Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Gathering Dark: An Anthology of Folk Horror

This book is an anthology (noun. a published collection of poems or other pieces of writing) of folk horror themed stories written by numerous authors some familiar to me and others not so much. I was not really sure how I should review an anthology– whether I should review this book in it's entirety or individually review each story.

At the end, I decided to review every single story just because there's only about 11 stories in this anthology. Keep in mind, my reviews won't be too long since the story themselves are pretty short and I worry I'd spoil too much. In the end, I will base my star rating as the average of all the individual rating for each story.

Stay by Erica Waters | 4 star | - I thought this first story started the anthology quite strongly. I feel like it really set the tone– really eerie and unsettling. The twist towards the end was a bit predictable, but that did not waver my positive thoughts about this story.

The Tallest Poppy by Chloe Gong | 4 star | - Gothic galore. This one was incredibly atmospheric and left goosebumps on my arms by the end. I had heard of Chloe Gong before (If you are on Instagram or TikTok book community, who has not heard of Chloe Gong and her books?), but now that I've been given a taste of her writing, I will definitely check out her own published books.

Loved by All, Save One by Tori Bovalino | 3 stars | - This one was one of the shortest stories in this anthology, and it was surprisingly one of the creepiest ones. I really admire how much plot and horror the author was able to provide in such a short piece. Ghosts aren't generally my thing, but I really enjoyed this one.

One-Lane Bridge by Hannah Whitten | 3 stars | - The beginning of the story started off a little too slow for my liking, but the second half was worth it. The whole premise surrounds the idea of "being careful of what you wish for", but with a twist that I was definitely not expecting.

Ghost on the Shore by Allison Saft | 3 stars | - Another Ghost story, and this one I did not like as much. I did really enjoy Allison Saft's writing, and I was really impressed by all the vivid descriptions and details. I also really enjoyed the characters in this short story, I found them the most interesting, not to mention the sapphic representation– it was very cute (minus the horror/creepy part).

Petrified by Olivia Chadha | 4 stars | - This story had one of ht more unique premises– a really creepy, strange forest. I felt this one was the more realistic one and less supernatural. Plus, it was fairly short, yet still impactful.

Third Burn by Courtney Gould | 3 stars | - A small town and it's secrets– who doesn't love this trope. I liked that this one focused on only one character– ish (can't spoil too much lol). I really love the concept and the writing of this story. And that ending made me literally gasp aloud.

It Stays With You by Aden Polydoros | 1 stars | - I didn't really enjoy this one– the premise or the writing. I ended up skimming this one quite heavily.

Truth or Dare by Alex Brown | 1 star | - This one was pretty boring as well. I ended up skimming a lot of this story just because I wasn't feeling it at all.

The Burning One by Shakira Toussaint | 2 star | - I ended up skimming this one too, which is a shame considering it is the last story in this collection. I found the premise a little boring and the writing did not really appeal to me.

Final Average Rating: 2.8
-> 3 stars

Content Warnings

catapocalypse's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Enjoyable horror collection! Though it is YA, it was one of my most anticipated reads for the year, and I had a good time with it. It's generally pretty solid, though I wonder at what limitations were placed on entries, since a couple felt like they either struggled to fit into the brief length or even stretched a bit with repetition.

My personal favorite stories from the collection were "One-Lane Bridge" by Hannah Whitten, "The Burning One" by Shakira Toussaint, and "Petrified" by Olivia Chadha. I'd be interested in a longer work in the setting of the latter, especially!

Content Warnings

thesmutsister_emma's review

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Spooky Scary Skeletons

I usually don't stray outside of romance (or books I have to read for class) but this book's cover really caught my eye. I wanted something a little darker for Halloween season and this was perfect. There was no way I was going to be able to escape this book and I am so thankful for that. These stories were so amazing and had such a wonderful diversified cast. I liked the "lessons" being taught in the stories in this book and honestly had a great time reading it. I lost about an hour and a half on an already short night of sleep because of this book.

The Final Verdict
This is definitely a wonderful book for horror fans who want an anthology of horror stories. I will be recommending this to all of my horror fan buddies.

Content Warnings

murphymegs's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I enjoyed this! I think this would be good for people who want to dip their toe into horror. Some stories I liked more than others. Some had deeper meanings and metaphors. Some kept you until the very end. Overall, it was very good and I think that short story anthologies of horror is something I would like to read more of.

Content Warnings

lizgriffinwords's review

Go to review page

dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Overall, a great anthology with all sorts of spooky, goosebump-raising rural tales and urban legends come to life. Favorites were Ghost on the Shore, One Lane Bridge, and Truth or Dare (which resonated so chillingly. I wish I had a tunnel to drown my ex in).

Content warnings (general): gore, blood, phobias, psychological horror and fear

Additional content warnings specific to “It Stays With You”: suicidal ideation, cancer, sexual abuse, child abuse

Content Warnings

kelsey_carol's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

mals_reads's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

This was a gorgeous collection of modern YA horror with something for everyone. A diverse cast of authors lends itself to unique stories and ideas, many of which involving queer characters and characters of color, and a few of them actually contributed to some nightmares!

I really enjoyed this anthology and its introduction to new authors for me as well. Atmospheric, a nice pace for each of them, and strong, sometimes monstrous, women to boot. Support women’s wrongs 🗣

Content Warnings

More...