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A review by katcxfe
The Gathering Dark: An Anthology of Folk Horror by Tori Bovalino
3.5
The rating of this book is the mean of the ratings of all the stories.
My favorite stories:
- Loved by All, Save One By Toni Bovalino
- Ghost on the Shore by Allison Saft
- It Stays with You by Aden Polydoros
individual ratings:
➛ Stay by Erica Waters ★★★★★
Stay is a story about Melissa who takes care of her grandmother and her cousin Daniel. Her grandmother thinks that there are worms living beneath her skin. They all live in a small town called Lagerty. In this town "we bury our own dead and tend our own graves." and that "tending your dead is sacred as baptism."
This story was so good. It was the first one to 'the gathering dark.' and I truly loved the horror aspect of it. It was so creepy and the short story was well written. There were small aspects that just didn't add up that makes you question what was actually going on in the story. The story was only 24 pages but I felt like it did a great job and creating a setting and characters for the story. I love the "stuck in a small town and rotting" vibes it portrayed. This was my intro to the authors writing and it leaves me wanting more
➛ The Tallest Poppy By Chloe Gong ★★★★
The Tallest Poppy is about Penelope (Poppy) Gao who becomes a nanny so she can save up money for a plane ticket to go to her dream university. She becomes a live in nanny at a house that is overlooking a beach. The townsfolk says that the beach is cursed.
I love Chloe Gong and this short story by her is another great story by her. The haunting elements of the house and the sea that haunts Poppy’s dreams. I always enjoy Chloe’s writing and this short story was no exception. Her writing is always so gorgeous and I love it.
➛ Loved by All, Save One By Toni Bovalino ★★★★★
Loved by All, Save One is a story about Lee, Jase and Jenna. They all have been friends forever, when they were younger they used to go searching for her. Barbara Davidson, if the legend were true, she was murdered in Jenna's house in the 1800's. She was decapitated by someone who broke into the house. Her body was buried under the floorboard, her head was never found. Barbara's killer was never found.
This story was such a thrilling horror tale. I was reading it and I couldn't put it down. The horror aspects of this book was fantastic and even though the story was short it was very fulfilling. I enjoyed the plot of the book and the characters. It left me wanting to read more. I wanted to learn more about Barbara Davidson, about Lee, Jase and Jenna. I would read a full book about these characters and their lives.
➛ One- Lane Bridge by Hannah Whitten ★★★
One Lane Bridge is about a group of friends, Jules, Simon, Lanie and Chase. There is a Bridge that has become a scapegoat for the high amount of disappearances in the area. The legend was that the Bridge belonged to something inhuman. They decided to go to the bridge one midnight to see if the legends are true.
I did not get into the story as much as I would have liked. I did enjoy reading it but it would have done better as a full story. There were parts that I felt needed more detail. I did like the aspect of a haunted bridge and it remined me of goatmans bridge.
➛ Ghost on the Shore by Allison Saft ★★★★★
Ghost on the Shore is about Maud who drives out to Iris Lake. Maud's friend, June drowned and died in that lake. Legend says that anyone who die's in Iris Lake's water is kept beneath the surface. That every morning at two, the souls of the dead come back and wait for someone to take them home.
I loved this story so much! You really get into it right away and I enjoyed the elements of grief and how holding onto it takes a toll on yourself. I liked the characters and it's about Maud's grief and the lengths she goes to hold onto it. It's tells a tale about how grief and holding onto it can take a toll and consume you. I wanted more, I would read a whole novel about these characters and plot.
➛Petrified By Olivia Chadha ★★★
Petrified is about Dhara who is apart of the The Children of the Aspen community. The story is Dhara and her friends Will and Joce. The forest that surrounds the community is own by tightly knit Children of the Aspen community.
I love a haunted/ creepy forest. It's always so ominous and such a great setting for a horror story. I did enjoy reading this story and the writing was really good. Forests are always creepy and this story just made them even more. I did wish that I could have read more about this story. I longed for more.
➛Third Burn By Courtney Gould ★★★★
The Third Burn is set in a town called Amberville, Oregon. Amberville is in the middle of nowhere. There was dead and empty farmland for as far as the eye can see. Charlie come's back to town after she went away for five months to learn a lesson.
I think its always creep when a horror story is set in a town in the middle of nowhere. I enjoyed reading the storyline and the characters. I really enjoyed Courtney writing and I am excited to read more books by them. I liked the story a lot and it was great for a short story format.
➛It Stays with You by Aden Polydoros ★★★★★
It Stays with You is about Quinn, Sarah, Gabe and Marlow. One final send off before Quinn and Sarah leaves for college, and the cancer moved from Gabe's lungs to his brain, and Marlow getting left behind in the town that they will die. Then they all decided to play Bloody Mary, and the best summer of their lives turned into something more sinister.
I loved this short story! It was so creepy and ominous and I ate it up. I really enjoyed reading this storyline and I liked the characters. Some of theses stories left me wanting more in a good way and some of them needed more, but this short story was perfect. I love the story and it was just the perfect amount of horror.
My favorite stories:
- Loved by All, Save One By Toni Bovalino
- Ghost on the Shore by Allison Saft
- It Stays with You by Aden Polydoros
individual ratings:
➛ Stay by Erica Waters ★★★★★
Stay is a story about Melissa who takes care of her grandmother and her cousin Daniel. Her grandmother thinks that there are worms living beneath her skin. They all live in a small town called Lagerty. In this town "we bury our own dead and tend our own graves." and that "tending your dead is sacred as baptism."
This story was so good. It was the first one to 'the gathering dark.' and I truly loved the horror aspect of it. It was so creepy and the short story was well written. There were small aspects that just didn't add up that makes you question what was actually going on in the story. The story was only 24 pages but I felt like it did a great job and creating a setting and characters for the story. I love the "stuck in a small town and rotting" vibes it portrayed. This was my intro to the authors writing and it leaves me wanting more
➛ The Tallest Poppy By Chloe Gong ★★★★
The Tallest Poppy is about Penelope (Poppy) Gao who becomes a nanny so she can save up money for a plane ticket to go to her dream university. She becomes a live in nanny at a house that is overlooking a beach. The townsfolk says that the beach is cursed.
I love Chloe Gong and this short story by her is another great story by her. The haunting elements of the house and the sea that haunts Poppy’s dreams. I always enjoy Chloe’s writing and this short story was no exception. Her writing is always so gorgeous and I love it.
➛ Loved by All, Save One By Toni Bovalino ★★★★★
Loved by All, Save One is a story about Lee, Jase and Jenna. They all have been friends forever, when they were younger they used to go searching for her. Barbara Davidson, if the legend were true, she was murdered in Jenna's house in the 1800's. She was decapitated by someone who broke into the house. Her body was buried under the floorboard, her head was never found. Barbara's killer was never found.
This story was such a thrilling horror tale. I was reading it and I couldn't put it down. The horror aspects of this book was fantastic and even though the story was short it was very fulfilling. I enjoyed the plot of the book and the characters. It left me wanting to read more. I wanted to learn more about Barbara Davidson, about Lee, Jase and Jenna. I would read a full book about these characters and their lives.
➛ One- Lane Bridge by Hannah Whitten ★★★
One Lane Bridge is about a group of friends, Jules, Simon, Lanie and Chase. There is a Bridge that has become a scapegoat for the high amount of disappearances in the area. The legend was that the Bridge belonged to something inhuman. They decided to go to the bridge one midnight to see if the legends are true.
I did not get into the story as much as I would have liked. I did enjoy reading it but it would have done better as a full story. There were parts that I felt needed more detail. I did like the aspect of a haunted bridge and it remined me of goatmans bridge.
➛ Ghost on the Shore by Allison Saft ★★★★★
Ghost on the Shore is about Maud who drives out to Iris Lake. Maud's friend, June drowned and died in that lake. Legend says that anyone who die's in Iris Lake's water is kept beneath the surface. That every morning at two, the souls of the dead come back and wait for someone to take them home.
I loved this story so much! You really get into it right away and I enjoyed the elements of grief and how holding onto it takes a toll on yourself. I liked the characters and it's about Maud's grief and the lengths she goes to hold onto it. It's tells a tale about how grief and holding onto it can take a toll and consume you. I wanted more, I would read a whole novel about these characters and plot.
➛Petrified By Olivia Chadha ★★★
Petrified is about Dhara who is apart of the The Children of the Aspen community. The story is Dhara and her friends Will and Joce. The forest that surrounds the community is own by tightly knit Children of the Aspen community.
I love a haunted/ creepy forest. It's always so ominous and such a great setting for a horror story. I did enjoy reading this story and the writing was really good. Forests are always creepy and this story just made them even more. I did wish that I could have read more about this story. I longed for more.
➛Third Burn By Courtney Gould ★★★★
The Third Burn is set in a town called Amberville, Oregon. Amberville is in the middle of nowhere. There was dead and empty farmland for as far as the eye can see. Charlie come's back to town after she went away for five months to learn a lesson.
I think its always creep when a horror story is set in a town in the middle of nowhere. I enjoyed reading the storyline and the characters. I really enjoyed Courtney writing and I am excited to read more books by them. I liked the story a lot and it was great for a short story format.
➛It Stays with You by Aden Polydoros ★★★★★
It Stays with You is about Quinn, Sarah, Gabe and Marlow. One final send off before Quinn and Sarah leaves for college, and the cancer moved from Gabe's lungs to his brain, and Marlow getting left behind in the town that they will die. Then they all decided to play Bloody Mary, and the best summer of their lives turned into something more sinister.
I loved this short story! It was so creepy and ominous and I ate it up. I really enjoyed reading this storyline and I liked the characters. Some of theses stories left me wanting more in a good way and some of them needed more, but this short story was perfect. I love the story and it was just the perfect amount of horror.
➛Truth or Dare by Sharika Toussaint ★★
I have to admit, I am unsure what I read and I don't think I can come up with a summary for it. I think I needed more of the story to full understand what was going on. It was gory and played on the horror aspect but I just didn't get it.
I have to admit, I am unsure what I read and I don't think I can come up with a summary for it. I think I needed more of the story to full understand what was going on. It was gory and played on the horror aspect but I just didn't get it.