Don't read it at nighttime. The best of the best in the scariest way. Loved it
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Ellen Datlow’s latest anthology is a masterclass in psychological horror, delivering twenty-one chilling tales that plumb the darkest corners of the human experience. Featuring works from renowned authors like Joyce Carol Oates, Stephen Graham Jones, and Priya Sharma, these stories explore the terrifying realities of dysfunctional families, twisted relationships, and unrelenting violence.

The horrors here are deeply unsettling and disturbingly relatable, from heinous confessions to sickening betrayals and desperate struggles for survival. What emerges is a stark reminder that true terror often lies not in the supernatural but in the depravity of the human mind. Each story lingers long after the final page, a collection both thought-provoking and haunting—ideal for fans of visceral, unflinching horror.

Read more at The Secret Bookreview.

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.)