Love, love, love it! A lot of my favourite authors are in this book and I just loved them all! Each bringing a different perspective and uniqueness that I just couldn't put down! Five stars!

What a great collection of stories! I loved all of the different perspectives on fear. I’ve been trying to read more short stories so I can learn how to better write to a prompt. These ones were a great opportunity at study. The author of “Pelt” clearly either has a parrot or knows someone who does because wow, it was spot on with that! It really made me identify with the story even though it wasn’t about parrots at all. But my favorite story was “Cavity”. If you’ve ever wanted to know what it’s like to be a woman, read that story. It’ll tell you everything you need to know. I am definitely looking forward to reading more from these authors!

Huge thanks to Tachyon Publications and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

This book is an anthology of psychological horror stories. For some there may be triggers such as animal abuse, sexual and child abuse. I found some of the stories to be great and others rather dull. I gave each story a rating and then did a cumulative rating of the whole sum. I had a various range of ratings from 1-5, and all numbers were used at least once. The ones I liked most were: A Sunny Disposition, My Mother's Ghost, England and Nowhere, Endless Summer, One of These Nights, Souvenirs, and Where are you Going and Where Have you Been?

This was the second short read that I have by Jason Malerman, and I can't wait to read more by him. A Sunny Disposition is a 5/5 in my book. This was my first time reading Priya Sharma, and I can't wait to read a full-length book by her as well. I thought My Mother's Ghosts was very well told. When I was kid, a friend read a book to me, that I was fascinated with, and then I found out that there was a movie of this book with Laura Dern. When I read the short story Where are you Going, Where Have you Been? It reminded me of that movie. I didn't know the name of the movie, but I remember Dern was in it, so I looked it up her filmography, and found that the movie Smooth Talk was based off that book. I am ecstatic to have discovered this movie again because I loved it. and I also loved the story. I really enjoyed reading this short story and cannot wait to read more by Joyce Carol Oates.

I am happy to have come across and read this book because it has introduced me to new authors and re-introduced to authors and their work. Thanks to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for allowing me to read this Arc for my honest opinion.

This was a great read, refreshing. 21 short horror stories exploring the nature of fear as it stirs in dysfunctional families, toxic friendships, and mismatched lovers, and culminates in relentless stalkers, remorseless killers, and perpetrators of savage rituals.

This anthology’s stories might lack in blood but will still get under your skin. Psychological horror features seemingly ordinary individuals doing truly monstrous things to each other while leaving a great deal of violence to the readers’ imagination. Datlow is an editor who has produced many well-regarded anthologies of horror.. Datlow has gathered a multitude of talented authors In this book. This collection features tales from popular horror writers such as Stephen Graham Jones and Josh Malerman, along with other authors not known. How else would I find authors that I’ve never heard of until I read them in an anthology edited by Datlow. I always like to read all the anthologies edited by Ellen Datlow. Why? Because she knows how to find new and or good authors for her horror anthologies. I am a big fan of horror. I liked this book as the stories put me in a different perspctive than the current world is in. I’ve added some more authors on my list that I want to read. If you’re a fan of horror, this is a must read. If you want to try horror for the first time, read it. Datlow introduce this anthology so you know what the stories are about. She lets you know in more detail about her thoughts were for collecting stories for this anthology and the others that she has done. I think she does this so if you aren’t interested, you can find something different to read. So far, Datlow has a loyal fan of her anthologies.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tachyon Press for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. This one took me a lot longer to finish than I expected and I really didn't love many of the stories in this one. I don't think any of the stories were particularly bad, but none of them grabbed me like I wanted them to. I think the most memorable story was the first one (Bait by Simon Bestwick) and I think that was definitely a five-star story for me. I liked the overall theme explored throughout each of these stories but on a story-by-story level, they were mostly forgettable to me. Perhaps I am just not conducive to remembering more psychological and less supernatural horror. The Donner Party by Dale Bailey was another standout story from the rest and I think the beginning and end of the collection were both stronger than the middle. A lot of the authors in the collection were new to me (including the two mentioned above as far as I know) and so I am glad I got to read from a variety of new with some old. I think ending the collection with SGJ was a great choice as I always love his writing style and his story Teeth is definitely another memorable one. All in all, an okay collection but not one I see myself returning to.

I did not get to finish this book before my time with it expired but of the stories I read I enjoyed most of them. I thought it was clever to focus on the psychological element of horror

Standouts for me were A Sunny Disposition and Where you are Going and Where you Have Been

Only two of these stories remotely inspired fear. Half of the rest were stupid and no where near scary or horrific. The rest were not psychological horror and not that horrifying.

I think a lot of the stories had good premises, but some just missed their mark. Overall, a solid collection from a diverse group of authors

amazing set of stories. My favorite were "THe Pelt" by Annie Neugebauer, "Teeth" by Steven Graham Jones, "The Wrong Shark" by Ray Cluley, "Where Are You Going" by Joyce Carol Oates, and "A Sunny Disposition" by Josh Malerman

Thank you, Tachyon, for the ARC via NetGalley for consideration. This is my unbiased opinion.

Strap in for a harrowing ride with Fear. As soon as I saw this new collection by the incomparable Ellen Datlow, I wanted it. The psychological horror theme gives us a knife-edged collection from some of Horror's top talents.

Over the years, discovering authors new to me has been a favorite treat with Datlow's anthologies. This anthology presents several standout stories that took me by surprise.

The strong opening story, Bait by Simon Bestwick, is tense all the way through.

Cavity by Teresa DeLucci packs powerful punches.

Ray Cluley's The Wrong Shark got to me in all the best ways. It's perfect. I felt every detail of it.

Homoeroticism exerts a disturbing undertow in Tim Nickel’s beautiful and spare England and Nowhere and Stewart O’Nan’s chilling Endless Summer.

This is the kind of collection where your mind can easily become part of the tension. Many stories invite us to notice and feel not only fear but our common ground with human monsters.

Maybe that's just me. You might be ‘normal’--or are you? Experience Fear and find out.

I have mixed feelings on this collection... Many seemed psychological thriller, as in the mystery section of the bookstore. Most of the others involved a "twist" where a serial killer is involved. I could see myself loving many of those stories in another context (Souvenirs by Sharon Gosling and Unkindly Girls by Hailey Piper come to mind), but was underwhelmed because putting them all in a row took the suspense away.

Ultimately, I picked this up for Stephen Graham Jones and was disappointed. If you got "Teeth," can you tell me WTF was going on in that story? There's a whole reddit thread and everyone is still confused.

That said, there were some really unique options that made this worth it overall. Favorites were:

The Donner Party by Dale Bailey. This is NOT historical fiction, but rather an alternate universe that feels somewhat like a Regency period piece. But they didn't do this in that time, and there's random bits of modernity thrown in. Certainly not the famous party of the Rocky Mountains, but the naming is the thing.

Singing My Sister Down by Margo Lanagan. This feels sci fi without the special powers and such. Very original and makes you sit with the idea of capital punishment and all of the impacted parties without the benefit of using crime as a justification.

Back Seat by Bracken MacLeod. This was the type of story that I envisioned for this collection based on the intro.

The Wrong Shark by Ray Cluley. Ditto.

It will be one of those collections where I say, "oh there's this one story and I know it's in this collection..." depending on what conversation I am having. So, some pleasant surprises amid the debris.

3.5 rounded down because this isn't going to encourage me to pick up others edited by this editor... Even spacing out the unique ones amid the serial killers would have helped!

Fears is a collection of 21 Psychological Horror short stories. Like all collections, there's good stories and not so good stories. Unfortunately, I really only enjoyed eight of them. The rest I would rate between 1 and 3 stars. I'm really disappointed that I didn't like more stories, but I'm thrilled that I found some new to me writers to check out more of their work. I've read other anthology compiled by Ms. Datlow and found them to be far better than this one. Also, I feel many of these stories are more thriller than horror.

My thanks to Tachyon Publications, Ellen Datlow, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

It’s so hard to write a book of short stories because I felt like some stories were really good and others were not interesting at all. The few that carried the book for me were “the pelt”, “a sunny disposition,” “backseat,” and “cavity.” Many dragged on or were written in a way that was hard for me to follow.

Horror anthologies are like a mixed bag—some stories will chill you to the bone, while others may not land as hard. That's just the nature of the beast. This lands in the middle - it contains a refreshing variety of stories, and a few of them really stand out for their inventive scares and atmospheres that linger long after you've put the book down.

A major highlight is the inclusion of stories showcasing various perspectives on horror,

Of course, as with any anthology, not every story hits the mark. Some feel predictable or lack the punch you expect from a truly great horror tale. But that’s the trade-off with collections like this—you’ll find a few gems, some so-so entries, and maybe one or two that don’t quite leave an impression.

Overall, the anthology is worth a read, especially for the unique stories that explore the mythos. The diversity of voices here elevates it beyond your typical collection, even if not every piece is a home run.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF from me. I read a few stories from this collection, but I found myself bored by the stories and not wanting to pick up the book.

ARC Review

This is a book made up of several stories by multiple authors. Some authors I had heard before & read their previous works, while others I had not, but will be checking out their other projects.

If you’re looking for a fun read, give this book a shot! I’m sure you’ll find a story you enjoy.

Some writing styles are not everyone’s cup of tea (personally, there were a couple I could not get into & did end up skipping them & not finishing).

With so many different stories and styles, there has to be one that is up your alley & could introduce you to your new favorite author!

Some stories were disturbing, while others left me wondering what I had just read (in a good creepy way).

Worth the read!

As most of you (should) know, I love a horror anthology! These are 21 tales of psychological horror; below, my thoughts on each story.

Bait, Simon Bestwick: A man sees a woman kill someone outside of a bar, then asks her if she wants to have a drink. 4/5

The Pelt, Annie Neugebauer: This story of a woman who finds a strange animal pelt started slow, but I liked the ending! 3/5

A Sunny Disposition, Josh Malerman: What would YOU give (or take) to have a sunny disposition? 4/5

The Donner Party, Dale Bailey: This was a dark and interesting historical fiction story about cannibalism - I mean, ensouled flesh consumption. 3.5/5

White Noise in a White Room, Steve Duffy: I’m not big on military/action horror, though the writing was good. 2.5/5

Singing My Sister Down, Margo Lanagan: This tale of a woman being killed in a tarpit needed more back story. 2.5/5

Back Seat, Bracken MacLeod: I wish this story of a homeless girl and her father was longer! 4.5/5

England and Nowhere, Tim Nickels: A mute man watches and listens to his neighbors as death hangs over him. 3.5/5

Endless Summer, Stuart O’Nan: This story was so abstract that I’m clueless; I *think* it’s about a serial killer who kills non-binary people, but I could be way off. 2/5

My Mother’s Ghosts, Priya Sharma: A woman who takes care of her ailing parents gets quite a surprise when her brother comes home. 4.5/5

The Wink and the Gun, John Patrick Higgins: Some bullies cause a real EYE-raising situation! 4/5

One of Those Nights, Livia Llewellyn: Girls can get so nasty, sometimes with fatal results… 3/5

LD50, Laird Barron: A coyote culler is given a taste of his own medicine. 3.5/5

Cavity, Theresa DeLucci: The average person meets 36 murderers in their life…maybe just like this. 5/5

Souvenirs, Sharon Gosling: A man doesn’t want to go to the nursing home his family is sending him to, for good reason. 2.5/5

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Joyce Carol Oates: I thought this story about a girl named Connie was great, but it ended too abruptly. 4/5

The Wrong Shark, Ray Cluley: A man who was there for the making of the movie “Jaws” has a newfound sense of sharks. 4/5

“21 Brooklands, next to Old Western, opposite the burnt out Red Lion”, Carole Johnstone: What a neighborhood, what a house, what a story! 4/5

Unkindly Girls, Hailey Piper: Wow. This was sad and horrific, and let’s just say it’s best to be a kindly girl. 4.5/5

A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts, Charles Birkin: A different look at the third Reich; I just don’t care for military stories. 2.5/5

Teeth, Stephen Graham Jones: Dogs like bones. Why not people? 2.5/5

Based on my story ratings, I’m giving this three stars. I only gave one story five stars, because it was fantastic, but some of these stories weren’t really my style.

(Thank you to Tachyon Publications, Ellen Daltow and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)

Note: I received a free unpublished proof of this book, for a limited time, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own.

As with many of the horror titles I review, this book contains a great deal of NSFW and violent content and is hence only appropriate for adult readers (18+). The book contains death of adults, children, and animals; violence, injury, blood, mental illness, eating disorders, murder, cannibalism, torture, police violence, military violence, the Holocaust, antisemitism, ableism, racism, racist language, fatphobia, misogyny, sexism, guns, knives, needles, drowning, domestic abuse, bullying, sexual harassment, physical and sexual abuse of adults and children, rape, incest, frequent mentions of sexual topics, cheating, unsafe sex, animal cruelty, and animal abuse. Virtually every common content warning applies to this book. Other readers pointed some of these out in their reviews, including ones I’d forgotten, so thank you, fellow reviewers, for reminding me.

I first fell in love with Ellen Datlow’s anthologies on a whim. I’d seen one of her earlier anthologies that she edited with Terri Windling, Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells, on Pinterest when looking through a variety of fantasy and steampunk sorts of things and decided to check it out from the library. Having only read a few YA anthologies in high school, amid short, easily-digestible works that took my mind off of the experience of being a teenager, I was spellbound. My reading level had always been high enough for this stuff, but it wasn’t until I was eighteen, nineteen years old with some time on my hands that I could really dig into a book like this and enjoy it. This collection of stories, ranging from whimsical to grotesque to bittersweet, was one of the things that made me want to continue reading more “serious” fantasy and science fiction as an adult. (It’s also how I fell in love with gaslamp fantasy, as Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells is themed around the genre, but that’s another post for another day.)

In the past couple of years I’d already devoured her two film-themed horror anthologies, The Cutting Room and Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles since I loved Public Radio Alliance’s “The Last Movie” podcast about a haunted movie so much. I also enjoyed Body Shocks: Extreme Tales of Body Horror, though I can’t in good conscience recommend that one to anybody who isn’t already at least somewhat into horror. Admittedly, I didn’t like her 2018 The Best of the Best Horror of the Year as much, but given that she was pulling a variety of favorites from a huge body of “the best”, from an even larger body of everything published…well, of course there will be some things I like and others that I don’t. Overall, Datlow and I tend to have similar taste—well-written, clever stories that evoke emotion and thought in the audience, about topics that reflect the human experience, and that often have a twist or at least a powerful “punch” that sticks in the audience’s mind.

Naturally, I had to request this for review as soon as I saw it. “Psychological horror” and “human evil” are broad themes, almost too broad for a Datlow anthology, but it piqued my curiosity nonetheless.

I wouldn’t necessarily call all of the stories in here “speculative fiction” as it is hard to pinpoint particular science fiction or fantasy elements, but all of the stories fall firmly into the “horror” genre as opposed to, say, “mystery” or “crime” which have particular conventions. I suppose “thriller” would apply here, but while thrillers are more loosely-plotted than procedurals, they are still usually dependent on a long-running unravelling of clues that isn’t seen in the short-story format. Hence, I think that the horror audience would be most interested in this book, but others who enjoy stories about evil and suspense would likely enjoy it as well.

Without further ado, the stories.

“Bait” by Simon Bestwick—Bestwick starts this anthology pretty strongly. It’s a pretty straightforward story about an evil woman, but the author’s style is intriguing and sets the “tone” for the rest of the book. Bestwick’s other stories have a similar quality, telling the reader only so much at a time to build suspense, which gives his work somewhat of an “edge of your seat” quality to it.

“The Pelt” by Annie Neugebauer—This is one of the few stories in the book that really has a supernatural edge to it. While the horror “hook” of the story is never fully explained, it is entirely possible that supernatural forces are at work, though it could alternately be read as a story about the dangers of following irrational beliefs. The writing and theme didn’t grab me as much as some of the others, but it’s good nonetheless.

“A Sunny Disposition” by Josh Malerman—This one is rather gory, but I really liked it. I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler to say that I think it’s a worthy successor to Roald Dahl’s infamous short story “The Landlady”, which I credit with making me fall in love with the “disturbing short story” genre when I was thirteen. (No, this doesn’t give away the ending.) Malerman has that gift of making an uncommon brand of evil seem like a perfectly normal situation to run into. And if Malerman sounds familiar, he is the author of Bird Box, the movie that led to influencers trying to drive around blindfolded, though I sincerely doubt that was his authorial intent.

“The Donner Party” by Dale Bailey—Maybe I’m biased because this story involves the themes of “social dynamics of Victorian England” and “cannibalism”, two things that will generally grab my attention at the very least, but I think it’s one of the more intriguing and imaginative works in the book. The social commentary is strong, but the characterization and world-building of it are done pretty well for such a short story so it doesn’t just feel like a “social commentary story”.

“White Noise in a White Room” by Steve Duffy—This one was intriguing; a bit confusing but its vague nature made it all the more interesting. It didn’t “stand out” as much as some of the others but it is an interesting take on the theme of military interrogators, violent killers, and the unique evils of both of them. The supernatural nature of this one is actually somewhat open.

“Singing My Sister Down” by Margo Lanagan—I’d actually read this one already, in Lanagan’s young adult collection Black Juice, in which it was one of the better selections. I read it when I was sixteen after finding the book in one of those “recommended teen book” list-books and it thorougly disturbed me. Nevertheless, I was glad to revisit it, and it is still just as disturbing. It’s maybe even more disturbing to read as an adult, given that the girl at the center of the story is only a teenager—maybe 18 or 19 at the oldest, since she was married for a short time—when her community executes her. It’s not “fantasy” per se but is definitely taking place in a world or culture that is very different from our own.

“Back Seat” by Bracken MacLeod—This story is one of the few that feels more sad than scary for the most part. Some of the earlier ones are also sad, but the fear in this one is really not as present. Between the girl and her father trying to survive and the tragic ending, it’s not quite as grim as “To Build A Fire” by Jack London, but it is in that realm. There is also a slight supernatural element to this one.

“England and Nowhere” by Tim Nickels—I didn’t really understand this one. There was something messed-up going on, but I couldn’t tell if it was death or murder, and there may or may not have been some sort of incest, and/or an unreliable narrator. Nothing supernatural here, I just didn’t pick up on what the author was going for.

“Endless Summer” by Stewart O’Nan—This one pulls heavily from classic slasher and serial killer tropes. I liked that it came across as genuinely eerie after the last two which felt more like realistic/contemporary fiction.

“My Mother’s Ghosts” by Priya Sharma—This one was another that was more sad/messed-up than scary. The themes of toxic family dynamics, ableism, and incest were very heavy and while I think it was well-written, I think readers should definitely know it is heavy going in.

“The Wink and the Gun” by John Patrick Higgins—I didn’t like this one personally, if only because I don’t like reading about evil children. It was very disturbing though, and well-written, so there’s that.

“One of These Nights” by Livia Llewellyn—Again—more realistically disturbing and sad than scary; know going in that there’s child sexual abuse, toxic family relationships, and toxic friendships. Well-done for what it was, but very twisted and sad. This isn’t a strike against it, I just don’t want to re-read it.

“LD50” by Laird Barron—I thought this was an interesting story that was more along the lines of a traditional mystery/thriller, but I wasn’t really satisfied by it. I kept expecting there to be some sort of twist or for something mentioned earlier to be brought up again, but it either didn’t happen or I didn’t understand it. I also don’t understand how the title connected to the story, and I think that’s what ultimately threw me off, as I was expecting something different. None of these things are strikes against the story; they just influenced how I experienced it and made it hard for me to write a conclusive review.

“Cavity” by Theresa DeLucci—This one was short and easy-to-read with a satisfying ending, which was refreshing after some of the longer selections placed before and after it. It also managed to retain a very speculative tone despite not necessarily being science fiction or fantasy in the traditional sense. This story, unlike the others, is very explicitly about eating disorders.

“Souvenirs” by Sharon Gosling—OK, I found this one a bit humorous. Yes, it’s disturbing and relates to the theme of evil, but I thought the relationship between the daughter and her, um, interesting father was morbidly comic. I won’t spoil the whole plot, but it starts out being about a woman taking her father to a retirement home as he reminisces about his travels, and turns into a somewhat different narrative at the end.

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates—This story is more about character than about anything dramatic happening. It’s creepy and unsettling, and may or may not have underlying supernatural implications, but it’s mostly about the main character trying to deal with someone very evil. The wrap-up was a bit vague for me but it was overall a good concept for the “psychological horror” theme.

“The Wrong Shark” by Ray Cluley—This story takes on racism in a more direct way than “The Donner Party”, the only other story that really mentions it. I’m glad that at least one story built around that theme was chosen, given how relevant it is in the modern world and how prejudice plays a large role in “human evil” in general. There are also sharks.

“21 Brooklands: next to Old Western, opposite the burnt out Red Lion” by Carole Johnstone—This story is another that read more like crime or thriller fiction than “horror”. It was similar to “LD50” in that, beyond simply taking place in the real world, the style was more like modern crime fiction than horror. While “The Wrong Shark,” “Souvenirs,” “The Wink and the Gun,” “My Mother’s Ghost,” and most of the other stories also take place in the real world, their narratives read a bit more like that typically seen in horror or fantasy fiction; they feel less “planted” in reality than this one. That was fine but it made it stick out a lot stylistically-speaking. Personally, I thought it was a bit boring, overly-long, and confusing—I didn’t really get why any of this stuff was happening to these people, or who was doing it—but it was readable.

“Unkindly Girls” by Hailey Piper—Another one dealing with toxic family dynamics, child sexual abuse, incest, and similar themes. The ending was satisfying, though, and there is a touch of a supernatural element to it.

“A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts” by Charles Birkin—This is one of the only stories that I outright didn’t like. As far as I know, the Nazis didn’t actually do this in real life, and I dislike the inclination to make Nazis in fiction seem even more gruesomely evil than in reality. We already know that the Nazis were evil, and everything they actually did was evil enough to be unforgivable—there is no need to try to make them more cruel. Also, true evil does not always look like the sensationalized evil in stories like these, and given that the banality of evil has led people to ignore or allow it in the past, I think the evils of the Nazis need to be looked at in a more realistic manner. The story was also written in 1964, unlike all of the others which were written from 2000–2024, so the older style and voice came out of left field. I honestly think they could take this one out and the whole book would feel a bit more cohesive.

“Teeth” by Stephen Graham Jones—It was neat to read a story written by Jones before his more recent work became popular in the past few years. This is the last story in the book, and also one of three (alongside “LD50” and “21 Brooklands”) that definitely reads like crime fiction or a more typical mystery. That said, there is some shock value here that slides it into the horror box nicely. Not my favorite, because the more fantastical and speculative stories stood out to me more, but a solid story and a good ending to the anthology.

Overall, I’d recommend this one to people who really like psychological horror, but given the overall heaviness I totally understand why a lot of people would want to skip it. I also thought the theming was a bit outside of Datlow’s usual fare, to the point that a lot of the more realistic themes caught me off guard. Obviously, that does not mean they are all bad stories; they are just not what I was expecting in an anthology written and edited by authors who mostly write speculative fiction. I don’t think it was marketed badly, as many of the stories are mildly supernatural or speculative in tone, and I am sure it will find its audience, but Datlow anthology fans who prefer the magical, theatrical nature of her other work won’t find much of interest here.

This is a book of a lot of hits and some misses. I think the hits and misses depend on what authors writing style you like.

The pelt was one of my favorite stories in the anthropology but then there was some stories where I would skip them completely because I could not get into the story.

These are definitely more spooky horror then gore horror.

Genre: Horror
APK: Ebook
Pages: 336
Audio Length:
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Series or Standalone: Stand-alone