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garlongreeves's review against another edition
1.0
The editor clearly has a different definition of horror in mind when he collected these stories. Some of them were well written and engaging, while others were a hot mess.
quilly14's review against another edition
3.0
Frontloaded. The first half is awesome. The second half is kinda so-so.
upsidedown10's review against another edition
2.0
This was not what I was looking for. This is the second collection of horror short stories that I've read and I guess I'm very picky because neither of them could really hold my attention. Most of these stories were not only not scary, but not even interesting. I am not afraid of the things that these white male authors are afraid of. When the third white man begins his story with "You know what's scary? Alcoholism." I'm out. Pregnancy, rape, and creepy children were also some of the main themes throughout this collection. The stories I kind of liked were the ones that strayed from these topics. I'm not interested in what these men think will scare me. Disappointing. Time to read some Shirley Jackson.
sparcer's review against another edition
I'm about half way through this book. Of the short stories I've read so far, I liked about half. I look forward to reading more!
strangeweather's review
4.0
I finished you after four Octobers, you beautiful thing, and certain stories still haunt me as if from yesterday. Looking at you Cleopatra Brimstone, The Man on the Ceiling and The Voice of the Beach.
chloemakesbooks's review
4.0
While only occasionally hide-under-the-covers frightening, the book intrigues and fully delivers on its name. Not every story is about a jack the ripper or a mysterious ghost in white, but instead explores the gamut of supernatural obsession, psychological breakdown, meta-horror, and the personal relationship to terror. A great read for fall, when the relentless wind and the onset bone-chilling cold urge us to look for creepy tales that thrill.
rothcoe's review
4.0
Some of these are misses (Cleopatra Brimstone was okay, but I went "What the fuck" way too much), but read "In Praise of Folly" by Thomas Tessier (chapter 10) and tell me you thought about venturing off the beaten bath any time soon. That story alone gives this damn book 4 stars.
booksandbosox's review
4.0
As with most anthologies, some stories were hits while others were misses. I feel like overall I enjoyed more than I didn't, or maybe it's just that the ones I liked, I really liked. I really liked thinking of this as a way to find more authors - not that I need to add any books to my to-read pile. I did wonder at the classification of some of the stories as horror, more than I expected I would. But, an interesting collection.
sistermagpie's review against another edition
3.0
This was a great little collection. There's a lot of variety to the stories, and while none stood out in my mind as something I really loved, they were all worth reading. Although technically they're all horror stories, they're different enough that it doesn't feel like reading a particular genre.
magneticcrow's review
3.0
Very few of these stories could even remotely be classified as horror. Straub, in his weird desire to "redeem" the genre, asked mostly authors of "literary fiction" to contribute to this book. The result, though it includes a few rare and satisfying gems, is mostly long sad accounts of peoples' familial lives, with perhaps a ghost or something tacked on at the end. Or in one case, a promisingly convoluted and experimental story that ends in the death of the writer's imagination (if I was being literal that might be interesting, but no, the story just ends in the most hackneyed manner possible. "Plot Twist" indeed: it goes from semi-readable to necrophiliac rape porn.)