An interesting collection of short stories, some of which take a real dive into things I think many of us either think about a lot, or not enough. A story of a religious mother with an obsession with Christmas traditions; a couple trying desperately to be interesting enough that they don’t cease to exist. Stories that carry themes of love, loss, mental health, mental healing, and the many many ways it is difficult to carry the responsibility and burdens of being a girl, or a woman - sometimes subtly, sometimes less so!

Sick Girl Screams is a dark short story collection written by S.J. Townsend. I discovered this book on NetGalley and was initially drawn in by the cover, which is reminiscent of the artwork of Junji Ito. To some extent, the cover itself gave me a vague clue regarding what to expect within this collection; dark and gruesome stories that would leave me feeling hopeless. I am a firm believer that those expectations were met, for the most part. There was a surprising lack of nihilism in some stories, yet it definitely didn't disappoint.
I was very pleased by the variety within this anthology, the blend of realism, science fiction and fantasy was smooth, and despite the drastic differences in content, the stories altogether felt cohesive and well structured. Townsend creates a real sense of place and character in these stories, a skill that I envy. I'll talk a bit about my favourites in a second. Some stories within this collection were very moving, depicting the bluntness of the female experience, and those stories were among my favourites.
I am not a science fiction reader, so I fear that some of the stories were wasted on me, at no fault of the author. Despite this, the body horror presented in those stories were particularly sickly. That being said, I did definitely expect a bit more in terms of body horror. There were stories that I felt were lacking, but there were also stories that definitely made up for it. I can't say I was a fan of every story, the science fiction ones in particular weren't to my taste (although that is definitely a matter of preference rather than quality).
My favourite stories from this collection had me hooked, and they left me wanting more (in a good way). There are such a great range of stories in this collection, but the following stood out as my favourites:
No Place Like Home: Strange things happen to a woman after a visit to her childhood home. This piece is both heartbreaking and gory in all of the best ways. As one of the first stories, it really packed a punch.
Dangers of Ill Prepared Shellfish: This story is a retelling of Venus and Mars' story, and deals with issues such as domestic violence, consent and forced marriage. I think this one is my favourite out of the whole collection. Its a horrifying yet beautiful story, and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone.
Beauty Parlour: This story follows a body modification salon, where people come to try and obtain the look of extinct animals. It's also set in a post-apocalyptic type scene, one where an ecological disaster has made it difficult to exist. Body modification is one of my favourite subgenres of horror, and it was a good read.
The Cool Kids: Following a man who reconnects with 'friends' from his school years, this story discusses peer pressure and fitting in. This story has a perfect mix of realism and body horror. Pretty disturbing stuff.
Hag Stone: A young man who cleans out his grandmothers house finds himself lost in the surrounding woods. I was really doubting this story at the beginning, and I was unsure if it would be up to my gory tastes. But it was, God it was.
Overall, this collection truly lives up to the name. The stories are delightfully sickly, and I would recommend them to any horror reader. As far as short story collections go, this is at the top of my list, sitting rightfully among the likes of Eric LaRocca. Of course, it is important to check the trigger warnings before you dive in, with topics such as child abuse, domestic violence, addiction and suicide among the many things discussed within these pages. If you still feel like you can stomach it, I highly recommend giving it a go. I gave this collection: ★★★★.

𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀: Sick Girl Screams by SJ Townend
Published: Oct.29th 2024
Gerne: Horror/ Short Story Collection

"𝓘𝓽 𝔀𝓪𝓼 𝓪𝓼 𝓲𝓯 𝓪 𝓽𝓱𝓻𝓮𝓮-𝓯𝓸𝓸𝓽-𝓭𝓮𝓮𝓹, 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓬𝓴 𝓹𝓪𝓭𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓸𝓯 𝓿𝓲𝓻𝓰𝓲𝓷 𝓼𝓷𝓸𝔀 𝓼𝓾𝓻𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓭 𝓶𝓮, 𝓶𝓪𝓭𝓮 𝓪 𝓭𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱’𝓼 𝓻𝓸𝔀 𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓸𝓷𝓮𝓻 𝓸𝓯 𝓶𝓮. 𝓦𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓮𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓸𝓯 𝓲𝓷𝓯𝓲𝓷𝓲𝓽𝔂, 𝓶𝔂 𝓯𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝔀𝓱𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝔀𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓼 𝓹𝓾𝓼𝓱𝓮𝓭 𝓲𝓷. 𝓐𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓻𝓪𝓹𝓹𝓮𝓭 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓶, 𝓘 𝓫𝓮𝓬𝓪𝓶𝓮 𝓷𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰."

This short story collection surprised me, not only by how pretty the sentences were but also by how real it all felt.
This is not a *I'm diving into a fantastical dark fake world* kind of horror that after reading you can just walk away from.

To me, this story collection is so much deeper as it uses real life scenarios that worry me and gives them room to grow and develop. Kind of like what developed in the movie"The Substance" (those who know, know 😅).

There were lots of stories about motherhood, religious commentary, feminist stories, fairytale-esque tales and, what I loved most, great sci-fi/ dystopian horror.

With this book, you get a mixture of serious spooks that will surprise you and make you think (and worry) about humanity even more than you might do right now.

I didn't expect where any of those stories went and loved the variety. Also, some great body horror moments made me shudder real good. 🙂‍↕️

All in all, a very well written collection of horror that does NOT feel like Popcorn Cinema at all and satisfies those minds who enjoy a bit of fictional anxiety added to their real anxiety once in a while. 😅

I knew a book called Sick Girl Screams was going to be unusual but I admit I was not prepared for what I had in front of me.

The collection is fairly woman centric with some overlapping topics such as abuse, loss, mental illness, and motherhood; both the good and the bad. Usually in an anthology by a single author, I would be annoyed at the reuse of subject matter but not only didn't it bother me, it worked here very well.

I didn't love every story, as a matter of fact there were a few that I was just at a loss reading. By that I mean I had no idea what the heck I was reading, but the writing was so good I read them anyway.

What surprised me the most was not that there were stories I loved, but that some hit me so hard right in the gut. I had to close my eyes amd turn away to hide the welling of tears.

Juliet, Juliet was one such story. A woman mourning the loss of her true love because of her inability to break free from her own addicitions. I can't say more and not ruin this wonderfully disturbing tale except to say this one I had to close my eyes and take a moment when I finished it. The ache in my heart was not expected but what a testament to SJ Townend's skill as a writer!

Other jewels A Piece Missing, It started with Placental Encapsulation, The Cool Kids (One of my absolute favorites), and The Dangers of Ill-Prepared Shellfish.

This is not everyone's cup of tea and I believe comes with a few trigger warnings but if you think you can and your a Sick Girl who loves a weird tale like me, then by all means give this a try.

Highly recommended and out now.

Thanks to @netgalley and Brigids Gate Press, LLC for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley, & SJ Townend for the ARC copy of Sick Girl Screams.

Although I found some of the content disturbing & strange, I enjoyed the collection of stories. I recommend this to all the weirdos who love weird books.

A short story collection featuring horror and dark fiction short stories, often with a feminist and woman-focused plot. Some topics are explored in multiple stories (particularly motherhood, grief and mental illness play a repeated role in the collection), but this collection manages to not get repetitive by exploring these same tropes (particularly the loss of a child is a topic that occurs a few times in this anthology) in a variety of settings and with very different approaches to it. The stories are very short, but there are only very few where I was left wishing for more, instead most of them worked really well considering the limited number of pages they had to work with. Similarly, there were no stories that I felt dragged or seemed too long, which is a great feat for an anthology like this.
While I didn’t enjoy every single story, there were only 3 short stories that didn’t work for me at all, some I just found okay, and quite a few I really enjoyed, such as “No Place Like Home”, “Circle”, “Neon Fly”, “I Started With Placental Encapsulation”, “The Cool Kids” and “Hag Stone”.
Most of the horror is of a dreamlike and surreal nature, encapsulating the feelings of dissociation and grief that often leaves us feel dreamlike and surreal ourselves. I also liked that the horror genres explored moved from haunted homes, contemporary feminist, sci-fi, lovely creature features and more. In general, I enjoyed the writing style a lot and even the stories I didn’t enjoy reading weren’t a slog to get through, but they just didn’t connect with me on the level I like my horror to connect with me.
I also adored that the author provided detailed trigger warnings in front of the anthology, allowing me to prepare for the dark topics explored here.
All in all, if you enjoy unconventional horror, feminist horror, dark weird fiction and are able to let yourself be sucked into surreal and strange places while reading, this is a short story collection I can recommend.
Numerically this rounds out to a 3.5 star rating, but I've rounded it up for the fact that there weren't really any stories in here that I absolutely did not enjoy and quite I few I enjoyed a lot.
I’ve also taken notes on all the short stories, writing short descriptions (mostly spoiler free) and including the trigger warnings that the author presented in the book.

Step Inside: A short story following the dangers of getting too absorbed in a story, when you are supposed to be doing other things. Scary, with an interesting narrator’s voice. tw suggested child abuse, suggested violence, child neglect
*FAV* No Place Like Home: A woman feels a pull urging her to return to her childhood home. But stepping inside that place will bring back dangers from her past. Really fun and tense and I enjoyed the exploration of a severely dysfunctional family portrayed here and the way it still influenced the daughter’s life even after both her parents had died. Also, it was incredibly heartbreaking in its portrayal of eating disorders and grief. And the end! Incredibly dark and really well written. tw eating disorders, vomiting, past child abuse, miscarriage, death, gore, blood
We Still Don’t use the Garage: A really interesting story told from the perspective of a formerly homeless man who has finally managed to find a home. I enjoyed the dialect chosen for this piece of work, definitely made it more interesting to read. tw death, alcoholism, homelessness
*FAV* Circle: A family struggling with the mother’s mental illness (bipolar), as she tries to cope with her ups and downs, protect her son and somehow also make art in between, but one evening, everything gets too much and she fails in the one thing she never wanted to fail in. Dark and sad and lyrical. Mental illness as a familial curse is always a lovely trope that I enjoy. tw suicide attempt, mental health (bipolar), blood, grief
A Piece Missing: A haunted woman is looking for a baby in a house that seems to have slipped out of time (or has only she slipped away?). Written in a wonderfully delirious way, this story is Weird with a capital W, incredibly strange and intriguing. Definitely not for every reader, but I enjoyed its feverish horror. tw suggested child murder, gore, death, postnatal depression, grief, existentialism
*FAV* Neon Fly: An apocalyptic eco-horror, where microplastic and the genetically engineered flies created to destroy plastic have taken over the world and a mother tries to escape to Mars with her daughter, gorey and gross and heartbreaking, tw gore, murder, death, blood
*FAV* It Started with Placental Encapsulation: A woman grieving for her mother and overworked by taking care of her baby turns to strange foods for comfort, heartbreaking, but really interesting! tw gore, blood, suggested domestic abuse, misogyny, death, violence, grief
The Dangers of Ill-Prepared Shellfish: A dark retelling of Venus and Mars’ story, centered around Venus trapped in the house Mars took her too after she stepped onto the shores, very dark and with a satisfying ending, tw domestic violence, gore, suggested rape, body horror, death, gaslighting, blood, forced marriage
Juliet, Juliet: A woman sinking ever deeper into her drug addiction after her girlfriend left her starts seeing a woman, who looks just like her, heavily focused on the deep dark drag of depression and drug addiction, this weaves a heartbreaking tale (and obviously the names Rommy and Juliet also work ;)) tw drug abuse, addiction, gore, death, blood, maggots, depression, grief, suicide
The Beauty Parlour: A world where due to mass-extinction the few rich survivors have decided to make the most of their limited time on Earth and go all in with weird body mods turning themselves into different kinds of animals, very hunger games-esque? I think I would have enjoyed this one more if it had just been focused on the body mods and the reasons for it and not so much the massive inequality of this failing planet, tw body mutilation, murder, gore, assault
Sick Girl: A weird short story about a young woman spending her free time in the hospital, trying to stay under everybody’s radar, not really developed enough for me, tw self-harm, gore, drug abuse, addiction, hypochondria, blood
*FAV* The Cool Kids: A man in his late thirties finds himself hosting a party for his old high school classmates and after being handed some drugs and some cajoling from his old classmates finds himself stripping down all the way, intriguing with a lovely body horror angle, I liked it! tw gore, murder, bullying, blood, self-mutilation
Cosmic Spin Class on Deck 112: A woman deep in depression after a big loss finds herself compelled to try out a new alien drug combined with sport therapy, which is supposed to help her recover. Very trippy, but heartbreaking and a good sci-fi horror, tw loss of a child, gore, depression, grief, existentialism
Labourers Wanted: A mother of two young children desperate for an escape from her increasingly violent home life finds a new place of employment. Her fragile peace threatens to be shattered when her husband follows her to work one morning. Satisfying end, but I would have enjoyed a bit more world building here. tw domestic violence, gore, mutilation, assault, suggested rape, misogyny, body horror, gaslighting, blood, eyes
All the Parts of a Mermaid that I Can Recall: A sailor wakes up in a hospital, desperate to get back to the mermaid he kidnapped. But why won’t they let him leave and why is there such an ugly tattoo on his arm? An interesting interweave of technology, misogyny and delusions. tw body horror, mutilation, misogyny, domestic violence, blood, gore
Every Cloud: This story follows a woman with the power to make it rain when she bleeds, starting with her in school and ending after a tragic loss. Intriguing concept and very heartbreaking. tw blood, self-harm, depression, miscarriage, existentialism, body horror, death
I Pull My Blanket Up Beneath my Chin: A child terrified of the dark. Unfortunately, this story didn’t work for me at all. A story from the perspective of a child needs to be very carefully constructed for a reader to fully immerse themselves in their horror and unfortunately this was just not the case here for me. tw suggested child abuse, gore, religion
One Lie for One Soul: A horrifying pregnancy horror based on Mary and Joseph, punishment for the lie they told. Fine? Maybe more interesting if you are interested in horror twists on Christian mythology (which I am not particularly). Cool body horror though. tw religion, blasphemy, murder, gore, blood, miscarriage, death
Black Metal in a White Room: A sci fi horror of a gruesome type of alien body snatchers this story follows a man haunted by invisible beings that provide housing and internet in exchange for blood donations. But their demands increase! Nice body horror and very trippy, I enjoyed this one. tw body horror, blood, gore, mutilation, eyes, tooth/mouth horror, surgical horror
In His Memory: A terrifying computer simulated world where people, who aren’t interesting enough, get turned back into random strings of code and the scramble of a couple trying to become interesting, very heartbreaking, tw dementia, grief, suggested violence against an animal, murder, body horror, death, existentialism
*FAV* Hag Stone: A story about a young man cleaning out his grandma’s old cabin in the woods and ignoring his mother’s and all other warnings that come his way. Gruesome and great body horror in the end. tw eyes, blood, gore, body horror, loss, death
Christingle Service: A young girl growing up under the oppressive religious beliefs of her mother and the fact that her mom blames her for the death of her twin during birth. Really dark and messy, I liked it. tw depression, drug abuse, suggested child abuse, loss of a child, miscarriage, religion, blasphemy, death, suggested suicide
How to Read a Woman: A serial killer on his search for his newest victim picks up the wrong girl on a night out. Interesting body horror. tw misogyny, eyes, body horror, death, suggested sexual assault, stalking, death

“Creepy, Unsettling, and Gets Under Your Skin”
Sick Girl Screams is a haunting collection of dark fiction written by SJ Townend. It gave off more of a ‘black mirror’ vibe as I was turning through the stories. As I read, I couldn’t believe that this was a debut collection of stories as Townend writes with such feeling that places the reader in that situation. It was definitely one that I’ll have stuck in my mind for the next month and look forward to a debut novel. If this is was she can do with short fiction, I can’t wait for a full length!

"Sick Girl Screams" was a very interesting reading experience. I write this almost two months after starting this collection of short stories (and recently finished) and I want to say that I still think about some of the stories from the beginning (such as "No Place Like Home") even now after so many weeks.
I love how SJ Townend writes body horror. This obsession with the body, mostly the female body, is, I think, central to these short stories. It makes the reader eventually obsess over themes such as domestic violence and other forms of abuse outside the fictional world and (re)open up discussion about these issues in real life. Although most of the scenarios pertain to the fantasy and SF genres, they are deeply rooted in our reality.
As a sort of conclusion, my favorite stories are "No Place Like Home", "Labourers Wanted" and "One Lie for One Soul". Thank you for giving me the opportunity to experience the worlds of SJ Townend!

First of all I want to say that the cover of this collection is fantastic. It gave me slight Junji Ito vibes but was also unique. Second of all I need to say that I firmly believe Brigid’s Gate Press and their collection of authors cannot produce anything bad! Seriously you know you are in for a good, if not horrifying (in the best way) time. This collection by Townend was no different. Each story offers it’s own glimpse into the darker side of what it means to be human.

There are moments of horror, moments of grief and slight moments of strange joy found within these tales and each one leaves a lasting impression on you. At least they did with me. I think this is the first time that after each story I took a small break, not because of the content but rather to think over what I had read. The beautiful and dark imaginary, the wonderful prose, the dark and the light. I personally love dark fiction and horror for this because it offers a way to explore the human condition and human emotions in ways that ‘normal’ fiction just might not. This collection was fantastic and I will definitely be getting a physical copy soon to add to my collection of Brigid’s Gate works, I also intend to find more of Townend to read since I was literally in awe after the first story.

As always thank you to Brigid’s Gate Press and Netgalley for the copy to review. My review is always honest, truthful and freely given.

I enjoyed the variety of stories in this collection. It felt like I was reading an episode of Black Mirror or Love Death + Robots.
While some stories were a bit stomach churning and disturbing, I liked it. If a book can evoke any emotion out of me, regardless which emotion, its a good read. I give it 4 stars as some of the stories was just too confusing to me, no matter how many times I tried to read it, it just wasn't hitting.

Read from October 19th, 2024 to October 29th, 2024. Written on October 29th, 2024.

~4.5~

I'm going to start off by saying what an amazing job the illustrator did with the cover, it is really crazy and cool and hooking to look at. Beautiful work.

Now...

Okay. What can I even say? I mean...what a rollercoaster of emotions. I had massive chills, I genuinely got sick after reading a couple of these short stories, and I am absolutely flabbergasted at everything I read. Haven't read a book like this in a long time. I don't even know how I have half a mind to write this.

Now, do watch out for trigger warnings, you will need them while reading this.

To the author:
Dear SJ Townend, your writing is insane. It is intricate, haunting, beautiful and just frightening. The messages inside each story, bringing reality to otherworldly experiences made each moment so much more intense. I am slack-jawed. I am disturbed. I am moved. Thank you so much.

I'm absolutely a new fan.

(Now excuse me while I go rest for a little big bit and recover from the hangover I got from this.)

Thank you for the massive opportunity to read this book. It has been one hell of a ride, and I am so glad I pulled through every single line.

Signing off.
B.

(Free ARC from NetGalley and Brigids Gate Press, LLC that I chose to review after reading - Cross-posted on Goodreads on October 29th, 2024)

very surreal collection of awesome short stories that range in type but are all really cool, especially the vrish one. tysm for the arc. 4 stars.

Technically I would give 3.5 starts if I could. There were a lot of good stories in here and some I didn't like as much and it took a second to get used to the writing style, which was different from many other things I read (not in a bad way). One thing I really enjoyed about the author was their ability to bring to life the true feelings of things such as depression, abuse, society's view on beauty, gaslighting, etc... into a truly horrifying tale. The extremism in some of these stories is meant to be shocking and make us think "this could never happen" or "that was a bit much" because we restrain ourselves from getting that far (most of the time). These stories capture the true feelings, not the true actions. Some I think would be great turned into a much longer tale and I look forward to anything that this author might publish in the future.

Sick Girl Screams was an entertaining collection of short stories in the theme of dark fiction and horror. Touching on extremely tough subjects such as grief, childhood trauma, abuse and the intensities of feminine nature and life. I have to admit that I haven't read anything like this before and in the world of short stories and a collection of them this one really stood out for how unique and dark it was however, at times I struggled to follow some stories because of how out there they were. I enjoyed the focus on the struggles and pains of life as a woman and its dark and intense take on the subject that right now is extremely important. Stand outs for me included Step Inside and Black metal in a White room.

I found this to be perfect for spooky season and the decision to take serious big topics and add elements of horror, science fiction and supernatural elements for example was bold, creative and made for a fun unique read. I would recommend this to those who are fans of the genres I previously mentioned and also those who lean towards women's fiction and would like to explore more intense subjects in a unique manner. While this is a collection of short stories you will never feel as though you read two reads similar in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brigids Gate Press for providing a copy to review. All opinions are my own.


Sick girl screams is an impressive debut collection of horror/dark fiction short stories. It explores a variety of topics ranging from grief, femininity, abuse and childhood trauma.


Not every story necessarily worked for me but I believe every story was worth reading in it's own right. I was immediately drawn in by the cover and stayed for the stories that kept me engaged. If I wasn't deliberately taking my time with this book I think I would have flown through this in a few hours it was captivating. Even with the stories I did not rate so highly it did not feel like a chore to get to the next story.


Cannot wait to read more from this author.


💀 Step Inside - 5✨

💀 No Placement Like Home - 4✨

💀 We Still Don't Use The Garage - 2✨

💀 Circle - 5✨

💀 A piece missing - 3.5✨

💀 Neon Fly - 3✨

💀 It started with placental encapsulation - 4✨

💀 The dangers of ill-prepared shellfish - 2✨

💀 Juliet, Juliet - 4.5✨

💀 The beauty parlour - 3.5✨

💀 Sick Girl - 2.5✨

💀 The cool kids - 4✨

💀 Cosmic Spin Class on Deck 112 - 3✨

💀 Labourers wanted - 4.5✨

💀 All the parts of a mermaid I can recall - 2.5✨

💀 Every cloud - 4✨

💀 I pull my blanket up tight beneath my chin - 4.5✨

💀 One lie for one soul - 5✨

💀 Black metal in a white room - 4✨

💀 In his memory - 3✨

💀 Hag stone - 3.5✨

💀 Christingle service - 3✨

💀 How to read a woman - 4✨


Average: 3.65/5 - rounded up to 4/5

First off the cover of this is absolutely gorgeous and drew me in. There are over 20 stories in this short stack and they will all leave you wanting to read more. The stories all differ from each other and they range from horror down to science fiction but not like anything i have read before. I highly recommend this short collection to others! I am ready for more from this author!

I'd give this book 3 stars, mostly for the metaphors and the visuals. First of all, I have no trouble admitting that the collection is extremely well-done: the writing is exemplary, the themes wide-ranging, the ideas often original and interesting. And yet I had great trouble actually finishing the stories: I found myself unable to relate to any of the characters, and I could not get rid of my suspicions that the author was trying too hard to avoid moralizing, and failing - I sensed (perhaps wrongly) a feministic didactic tone palpably at work throughout the collection. I persevered, I did finish the book. I did not like the endings, nor did I find any favorites. I felt I was lost in a mirrorhouse, always looking at versions of the same thing dressed differently.

This was a super fun read, particularly for the spooky season. The selection is great, some are so brilliantly bonkers and some are less so. I think for the most part, the majority of the stories I absolutely loved with a few I didn't love so much. They're so well written, and give just enough detail for a short story. Thoroughly enjoyed this anthology!

Thank you for the advanced reader copy! I did enjoy some of the stories in this book. The book lost me a little bit during the more fantastical stories such as the ones dealing with AI and aliens. Overall, I gave the book 3 stars.

Sick Girl Screams by S.J. Townsend is a poignant collection of short stories that explores the nuances of illness and the strength of the human spirit. Each tale is skillfully crafted, offering a unique perspective that resonates with raw emotion and honesty. Townsend's ability to blend vulnerability with hope makes this collection a compelling read that lingers long after the last page.