I love horror graphic novels and Bad Dreams in the Night is awesome! Loved it so much! Fantastic, dark and original stories in this collection. Highly recommend to all horror loving graphic novel fans.

Thanks to the author and publisher fir the e-arc I received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book was right up my alley and I loved every minute of it!

I loved these stories, some more than others. The illustrations were absolutely fabulous and I had a great reading experience so 5 flying stars from me!

Now off to get some more of this author’s work because I’m hooked.

Absolutely loved the art, but the writing was not on par with it whatsoever. I've known Adam Ellis's work for a while now and think he is a great artist with an amazing sense of flow and layout, and Bad Dreams in the Night shows how capable of a visual artist he is. Writing-wise, I think the stories should have been edited much much more though. The spooky reveals/twists are often cliché and more reminiscent of Reddit two-sentence horror stories than actual carefully crafted narratives. The build-up likewise is almost always non-existent, Butter Corn Ramen probably being the worst offender - there is no gradual shift that allows the character and reader to feel and express the terror at the body horror transformation, the guy is just done after two pages without spending any time on his descent into addiction or his bodily changes. Others lack both build-up and punchline, such as Better Kate than Never, which could've been such a fun concept but fell completely flat and didn't make any sense whatsoever. Too many stories felt like they had no point, such as Me and Evangeline at the Farm and Forest Fruit. By far the strongest ones were Murder Party and Viola Bloom; Milk Door was also fairly fun and I generally liked the urban legend-feel of Bus Stop, but that's pretty much it.

I ADORE horror anthologies and really wanted to love this, but I honestly think the stories should have been streamlined far far more. They read more like bad to mediocre creepypastas than anything else.

- ARC provided by NetGalley -

This has to be one of my favourite graphic novels of all time.

I have to admit I was Adam Ellis' follower before getting to this book, so I found some sort of nostalgia on the drawing style. I loved how fast-paced it was, and how short the stories felt to me, as I finished it in about an hour.

My personal favourite stories were Viola Bloom and True Crime.

Recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

I've followed Adam Ellis for a long time on instagram, and I've loved seeing his artwork adapt and change over time! His characters are always really well rendered, the style is striking and unique, and the premises for the comics are haunting! I really enjoy this new direction for his work, and hope to see more!

It's been some time since I've last read or watched horror short stories. Far too long. These stories pretty much awoke my love for horror. I recommend this comic so much, so I also wrote a small review for each tale, right down below.
1st story - Me and Evangeline at the farm - this one has a story inside of a story. It's mainly about a love story between an alien and a farmer. Gotta say, the storytelling is really beautiful and the ending bittersweet.

2nd story - Milk door : this tale was definitely more on the disturbing line. It started normal, crossed towards some foreboding territory and then went on a scary rampage. I love the pacing of these stories so far, the artist makes sure to create the right atmosphere.
3rd story - Butter Corn Ramen - alert, alert, we've reached disturbing realm .
4th story - Green ribbon : is set in a different timeline, late 19th or early 20th century(if not older than that) , which is a nice change of pace. The main character was an undeniable bad guy this time, which I like a lot. The story had supernatural elements that were unrelated to the guy, but which illustrated a bit of a poetic justice.
5th story - Forest fruit : a story about the kid who's the only survivor. It's too short, I feel like it wasn't developed enough, but it does have potential.

6th story - Bus stop -- loved the story, it was slightly disturbing, but also really interesting.

7th story - Hangnail - that was so hard to read because it was so unsettling and scary. Worthwhile though for this genre.

8th story - Better Kate than never - creative concept and cool, creepy twist, with black mirror vibes , plus, I really loved the author's explanation for how the idea came up.

9th story - Little House in the sea - unsettling story - I do wish there were longer versions to some of the stories though, I mean, I wanna know more about them.

10th story : Murder party - the protagonist here is really something...kind of an obsessive villain, which is interesting because we see things from her pov.

11th story : Viola Bloom - this is the scariest one, at least for me. The explanation of the artist of how he got the inspiration for this story is truly sad.

This was just plain perfect. I don't usually give five stars, but I truly, truly loved this book. Loved the artwork, loved the stories, this was a perfect mixture of childhood scary-comic-book happiness and modern twists. Read it in one sitting and would have happily devoured more. In fact, while I was fortunate enough to receive this as an ARC, I'll probably buy a physical copy as well to put on my shelf.

Amazing horror graphic novel! Great for a quick horror binge and a great place to start for those curious to horror.

Eerie and captivating short horror stories, each typically inspired by real events or dreams. There's such a sentimental and disturbing aspect to each story. Some with nostalgic 90s elements and some that are across history or sub-genres. I'd been a long fan of Adam Ellis' work, and when he started exploring horror, I was so excited!

Also, as an artsy person myself, his illustrations, environments, and compositions are gorgeously detailed. There's a lovely variation of styles to gawk at.

I hope Adam continues his work! I look forward to more of his horror! [Despite the challenges he disclosed at the end, made me sad to hear how awful people can be :( ]

Thank you to Netgalley, Adam Ellis and Andrews McMeel Publishing for this advanced readers copy. I was over the moon to have this copy approved!

I LOVED this book. I’m new to the graphic novel world (this is like my 5th one) and I was FLOORED with how beautiful the artwork was. Each story had its own vibe and he switched up his art style for each individual story which I thought was incredibly impressive. I wouldn’t really call it a horror book as much as I’d call it a thriller but that’s just me! Each story was sufficiently creepy and I LOVED the way it ended, I thought it was so interactive and fun.

3.75 stars

I was a big fan of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark as a kid so I was excited to read this graphic novel inspired by the book! I thought the stories were fun and creepy. The story called "Hangnail" was especially terrifying because of the body horror. The story "Little House on the Sea" was my favorite. I'd love to get a longer version of that story that goes more in depth into the lore. The story was very mysterious, eerie and yet beautiful. The "Bus Stop" was also really creepy and creative. Overall I enjoyed the stories but I just think they would have benefitted from being a little bit longer. Still a very engrossing and fun read though!

*Thanks to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the arc!*

"bad dreams in the night" is the perfect mix of "scary stories to tell in the dark" and "in a dark, dark room." the art style was amazing and brought me into these stories. i wish i was the target audience for this though. i think that it had too many similarities to "in a dark, dark room", specifically with "the green ribbon" but other than that, this is an amazing graphic novel for young readers!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. Thank you!
As I opened NetGalley today, I immediately spotted Bad Dreams in the Night. In the last couple of days I made some thoughts how I could get a copy of Adam's graphic novel because here in Hungary we don't have the luxory of Amazon :'( On Libristo they said there's only 50% chance that they can get a copy... So today, thanks to NetGalley my dream came true <3
I'm following Adam's artwork on Instagram almost from the beginning. When I saw some of his horror comics will get published, I was so happy for him! His art is unique and exciting, scary and funny! I love that he isn't afraid to say (draw) what he thinks. So much about Adam :)
This selection includes eleven short stories. I think we can agree that they are scary stories. I loved that the one, which plays in Japan is in manga style, really creative! And if you pay attention, you can notice that the first and the last story are intentionally at their spot - they are also my favourite ones ;)
Hopefully more of Adam's graphic novels get published in the near future! Every horror fan should read them!

To say that I devoured this book would be an understatement. I raced through it, WAY too late at night, and spent the next day replaying them in my head. Genuinely scary stories with illustrations that are artistic. Loved it.

I adore Adam Ellis' web comics so there was not a doubt in my mind that I would enjoy this collection of stories. The art is fun and the stories are creepy. I thoroughly enjoyed his takes on some of the classic urban legends! Highly recommend this one!

I have been following Adam Ellis since the Buzzfeed days and it's been such a pleasure to see his longer form work develop over the years. This spooky comic collection is a great addition to any horror fan's library. There is something for everyone, whether you like body horror (Butter Corn Ramen & Hangnail), updated classic urban legends (Green Ribbon & Viola Bloom), or quietly creepy stories that leave you wanting more (Bus Stop & Little House in the Sea). This is a great collection and I'm already looking forward to what Ellis published next!

I loved this collection of short horror comics by @adamtots that draw on urban legends. I wasn’t familiar with many of them but that didn’t detract from enjoying the book as a stand-alone. Super spooky stories and great to dip into before bed! My favourites were Butter Corn Ramen, Bus Stop and Viola Bloom - which I thought ended the collection on a brilliantly ominous note! 😅🥺

The artwork is stunning and I loved how each story has its own style and colour palette. I also liked how the idea behind each comic was explained in a short summary at the end of each one, giving you an insight into the inspiration and process.

It’s a quick read and would make a perfect gift for those into horror stories, comics and graphic novels and beautiful illustrations.

Thanks to @andrewsmcmeel and @netgalley for the arc!

I am so thankful to Adam Ellis for haunting me and Andrews McMeel Publishing for sending me this beautiful copy before publication day -- April 16, 2024.

Bad Dreams in the Night is practically an adult version of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and boy, oh boy, was this the book to read before bed because those nightmares were coming at me from every angle. I finished this in one sitting and absolutely devoured and digested each story.

There are tales of random body parts and bones in a woman's milk door every morning for her to find. There's a tale about a seriously addicting ramen shop whose recipe is to die for. There's a story about a woman named Viola Bloom, and as soon as you set your eyes on her, you're done. And I'll never forget the story about sitcom madness that seems to be more of a hellscape Kate can't escape from.

Beautifully scripted and illustrated, Bad Dreams in the Night will keep you up at night with your doors locked and eyes peeled because, like I said, you're bound to have nightmares after this one.

I always love reading Adam Ellis's horror comics on insta and to have them all in one book is fantastic! Also the little snippets about what inspired each story afterward is so fun to read, especially the ones inspired by his personal experiences. A quick, fun read for a dose of horror and some really unique short stories!

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for a copy of this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

This collection of short horror stories was a lot of fun. I used to be hooked on shows like freaky stories ("it's a true story, happened to a friend of a friend of mine), and are you afraid of the dark? This set of stories really brought me back to that, those urban legend scary stories, that belong around a campfire. Creepy, intriguing, and with all the right twists.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a short horror story, or even just the occasional dose of creepy. You don't have to read it all in one sitting, though I certainly did.

If you like Adam Ellis' work on Twitter, then you'll like this. There were a couple stories from Twitter; however, I did enjoy reading them again. The stories are creepy, and a couple are a new take on old tales.