I could barely make it halfway…such a bummer. There were a couple stories I was able to get into but they were mostly unnecessarily complicated and boring.Thank you to @randomhouse and @netgalley for my copy!