Elemental Forces is the fifth entry in Flame Tree Press’s ABC of Horror series edited by Mark Morris, containing original non-themed horror stories from some of the best practitioners of modern dark fiction. This particular book has sixteen commissioned stories and four of the best that were selected from an open submission window.

Following a brief but interesting introduction by the editor, Poppy Z Brite kicks us off with The Peeler, in which Barton visits a shady place down near the docks, undergoing an operation which will help him pay for an old friend’s medical treatment. But this is no ordinary procedure, and what Barton is set is lose is worth far more than he really understands. This is a visceral, gut-punch of a story, and a fine way to commence proceedings. The Entity by Nicholas Royle is a subtle slice of the uncanny, in which the narrator Tim is asked by Ruth, an old friend from university, to pet-sit for her and her husband whilst they take a short holiday. The house is in rural France, and before the couple depart they tell Tim that the house has an ‘entity’. What follows next is unsettling and suspenseful, told with Royle’s trademark prose – deceptively straightforward and yet layered with disturbing suggestion – with such a wonderful ending. Christina Henry’s Nobody Wants to Work Here Anymore involves strange goings-on at a fast-food restaurant. The setting feels refreshingly original, and the story grows darker and darker as the story progresses. The Scarecrow Festival by Tim Major is an enjoyable slice of British folk horror in which Andy visits his old school friend Gavin in order to attend the village’s scarecrow festival. But tensions are high because they haven’t spoken for 27 years following a disturbing incident at school… The Wrong Element by Aaron Dries tells the story of Hugo and his son Finn (using both characters’ viewpoints) who are scarred – physically and mentally – by Hugo’s ex, Guy. Dark and disturbing.

Mister Reaper by Annie Knox is at times heartbreaking, frightening and humorous. When Stephanie comes round near midnight in a shopping mall after a failed suicide attempt, she is greeted by her version of the Grim Reaper. Only this one has her best interests at heart. I found Laurel Hightower’s The Call of the Deep to be incredibly creepy. Mel works at The Stack (a government nuclear facility), and her shift begins as a fellow co-worker vanishes in mysterious circumstances. This story was one of my favourites, touching on Lovecraftian themes, and it did little to ease my thalassophobia. Luigi Musolino’s The Plague tells the story of Tullio, who wakes one morning feeling like he is coming down with some dreadful illness. To a generation of readers who have recently experienced the Covid pandemic, this one is truly frightening. The always-reliable Paul Finch offers Jack-A-Lent, blending crime and horror into a startlingly intense tale about a gang of violent thugs from Merseyside. Another highlight is Gwendolyn Kiste’s The Only Face You Ever Knew, in which Catherine’s girlfriend Veronica vanishes one day in a supermarket. The progress of this tale caught me off-guard, with some incredibly creepy passages of prose.

They Eat the Rest by Jim Horlock is one that didn’t quite work for me, although it’s an enjoyably delightful piece of body horror. Paul Tremblay’s The Note is mysterious and evocative, telling the story of what happens to a couple when the wife disappears after reading a note pinned to the door of a neighbours’ abandoned house. Unmarked by Tim Lebbon is hauntingly beautiful – with enough about the story to support a much longer work – in which the restless spirit of our long-dead narrator visits an elderly man, whose mutually-beneficial relationship reveals the whereabouts of hidden graves. This supernatural tale is wonderful, melancholy and deeply moving. Red Meat Flag by David J Schow details the search for a gruesome serial killer known as Mister Tweezers, told with unmistakable flair by one of the originators of splatterpunk. PC Verrone’s A Review of Slime Tutorial: The Musical was another that didn’t quite do it for me, despite it being a well-written satire on musical theatre, shot through with some razor-sharp prose

In Will Maclean’s The Doppelganger Ballet a violent gangster visits a fortune teller, only to be warned that he will soon be murdered by a man with the same face as him. An enjoyable revenge thriller, written in an engaging style. When I say that Eight Days West of Plethora by Verity Holloway reminds me of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, I mean it as a compliment. Mancino steals a mysterious box from a priest and is urged to throw it into the sea. When he fails to comply, a series of strange events make him regret his decision. Kurt Newton’s The Daughters of Canaan is full of portents and nightmarish visions as Mary-Alice struggles to deal with the idea that she can see dog-headed men hidden among society. Does she have a role herself to play in this? A House of Woe and Mystery by Andy Davidson is short and sweet, an apocalyptic tale in which a woman reflects on her life and the events that brought about the end of the world. I loved the brevity of this one, which makes every word count. Sarah Langan’s I Miss You Too Much is a disturbing story about a married woman who journeys back to her childhood home to care for her mother in the last few days of her life. This is a well-written tale, unsettling, and with a nice ending, and is a fine way to round off the anthology.

This anthology is further evidence that Flame Tree Press’s ABCs of Horror is a series that is going from strength to strength. Under the stewardship of Mark Morris, Elemental Forces is another fine entry, suggesting that the market for horror short stories is as vibrant as it’s ever been. The non-themed horror anthology has always been one close to my heart, and these books are testament to the editor’s skill and the willingness of the publisher to bring these new stories to the public. The breadth of storytelling and the quality of prose highlights the diversity that can be found in dark fiction, destroying the notion that horror is a tired genre with little to offer but gore and violence, aimed at a narrow demographic. No matter what sub-genre of horror you prefer, there is surely something here to satisfy every reader. This reader is already looking forward to next year’s entry. Highly recommended.

4 Stars!

October is the favorite month for many horror fans as it brings the celebration of Halloween and everything spooky. It also brings Flame Tree Press' annual short story collection of some of the best dark, short fiction of the year. The un-themed anthology returns this year with Elemental Forces edited by Mark Morris and is a feast of horror fictions to be enjoyed by all horror fans.

I am a fan of short fiction but I really am not fond of reviewing anthologies because it is so difficult to get a good grip on the book. There are so many different things going on in the stories that it is hard to recap. This is the case with Elemental Forces, but the defining theme of this anthology is that they are all good. I do not recall a less than three-star story throughout, and that is not common for an anthology of this size as there are usually at least a story or two that do not work well for the reader. All of the stories range from good to excellent which is a tribute to the editor in its own right.

The collection starts with "The Peeler" by Poppy Z. Brite which sets a fittingly eerie tone for the rest of the book. Brite has been writing dark fiction for a long time and this is another strong story as is expected from this seasoned veteran of a writer. A handful of interesting but not great stories follow highlighted by "Nobody Wants to Work Here Anymore" by Christina Henry that takes a chilling and bizarre look at what can happen when a rat in the freezer of a fast food restaurant turns into something much darker than just a sanitation problem. This tale was dark and chilling with enough shock to send chills down the spine.

"Mister Reaper" by Annie Knox is the story of a failed suicide who bumps into her guide into the afterlife in a closed mall that is both surreal and comedic at the same time. This story is sure to make the reader chuckle and cringe at the same time. "The Call of Deep" by Laurel Hightower is a weird tale of a worker in a nuclear facility that finds a much deeper secret in a tip of the hat to H.P. Lovecraft. "They Eat the Rest" is a gross-out of a short story that made me think of the Monty Python skit of a dinner gone bad and left me with a queasy feeling in my stomach. David J. Schow's "Red Meat" is a strong story from another established writer of the genre and "The Daughters of Canaan" by Kurt Newton is a dark fantasy of Anubis by a writer that I feel is too often overlooked. "I Miss You Too Much" by Sarah Langan is a haunting story to finish the collection that lingers in the mind long after the last page is turned.

Elemental Forces is one of the best collections of dark fiction that I have read in a long time and Mark Morris and Flame Tree Press are to be commended for this strong continuation of the series. I do not know what the future may hold, but I am definitely looking forward to what next year holds when the next edition of this series is unleashed upon horror fans for them to consume and enjoy.

I would like to thank Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for this review copy. Elemental Forces is available now.

This is Book 5 of the Booklist Series.

I love how this book is described as having something for everyone, and it really does!

There are 20 stories in here - 16 commissioned and 4 that were selected personally by Flame Tree Press and they are all very different, although you won't be able to tell who was commissioned and who wasn't if you removed the names against each story! The quality is fabulous!

Having read a few books published by Flame Tree Press, I always know that the books is going to be fantastic as I haven't been disappointed yet so absolutely recommend to all horror readers and even people wanting to give horror a try!

Dark, twisty, and utterly creepy... these are perfect for spooky season!

A very enjoyable and admirably varied horror anthology, expertly pulled together by editor Mark Morris. The lack of a central theme beyond modern horror means there are all sorts of stories here. That variety means that if a story doesn’t hit the mark (and the vast majority do) then you’re only a few pages away from something different.

The annual anthology from Mark Morris is here for the upcoming dark nights, and once again it demonstrates the wealth of talent that’s currently out there. I’m annoyed to not have noticed the ABC titling until it was pointed out…

Anyway, Elemental Forces has breadth in style and topic - “theatre critic satire monster” was an unexpected genre - and a high success rate.

My favourites -

Nobody wants to work here anymore - Christina Henry - which gets increasingly nasty
The Doppelgänger Ballet - Will Maclean
Uncomfortably horrible - wish I hadn’t read just before bed.
Unmarked - tim lebbon - Sad and haunting.
A review of slime tutorial: the musical - PC Verrone
Funny, bitchy and horrific. A good if unexpected combo
Call of the deep - Laurel Hightower - Lighthouse / nuclear reactor horror. V effective

Bring on anthology “F”

Elemental Forces volume five is a short story collection by Flametree press put together by Mark Morris an edited by Annie Knox. In the book there is 20 stories told by many well-known authors and some unknown to me authors. There’s weird stories like The Note by Paul Tremblay in another by Will McClain call The Doppelgänger Ballet, there is my favorite Eight Miles West Of Plethera by Valerie Holloway which was very well done Another one that I really really liked was the very last story called I Miss You Too Much by Sarah Langdon and that was a great way to end an already great anthology of horror stories it was weird and horrific and OMG good. They have so many I wish I could mention but there’s just too many they were all so different with many themes and I would definitely say there’s a story for everyone. From a dead man who finds dead missing people, to a girl whose mom is so envious she takes over her life, a married man who’s wife leaves him after a walk to get ice cream, to many many other stories I could go on and on about these short tails as they are so very good but I digress. I really liked this anthology as I always do and definitely recommend it for those short horror story fans

Fantastic book of horror stories as usual from this series and editor.

My favorites:

A Review of Slime Tutorial: The Musical by P.C. Verona

Comedic Horror. This had so much satire and wit. A theatre critic goes to a showing of a new musical post Covid and finds the star of the show is a singing and eating slime monster. Trust me. Just read it.

I Miss You Too Much by Sarah Langan

I’ve been on a haunted house kick lately and this satisfied that urge. Not your typical haunted house. More a haunted woman. Generational Trauma, mental illness, toxic mother/daughter relationships and witchcraft. All things that make an amazing horror short story! One of my favorite short story reads of the year.