A review by el_stevie
Strange Girls: Women in Horror Anthology by Azzurra Nox

3.0

Strange Girls: Women in Horror Anthology, edited by Azzurra Nox is a collection of tales by female writers with, in theory, women as the main characters of the story. The genres spanned recognised horror tropes but also veered into fantasy and YA which might not suit all tastes. From the title, I was hoping for dark tales with strong, central female characters. Unfortunately, a number of them had the male as the lead character with the female very much as the supporting role, even if they did turn the tables in the end (or were ‘strange’ in some way). An example is Charlotte Platt’s 24 Hour Diner, which I did enjoy, being a recognisable horror, but the main character was male, even though the female vampire won out in the end. Self-Portrait with Pears by Rachel Bolton did a good job portraying a needy, creepy stalker type but again the woman, his target, was very much a supporting role. A few stories also read very much as YA in tone – although I don’t mind that either as I read a lot of YA, especially for my day job – I just hadn’t expected it from the title of the collection.
I will add that I skim read The Eyes of the Dead by Danielle R. Bailey, which carried a trigger warning of rape and violence as I am not comfortable with stories with sexual violence – including necrophilia, as here - as its main theme, especially where, as in this case, the woman was the victim and remained so.
Whilst I have given this anthology a 3-star rating overall. There are some stories which I rate higher:
24 Hour Diner as mentioned above (despite viewpoint)
The Doll’s House by Alyson Faye – a creepy, gothic chiller from an author who is becoming a recognisable and reliable writer in this field
Leda and the Fly by Marnie Azzarelli with its claustrophobic feel, its focus on depression and possession.
Cracked by Regan Moore couldn’t really go wrong with its demonic doll.