Publishers take note. This is how you set up the buzz for an anthology. Submission calls opened nearly a year before release, and once the author signings began rolling in, every one was more exciting than the last. From Brian Keene to Tim Meyer to Owl Goingback to Graham Masterton to established Silver Shamrock authors like Steph Ellis, Shannon Felton, and John Quick. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Weighing in at about 500 pages, Midnight in the Pentagram offers stories focused around demons, possessions, and all sorts of tangential areas; stemming from both Christianity, as well as religions and mythologies far older than that.

As we found with Midnight in the Graveyard, Silver Shamrock Midnight anthologies are a nice blend of new voices and established voices. As with most other anthologies, there were some stories that worked brilliantly for me, and some that didn’t resonate. It seems a silly complaint to moan about a loaded table of contents being too big, but there were certain instances during the back half of the book where stories, although well executed, felt like we’d been there before. As a silver lining, the authors who took the themed trope and pulled it off in a unique way really stood out. Let me share a few favorites:

The Other - Laurel Hightower: One of the stories I anticipated most in this collection, and it didn’t disappoint. Hightower managed to surround her main character with other people and still write in a sense of isolation, one of the most effective tools in horror. This story is more about losing your sense of self than demons popping out from behind corners.

Angel Dust - Shannon Felton: This one worked for me for the same reason that Felton’s The Prisoners of Stewartville did. It felt fresh, original, and unexpected. The use of second person narration gives it a bit of a Chuck Palahniuk vibe, but the story is all Felton.

My Body - Wesley Southard: Unapologetically Southard, My Body reminded me of King’s Needful Things, combining it with a monster only this author could have dreamed up.

Discovering Mr. Jones - Cameron Ulam: Another story I was anticipating. I keep seeing Cameron Ulam’s name pop since her acceptance to this book. For good reason too. Ulam makes great use of sensory description to paint a picture and bring the audience into the story.

A Night Above - John Quick: Great mix of humor, twists, and horror. I picked this book up to be entertained, and this one did the trick.

Brujeria - Michael Patrick Hicks: The idea Hicks uses to explore the book’s theme is underutilized, in my opinion. Hicks doesn’t leave much to the reader’s imagination, but manages to create a landscape you can’t look away from.

The Furious Pour - Amanda Hard: Hard’s story came late in the book, and the originality shone a spotlight on it. It’s mostly the setting that I found unexpected, leading to a moment of revelation I really enjoyed.

That’s a fair list of favorites, but it’s worth noting the hits resonate throughout. Brian Moreland’s opening number kicks things off exactly the way you hope it will. Kenneth McKinley follows up his entry in Graveyard with a lesson in how to keep the train running smooth for a time, then send it careening off the rails. Kenneth Cain’s entry guarantees you’re not reading another possession story quite like this. The humor lands and it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Like Wesley Southard’s story, Todd Keisling writes one that could only have come from his pen, or laptop I guess. Brian Keene’s entry is the most brutal thing in the book, bringing the blood and guts.

As I mentioned before, most of the stories that didn’t work for me tiptoed into familiar territory without adding enough new material. One or two utilized humor in a way that just didn’t land. Others came from authors I’ve been lukewarm to in the past, and their entries didn’t do much to sway me. The one caveat I’ll add here is that with so many stories, there’s not a bland one in the bunch.

Silver Shamrock’s Midnight anthologies are going to continue to be highly anticipated. They’ve only just announced Midnight From Beyond the Stars, and readers are already clamoring about the possibilities. If you enjoyed the variety presented in Midnight in the Graveyard, you’re going to enjoy this one too. Space out the stories. Read one every few days. There are some real unmissables in here. The kind that’ll have you avoiding dusty old books full of strange symbols and people who sacrifice animals. Well, maybe you should be avoiding those anyway.


I received a copy from the publisher for review consideration.