Reviews

Dark Highways: The Cellar Door Issue #3 by

ericarobyn's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

Dark Highways: The Cellar Door Issue #3 is a collection of tales set on the road in one way or another where everything from your Uber driver to yard sale signs is to be feared.

When I received a review request for Dark Highways from the publisher, Aric noted, “It’s a quite different anthology than my previous ones; I think it’s a little darker in tone, and the stories are much more unusual and open to interpretation.” I was even more excited for the collection hearing that!

Shout-out to the publisher for including a content warning at the beginning!

CW: Contains scenes of substance addiction, graphic violence, and sexual assault.

My Thoughts on Dark Highways: The Cellar Door Issue #3 –

Oh my goodness, the range of roadways that are featured here is wild! What a neat idea for an anthology! We all know being on the road can be dangerous… but prepare yourself to unlock these new fears.

I loved this collection so much! My top favorites from the collection include:

• Lights Out, Everything Off by Christi Nogle
• Purgatory’s Paradise by Scott McCloskey
• The Field Trip by Matt Neil Hill
• Master Of The House by Mark Wheaton

Per usual, here are my notes on each story:

S.A.L.E. by Darren Todd – 

Intrigue leads to obsession when this man seeks answers for odd yard sale signs he sees. Even when faced with the darkness, his curiosity can’t be tamed. 

The suspense of finding out what was going on here was amazing! And my gosh, that brief body horror. 

Last Frequency by Mary Rajotte – 

As a man picks people up to transport them to their requested location, readers slowly learn what he’s really up to.

This is one of my biggest fears. I hate traveling alone via taxi or Uber. 

Twelve Miles. Two Hours. by Scotty Milder – 

Drawn to a risky switchback road on a mountain, these thrill seekers can’t get enough of an adrenaline rush and can’t wait to tackle this one drive. But will they make it off the mountain?

No thank you. Oh my gosh. I’ve been up and down one mountain in Colorado… It wasn’t nearly as risky as this one, but the terror was too real. This tale had me struggling to take a deep breath just imagining the situation. And things just kept getting more and more terrifying! 

Lights Out, Everything Off by Christi Nogle – 

Owning a travel van that runs on a powerful AI, traveling is this woman’s hobby. She loves meeting new people and spending time with the van as well right up until the joy turns to fear. 

When this tale first started, I thought the premise was so fun! Who wouldn’t want a van like this? But I quickly learned what there is to fear. What a tale! 

Purgatory’s Paradise by Scott McCloskey – 

After breaking down, this character learns that getting back out of this town isn’t as simple as just having the repairs completed and driving off… but it’s not just the people who seem to be keeping them there. 

What an intense premise! Things that can act on their own when they shouldn’t is such a terrifying thing to me. That element here took things to a wild place! 

Unwanted by S.R. Miller –
CW: child loss. 

Stuck walking in the desert after their car breaks down, this couple is forced to recall the trauma of their past. Will they be able to move on, or does the desert have other plans for them?

So heartbreaking and eerie! The desert setting made this instantly feel brutally atmospheric!

The Field Trip by Matt Neil Hill – 

When a doctor decides that his patient’s treatment needs a little bit of an unorthodox approach, the two hit the road. But can he get inside the patient’s mind or was this all a waste?

This was so bizarre and twisted!

Riders On The Storm by Charlotte Vale – 

While out one night during a storm, this woman takes a ride from a man in a van… Awoken from a nap, she sees the man has undressed and things take a turn.

A dark tale of humanity and the things that can happen. 

Master Of The House by Mark Wheaton – 

While creating a highway, an old man sits in their way, refusing to move, and warning them not to defile the ground. Most of the crew thinks he’s crazy, but they are about to learn what he was trying to prevent.

This was so eerie! The thought of being stuck in this loop was chilling. All that work just to restart the next day? No, thank you! These poor men.

My Favorite Passages from Dark Highways: The Cellar Door Issue #3 –

“LOOK OUT!”
She jammed her foot on the break, all her father’s training slurping out of her. The Jeep groaned in protest and for one terrible second it skidded to their left, where the road fell away and the sky swallowed everything.
— Twelve Miles. Two Hours. by Scotty Milder

There had been no shortage of trash along the way; cans, bottles and food wrappers. Humanity just couldn’t help itself. It had to have the last word, even in a place it could make no claim to. A place it didn’t want.
— Unwanted by S.R. Miller

With the sun gone, the heat left the world as surely as if it had never been there at all. The darkness laid bare the duality of the desert, revealing it for what it was: a world of impossible extremes, harsh beyond expectation.
— Unwanted by S.R. Miller

My crumpled suit is the color of the sea in those final inches before all light disappears, my shirt the soiled white of dubious haloes. I look at my watch, but it’s gone. No, not gone: simply on the wrong wrist, for reasons that escape me.
— The Field Trip by Matt Neil Hill

He didn’t believe in God anymore. He sure as hell wasn’t going to replace that with believing in ghosts.
— Master Of The House by Mark Wheaton

My Final Thoughts on Dark Highways: The Cellar Door Issue #3 –

Do you have anxiety about being on the road? Whether it’s a quiet road in a small town, a highway in the middle of nowhere, or a road only adrenaline-rush seekers dare travel, this collection will have you nervous to get behind the wheel!