The Darkest Night

A collection of winter-themed horror stories that range from humorous to tragic, from ghost stories to creepy folktales to psychological horror to slashers. Family dysfunction underlies a surprising number of these stories, but there’s also a fair share of social commentary. Like any collection, not all stories will appeal to all readers, but there’s such a range of styles and themes that there’s sure to be at least a few that will strike home. Some of my favorites were those in the fairytale/folktale mode: “Father’s Last Christmas” by Lee Murray is a dark and bloody fairytale of vengeance; “The Buried Child” by M. Rickert is a magical realist retelling of the Juniper Tree; and “Threads of Epiphany” by Sara show more Tantlinger is a folktale about Spinnstubenfrau, a Germanic pagan deity turned demon who is also known as “belly slitter” (graphically demonstrated) but who also can grant wishes and has the power of transformation. Perhaps my favorites, though, are the final two stories. “Ghosted” by Mercedes M. Yardley is an elegant and tiny ghost story about grief, bitterness, and acceptance. And the closing story, “Bruiser” by Jamie Flanagan, in another context might not be considered a horror story at all; it’s a beautiful and sad story about aging and deterioration. show less

Though the Yuletide Bells may ring from shortly after the end of October into the first fitful light of the New Year, autumn and winter will always be "Spooky Season" for me. Both editor Lidny Ryan and introduction author (and spooky superstar) George Romero agree in their openings to The Darkest Night: 22 Wintery Horror Stories. Though chilly air is sparse in my neck of the Mid-Atlantic USA, the chills in this collection cut through deeply.

The table of contents is a who's-who of modern horror short fiction. I have read nearly every author here, and fans of the better indie horror and dark fiction magazines will recognize quite a few names. The collection's prompt must have been broad, as the subjects range widely from Christmass show more nightmares to heartbreaking ghost stories that happen to take place in winter. Likewise, the tone goes from the generational body-horror of Stephanie M. Wytovich's 'The Body of Lenora James' to the twisted holiday comedy of Nat Cassidy's 'Nice' (and Jeff Strand's 'Being Nice', as it turns out - the complexities of Santa's List are ripe inspiration for terror).

There are mournful ghosts, mad killers, inexplicable snowmen, and strange things that stalk out of the icy woods. A handful could have used another rewrite, but the best have enough chills for the rest. Of particular note were Rachel Harrison's 'Thaw' and Jamie Flanagan's 'Bruiser' (which had more to do with winter allegorically than literally, and which actually made me cry). If one is looking for something to while away a few long dim afternoons this winter, The Darkest Night might bring the shadows on even faster. show less

Mixed bag of ghostly winter themed short stories. Some were spellbinding and beautiful. I have to look for more from those authors.

Others were entertaining and made me grin. There were two by the usual suspects that were awful. I do not understand the horror community's love for one of them. I've seen far better work coming from high school creative writing classes.

I'm behind on two books of short stories now, and swear I'll catch up.

There were some high points in this anthology, and it certainly communicates the mood of winter, but all in all, I found most of the stories to be relatively forgettable, and nothing that would make me want to read more from the respective authors. Too many of the stories just felt as if they lacked any sort of depth and/or uniqueness. Still others seemed to have fascinating concepts, but could have used more development to feel like complete or polished stories--too many of them, in fact, especially in the beginning, to the extent that I actually thought about discarding the book as unfinished. I'm glad I didn't, however, as I ultimately discovered some new authors to follow. Among the standouts were the short stories by Clay McLeod show more Chapman, Kelsea Yu, Nat Cassidy, and Kristi DeMeester, which all made me glad to have stumbled upon them.

This probably isn't an anthology I'd recommend, much as I'm a fan of a number of the authors included. show less

I read this in December, and it was...ok? THE DARKEST NIGHT is a winter/holiday-themed collection of horror stories. Out of the 22 short stories, I really liked five of them, and another four were ok.

My two favorites were "Wintry Blue" by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon, and "Thaw" by Rachel Harrison (Yikes, I'm done with snowmen now!).

Honorable mentions go to "Mr. Butler" by Clay McLeod Chapman, "Carol of the Hells" by Kelsea Vu, and "Eggnog" by Kristi DeMeester. Unfortunately, many of the stories were too gross for me, or just weird.

What are your thoughts on short stories? I'm enjoying them more than I used to. A couple of creepy collections I'd recommend are "The Winter Spirits: Ghostly Tales for Frosty Nights" and "The Haunting show more Season: Ghostly Tales for Long Winter Nights." show less

I devoured these spooky holiday stories, each with their own terrifying twist. While horror can (and should) be read year round, I feel these are best suited for the winter holidays.

Like most anthologies, some stories resonated better than others, but none of them completely missed the mark. Standouts to me were tales from Josh Malerman (had to turn the lights on to read it), Clay McLeod Chapman (What's in the Box?!), Kristi DeMeester (FAFO), Rachel Harrison (loved that ending), Mercedes M. Yardley (got me feeling feelings), and Jamie Flanagan (perfect storytelling).

I recommend this to any reader who likes a bit of horror with their hot cocoa.

I received this book as an ARC. The cover of the books advertises it being written by the biggest names in horror, leading you to believe that this is an anthology of winter themed horror shorts. Some of the stories were horror but most, in my opinion, teetered on psychological thrillers. I'm not saying it was a bad thing, but it was misleading. Like all compellations, some stories are good and some aren't. My personal favorite was The Body of Lenora James. I wasn't thrilled with the last story as it ended the book on a note of sadness rather than being "spooky" which was just a bummer for me. All the stories kept me entertained and overall I enjoyed this collection.