Normally, I am a big fan of Ellen Datlow's anthologies, rarely does she put a step wrong in the way they are laid out, and the quality of the contributers speak for themselves.

However, having read quite a few modern horror anthologies (and I am thinking specifically of the Mark Morris curated 'After Sundown'),Nightmares does not, seem to me, emblematic of a decade's worth of 'best horror'. If it is, then that is truly a nightmare.

Out of the 24 short stories, some were plain unreadable, due to the subject nature, and some were just head scratching-ly weird and made no sense at all. It felt as though I was ready a much longer book, as it took a lot of effort to plough through it, and honestly, my nightmare would be having to read it again.

So rather than focus on the particular ones which left a bitter taste in my mouth, here are the ones which I enjoyed.

'Dead Sea Fruit' by Kaaron Warren TheAshmouth Man, the creation (or is it?) of a ward full of girls with anorexia, poses interesting questions about why we don't have more stories with new creations. It seems to be, at the moment, an endless rehashing of old tropes (such as in other stories where women are the bad guys, the murdered, the dispossessed) get a hackneyed revamp. More stories like this one that raise goosebumps down the spine please!

'Closet Dreams' by Lisa Tuttle is a devastating kidnap horror tale which resonates because it seems so real. Here, a little girl is desperate to escape from her unnamed captor, and the ending is truly tragic and upsetting.

'Lonegan's Luck' by Stephen Graham Jones One of , if not the favourite authors of mine , can turn his craft from a biting story like this, to a novella, to a full blown novel, without missing a heartbeat. This Western horror mashup, takes the snake oil salesman and outs a unique twist on what exactly he is trying to sell. Wry, dark and brutal, I loved it.

'That Tiny Flutter Of A Heart I Used To Call Love by Robert Shearman is a dark little beast of a story which I believe, would have fitted very well into a Pan Book Of Horror. Haunted dolls will, for this reader, always be a creepy trope that I can get behind. Those ever staring eyes....

The Atlas Of Hell by Nathan Ballingrud A map of actual hell, wanted by a gangster with eyes on being able to bring objects from it. And an antiquarian book seller is on its trail as well. Things do not go as planned for either party. Nasty, brutish and short.

'Ambitious Boys Like You' by Richard Kadrey A heist tale, with a wicked twist. 2 criminals go to rob an old man, should have been easy, right? Except their mark lives in a weird, doll decorated house in the bayou , a house of fading grandeur, that they expect has hidden riches in it. The old man lives on his own, how hard can it? When they find out what he has been hiding, it is too late to get away.

Horror is such a subjective thing to read, what may scare you, might roll off me like water off a duck's back , so this is merely my , some may say, ill informed opinion. These stories stand out for a reason, compared to the others they are like beacons in the dark. And I think if this does represent the future of horror, then this handful of authors have it covered in spades.

There was much to enjoy here, but I found I couldn't connect with it overall. I'd read more from these authors in the future though.

Great collection of stories. Each one is good and unique and scary fun. could have been shorter, though.

I took my time with this book, preferring to read a few stories at a time. The settings and the themes vary and are all over the place and they are not all written from the POV of the good guy. So prepare to be disturbed and delighted.

I'm a lover of horror stories, be them short or full novels. I find it hard to chose between the 24 stories , but The Atlas of hell and At Night When the Demons Come were among my favorites.

This anthology comes after a similarly titled anthology, also edited by Ellen Datlow, called Darkness: Two Decades of Modern Horror which came out in March 2010. Datlow also edits an annual anthology of horror fiction (collaborating with other editors on those). It seems then that Nightmares: A New Decade of Modern Horror (which came out in October 2016) is informed by a great deal of knowledge in the field of speculative horror literature. I am not generally a horror reader, but I still thoroughly enjoyed many tales in this anthology for their engaging storytelling and terrifying themes. What follows is a brief review of each of the 25 tales, in the order which they appear.

2.5 stars - “Shallaballah” by Mark Samuels is a story about the lengths to which people will go to maintain beauty. A famous actor goes to an unlicensed but infamous plastic surgeon and gets more than he bargained for. I found this tale engaging right up to the last third, where things suddenly became more abstract and harder to follow. After a couple re-reads I believe I got the gist of it, but I wished it could have been a stronger realization on the first pass.

4 stars - “Sob in the Silence” by Gene Wolfe has a very satisfying ending. It begins with a writer living in a secluded rural mansion. He invites an old school friend and his family to come and stay in his country home. Things gets sinister quickly, and some horrifying truths come to light for the reader, if not for the characters. This horror story ends in a grim moment, one that I found quite satisfying.

2.5 stars - “Our Turn Too Will One Day Come” by Brian Hodge is a story about a peculiar family. The shadow of one horrifying act looms large over the entire story, but the main character’s fascination with the eventual fallout becomes the main crux of the story. I thought the main idea was interesting, but beyond that the story didn’t have enough meat to it for me. I wanted more to dig into than the one main — if very interesting — idea.

3.5 stars - “Dead Sea Fruit” by Kaaron Warren. This story follows a nurse as she unravels the mystery of some of her female patients with eating disorders who all claim they aren’t obsessed with their weight, but have lost the ability to taste food. I wanted to love this story. The element of mystery kept me going to the end, but I found the payoff to be less engaging than the set-up.

5 stars - “Closet Dreams” by Lisa Tuttle is the first story in this anthology so far that I can’t seem to forget. There are layers to the horror of this kidnapping tale. The main character, once trapped, sees a therapist to work through the trauma of being abused by her kidnapper. It’s a horrifying story from beginning to the bitter end.

3.5 stars - “Spectral Evidence” by Gemma Files is a story told in a series of field notes and footnotes. I really enjoyed the premise, and to some degree even the puzzle of putting together what actually happened in this story. However, this narrative isn’t particularly easy to follow. If I hadn’t been fully engaged with the tale, I feel like I would have missed multiple key ideas. Even so, it took some retracing and rereading to get the full picture. Overall I liked the idea of the premise more than the application, but still liked the story being told as well.

3 stars - “Hushabye” by Simon Bestwick is a crime thriller format with a supernatural edge. It follows a determined detective who seeks to get to the bottom of a string of attacks perpetrated against children. I enjoyed the mystery of this story — catching the attacker and finding out how they caused young children to feel like they were extremely old. Though “Hushabye” has a resolution, it’s not full. I wanted to know more about the supernatural nature of the killer beyond what is presented in the story. So, although I enjoyed it as a whole, I thought “Hushabye” was just short of something really interesting at the end.

1 stars - “Very Low-Flying Aircraft” by Nicholas Royle is a story about bravado, daring stunts, and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I didn’t find this story very engaging, nor scary. It is perhaps one of the few stories that could have happened, but that aspect didn’t build the kind of tension it could have. Overall, it’s the most lackluster story in this anthology.

4.5 stars - “The Goosle” by Margo Lanagan is a loose Hansel and Gretel retelling/continuation, where Hansel grows up to be in a different kind of captivity. This story is full of grotesque ideas and images and many of those images revolve around overtly sexual themes. The depths of the gross-out factors made me wonder how it all could end. As gross as some of the events were, I was engaged with the story all the way through. This story could have gone either way for me, but in the end, it was both horrifying and interesting.

4 stars - “The Clay Party” by Steve Duffy got under my skin as it tells the story of an ill-fated wagon train trekking across a new United States of America at the entirely wrong time of year. As things fell apart I was deeply engrossed by the almost indistinguishably bad choices the characters had. The inevitable end, though on some levels predictable, was still satisfyingly creepy.

2.5 stars - “Strappado” by Laird Barron is about a group of businessmen who get invited to an experimental art installation. From the premise, I thought I would love this story. It alternates between clear, straightforward narration and abstract impressions of the goings on. I came out of this story feeling more befuddled than affected by the content. However, I think there is something interesting and engaging here that another reader could enjoy thoroughly.

4.5 stars - “Lonegan’s Luck” by Stephen Graham Jones is a story about a quintessential snake oil salesman with some darker twists. I thoroughly enjoyed how this story unfolded. I liked how as the events of the present story unfolded, more and more of the salesman’s past became clear. It’s a deeply unsettling tale with a truly horrible villain.

3 stars - “Mr Pigsny” by Reggie Oliver is a mystery story where the protagonist tries to uncover something about the death of a mob boss who happened to be his in-law. I liked this story — it flowed well for me and the discoveries the main character was making were a good mix of interesting and creepy. Overall, I didn’t find it particularly memorable among some of the other stories. I didn’t set out to compare, but in this case, I felt like it was somewhat overshadowed in the context of the anthology.

5 stars - “At Night, When the Demons Come” by Ray Cluley is a post-apocalyptic story where human-like, leather-skinned, flying beasts are slowly destroying the last survivors of the human race. This story was the most horrifying one for me. I cannot forget the horror and revulsion, and the themes haven’t let me go yet. Through flying monsters and grotesque cults Cluley has shown the worst of humanity stripped bare. The strength and impact of the ending put this story beyond feelings of horror into a deep and utter despair. “At Night, When the Demons Come” is an incredible story.

5 stars - “Was She Wicked? Was She Good?” by M. Rickert is a story where the title takes on many meanings throughout. In it, a young girl perpetrates senseless violence against the smallest creatures around her. Was she taking the wings off of grasshoppers? Or were they always the fairies that now seek vengeance?

4 stars - “The Shallows” by John Langan is a meditative story about being a lone survivor. It is told between flashbacks to the time when the main character and his family adopted a stray dog and the present when strange occurrences are affecting his garden. “The Shallows” is a weird tale that is quite a bit slower than most of the others in this anthology. I enjoyed this different pacing as it added a different frame to the horror of the story.

4.5 stars - “Little Pig” by Anna Taborska is a story about family and sacrifice in one of the most horrifying ways possible. It is told as a story in the past from the matriarch who hasn’t told the story before. The horror in this one particularly affected me because the choices the characters make are ones no one should have to, and then it made me think, “Well, what would I do?” The context of the story makes the acts almost understandable — which makes the whole all the more chilling.

3 stars - “Omphalo” by Livia Llewellyn takes a few grotesque ideas (incestuous sexual relationships, isolation, and other abuses) and unflinchingly focuses on the horror of that reality. I found it difficult to rate this story because on one hand, it was truly and deeply horrifying. It made me feel disgust and revulsion in equal measure. That it could elicit those reactions made me think it was a well put together story. On the other hand, the subject matter is so deeply troubling that it was extremely difficult to get through. Can a story be too horrifying? This one made me ask that over and over again.

3 stars - “How We Escaped Our Certain Fate” by Dan Chaon is a zombie post-apocalypse story with a heartbreaking twist. Perhaps not the most original tale, but haunting despite the tropes utilized.

4 stars - “That Tiny Flutter of the Heart I Used to Call Love” by Robert Shearman is a story about obsession and perfection. The weird fixations of the main characters slowly but surely are revealed to be something more sinister. I thought there was a strong concept here with some particular passages solidifying the 4-star rating.

3.5 stars - “Interstate Love Song (Murder Ballad No. 8)” by Caitlín R. Kiernan follows a pair of murder-lovers as they acquire their next target. This story went in a couple directions I didn’t expect, and I liked it for those surprises. I came out of this story wishing there were just a little more to it. Much like the characters, it was engaging in a grab-you-by-the-throat, all-or-nothing kind of way.

4.5 stars - “Shay Corsham Worsted” by Garth Nix pits a retired secret service agent in the UK against what he claims is a machine with the capability to destroy all of humanity — itself masquerading as an elderly man. This horror-science fiction story made me feel the frustration of the main character as things get more and more dire. The ending feels like the beginning of a much larger story with, if we are to believe the protagonist, a foregone conclusion for humanity.

4 stars - “The Atlas of Hell” by Nathan Ballingrud is an adventure story in search of the titular tome. Full of criminals, mobsters, and a reluctant thief, the horror element comes as no surprise but in surprising ways. “The Atlas of Hell” kept me wondering what would happen next and finished with a satisfying ending as well. I would read a longer story that engaged more with the lore of the world.

4 stars - “Ambitious Boys Like You” by Richard Kadrey finishes the anthology with a grisly tale about two teens burgling the home of an old, apparently harmless man. Of course, nothing is as it appears and neither the man nor the house he resides in is in any way harmless. “Creepy as hell” in a Saw movie-franchise kind of way, “Ambitious Boys Like You” is a fitting end to Nightmares: A New Decade of Modern Horror.

I didn’t really like this book. A lot of the stories weren’t even horror. Many of the stories started great and just ended up ending confusing. And don’t get me started on the incest tale. In my hi opinion it didn’t have any place in the collection, and was just plain sick. Four or five of the tales were good. But the book left me disappointed.

This anthology is a good introduction to a number of contemporary horror writers. As always the stories cover a range of subject matter and it is unlikely that every story will appeal to every reader, but there is enough good stuff to make this a worthwhile and fun read

There was a time when I sought out collections of horror stories. I couldn't get enough. Today, with my literary tastes having expended to include more genres, I don't often read much horror any more. And what I have read hasn't been as thrilling as I remember it from my teens. I've thought that perhaps the writing of horror became a little predictable. The stories often lacked a finesse that I remember with some of the 'masters' of the genre. But I've kept looking.

Ellen Datlow often puts together a fantastic anthology and so when I saw her, <em>Nightmares: A New Decade of Modern Horror</em>, I thought that this might be a great way to catch up on some of the 'newer' writers. And I'm glad I took the plunge.

Nightmares offers up some of the best horror short fiction I've read in awhile.

The opening of any short story or novel often sets the tone for what's to come, and I've come to really value the start of a good horror story. How can you go wrong with beginnings like:
<blockquote>If you've been out of college for much longer than a year, nobody has anything to tell you after midnight that you want to hear. <em>And could you bring a shovel? I can't find ours.</em> Things like that.</blockquote>
or
<blockquote>I have a collection of baby teeth, sent to me by recovered anorexics from the ward. Their children's teeth, proof that their bodies are working.</blockquote>
Brian Hodge's "Our Turn Too Will One Day Come" and Kaaron Warren's "Dead Sea Fruit", respectively, are just the two that really stood out to me as capturing me within the first line or paragraph. But of course it takes more than a good opening to tell a good story, and fortunately this anthology is packed full of some pretty strong horror stories.

I realize that I've often written that I can't pick a favorite from other anthologies or collections I've read, but in this case, I can. "Mr. Pigsny" by Reggie Oliver really stood out to me. It carried the feel - the tenor - of the classic horror stories I remember from the 1970's and '80's. I'm definitely interested in reading more Reggie Oliver.

"Omphalos" by Livia Llewellyn piqued my interest but it was a story told in second person and I've often found that horror has more second person stories than other genres because it's a cheap way to try to get the reader invested. When I see the format (second person) I'm immediately put off because I'm thinking that the author is taking a short-cut to the horror because they can't do it in first or third person (which I realize is probably not a fair generalization).

This was a nice collection that showed me that the new wave of horror is generally in good hands and that there are some very good writers to keep an eye on.

Looking for a good book? <em>Nightmares: A New Decade of Modern Horror</em>, edited by Ellen Datlow, is a fine collection of modern horror with a few outstanding stories to really make your skin crawl.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

So I'm not a big fan of books that have multiple stories. I just happen to see the cover of this book though and new I had to read it. I was so scary and I love anything scary.

To be honest, I was really disappointed in this book. There were a couple creepy moments in this book but nothing that had me really freaked out. It was pretty boring. There wasn't one story in this that I really fell in love with. This book also took me forever to read. I just found myself never wanting to pick it up.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read and review this book.

Fairly decent short story collection. As with any collection, some stories far exceed others. For a horror collection however, I didn't feel all of the stories met this genre (they were either a bit too sci-fi, weird or tragic, but not horror) and some were downright disturbing.

An enjoyable read, and introduced me to some new authors I would like to check out.

For once I've made a note of each story:

** “Shallaballah” by Mark Samuels
Starts off well but then just goes rather too weird and with little to no explanation. The ending seemed rushed and as there wasn’t really much of a set up of it, a tad confusing. Not a brilliant start to the collection if I’m completely honest.

*** “Sob in the Silence” by Gene Wolfe
Well written story but not not enough depth for me. (I know some will say that’s because it is a short story, to which I will reply nonsense. That’s the beauty of the short story and a true sign of an excellent writer is someone who can fully characterise and world build in a few pages, Ballard could manage it with seemingly ease.) Initially figured this would be a good haunted house-esque story, but it’s more of a psychopath story with plenty of charades. Second half of the story seemed a bit rushed and could have been expanded upon.

*** “Our Turn Too Will One Day Come” by Brian Hodge
Good story. Nice creepy element up to it. Was expecting a bit more of a cliffhanger at the end but was concluded nicely.

**** “Dead Sea Fruit”
Good, weird story. Reminded me of a John Connolly short story I read a few years back about a guy/demon who could infect people with cancer just by touching them. This story was not as violent as that one, but well written and odd.

*** “Closet Dreams” by Lisa Tuttle
Another good story, first so far in this collection about a sexual predator. I kind of guessed the ending/twist but was still fun to read.

** “Spectral Evidence” by Gemma Files
Not a bad story per se, but the formatting of it does not suit a kindle edition. I don’t know whether any photos/pictures are to be included in this book overall, but that would make a decent contribution. I enjoyed but lots of footnotes attached to this story which is why the formatting doesn’t work for a kindle/ebook.

*** “Hushabye” by Simon Bestwick
Child predator/supernatural elements, as well as a bit of crime and thriller to this story. Well written.

“Very Low-Flying Aircraft” by Nicholas Royle
Wouldn’t necessarily class this is a horror so an odd contribution to this collection. Good story, reminded me slightly of Roald Dahl’s memoirs of being a pilot in Going Solo, but without the tragic ending.

**** “The Goosle” by Margo Lanagan
A retelling of Hansel of Gretel. Well, more of an update on the Grimm story as it’s set after the events of that story and set in what I can gather to be some sort of plague-infested world (at the beginning, he mentions he’s is ‘clean’). Graphic, disturbing and violent - a very good story.

**** “The Clay Party” by Steve Duffy
I can’t quite figure out what this story reminds me of, or even whether the story itself is reminiscent of something else I’ve read or if it is the author’s writing. Either way, thoroughly enjoyable. Quite gruesome in parts but not overly graphic. Ending could have been expanded and explained better than it was, but overall a very good story.

**** “Strappado” by Laird Barron
Another excellent short story. Very disturbing but memorable for all the right reasons. Could easily be used as a prologue to a longer and even more disturbing book quite frankly.

**** “Lonegan’s Luck” by Stephen Graham Jones
My type of short story. Snappy with a bit of zombie fun and the Wild West. Makes me want to play the zombie add-on of Red Dead Redemption again. So far in this collection, this has had the best ending as well.

*** “Mr Pigsny” by Reggie Oliver
Weird little story. My Pigsny has the potential to be a truly terrifying character. Would be good to see this if this is ever expanded on.

*** “At Night, When the Demons Come” by Ray Cluley
A post-apocalyptic story with supernatural elements (demons) thrown in. Ultimately it is humans (men) who are portrayed as being evil here, treating women with such disgust and using them to suit their own needs, and using the arrival of the demons as an excuse to do this. Reminded me of another story but I can’t quite remember which one.

** “Was She Wicked? Was She Good?” By M. Rickert
Creepy child mixed with fairies. Decent story but for me was lacking a good explanation about what was actually happening (Can creepy child ‘see/know’ what she is doing? How can the parents see what she is doing?)

*** “The Shallows” by John Langan
A well written and rather odd story about alien invasion and what I assume to be a last man survival tale. I enjoyed this and think would work well with more defined world building in a novel setting (I have a soft spot for giant insects/beasties).

*** “Little Pig” by Anna Taborska
I’m not whether I would describe this story as horror. The content itself is horrific but more so it is tragic and upsetting. Well written.

**** “Omphalos” by Livia Llewellyn
Disturbing story about incest, rape and monsters in the family. Not easy reading in the slightest but written well.

*** “How We Escaped Our Certain Fate” by Dan Chaon
Zombie short story but not done in the usual sense, focusing more on a father’s unerring love and need to protect his son in a new world than on the zombie aspect itself. Decent story.

**** “That Tiny Flutter of the Heart I Used to Call Love” by Robert Shearman
Dolls. I hate them. Especially those porcelain ones that look far too realistic. I enjoyed this story as it’s about a girl and creepy dolls, and the ever increasing violent things she does to them.

**** “Interstate Love Song (Murder Ballad No. 8)” by Caitlín R. Kiernan
Very well written story. Appalling characters really but interesting and as a reader, you do empathise with them.

**** “Shay Corsham Worsted” by Garth Nix
Enjoyable horror story. Nix keeps it rather vague about what the creature actually is but does not shy away from the violence. Would be interested to see if this is expanded.

**** “The Atlas of Hell” by Nathan Ballingrud
Thoroughly enjoyable short story. Weird and creepy and not a single redeemable character. Very well written.

**** “Ambitious Boys Like You” by Richard Kadrey
Very good story to end the collection on. Tink ‘Home Alone’ meets ‘Saw’ - a home invasion with a monstrous aspect. Very fun to read.

Horror is a category I usually avoided, because I never enjoyed it. However, I chanced upon Josh Malerman's Bird Box a few years ago, and found that I really enjoyed it. I've been taking a chance with reading horror since then, and I most recently enjoyed reading Nightmares: A New Decade of Modern Horror edited by Ellen Datlow.

This anthology of 24 short stories, though slotted under horror, spans a bigger range of genres with horror intersecting fantasy, crime fiction and even sci-fi. It has something for everyone. Broadly, this is weird fiction.
Like all anthologies, there is a mix of stories that are amazing, to others that one wants to skip over. I should add in here, that many of the stories are extremely disturbing and could be triggering. So the recommendation comes with trigger warnings for sexual abuse, incest, body horror, graphic torture. A lot of the descriptions are pretty gory and nasty, expected for the genre, but certainly not for a reader who may be disturbed by them.

Some of the stories I really liked are:

Dead Sea Fruit by Kaaron Warren: The Ash Mouth Man will kiss you and you can never eat again! Written from the POV of a dentist working with anorexics, this is one of the tamer, yet very chilling stories.

Closet Dreams by Lisa Tuttle: This one made me weep when I was done! I'd say this one scared me the most because it is so close to reality.

The Clay Party by Steve Duffy: This reminded me of the Donner Party, but this one comes with something extra.

Lonegan's Luck by Stephen Graham Jones: This is the story I liked the most! Zombies in the Wild West. And that cracker of an ending!

At Night, When the Demons Come by Ray Cluely: Set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun with demons, it highlights how sexism is alive and well even after teh world has gone to hell.

Was she Wicked? Was she Good? by Mary Rickert: This one was scary because it magnified the cruelty of a child.

Little Pig by Anna Taborska: This one is sad and heartbreaking, yet chilling.

How We Escaped Our Certain Fate by Dan Chaon: This is rather philosophical for a story about zombies, and has a cliffhanger ending that keeps the reader wanting answers.

Interstate Love Song (Murder Ballad No.8) by Cailtin R Kiernan: Incestous serial killers on a murderous road trip...need I say more?

Shay Worsham Corsted by Garth Nix: Sci-Fi meets horror. So many questions left unanswered! I wish this were a novel. Certainly want to read more!

There were some stories that were not for me. One is  Spectral Evidence by Gemma Files. It is an unconventional story, presented as the notes taken during an investigation and reads like the written version of a found footage video tape. Unfortunately, I couldn't really understand it. Very Low-Flying Aircraft by Nicholas Royle seems out of place in this anthology. The Goosle by Margo Lanagan is a particularly dark and nasty retelling of Hansel and Gretel and I found it too disturbing. Strappado by Laird Bannon is weird and creepy but I just don't get why it has to be set in India. And frankly, a lot of the portrayals were very stereotypical. I just didn't care for this one.

One criticism I would level at the anthology is the lack of POC writers. Apart from Stephen Graham Jones, the anthology is whitey-white, which is a shame because there are so many wonderful POC writers of horror out there.

What ties a lot of these stories together is the horrifying realization that there is much more to fear in the here and now; that the real monsters walk amongst us. In touching upon these very real horrors that we read about in the newspaper everyday and then magnifying them, Nightmares succeeds in being a true representation of what scares us in today's world.

FTC disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for this honest review.

This collection of short stories can be classified as “weird” with horrific spices added into the pot.

It was just that good; and unfortunately(or fortunately), some stories give you pause. Make you cringe. Make you think.

Make you not want to sleep.

I’ve experienced that while reading this book. The individual tales can seem disjointed somehow, almost experimental like Gemma Files’s “Spectral Evidence”. A seeming innocent act of collecting notes, speculating about a dead medium, turns out to hold more suspense than sitting in a theater watching The Ring.


“Orbs hover over her right eye, pineal gland and heart chakra, roughly the same areas in which she would later develop simultaneous(and fatal) aneurysms.”(Nightmares, 2017).

Or “Closet Dreams” where a girl is questioned by authorities about how she escaped from a sexual predator when there is no human way possible that she could have escaped. That one left me with chills…and questions.

Many more stories are diabolical, dreamlike, downright nightmarish and I loved the collection.

Definitely worth the read.

If you’re not scared.

Whew, what a ride. A well put together collection of horror stories. Enjoyed reading this book.

A varied and chilling collections of short stories from a variety of well-known authors. A very fine sampling of their writing makes for a solid addition to any library Horror/Thriller collection.

** “Shallaballah” by Mark Samuels
Starts off really strong, outlining the scenario: a well-known celebrity is in the strangely dingy offices of a surgeon-to-the-stars who's rumored to be a provider of not-quite-legal services. But his results are legendary. Still, something seems off about the whole thing... As a matter of fact, the whole place is downright creepy-as-hell.
The ending didn't really do it for me though - it suddenly gets a lot more vague and abstract, with implications that I thought needed more development.

**** “Sob in the Silence” by Gene Wolfe
Gene Wolfe is always a good writer, and this is a good story, even though it's not the genre he's most known for. As a matter of fact, this is more reminiscent of Stephen King than most of Wolfe's other work. A horror writer has invited an old friend's family for a country weekend at his old (and rather dilapidated) manor house. Not all will go well.
Crime fiction meets ghost story...

**** “Our Turn Too Will One Day Come” by Brian Hodge
Previously read in 'The Monstrous.'
A brother is called to his sister's side in a moment of crisis. Family has to stick together, even when it might go against the law. But he learns that there are things about his family that have been kept from him his whole life... things that go back generations.
Great idea, but it gets a tiny bit 'tell-y' with the explication in the latter half.

*** “Dead Sea Fruit” by Kaaron Warren (Aurealis Awards nominee)
Weird. A dentist whose job includes seeing to the needs of patients in the anorexia ward dismisses the girls' odd prattling about the kisses of an "Ash-Mouth Man" as part of their mental dysfunction. But then, she starts dating a man who refuses to kiss her, and their words come back to haunt her.

*** “Closet Dreams” by Lisa Tuttle
A girl tries to explain how she escaped her horrible situation: caught in an Elizabeth-Smart-like scenario; she was kidnapped and held in a closet by a vicious sexual predator. While her captor was at work, she had nothing to do but fantasize about ways to get away. But something about her story doesn't add up.
Chilling, but I saw the twist coming.

*** “Spectral Evidence” by Gemma Files
A small collection of strange snapshots has been found in the files of an agency specializing in supernatural investigations. Through a set of notes and descriptions, a story begins to emerge, involving wrongdoing at the agency: con artists & predators who may have gotten in too deep while toying with the occult.
I liked this, but it felt like ancillary content to a larger novel.

*** “Hushabye” by Simon Bestwick
Crime story with a supernatural element. As any brave person would, a man leaps to try to apprehend a child predator when he has the chance. But he may have gotten into more than he bargained for.

*** “Very Low-Flying Aircraft” by Nicholas Royle
Literary vignette with a psychological emphasis. Well-written, but it's more tragedy than horror.
(Trying to impress girls with stupid stunts - a bad idea since time immemorial.)

**** “The Goosle” by Margo Lanagan
Really creepy, disturbing 'sequel' to 'Hansel and Gretel.' Some time ago, in this post-apocalyptic, plague-ridden world, Hansel escaped from the witch's cottage - but fell into the hands of another abuser. His sister Kirtle is no longer with him. Now, the con-man and thief who uses his body has taken him back to the witch's mud hut. Explicit, upsetting - and very, very good.

*** “The Clay Party” by Steve Duffy
'The Clay Party' ends up much like 'The Donner Party' - but there's a supernatural twist.
Told in the form of a 'found journal' we first hear about the group of settlers expected in California being disturbingly late - and then we find out about what happened after their leader insisted on taking that ill-advised short cut.

**** “Strappado” by Laird Barron
My favorite one in the collection so far. Would appeal to fans of Kathe Koja, I believe.
A bunch of ex-pats and foreign businessmen go on an outing to what's been billed as a secret, one-night-only exhibition by a legendary, anonymous artist known for pushing the envelope. But what they get is more than they bargained for.
Pay attention to all the details!
The tale is properly horrifying; the only thing keeping it from 5 stars is that I wished it had a bit more depth; that the actions had wider implications. But it's definitely memorable.

**** “Lonegan’s Luck” by Stephen Graham Jones
Throughout the scattered, isolated towns of the Old West, folk know not to trust a travelling 'snake oil' salesman too far - but what they're in for when one certain individual rides his limping, bleeding horse into town goes beyond their expectations - or their ken.
Pulls no punches.

*** “Mr Pigsny” by Reggie Oliver
Tweedy college professor attends the funeral of a mobster inlaw - and encounters the peculiar and decidedly shady Pigsny. What's his angle?

**** “At Night, When the Demons Come” by Ray Cluley
In a ruined, post-apocalyptic America, demons ravage the land and threaten the survivors. But. as this genre often points out, humans can be just as bad as any monster. Strong story; recommended for those who liked Marcel Theroux's 'Far North,' and/or Alden Bell's 'The Reapers are the Angels.'

**** “Was She Wicked? Was She Good?” By M. Rickert
I'd imagine that, as a parent, it must be very disturbing to realize that your young child has a tendency toward cruelty - say, tearing the wings from flies. At first, we think that might be what the little girl here is doing. But no, it's worse - and much stranger. The story leaves us with a lot of unanswered questions, but they simply contribute to the atmosphere. Really liked it.

*** “The Shallows” by John Langan
A man, alone, tries to survive in his home, surrounded by the bizarre and dangerous manifestations of the alien phenomenon that has destroyed the world. As he tends his garden in this precarious oasis, he muses on the loss of his wife and son, and relates an anecdote about taking in a stray dog. Mundane incidents are weighted with ominous freight. Weird, and well-written.

*** “Little Pig” by Anna Taborska
Another selection that's more tragedy than horror. The theme: how a generation who's grown up in comfort and safety may not understand the trials and sacrifices that their forebears from the Old World may have endured.

**** “Omphalos” by Livia Llewellyn
A family where more than one thing is not quite right goes on a road trip vacation where things get strange. They are following a road map which seems to appear different to each person. But considering the situation, can it lead to anything except disaster? Explicit - ominous - disturbing - and very effective.

*** “How We Escaped Our Certain Fate” by Dan Chaon
After the zombie apocalypse, a single father tries to raise his teenage son right; and succumbs to a dangerous amount of sentimentality.

*** “That Tiny Flutter of the Heart I Used to Call Love” by Robert Shearman
Weird story of a girl, the dolls her distant father gives her, and what her jealous brother makes her do to those dolls. Let's just say it doesn't all bode well for her future husband.

**** “Interstate Love Song (Murder Ballad No. 8)” by Caitlín R. Kiernan
I feel like I maybe read this before, but I'm not sure. Either way, it's worth a read - and a re-read.
Beautifully written. The story creates a shattering tension by creating empathy in the reader for a person who absolutely, unquestionably deserves none at all. The slow reveal is poetic and expertly done, elegiac and lovely details balanced against the carnally grotesque.
Oh, and it's pretty incest twins on a serial-killing roadtrip spree.

**** “Shay Corsham Worsted” by Garth Nix (Shirley Jackson Award nominee)
Previously read in 'Fearful Symmetries.' (It always seems like 'cheating' to me when one editor includes the same story in multiple anthologies - but it's a good story.)
Garth Nix is always excellent; and this tale closes the collection on a strong note. A retired secret service agent has been watching a certain house for thirty years. But when the threat that's been feared for all these decades erupts, the weapon has been forgotten, and bureaucracy gets in the way.

**** “The Atlas of Hell” by Nathan Ballingrud
Re-read - previously read in "Fearful Symmetries." Paranormal mystery meets Clive Barker-style horror.
A mafia boss sends his minions out into the bayou in search of a man who's been holding out on him; selling occult artifacts. But even experts in the arcane may get more than they bargained for.

**** “Ambitious Boys Like You” by Richard Kadrey
Re-read - previously read in "The Doll Collection."
A pure horror tale; would make a great start to a late-night movie. Two lowlifes decide to burglarize the home of an old man whose eerie, doll-festooned, dilapidated house was always rumored to be haunted. The house looks like it was upper-class, once upon a time, and they suspect he's got something good stashed away. However, the 'something' in the house is more than they bargained for.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Tachyon publications for the opportunity to read. As always, my opinions are unaffected by the source of the book.

3.5-4 stars

An enjoyable collection of “horror” stories. I put horror in quotes because most of these stories I wouldn’t consider as just the horror label. Some sci-fi, drama, bizarro fiction, but nothing that I really considered scary or anything. Some stories I enjoyed more than others, and to be honest this one fits more with the middle of the road anthologies. The stories that truly stayed with me, and made this worth reading for me were “Our Turn Too Will One Day Come” by Brian Hodge, “Dead Sea Fruit” by Kaaron Warren, “Closet Dreams” by Lisa Tuttle (beware this one for those with triggers regarding children), “Very Low-Flying Aircraft” by Nicholas Royle, “Lonegan’s Luck” by Stephen Graham Jones, “At Night, When the Demons Come” by Ray Cluley. That last one is the only one whose ending really did surprise me as I didn’t see it coming. It was perfect!!! And “Ambitious Boys Like You” by Richard Kadrey. I would truly call this one horror. It was scary, disturbing, gory, and oh so awesome!

The one thing I have to comment on with this anthology is seriously! What is up with all the incest? There are like 3 stories involving incest and sexual abuse, which does not automatically make for horror, but does disturb. Like, really disturb.

All in all, I would say be careful if you decide to read this, and don’t be afraid to skip stories that you don’t like. There are a few areas where triggers could happen so just be mindful.

I received a copy of this via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review

These stories are wonderfully horrible! After I read each one, I think "Now THAT was the best one" but then I read the next one and in the end I cannot decide because they are all memorable. In the end, as a parent, I think that the ones involving children are the scariest, but it is a very close call. I highly recommend this collection!

This is a great collection of stories, which suffers the unevenness of most collections. Some stories just don't work for me while others shine like a supernova. There is a lot of unexamined postcolonial privilege going on in some of the ghost stories set in America. As if the only ghosts and monsters here would belong to settlers. But otherwise a great collection.