When I see "short stories" I am immediately transported to middle school English in the 1980s, a classroom lined in rows of manilla-folder colored desks, the teacher walking amongst the rows, fingers following the text waiting for my turn to read. It's time travel. I loved those days. I loved O. Henry and Poe and the discussions which followed. The excitement of talking about books was in my veins even at that age. So, why at nearly 60 do I NEVER read short stories? How has that early love of tales told in one sitting left my wheelhouse?

With no other material queued up to read, I threw my name in the request line on Netgalley for the audio of The Darkest Night: 22 Winter Horror Stories and boy, oh boy, was that a good decision.

This audio was a triumph of my beloved genre, horror, and the Christmas/winter/holiday season. The 22 stories penned by big names and newcomers were each narrated by different talents and that truly helped the brain shift from one plot to the next. Some were better than others, but all of them kept me listening. Being a Nat Cassidy superfan, his was my favorite but I can't say anything bad about any of the stories. Real gems. A throwback to my youth, while at the same time making me look forward to darker nights coming earlier and the magic of the holiday season.

Yes, while my husband wants to watch It's a Wonderful Life each Christmas, I am the constant cheerleader for Krampus and Silent Night, Deadly Night so this collection was really perfect.

Happy to highly recommend for my peeps who are a little offbeat like me.