This collection was the perfect way to start October. It contains something for everyone in the horror genre. Trying to pick a favorite story is extremely hard, but I truly think the short story format always works for P. Djèlí Clark.

The combination of an anthology curated by Jordan Peele and including a handful of authors I've loved reading from before made picking this up a no-brainer. There's an intro by Peele that explains the premise behind the anthology, which is basically meant to be like the Sunken Place in Get Out, i.e. a manifestation of the authors' personal horrors. I was really intrigued by this, since I felt like I was getting to peek into the authors' brains. I admittedly don't read much horror, but most of the stories felt on the tame side and lean more "vaguely disturbing" rather than outright "oh god what did I just read".

I do want to mention a couple of standouts, though.

Reckless Eyeballing by N.K. Jemisin (5⭐)
This was such a banger of a short story. It was unsettling and disgusting and I loved every second of it.

Flicker by L.D. Lewis (5⭐)
I loved the premise and the execution of this, and thought it was really creepy to boot.

Hide & Seek by P. Djeli Clark (5⭐)
I loved the slow build-up and how gradually we got to the meat of the story in this one.

REVIEW: I’m an unabashed Jordan Peele fan. I love his movies and Key and Peele is a source of endless joy in my house. He’s absolutely brilliant! I do wish he’d have responded to the HWA or given a short statement when he won two Stokers while I was president, but it is what it is. This anthology is terrific. There’s several authors I’ve followed and read over the years and many more I read for the first time. Each story had its merits. Loved it!

This book was featured in my newsletter, DISPATCHES. Here’s the link:
Dispatches #8 October 2023
The campaign URL for this campaign is: https://mailchi.mp/c9a5a7ba7640/dispatches-issue-6148340

Like all short story/anthology collections, I liked some better than others. Some of the stories left me wanting more.

This anthology was a powerhouse. I could not sleep some nights after reading these stories. My favorite was Eye & Tooth. I would love if this turns into a series with the stories becoming novellas or novels.

If each of these stories were a full book, I would read them. This collection of dark/horror fiction is eerie, creepy, intriguing, you name it. There are so many different types of stories in here that it stays engaging and entertaining. Every time I picked this book up, I didn't want to put it down. Loved it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the e-ARC!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House publishing for this advance copy of Out There Screaming - an anthology series showcasing black horror authors and edited by Jordan Peele. This one just came out this week 10/3/23!

It’s really hard to rate a short story collection because some are definitely better than others, but overall as a whole, I really enjoyed a lot of these short stories. These are some really popular authors showcased in this anthology, and I like that you’re able to just read one or two before bed each day. I’ve been enjoying short story collections this year, and I’d recommend checking this one out if you like horror! (Nothing too extreme or gory in my opinion.)

Thank you again NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for this review! Out There Screaming is out today!

Out There Screaming is a propulsive, eerie anthology that deftly navigates the ways in which the supernatural can serve as an allegory to real life injustice and horror in everyday life.

Featuring some of literature’s most prolific voices, each story will leave readers with just the right amount of unsettledness. Because, oft times, the horrors described feel all too real and about the grim realities of real life.

Pick this up in time for Halloween, or anytime you want to be both scared and also left aware.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.

Let's start by saying off the bat that horror is super subjective! I definitely expected a lot of commentary horror as that's what Peele does in his movies, but I would argue that a fair amount of these stories are much more fantasy or mystical vs. horror. I don't think I would categorize this as horror if I didn't know the title or intention.

For me, the best was to review an anthology is ranking these stories inside and my ranking follows as such:
(absolutely recommend/would read these stories if they were developed into full novels/felt the most genuine horror)
Your Happy Place
Eye & Tooth
Flicker
The Rider
Dark Home
Hide & Seek
(worth a read/needed a little something more/something felt a little lacking)
The Other One
The Norwood Troubles
Reckless Eyeballing
Pressure
An American Fable
A Grief of the Dead
Origin Story
(skip these ones/they just weren't my personal thing/what was the point?)
A Bird Sings by the Etching Tree
Wandering Devil
Invasion of the Baby Snatchers
Lasirèn
The Aesthete
The Most Strongest Obeah Woman of the World (DNF)

My thanks go out to Random House Publishing Group-Random House for an earc of this release in exchange for an honest review.

Nineteen tales of horror, the supernatural, and science fiction are compiled into this stunning collection of stories that will have something for every reader.

I have to admit that I saw Jordan Peele's name attached to an anthology of black horror and I was hooked. And while that was all it took for me to pick up this anthology, I was more than pleasantly surprised by the diverse voices and stylistic approaches each author brought to the table.

Some story's spoke to me at this point in time and some did not, but there were quite a few-familiar and new to me-who stood out among the crowd and I cannot wait to jump into all of their works. That is the most exciting aspect of anthologies, they are fruitful resources for discovering new authors.

If, like me, you admire Jordan Peele's way of blending horror and science fiction while also incorporating non-fictional themes that comment upon the social and psychological aspects of the Black experience, this is an anthology I would implore you to pick up and read. This curated collection of stories reflect a number of voices that highlight diverse Black experiences and there is most definitely something for everyone within these pages.

The beginnings of this story held a suspenseful ambience and sense of dread upon being introduced to the cast of characters and the town of Harrow.

The setting and premise of this story was compelling and fascinating in its possibilities. The heart of the story revolves around an heirloom apple and its caustic effects. I enjoyed the symbolic nature of the apple being cleverly twisted to meet the needs of this plot and the dire consequences that follow.

With that said, the pacing of the plot and the characterization was exceedingly lengthy and impacted the drama and tension of the story as a whole. I appreciated the author's attention to detail and creativity, but this book did suffer from being prolonged a bit too far.

If you are a fan of Chuck Wendig, I have a feeling you will enjoy spending time with this story. If you are new to this author-like myself-then I would recommend getting a taste of this authors' style with a less lengthy selection of his work.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group via NetGalley for allowing me to respond to this book with my honest opinions.

4.5 ✨'s

I was so disappointed to discover that the editor's note from Jordan Peele wasn't included in this ARC, but very grateful for the opportunity to read this incredible collection! As with any short story collection, some stories resonated more than others but this was a wonderful read from start to finish. My favorite stories brilliantly blended the supernatural with real world issues. I think this is a collection I'll turn to again and again!

Jordan Peel absolutely has a future as a curator and/or editor given the wide range of voices he's gathered here. It proves that horror is alive and well and there's any number of these stories I'd gladly read as stand-alone novels. THANK YOU!

anthologies are always harder for me to rate and read if there are some stories that feel flat or a miss to me. out there screaming felt pretty lengthy to me, which can also make it harder for me to stick with an anthology just due to shifting from one authors tone and pacing from story to story. while i did enjoy the majority of this collection, i really appreciated the wide range of themes and horror tropes featured but wouldn't say any of these felt overly scary to me.

here were a few of my personal favorites that stuck with me:
- eye and tooth
- lasirèn
- the rider
- dark home
- your happy place
- hide and seek

This anthology contained tales from 19 different authors, most new to me but a couple I was familiar with.
What I loved was the diversity of the stories. Creature features to aquatic horror to ghost stories to human monster stories. All were well written, even if they did not all connect with me. Reckless Eyeballing, Eye & Tooth, The Rider, The Aesthete, Sconiers, Your Happy Place, and Origin Story stood out to me. It might be because Jordan Peele is attached to this project, but I would love to see many of these adapted for the screen.

Screamed when I got this, and STILL screaming at this delicious collection of stories. I love that Jordan Peele has been at the helm of BIPOC film horror, and seeing that translate into the literary world is so satisfying. I don't normally enjoy short stories (I don't know why, it's something I'm working through), but HORROR short stories are perfect for a small dose of heart-wrenching fear (or two, or three) before bed.

This is such a good book to get us into spooky season!

This is an amazing horror collection with a sterling collection of authors. Creepy, scary, and uncomfortable to read, this is definitely a winner.

Out There Screaming is a short story anthology edited by Jordan Peele. Now they are suppose to be in the vein of Peelesque (like that).

Like many anthologies this one was hit or miss. Maybe I’m such a horror buff that I’ve come to expect something to really grab and scare me. There are some good stories in here, just nothing that made me cut my light on in the dark.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for this ARC, I receive no monetary gain from this review.

I say take a chance, but it’s like every other anthology, it’s up to you to find the gold.

I can't praise highly enough this remarkable, exceptional, Anthology of Black Horror! Spine-chilling, terrifying, enlightening: the authors of these special stories may well all be geniuses of the Outre!! My special favorites (I possess the frozen spine and rapid-beating heart to prove so) are the two tales from Nnedi Okarafor (terrifying!), one from Tananarive Due (scared me senseless), one by Rebecca Roanhorse (which elicited my "OH, Yeah!" reaction), and a compelling and thought-provoking tale from Cadwell Turnbull. But all are exceptional, without question, a perfect complement to Spooky October reading.

Included is a frightening "wake-up" introduction from curator of this Anthology, Jordan Peele.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Like most horror anthologies, some I loved, some weren’t for me. Appreciate the concept tho. Some truly chilling stories here.

thanks to netgalley and random house for the arc!

jordan peele has curated a fantastically varied collection of horror short stories - you really get to dive into the genre with this anthology - there's body horror, ghost stories, possession, vengeful gods, dystopia, gore, dread, and so much more.

always hard to rate an anthology as some of these stories didn't quite do it for me but some really did. here were. the standouts for me:

- lasirèn by erin e. adams: a chilling story about mermaid abductions and three sisters making deals.
- the rider by tananarive due: freedom writers during the civil rights era board a bus that will certainly not be taking them on their expected route.
- flicker by l. d. lewis: when the world pitches into total darkness for a brief moment, things aren't as they seem when the light comes back.
- a bird sings by the etching tree by nicole d. sconiers: a friendly competition between two girls eternally stuck to a stretch of the highway they were killed on.
- hide and seek by p. djeli clark: two brothers play hide and seek with terrifying consequences if their mom catches them.