Admittedly I saw "edited by Jordan Peele" on the cover and immediately requested this book. I mean I also love horror, so it was also that. This is probably because I work in entertainment and it's Jordan Peele, but I can imagine so many of these stories as TV shows and movies.

The eerie, spooky vibes were so perfect. And I didn't find the stories to include horror and gore just for the sake of it. They all had some deeper message or story beyond "this is a scary story" with really solid characters. At the same time, the stories didn't feel either too on-the-nose or preachy when touching on the deeper themes and fitting themselves into the context of our society.

The writing was solid for the most part, although there were a few stories I skipped over because the writing bothered me. As it happens every time I read a short story collection, I did not love them all but overall I really enjoyed this!

An anthology mixed with all the genres! A powerful list of stories.
Edited by Jordan Peele and a must read.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

LOL that the actual intro from Jordan Peele was missing/TK in the proofs. But the book started out strong with a contribution by the exquisite NK Jemisin. There are so many greats in this book— NK Jemisin, of course, as well as Nnedi Okorafor (whose books I’ve just been tearing through this year), Rebecca Roanhorse, and Tananarive Due. What more could you ask for in spooky season?

Some of the stories were excellent, all were interesting. I’m not always a fan of short stories but this collection was great.

My family is a group of die hard Jordan Peele fans! We watch and rewatch all the Key and Peele skits, we love Jordan Peele’s movies. So when I saw that he had edited a short story collection of horror I said, “pick me, pick me”! This anthology is full of creepy, haunting, scary and even some cringe worthy stories that are perfect for any time of year but especially for “spooky season”. Thank you Netgalley, Random House Publishing and the authors for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on October 3, 2023

I have been a huge fan of Jordan Peele over the years, so decided to give this book a shot. Overall I really enjoyed this read. I have never read an anthology before, so was pleasantly surprised and how well written each short story was. I would definitely recommend this read to anyone who likes SF and Horror.

"Out There Screaming" is a groundbreaking anthology of Black horror, curated by Jordan Peele and John Joseph Adams. It's a spine-tingling journey that not only explores supernatural terrors but also confronts the haunting realities of injustice.

Featuring contributions from renowned authors like N. K. Jemisin, Rebecca Roanhorse, Tananarive Due, Nnedi Okorafor, and more, this collection offers a diverse array of gripping tales. Each story is meticulously crafted, drawing readers into worlds filled with fear and unease.

"Out There Screaming" redefines horror, challenging our assumptions and pushing boundaries. It's a master class in storytelling, showcasing the genre's power to both terrify and enlighten. This anthology is a vital addition to literature, celebrating marginalized voices and their ability to captivate, terrify, and enlighten. A must-read that deserves widespread recognition.

So, so, so honored to receive an advance copy of this anthology!! I’m a huge fan of Jordan Peele and his brilliant mind and now the way he champions other Black artists and authors. This anthology was at turns funny, extremely dark, horrifying, and meaningful-and entertaining the whole way through. I loved 11 out of 19 stories, but the entire volume impressed me so much. I learned quite a bit from this volume-although all of the stories are fictional, there was much that was rooted in history. From more fantastical stories to the realistic, there’s something for everyone in this collection. I found myself annotating and tabbing like crazy & there are so many authors included whose work I can’t wait to read more of. I only finished it this afternoon, and plan to write a more detailed review on my bookstagram, but I just had to review this one for NetGalley as well prior to the Pub date.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher and authors for the chance to read this one. Truly an honor.

This was an interesting anthology series and a great read for those who enjoy horror. However, with the variety, there were some stories that were great and some that were just alright. I enjoyed how all of the stories did not go together because it was easy to pick up and put down.

Overall a really good anthology, definitely would recommend to any horror lovers out there (screaming)

Reckless Eyeballing (NK Jemisin) (5) – A great start with just enough body horror to be fun, and an insanely unreliable narrator. Eyeball imagery my beloved and beloathed you never fail to make me want to vomit and therefore I can never stop reading it.
Eye and Tooth (Rebecca Roanhorse) (4.5) – A rocky start to the short story but once it starts, it’s amazing, because it’s Rebecca Roanhorse and how could it not be.
Wandering Devil (Cadwell Turnbull) (3) – Wasn’t really a horror story until the very end of it, a good story but not really for me, not as intense of horror as I like.
Invasion of the Baby Snatchers (Lesley Nneka Arimah)(5) – Gore, aliens, an unreliable narrator and justification of my very intense fear of the capabilities of the reproductive system– I absolutely loved this story.
The Other One (Violet Allen) (5)– a story about obsession that is equal parts messed up and weird and confusing and gory and I adored it.
Lasirèn (Erin E. Adams) (3) – more sad than scary but still really good. You know what’s going to happen to the characters a bit too much to really be fully invested though
The Rider (Tananarive Due) (4.5) – vehicular manslaughter with the aid of eldritch creatures
The Aesthete (Justin C. Key) (4) – one of the longer stories in the collection– lots and lots of worldbuilding, not a huge fan of the ending
Pressure (Ezra Claytan Daniels) (4.5) – I love second person horror so much it’s great
Dark Home (Nnedi Okorafor)(4) –fun but I do agree with the main characters dad, she does have way too many internet connected tools, I thought the story would have taken that route instead
Flicker (LD Lewis) (5) – really good, felt too short because I wanted to read more
The Most Strongest Obeah Woman of the World (Nalo Hopkinson) (4.5) – I did not expect any of this, it was strange and self-reflective and really interesting and also gross.
The Norwood Trouble (Maurice Broaddus) (4.5) — revenge stories and tight-knit communities
A Grief of the Dead (Rion Amilcar Scott) (4) – obsession, the real horror is gun violence and racism not the giant evil birds (they are kind of also the horror)
A Bird Sings by the Etching Tree (Nicole D. Sconiers)(4.5) –cryptids of the highway, from the POV of the cryptids. And also murder.
An American Fable (Chesya Burke)(4) – the real horror is white men, post wwi setting
Your Happy Place (Terence Taylor)(5) – prison experiments and how people will overlook atrocities as long as the people “deserve” it, legal loopholes, and a whole matrix thing. Messed up in so many degrees and I absolutely loved it.
Hide and Seek (P. Djèli Clark) (5) – I love the way this one plays with timelines and returns back in on itself
Origin Story (Tochi Onyebuchi) (5) – white boys being mad that they’re not the center of the world anymore, existentialism, fun play format

I loved this! Every story had me hooked, and I flew through this. I absolutely how well cultivated and crafted this was, and I cannot wait to buy a physical copy for my own library and the library I work for! If you're looking for easily accessible short form horror stories, this is for sure going to be perfect for you! I think a lot of people are going to love this.

I loved this. Every story was incredible and I was so immersed in each one. This one will definitely stay with me for a long time. An absolute must read for any horror lover.

When it comes to the horror genre, so many things can be considered horror. The subjective nature of what makes a piece of writing horror is exemplified in the anthology collection Out There Screaming. The short stories in this collection share the underlying theme of racism present in America, but with different vehicles to get there. There are stories about ghosts, aliens, a campfire story, and so much more. I loved that I got to enjoy stories from some of my favorite Black writers along with finding new authors that I'll be diving into their backlist and future works.

This collection is easily accessible to everyone because of the varying degrees of horror. No matter how much horror you like to consume, from slight scares to nightmare level scares, there is something for everyone in this collection.

Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for review consideration.

Putting a celebrity's name as the "curator" of a literary anthology often can come across as little more than a marketing ploy - a way to draw in readers into a collection of quite often iffy selections, with contributors hoping to make a buck off of the name on the cover. But Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror more than delivers on the promise of Jordan Peele's name on the cover, no matter how involved he may or may not have been in the selection of the stories here. With a murderer's row of talent, including N.K. Jemisin, P. Djèlí Clark, Nnedi Okorafor, Tochi Onyebuchi, and so many more, the anthology delivers exactly what it promises: an astonishing collection of horror from Black voices, with one of the highest ratios of success I've found in a collection like this. As with any anthology, there are a few misses here and there; Terence Taylor's "Your Happy Place" is a long walk to an obvious and overly familiar twist, even if some of the specifics are interesting and nicely pointed; Ezra Claytan Daniels's "Pressure" feels like a great mood piece in search of a plot. But those are by far the exception, not the rule, and there are many, many knockouts here. Clark's "Hide and Seek" mixes magical realism with the bleakness of drug addiction, finding something wholly new and disturbing along the way; "Eve & Tooth," by Rebecca Roanhorse, feels like a pilot for what would be a gangbuster supernatural novel series; "The Most Strongest Obeah Woman of the World," by Nalo Hopkinson, mixes African myth and a feel of oral legends with body horror, and the result is a wild ride; Tananarive Due's "The Rider" uses the Civil Rights era as a background for a creature there to settle karmic scores...look, I could go on and on - I haven't even mentioned Jemisin's surreal body horror tale of police paranoia, or LD Lewis's unusual apocalyptic tale "Flicker," or Nicole D. Sconiers most unusual haunting tale "A Bird Sings by the Etching Tree"...you get the idea. And then it all culminates with Onyebuchi's "Origin Story," which defies every expectation and norm of the collection to deliver something that knocked me flat, and felt like the perfect capper for the anthology. Sure, any anthology of authors is uneven by definition, and sure, collections marketed with a "big celebrity editor" are often junk. But Out There Screaming is everything I hoped and then some, with tons of hits, only a few weak entries, no truly bad ones, and lots of inventive horror that feels like nothing else, all while giving a chance to expand beyond the usual white staples of the genre. It's a must for any serious horror fan - you won't be disappointed. Rating: *****

Just in time for fall (and October frights), “Out There Screaming” presents numerous horrifying stories. From speculative horror, to paranormal horror, to psychological horror, to cosmic horror, Jordan Peele’s curated collection is gorgeously well done; each author explores horror alongside prevalent contemporary and historical social issues.

As is the case with any anthology or short story collection, there were a select few of really strong stories. “Pressure” follows a narrator who goes home to visit their cousins and tensions.. and pressures are high. “Eye & Tooth” explores a town’s strange history when siblings Zelda and Atticus offer their services to an odd old woman. “A Bird Sings by the Etching Tree” addresses justice as two women return from the dead and revengefully murder those they deem worthy. “Your Happy Place” follows Martin, who seeks to uncover the truth behind The Process, where “brain-computer interface” meets prison reform.

This truly is a unique anthology and I recommend this collection to any readers who enjoy horror of any kind. There is something for every horror enjoyer in this collection. Jordan Peele, as his does with all his other works, knew what he was doing and was intentional about each story he selected for this horror-filled anthology.

Out There Screaming is the horror anthology for anyone who truly loves a good horror story. Set to the backdrop of dangerous deep creatures, uneasy bus rides, and sounds that actually bump in the night, you're thrown into these bite-size narratives that shouldn't be this frightening. Much of the authors have staked their claim elsewhere, so if you're familiar with them then their short stories will be more fodder for your affection. But for those who haven't consumed the current Black horror genre the way I have, this series introduces you to the what's new here - and you'll definitely know who you like, and what you like, by the end of this series.

As with any short story collection, OUT THERE SCREAMING provides its hits and its misses. But, what this anthology does SO WELL that many miss out on is providing a central thread of feeling and vibes that ties all the stories together. When each story is written by a completely different author, you obvious receive a variety of styles, themes, and genres. This book spans the many sub-genres of horror: witches and magic, hauntings, sci-fi and fantasy, demons and demon hunters. But what they all have in common is something very noticeable in all Jordan Peele movies and that is this underlying sense of disquiet, of unease, almost like a steady, low level beat if anxiety. I really, really loved this collection and cannot wait for the physical copy. I will revisit some of these stories again and again. And, the thing I love most about anthologies, this book has introduced me to authors I may have never heard of or read otherwise. But, thanks to Jordan Peele, I’ve now added works by a few of these authors to my shelves and will be adding more.

Some personal faves from this collection: EYE & TOOTH, THE RIDER, DARK HOME (my favorite!), THE NORWOOD TROUBLE, A BIRD SINGS BY THE ETCHING TREE (this story brought the fall/Halloween season vibes! More than the rest.), and HIDE & SEEK. All stories delivered top notch writing. Some just lost me in their prose and I couldn’t follow. But, I will revisit them and try again when I get a physical copy of the book. Highly recommend!

Out There Screaming edited by Jordan Peele was received directly from the publisher and I chose to review it. What can be said about Jordann Peele? Some love him, some not so much, but I will keep my thoughts to myself. This group of short "horror" stories has its ups and downs also. The collection started out very good then started being not so good at times, as all anthologies tend to do. Other reviewers have given breakdowns of each story, and people who read my reviews know I will not do that. As such, if you like horror stories, or some even sci-fi type stories, with authors who have not been around for decades. In this almost Halloween season, give this book a read or purchase it for someone who enjoys horror stories.

3 Stars

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Various
𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭: Horror master Jordan Peele has compiled a book of stories by many different Black authors - many are well-known and popular authors, while others are more obscure. This is marketed as horror, but I would say most of the stories would not actually fall in that genre.
𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬: 290? 400? Unsure
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Dark fantasy
𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝: Sure
𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭: Yes
𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝: Various
𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰: ⭐⭐⭐ 1/4
This book has some great stories, but I think where it failed was in editing. Peele is an absolute genius when it comes to horror, which makes it somewhat surprising that he got so many of the stories from fantasy and scifi writers. I'm not saying a person can't write in more than one genre, but in this case the majority of the stories would either fall into a fantasy or dystopian category, rather than horror. The horror genre is certainly subjective, but I think after reading most people would see that the book isn't quite what it's marketed as.

That being said, I really did enjoy a few of the stories:
"Reckless Eyeballing" - NK Jemisin
"Eye & Tooth" - Rebecca Roanhorse
"The Rider" - Tananarive Due
"Dark Home" - Nnedi Okorafor

I received an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for this review. My copy had 290 pages, but the book is listed at 400, so I'm not sure if that is an error or if there are additional stories that weren't released early.

Absolutely masterful collection with both big names and unexpected gems.readers are privileged to have this anthology available to them not only as fantastic work in horror but as a window into the myriad ways traditionally marginalized writers flex the confines of the genre to crate something new and utterly terrifying.

This is such a strong collection! There is definitely a full spectrum of horror in here, and I think those who pick it up will definitely find multiple stories that fit that preferences. There's plenty to offer both in terms of theme and in the level of how unsettling you like your horror. I also really enjoyed getting to read from a mix of more established authors and some I hadn't heard of before.