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!

Forget slashers and men in masks. The horrors written in this anthology of short stories base themselves on society, magic, history, and reality. These aspects demonstrate terror to another degree.

From drug addiction to racist folks, you will find every real boogeyman known to people.

As with any short story anthology, you will find stories that run the gamut of stars. In this book, there are a few 3s, 4s, and a couple of 5s, which, for me, is a win. I've been introduced to some new writers while expecting some good work from established writers like N.K. Jemisin, Nnedi Okorafor, and P. Djeli Clark.

It's a good and terrifying time if you dare.

4/5

3.75

Short story collections are generally always a mixed bag, but I found myself enjoying more of these stores than not. Though I do wish there had been some stronger central theme than just Black horror because the stories ran the gamut of historical, hauntings, dystopian, and more. There were a mix of new to me authors and authors I’d read from before, and I certainly added some backlist books to my TBR.

Some standouts for me were:
The Rider by Tananarive Due - 1961, two girls are planning on joining the Freedom Riders in Montgomery but their travel gets disrupted
The Norwood Trouble by Maurice Broaddus - in Reconstruction America a young girl narrates her life in a segregated Indiana town
A Bird Sings by the Etching Tree by Nicole D. Sconiers - two girls killed on a back road several years apart haunt the area and compete in a killing competition
An American Fable by Chelsya Burke - A Black WWI vet is traveling North as part of the Great Migration and gets waylaid in Cincinnati

A really well-curated anthology featuring the heavy-hitters of Black SFFH and introducing newer voices all with their own tone and ways of making their readers shiver.

One thing that stuck with me as I read through each story is the familiarity I had with the writing style of the authors whose works I am familiar with, whether it be their shorter or longer works. They didn't disappoint here.

I am not normally a horror reader but I have come to realize that I enjoy the subtleties that can be used to unsettle and terrify.

It is clear that each writer brought their own style and genre-rich crafting power to these stories, mining the many ways in which existing as a Black body within certain and specific spaces can affect and warp us. I loved that these characters were allowed to spread their individualities across the page, be it in a sinister or innocent way. These stories looked into historical biases, contemporary anti-Black racism and violence, mental health struggles, family bonds, magic, hoodoo, identity, love, toxicity, and everything in between, making each story quite the reflection of cultural heritage and history.

I was so incredibly hyped for this collection of black horror edited by the one and only Jordan Peele. Ravenous even. As I started reading I got a little worried, because the first few stories weren’t working for me (with the exception of Rebecca Roanhorse’s Eye & Tooth) . And then once I got to Lasirèn by Erin E. Adams (which rules), it’s only straight bangers until the end. In a typical fashion all the more sci-fi leaning stories I didn’t vibe with as much, but anything that incorporates folklore (Lasirèn and The Most Strongest Obeah Woman especially) were easily my favorite inclusions. It’s a fantastic collection, with a wide range of genres and tones. A lot of these stories really stuck with me, which is all you can really ask for in a short story collection. My ultimate favorites ended up being The Norwood Trouble by Maurice Broaddus, The Rider by Tananarive Due, and Lasirèn by Erin E. Adams. Totally check this out!

My review will be posted on my Instagram- @boozehoundbookclub in October

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I’m usually not an anthology reader, but I will read anything in the horror genre, so this was a definite must. I had read works from about half the writers in this collection already, which was fun. But I really loved discovering new writers, also. And the best part of an anthology is that if you don’t connect with something, you can just skip it. I admit that there were two stories that I just didn’t connect with, so I skimmed them.

Most of the stories were of a reasonable length, meaning on my Kindle, about 15-20 minutes for my reading speed. The book is described as horror by Black writers. However, most, if not all, of the stories involve racism of some form. Some stories are realistic and could have happened in society. Some involve the supernatural. Some were actually horrifying and will stick with me for a while. Some were more mild and lighthearted. But I definitely recommend this one for horror fans. It’s an easy one to pick up and put down if you are short on time, but each story presented a new scenario of terror.

Out There Screaming was one of my most anticipated approvals this year. Honestly having the name Jordan Peele attached to any book intrigued me the most and I loved the idea of having a collection to highlight the up and coming black voices in the horror community. I do think the last half of the collection was much stronger than the first and left more of a punch. Would definitely recommend this to any horror fan in the future. Thank you to the publisher for the arc.

A Mixed Bag of Creepy Goodness

Hey there, horror fans! If you're looking for a collection that's gonna give you the chills and make you think, "Out There Screaming" is where it's at. Edited by the one and only Jordan Peele, this anthology is like a buffet of horror—some dishes are tastier than others, but overall, it's a feast you don't wanna miss.

So, what's the vibe? Well, it's a mix of all kinds of horror, from the supernatural stuff to the real-world, "this could actually happen" kind of scary. And the best part? It's all from Black writers who know how to spin a tale.

Now, not every story knocked it out of the park for me, which is why I'm giving it 4 stars. But hey, that's anthologies for you, right? Some stories you'll love, some you'll like, and some might not be your cup of tea. But overall, this book is a solid read that'll keep you turning the pages.

So, if you're into horror that's got some depth and variety, you've gotta check this one out. Trust me, it's worth the read.

As I mentioned in my review of Don't Whistle at Night, I don't usually pick up short story collections as I normally find them to be horribly inconsistent... but this one blew me away. Not only does each story have its own unique style, but the quality never drops in a single story, something almost unheard of in anthology books.

Each story was bursting at the seams with creativity and memorability - several ones in particular stood out as some of the most horrific short stories I've read in a while. I would say that you'll know which ones I'm talking about once you read it for yourself but that's exactly the thing - you won't; every story is so unique that none of them are forgettable and all do an amazing job at horrifying and mystifying the audience.

Just like Don't Whistle at Night, I highly recommend this one. There are zero noticeable inconsistencies and the writing style is always at its best in every story. By the time this review is uploaded the book should already be released, meaning none of you have an excuse not to get it.

In my opinion everything that Jordan Peele touches is worth consuming. This collection edited by him is a perfect example. What a brilliant and terrifying collection of stories by some underrated writers in the genre. This is a most read for any horror fan.

This book was really difficult to get into. I was so excited for a book of short horror stories but found that the stories were lacking. There were a couple that did stand out Disappointed as I usually super love this author and everything they put out. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A stellar collection, particularly timely in its release not just during spooky season, but also during Black Speculative Fiction Month!
For me, L.D. Lewis's "Flicker" and Nalo Hopkinson's "The Most Strongest Obeah Woman of the World" were the standout stories, lingering long after I'd finished the volume.

This didn't quite live up to the hype around it, and I do think some of the huge-name authors' stories in this were not among their best. there were highlights (looking at L. D. Lewis's stunning story, which didn't surprise me because that author ALWAYS delivers).

I requested a digital copy in order to sample the prose on my phone (since I don't have a eReader) before requesting a physical copy for review. My review will be based on the physical ARC I read (if I qualify)