Collective Darkness: A Horror Anthology is a collection of stories that range from the mildly spooky to the ones that will give you full body chills. These stories are just screaming to be read out loud to your friends or family to share in the creepiness!
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the editor in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way. I also purchased a copy.
Let’s dive in!
My Thoughts on Collective Darkness: A Horror Anthology edited by Elizabeth Suggs, Brandon Prows, and Jonathan Reddoch
Okay, first things first… the disclaimer that “Some stories contain descriptive violence” right at the beginning?! Wonderful! I would love to see more people adding notes like this!
Per usual with anthologies, I’ll add my notes about each section and story below.
Foreword, Introduction & Editor’s Summation
I enjoyed that the forward gives a bit of insight into how this anthology came together while the introduction explained more about the group of authors. The Editor’s Summation is an element that I don’t think I have seen before but I liked that the readers are introduced to the tales quickly here.
Feast by Edward Suggs – 3 Stars
This tale is about a mother daughter duo that are at work, just trying to get by when they have a visitor pay them a visit.
This one started out slow but WOW, it certainly took a bizarre and brutal turn! This story was written by a 17 year old and I would love to see how his writing career progresses. The action scenes were really powerful.
Polter Geist by Jen Ellwyn – 3 Stars
A quick tale about a boy determined to get into the shop, take and item, and get out. But can he do it without being caught? This one was pretty suspenseful!
Padua’s Eyes by Jonathan Reddoch – 4 Stars
When a girl witnesses her father and prized pony attacked by a vampire, she is absolutely heartbroken. Soon afterward, her father rises a changed man and the townsfolk take him down. When they see that the pony, Padua isn’t just an albino, it’s also been bitten and has risen again, the girl doesn’t hesitate to free her horse and flee the area. She then sets off on a quest to take down the vampire that killed her father.
I love a good vampire tale! This one was super fun.
Brisket, Please by Becca Rose – 5 Stars
This tale is about an actress who finishes up a scene and heads to her trailer to prepare for a date. However, when she wakes up, something is very wrong on set…
WOAH! This one was so intense; I absolutely loved this one. It started with a bang that quickly takes a hard turn before things take yet another turn. I loved the two little hints that pop up as the main character wakes up from a nightmare that, once you’ve finished the story, will realize were great foreshadowing! I would love to see this one on Creepshow or something like that series!
Crimson Snow by Austin Slade Perry – 5 Stars
The story is about four people that head to the summer home of one of the group. As the snow falls, the main character quickly realizes that there was a reason why his family didn’t spend their winters there.
I LOVE stories that focus on tales from books as well as stories about people trapped in a cabin. This story had both and it was wonderfully spooky!
Pond Scum by Alex Child – 4 Stars
When two boys are out exploring, they come across a strange pond. One boy doesn’t hesitate to get into the water but the other doesn’t like the look of the pond scum. There’s something very odd about this pond…
I love stories like this that start out innocent and then suddenly goes sideways.
The Fallout by Chris Jorgensen – 4 Stars
In this story, a bar is suddenly in the middle of a raid. Bombs are dropped and the sirens wail. The bar is still standing but there’s an odd fog outside that seems to be calling to them. One man, Oliver, struggles with the situation, thinking that everything seems so familiar…
What an eerie tale! Just the element of a fog that you can’t see through totally weirds me out!
The Last Light by B. Todd Orgill – 3 Stars
The darkness is creepy enough, but add to it creatures that are made of darkness that can consume humans, and you’ve go this tale! A group of people are traveling in the darkness, struggling to keep lamps lit to keep the darkness at bay. But can they make it to their destination safely?
The Figure in the Mirror by Brandon Prows – 5 Stars
In this tale, a man goes back to his family home after his grandfather had passed away. Immediately after crossing into town, his scar stars bleeding which he thinks is odd, but soon forgets it while he’s occupied with other things. Then at night when he is resting, he is haunted by terrible nightmares! One nightmare leads him to investigate something in the real world, but what he finds is much more than the terror he found in the nightmare.
This one was SO creepy! I loved every second of this. It was eerie from the start with the missing boy and just got more and more suspenseful as it went on. I would love to check out more work from this author!
The Breathing Wall by Samuel Smith – 3 Stars
In this story, our main character hears a ruckus and when they go to investigate, they see a man who has been attacked. As them man dies, the main character takes a book from his satchel. After months spent decoding the book, it’s realized that it’s a formula to create a creature…
This one certainly got out of hand quickly! Definitely a tale that can caution readers about their curiosity!
Red Flag by K.R. Patterson – 4 Stars
Oh my gosh, this one was heartbreaking. This was a tale about a mother and a son, but I’ll leave the rest of this one up to you to discover.
Into the Dark by Elizabeth Suggs – 5 Stars
In this tale, a man kills his wife in a drunken stupor and then runs. He find a door unlocked and enters. The man inside is willing to hide him from the police if he helps with chores. But there’s a darkness that is also present, and this man is about to learn that he chose the wrong door…
I loved this story! The setup was awesome and I loved that it centered around tea. I also loved the ending and how it lets the reader think about what happens next!
My Final Thoughts on Collective Darkness: A Horror Anthology
An all around awesome anthology! This is another collection that would be especially great for readers that are just dipping their toes into the genre as this has a nice variety with different levels of intensity, but nothing too dark.
I can’t wait to read more from many of the authors included here!
Thanks for reading!
To follow the other stops on the blog tour, check out the dates and links below!
- September 7 – https://www.mybookaday.blogspot.com
- September 8 – Book Reviews & More by Kathy
- September 9 – Community Bookstop
- September 10 – Wishful Endings
- September 11 – Linda’s Book Bag
- September 14 – Biblio Leviosa
- September 15 – Editing Mee
- September 16 – Crossroad Reviews
- September 17 – http://taffyscandy.blogspot.com/
- September 18 – Bonnie Gets A Say
- September 19 – Confessions of ME: One Crazy Mom
Snag a copy via Amazon ebooks today!
Fun anthology! “The Figure in the Mirror” in particular sounds right up my alley.
😀
Thanks for the great review. I’m glad you enjoyed our book. It was certainly thrilling to work on it.
Of course!! <3
Thank you so much for the review! I’m glad you enjoyed the collection!
Of course! 🙂