Scan barcode
jacob_elliott_books's review
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
3.0
chaiteaandbooks's review
5.0
This was an awesome collection of horror short stories that had a common theme of monsters. I didn’t know most of these authors in this collection, but I truly liked all the stories. This collection is full of monsters from your nightmares, your phobias, and your anxieties. This isn’t a HEA collection, so you never know if the main character is going to survive or not. I absolutely loved it!
Thank you to Henry Roi PR for the copy, all thoughts are my own.
Thank you to Henry Roi PR for the copy, all thoughts are my own.
thegrimbookworm's review
4.0
I have joined Black Tide Book Tours on a Book Tour for this collection of anthologies published by HellBound Books Publishing. Thank you for having me along!
What a large collection of stories! 31 stories in total, as a matter of fact. And I rated each one as I went along. 21 of these stories ended up being 4 stars or higher for me! 8 of those 21 being 5 stars.
If you like to be grossed out, feel like your skin is crawling, get hit by every trigger imaginable - especially insect and arachnid phobias, and witness some of the most bizarre monsters imaginable, then this anthology is for you. Seriously, there's some pretty creative monsters here, and some more recognizable cryptids.
I have an insect and arachnid phobia, and there were multiple stories revolving around them that left me screaming internally as I forced myself to finish reading them. (That's a good thing, by the way. I'm here for the scares.)
A couple of them also had me squirming in my seat and staring dubiously at my skin or common household objects.
I will warn you, there's some rather gruesome details in some of these stories. Including a pet death scene in detail that almost made me have to DNF the story and run to find my kitties to hold. I did end up finishing it and it landed as one of my 4 star reads, but it left a lasting impression on me because of that horrifying scene.
I would absolutely read a lot of these again and highly recommend this anthology to all you monster loving horror readers out there!
What a large collection of stories! 31 stories in total, as a matter of fact. And I rated each one as I went along. 21 of these stories ended up being 4 stars or higher for me! 8 of those 21 being 5 stars.
If you like to be grossed out, feel like your skin is crawling, get hit by every trigger imaginable - especially insect and arachnid phobias, and witness some of the most bizarre monsters imaginable, then this anthology is for you. Seriously, there's some pretty creative monsters here, and some more recognizable cryptids.
I have an insect and arachnid phobia, and there were multiple stories revolving around them that left me screaming internally as I forced myself to finish reading them. (That's a good thing, by the way. I'm here for the scares.)
A couple of them also had me squirming in my seat and staring dubiously at my skin or common household objects.
I will warn you, there's some rather gruesome details in some of these stories. Including a pet death scene in detail that almost made me have to DNF the story and run to find my kitties to hold. I did end up finishing it and it landed as one of my 4 star reads, but it left a lasting impression on me because of that horrifying scene.
I would absolutely read a lot of these again and highly recommend this anthology to all you monster loving horror readers out there!
gen_wolfhailstorm's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Thank you to Hellbound Books and Henry Roi PR for providing me a digital copy for the book tour. All opinions remain 100% genuine.
This is a collection of eldritch horror short stories. I have been dipping my toes into weird, cosmic horror more recently and I've found that short stories have been really helpful in sampling a varied selection of author's works, without committing to a full length novel.
See Me by Terry Grimwood
An excellent entrance to this collection. A great metaphor for the fear of parenthood and fighting your own make believe monsters which has more substance when they are haunting you. I enjoyed the pacing of this and the action starting straight away didn't feel disjointed at all.
Night of the Crickets by Christopher Beck
Absolutely horrifying. The insect horror was done fantastically. I was worried about the direction of the cat (especially as it's the same breed as mine, which made it even more personal), but it thankfully skimmed over the more detailed parts of what was to come in that particular scene. This was absolutely disgusting and had me cringing and gaging. It reminded me in tone and description of Infested by Angel Luis Colon. If you loved this short story and are you're interested in a expansion on this sort of grim, big horror, then I'd recommend that.
That Summer by Bentley Little
This was an uncomfortable little tale of sea monsters, a strange child and a mother's love. It was over quite quickly and not the strongest tale we've had so far, but I enjoyed the story nonetheless.
Incident on the Road by Brian J. Smith
This story had high paced action. It was fun and easy to feel immersed in. It lacked any character depth, but it delivered what it was supposed to.
Opening day by Eddie Spohn
Oh this was terrifying and gory. The depths of the sea have always fascinated and terrified me so exploring that theme in the seemingly comfort of your own swimming pool took that fear to higher levels.
What Lurks Within by Tyler John Kasishke
Unfortunately, What Lurks Within fell flat for me. I appreciated the metaphor for mental health and facing your internal fears but it wasn't as solid a story as others have been so far.
J-78 by Simon Bleaken
I loved this story. A tale of jovial boyhood adventuring, turned terrifying when they stumble upon an abandoned underground lab. What initially seems like a fun discovery quickly sours as the state of the labs look as if terrible violence and horrors has happened... And the culprit may still be lurking in the shadows. The emphasis on being trapped underground in the dark was encapsulated so well in this short story. It made me scared to breathe and I was cringing at all the hurried and whispered talk between the brothers when they realised they were in danger, because I just knew any sound would alert what was waiting for them.
The Man Who Could Talk To Monsters by Tim Waggoner
What a great plot! The pacing was expectedly quick yet we got so much lore that felt fleshed out enough and not rushed at all. I would love a longer form version of this. I found it uncanny that 3 (unusual, I would say) names of my partner and his relatives were used in this short story and that really creeped me out!
All Hail The Queen by Sumiko Saulson
The story itself needed more plot and more engaging content for me, however the descriptions of body horror and the insects were fantastic!
The Invasion by Ken Foxe
This was absolutely disgusting and really well written. I felt so uncomfortable at the slimy descriptions of the slugs tormenting the protagonist and felt for them worrying if they were slipping back into poor mental health, especially when everyone was saying it's not real. I feel a little bit different about slugs now .... Nah, I still think they're cute! But I probably won't go anywhere near them with only sandals on.
Mouths by Shawn Phelps
What a great first line! It was a great inkling into what was to come, drawing me straight into the story. This one sort of reminded me of the smiling lady from scary stories to tell in the dark, with some of the descriptions of Milo's wife.
The Tournament by Jason Frederick Myers
The fear of a home invasion was made even more terrifying in this story, as it blended with ideas akin to the Predator franchise. It was so good! I felt the terror seeping from my pores.
Nom Nom by Elizabeth Massie
This really reminded me of a Junji Ito creation... when I say I feel like I could smell this story... Wow, it was disgusting and awful and I loved it. Will definitely be looking at other works by this author.
In The Middle Of Nowhere by Eliza Hyde
Stay clear if you have arachnophobia, but otherwise, a delightfully terrifying read! One of those stories you think 'yeah, he got what he deserved' but then realise how awful that punishment really is.
All Alone by J.A. Heath
This story gave me the creeps straight away! This Doctor Who's Christmas episode with the mannequins... Something that lives in all of our subconscious and probably started our irrational fear (or at least unease) to these human-like, lifeless models. This story was fantastic. It captured this eery and unsettling atmosphere perfectly! I liked that we had another immoral MC that got what was coming to them, which added a layer of satisfaction.
Breaking And Entering by Jared Spears
Breaking and Entering felt familiar in tone to the graphic novel series Something Is Killing The Children. Despite that, I founds this one a bit confusing to follow. I loved the idea of mimics but I just wasn't fully invested in the development.
Somewhere In The Swamps Of New Jersey by Shawn P. Madison
Gruesome, gory and very action packed! This story had my heart racing from the get go.
Purple Bloom by Simon Clark
This was amazing! Admittedly when animals are in danger in horror I really shy away, but this was done really well. The concept felt unique and I was engaged throughout the entirety of this short story.
The Cadence of Decay by Lee Andre Foreman and Elaine Pascale
A disturbing, macbre tale of female rage gone wrong. I enjoyed the escalation of this one!
The Parasite by Theresa Jacobs
This was a great, uncomfortable story about a creature living within a person. It made me feel itchy and gross and the descriptions were really immersive.
A Strange Occurrence At A Football Game by Gabriel White
Lots of fun that reminded me of the upside down and that pure primal human fear of being alone, but watched by some dark entity. This developed into more darkness than was expected, and I would have loved to have had an opportunity of an expansion of this story.
Red Spider by Chris Allen
This story was such a frightening reflection of how it might be living with arachnophobia. It was so scary how real all of this felt for our main character.
The Gruger by Christopher Sweet
The Gruger was such a fun middle grade feeling horror. The sibling teasing was realistic and the summers away at granddad's was great to read about! The monster felt unique and he story was a lot of fun, overal.
A Mother's Love by Chris McAuley
A gory, fantastic story akin to classic creature features (made me think of the Jeff Goldblum movie The Fly). Im realising that I quite enjoy the concept of a scientific study gone wrong or responsible gone slack, leading to an escape of something otherworldly and dangerous!
His Majesty's Revenge by Donna J. W. Munro
This was beautiful! I didn't know what to expect from the title alone but the nature magic and lore was fascinating. I would love a full story about this.
The Scarecrow by Keiran Meeks
Spooky vibes were executed perfectly in this short story. Very akin to the Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark Harold (?) tale.
Night Of The Spider by Dan Allen
The spider theme to this story was a lot of fun, but it's hard not to compare with the (so far) only other agoraphobia tale in this collection, which felt like it had more depth and a message of awareness to the phobia. Nevertheless, this was a lot of fun, with a short burst of heart pumping terror.
The Terror Of Swede Town by Trish Wilson
I need to read more troll stories because this was great! I've seen a few troll hunter movies that have been good fun, but it's strange I don't frequently stumble onto more stories in the written form. Trish's story had a nice sprinkling of mythology and action!
The Monster Who Bled Memories by Bruce Memblatt
First of all, what a fantastic title! That would have gripped straight away if it was it's own book - very eye catching title. I liked this version of purgatory but I wasn't as connected to the story as I was expecting to be.
Where The Water Flows by Dean H. Wild
This was an eery and sinister story, following very unlikeable characters. I think because I didn't enjoy the characters personalities, it distanced myself from the story as a whole.
The Golem by Jeani Rector
Suspicious were confirmed at how Frankenstein-esque this felt in tone, with the authored note mentioning about this. It was a slower build up of enjoyment for me, but once we began to battle with the rights and wrongs of fighting evil with evil, I was intrigued.
Overall, this collection had a lot of hits. There were a lot of stand out stories for me, and so many felt absolutely chilling and terrifying. I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading through this anthology and will be keeping an eye out on some of the authors included here.
This is a collection of eldritch horror short stories. I have been dipping my toes into weird, cosmic horror more recently and I've found that short stories have been really helpful in sampling a varied selection of author's works, without committing to a full length novel.
See Me by Terry Grimwood
An excellent entrance to this collection. A great metaphor for the fear of parenthood and fighting your own make believe monsters which has more substance when they are haunting you. I enjoyed the pacing of this and the action starting straight away didn't feel disjointed at all.
Night of the Crickets by Christopher Beck
Absolutely horrifying. The insect horror was done fantastically. I was worried about the direction of the cat (especially as it's the same breed as mine, which made it even more personal), but it thankfully skimmed over the more detailed parts of what was to come in that particular scene. This was absolutely disgusting and had me cringing and gaging. It reminded me in tone and description of Infested by Angel Luis Colon. If you loved this short story and are you're interested in a expansion on this sort of grim, big horror, then I'd recommend that.
That Summer by Bentley Little
This was an uncomfortable little tale of sea monsters, a strange child and a mother's love. It was over quite quickly and not the strongest tale we've had so far, but I enjoyed the story nonetheless.
Incident on the Road by Brian J. Smith
This story had high paced action. It was fun and easy to feel immersed in. It lacked any character depth, but it delivered what it was supposed to.
Opening day by Eddie Spohn
Oh this was terrifying and gory. The depths of the sea have always fascinated and terrified me so exploring that theme in the seemingly comfort of your own swimming pool took that fear to higher levels.
What Lurks Within by Tyler John Kasishke
Unfortunately, What Lurks Within fell flat for me. I appreciated the metaphor for mental health and facing your internal fears but it wasn't as solid a story as others have been so far.
J-78 by Simon Bleaken
I loved this story. A tale of jovial boyhood adventuring, turned terrifying when they stumble upon an abandoned underground lab. What initially seems like a fun discovery quickly sours as the state of the labs look as if terrible violence and horrors has happened... And the culprit may still be lurking in the shadows. The emphasis on being trapped underground in the dark was encapsulated so well in this short story. It made me scared to breathe and I was cringing at all the hurried and whispered talk between the brothers when they realised they were in danger, because I just knew any sound would alert what was waiting for them.
The Man Who Could Talk To Monsters by Tim Waggoner
What a great plot! The pacing was expectedly quick yet we got so much lore that felt fleshed out enough and not rushed at all. I would love a longer form version of this. I found it uncanny that 3 (unusual, I would say) names of my partner and his relatives were used in this short story and that really creeped me out!
All Hail The Queen by Sumiko Saulson
The story itself needed more plot and more engaging content for me, however the descriptions of body horror and the insects were fantastic!
The Invasion by Ken Foxe
This was absolutely disgusting and really well written. I felt so uncomfortable at the slimy descriptions of the slugs tormenting the protagonist and felt for them worrying if they were slipping back into poor mental health, especially when everyone was saying it's not real. I feel a little bit different about slugs now .... Nah, I still think they're cute! But I probably won't go anywhere near them with only sandals on.
Mouths by Shawn Phelps
What a great first line! It was a great inkling into what was to come, drawing me straight into the story. This one sort of reminded me of the smiling lady from scary stories to tell in the dark, with some of the descriptions of Milo's wife.
The Tournament by Jason Frederick Myers
The fear of a home invasion was made even more terrifying in this story, as it blended with ideas akin to the Predator franchise. It was so good! I felt the terror seeping from my pores.
Nom Nom by Elizabeth Massie
This really reminded me of a Junji Ito creation... when I say I feel like I could smell this story... Wow, it was disgusting and awful and I loved it. Will definitely be looking at other works by this author.
In The Middle Of Nowhere by Eliza Hyde
Stay clear if you have arachnophobia, but otherwise, a delightfully terrifying read! One of those stories you think 'yeah, he got what he deserved' but then realise how awful that punishment really is.
All Alone by J.A. Heath
This story gave me the creeps straight away! This Doctor Who's Christmas episode with the mannequins... Something that lives in all of our subconscious and probably started our irrational fear (or at least unease) to these human-like, lifeless models. This story was fantastic. It captured this eery and unsettling atmosphere perfectly! I liked that we had another immoral MC that got what was coming to them, which added a layer of satisfaction.
Breaking And Entering by Jared Spears
Breaking and Entering felt familiar in tone to the graphic novel series Something Is Killing The Children. Despite that, I founds this one a bit confusing to follow. I loved the idea of mimics but I just wasn't fully invested in the development.
Somewhere In The Swamps Of New Jersey by Shawn P. Madison
Gruesome, gory and very action packed! This story had my heart racing from the get go.
Purple Bloom by Simon Clark
This was amazing! Admittedly when animals are in danger in horror I really shy away, but this was done really well. The concept felt unique and I was engaged throughout the entirety of this short story.
The Cadence of Decay by Lee Andre Foreman and Elaine Pascale
A disturbing, macbre tale of female rage gone wrong. I enjoyed the escalation of this one!
The Parasite by Theresa Jacobs
This was a great, uncomfortable story about a creature living within a person. It made me feel itchy and gross and the descriptions were really immersive.
A Strange Occurrence At A Football Game by Gabriel White
Lots of fun that reminded me of the upside down and that pure primal human fear of being alone, but watched by some dark entity. This developed into more darkness than was expected, and I would have loved to have had an opportunity of an expansion of this story.
Red Spider by Chris Allen
This story was such a frightening reflection of how it might be living with arachnophobia. It was so scary how real all of this felt for our main character.
The Gruger by Christopher Sweet
The Gruger was such a fun middle grade feeling horror. The sibling teasing was realistic and the summers away at granddad's was great to read about! The monster felt unique and he story was a lot of fun, overal.
A Mother's Love by Chris McAuley
A gory, fantastic story akin to classic creature features (made me think of the Jeff Goldblum movie The Fly). Im realising that I quite enjoy the concept of a scientific study gone wrong or responsible gone slack, leading to an escape of something otherworldly and dangerous!
His Majesty's Revenge by Donna J. W. Munro
This was beautiful! I didn't know what to expect from the title alone but the nature magic and lore was fascinating. I would love a full story about this.
The Scarecrow by Keiran Meeks
Spooky vibes were executed perfectly in this short story. Very akin to the Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark Harold (?) tale.
Night Of The Spider by Dan Allen
The spider theme to this story was a lot of fun, but it's hard not to compare with the (so far) only other agoraphobia tale in this collection, which felt like it had more depth and a message of awareness to the phobia. Nevertheless, this was a lot of fun, with a short burst of heart pumping terror.
The Terror Of Swede Town by Trish Wilson
I need to read more troll stories because this was great! I've seen a few troll hunter movies that have been good fun, but it's strange I don't frequently stumble onto more stories in the written form. Trish's story had a nice sprinkling of mythology and action!
The Monster Who Bled Memories by Bruce Memblatt
First of all, what a fantastic title! That would have gripped straight away if it was it's own book - very eye catching title. I liked this version of purgatory but I wasn't as connected to the story as I was expecting to be.
Where The Water Flows by Dean H. Wild
This was an eery and sinister story, following very unlikeable characters. I think because I didn't enjoy the characters personalities, it distanced myself from the story as a whole.
The Golem by Jeani Rector
Suspicious were confirmed at how Frankenstein-esque this felt in tone, with the authored note mentioning about this. It was a slower build up of enjoyment for me, but once we began to battle with the rights and wrongs of fighting evil with evil, I was intrigued.
Overall, this collection had a lot of hits. There were a lot of stand out stories for me, and so many felt absolutely chilling and terrifying. I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading through this anthology and will be keeping an eye out on some of the authors included here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Grief, Violence, Child death, Gore, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Torture, Stalking, and Body horror
More...