Corpsing by Kayleigh Marie Edwards is a superb collection of horror comedy short stories that will give you chills, even while you laugh.

I’m a huge fan of horror comedy to begin with. While this author was new to me, I was immediately in awe of their creativity and wonderful storytelling.

Choosing a favorite from this collection is impossible for me. I loved each story so much!

Per usual, here are my notes on each tale-

Bitey Bachman –
This was a hoot! What a great story to kick off this collection. When the story begins, we meet a man that seems a little overtired as he gives his boss a hard time. Working in a mental hospital, they wind up needing to give a resident a sedative. But this character unfortunately doesn’t pay attention and kicks off something worse than just having an unruly resident. 

This one had a heavy hand of comedy with a sprinkle of horror. The scene right out of the shower had me laughing out loud. These poor characters!

Bits and Bobs –
When a man gets let go from The Body Farm, he drunkenly makes a plan to get one last laugh. But that laughter quickly turns to screams of pain.

I loved the set up for this one! But my goodness, this poor guy! 

Siren –
When a mother and daughter move to a house by a lake, the little girl immediately senses something is wrong there. And then she meets a new friend.

This one was so unsettling right from the start! I wanted to scream at this character at each turn. This poor kid. 

Now You See Them –
When a mother thinks her kid is making up excuses to stay up past bedtime, she agrees to leave a light on. But in the night, she turns it off…

Truly a scene straight out of every kids nightmare! Who wasn’t afraid of something getting them in the dark? This one was terrifying! 

Skin –
After a spider bite, this girls whole world changes very quickly.

This was such an intense body horror tale! 

‘S’ Day –
When God gets tired of an eight year olds constant prayers to get what he wants, God loses it a bit, resulting in chaos.

This was such a fun but blood boiling tale! We all know how frustrating it can be to be around someone unbearable, whether they’re young, or old enough to know better. While scary, I also couldn’t help but laugh. 

Barry’s Last Day –
Barry is a negative and grumpy man that hates basically everything about his life. When a series of events leads him to a situation where he needs to drink up, things only go sideways from there. 

This guy was so negative, I almost bailed on the story. I’m glad I didn’t. The turn this one took was wild! 

’Twas The Night Before Christmas –
While out looking for a replacement tree after their dog destroyed the first, they stumble across a perfect Christmas tree. The boys try to convince their father not to cut it down because it’s right where they buried their cat. But of course, cuts it down anyway. 

I loved this one so much! It had the eerie vibe right from the start, but dipped right into b-movie nightmares soon enough! What a fun one! 

Lucy couldn’t sleep that night; she hated her new house and she hated her new bed. She hated the tree that scratched on her window like icy fingers, and she hated the wind that was moving those branches in the first place.

The boys would have argued, but that would have been unwise judging by the glowering expressions on their parents’ faces. Plus, they really had no idea how to convince two sane adults that the tree had come to life and battled a pug in the middle of the night. It was utterly ridiculous.

If you’re looking for a collection to entertain you with it’s original tales that mixes the chilling with a wonderful level of humor, then you need to pick this one up!

I had an absolute blast reading this collection and I already cannot wait to dive back into the tales. And sign me up for anything Kayleigh writes in the future!

The Easton Falls Massacre: Bigfoot’s Revenge by Holly Rae Garcia and Ryan Prentice Garcia is a nail-biting tale about a hunting mistake that has huge consequences.

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the author per request of an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way. 

While on a hunting trip, a man who just wants to get out of his head for awhile after some awful news ends up straying a bit too far from the path he was meant to be on. When he spots what he thinks is a large bear, he shoots it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a bear… it was a bigfoot. And it’s family is not pleased.

Totally shocked at the discovery, the man calls for backup to bring the body into town to have the game warden look at it, but little does he know, that’s the worst thing he could had done. Second to shooting it anyway.

It’s not long before the town starts to get torn apart as the family of the deceased search for the body.

This story starts with a scene that at first seems so simple, but you’ll see how it all ties in later on. Then we jump to our main character learning the bad news that sends him on the hunting trip.

From the minute he shoots the beast, the unease and tension starts to build and it’s not long before things start to turn to terror.

I was so invested in this one! I read it in one sitting. I absolutely could not set it down.

The small town feel was wonderful. I could relate to this so much, especially with the whole not locking your doors and the gossip traveling fast! We had a joke in my tiny hometown off the coast of Maine that when you sneezed up-island, someone down-island was already saying, “Bless you.”

The characters also really came off the page for me as they each seemed like someone I had known at one point or another while growing up in a small town.

Gosh, this one was such a great read!! I could ramble on forever! But I’ll leave the rest of the magic up to you.

Easton Falls was a small town, and Henry liked almost everything about it. Except, as the current situation highlighted, the fact that gossip spread faster than the plague and it looked like Daniel had happily told everyone in the bar what had gone on over at the hunting lodge that morning.

He’d seen plenty of awful things and waste of human life in the war. The things men could do to each other had hardened him, but that barn… that was no man. You could reason with a man and predict what he would do next. But a creature that no one knew anything about, that scared the shit out of him.

Easton Falls was the kind of town you didn’t have to worry about locking your door, day or night. Though most people locked them at night anyway, ever since that bear over on Henderson managed to open the door and surprise Peter Washington while he rummaged through his refrigerator for a midnight snack.

What he thought he knew about the world, and what he had just faced, were two very different things.

A must-read for fans of cryptids and horror that doesn’t shy away from the gore-filled terror!

I cannot recommend this one highly enough. Go pick up a copy today!

Dark Stars: New Tales of Darkest Horror edited by John F.D. Taff is an anthology of twelve tales. The blurb explains that this anthology was created as an homage to the 1980 classic horror anthology Dark Forces which was edited by Kirby McCauley. The tales within this collection certainly have a certain vibe to them!

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating in any way. 

My favorite tale from this collection was Trinity River’s Blues by Chesya Burke. I definitely need to read more of their work very soon!

Per usual, here are my notes on each tale-

What a beautiful foreword! Josh really paints a great picture here that brings light into the darkness, especially deep into the pandemic. This is a true time-capsule and a wonderful tribute to kick off this collection.

I’m so in love with this intro! John explains what his goals were in creating this collection, but to sum it all up, he wanted to, “flaunt the range of this genre to readers.” This made me even more pumped to dive into the tales!

When a phone call comes in from a boy asking for Maeve, Maeve’s sister Gretchen answers. As she delights in the attention she has from this boy on the call, she makes an assumption and overshares. This oversharing she thinks will help them, but it does quite the opposite.

My goodness Caroline Kepnes is amazing at creating absolutely wild characters. These two girls reminded me of the boy-obsessed girls I went to middle school with, and I can definitely see something like this actually playing out. Phew…

A man is haunted by nightmares filled with creatures. As he lives life in and out of these nightmares, the years pass by in a blink.

This one reminded me of a horror version of the movie Click. I had a hard time telling what was a nightmare and what was real!

When a man is sent to work as a doctor on an island, he feels that things are a little off. But the locals are about to open his eyes and show him their secrets.

The organization of this tale was so fun! I loved that we got scenes from what happened before the doctor moved to the island mixed in with the scenes of what happened when he arrived.

Following two young adults as they work to transform an area of their campus, they are both drawn to go past a point that they have been warned not to pass.

I honestly have no idea what was really going on in this tale, but I loved it anyway! It was so unsettling.

Deep in the pandemic lockdown, this couple struggles with the isolation. The wife starts a conversation one day to learn her husbands biggest fear. After that, strange things begin to occur. But is this just his wife experimenting, or is something more sinister happening?

My goodness, this one was so unnerving. Just the elements of the pandemic itself, but then add in the paranoia? That ending had me squirming in my seat.

Seeing ghosts since she was a child, Trini learns that she has more power than just to see spirits. She can actually call upon them. But when she calls upon the wrong spirit, she finds herself in danger.

This one was so much fun to read but it’s also filled with darkness. There’s a wonderful underlying message of learning from past generations.

When a person who is sick of their current life sets a goal of meeting a vampire, their patience is tested. But will their patience be rewarded?

This was a dark and twisted tale that had a wonderful full circle format!

When a man and his son are still reeling from the grief of losing their wife and mother, they move to the middle of rural Illinois to change the scenery. But then a snow storm hits out of no where and odd things occur.

This was such a sad tale. I felt so bad for these two, but especially the father as he coped with everything.

Sent to read the blood of an unidentifiable victim, this character is sent on a path to chase down those that harmed the victim. But they uncover much more than that.

What a neat premise this was!

Each of these men know something odd is going on, but they can’t remember what. They just know that they have tattoos that are trying to remind them of something…

This tale was so twisted! It reads a bit like a fever dream, and I was just as confused as the characters! What fun!

On a trip for a change of scenery, this woman is determined to gather as much research as she can. But then on a tour she hears a local monster myth and finds that it’s related to her main research goal.

This one was heartbreaking! Two big CW’s here that hit me really hard: cheating, miscarriage.

On a quest for revenge, our main character, Michelle, approaches a man she thinks murdered her brother and his girlfriend, and they talk.

Phew, the dialogue in this one was chunky! We learn first what happened before the tale tells us in detail, how things led up to where they were now before the big ending.

I would recommend this one to fans of slower horror; Horror you can kick back and relax and read, without feeling like you need to read as quickly as possible to see what will happen next.

This read was more like floating on a lazy river in the middle of the night. While you can’t see what’s coming around the next turn, you know that you will get there just as quickly as you were meant to.

To the Devil, a Cryptid by Hunter Shea is a tale of blood and total mayhem. And per usual with Hunter Shea, the story is terrifying, but it’s also an absolute blast to read!

When a group of people head to the woods near a bride that is rumored to be the home of a goat man, this group sacrifices a goat in hopes to contact the devil. And boy do they contact something!

Unfortunately, at the same time of the sacrifice, there were a handful of other people headed to that area, all for very different reasons.

The sacrifice goes very wrong and the people in the area are either killed immediately, killed shortly afterward, or sent running for their lives in hopes to not be killed.

The rest of the tale is fast-paced, and complete and utter bloody mayhem as we watch the Goat Man rip the town apart!

The cast that we meet are all such an interesting group! I was sad to see a few go so quickly, but I was more nervous about seeing if the others would make it. At every turn, they were faced with even more life threatening situations.

I loved that the original group that had been in the area at the start of the story kept crossing paths throughout the tale! The reactions that they had with one another each time made me chuckle. There were a few classic “YOU AGAIN?!” situations.

And the blood! Hunter Shea does not shy away from the gore here. I loved that in one paragraph, I would be cringing, while in the next, I was laughing!

This was such a fun read!

He’s read that one of the worst smells in the world was that of freshly spilled blood. Chad could confirm that right now, though the perforated guts were also adding to the heady aroma.

Chad screamed for all he was worth, even though he knew there wasn’t anyone around to hear or help him. There was no shame in shrieking when an abomination had ahold of you.

Before popping the trunk open, Tina looked up and down the street. “We’re clear. Don’t want anyone to walk by and catch a glimpse of dark and crispy in there.”

While the Goat Man slept, the leave on the tree turned black and fell like grimy snowflakes around it. The grass browned and shriveled back into the soil. A passing cardinal swooped too close and fell out of the air, dead before it hit the ground.

It caught a woman square in her chest. Her entire body exploded, as if she has been made of paper – paper filled with a copious amount of red Jell-O.

Hunter Shea has done it again! His work with cryptids is unmatched.

I highly recommend picking this one up on a day off so you can read cover to cover! I made the mistake of starting it right before bed and had to pause to finish it the next day. Can you bet what I dreamed about that night?! Oh yes… The Goat Man!

This is a must read for fans of violent and intense horror with a bit of a B-Movie vibe.

Enjoy!!

Horrors Untold: Volume 5 by Matt Wildasin is a collection of horror shorts that range from the unsettling to the totally petrifying. But one thing that they all have in common? Body horror! Buckle in before diving into this one!

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the author per request of an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way. 

I love that Matt begins this collection an introduction where he gives the readers insight into where each tale came from. I LOVE getting more information like this! It really helps to add a whole new and exciting layer to the tales.

Each story was great, but my top three favorites from this collection include:

I cannot wait for readers to experience these! 🙂

Per usual, here are my notes on each story:

Based on a real tower in Mechanicsburg, PA, in this tale, two podcasters are determined to get to this hidden tower in order to explore. It takes awhile to find the hidden road, but once on the right path, things take a very dark turn.

This one was so eerie! I love exploring abandoned places, so I can’t say my curiosity wouldn’t have gotten the best of me in a situation like this. 

I also couldn’t help it, the scene where Will’s ringtone goes off, and it’s the Silent Hill theme, I just had to laugh. How terrifying! 

When something crashes to the ground of this small turkey farm, the farmer is initially worried that his turkeys will all run away. But soon, he ends up wanting to get as far from them as he can as there is something very, very wrong with them.

Written as a B-Movie, Matt nails this crazy tale! The body horror is intense! I would 100% watch this as a movie short.

This year, when the elves are preparing, they realize Santa has not been seen. When they all search for him, two find him in the sporting goods section, but they quickly realize something is wrong. The next thing they know, Santa has shot one of them. He then goes on a wicked rampage.

I loved all of the names of the elves and how lines from Christmas songs were thrown in here and there. The body horror here is extremely brutal! What a horrible night at the north pole!

A short and dark tale of a mind unraveling. This one is heartbreaking.

When a man named Dent is called to a crime scene, the bizarre murder certainly has his interest as he’s never seen anything quite like this. As he goes around the small town asking questions, he soon realizes that he maybe he should have left things alone when he was first warned off…

The very last sentence is terrifying! What a note to end on!

When a widow who lives with her slew of cats is forced to venture out for supplies when zombies take over, she learns that her cats are great protectors! That is, until they want something else… Then they will stop at nothing to get what they want.

Reading this one made me want to sneeze! There were so many cats!

Set up as a dream this man has about the end of the world, we see the path that the terror takes.

I cannot imagine having a reoccurring nightmare like this! Reading it once was terrifying enough!

In this building, a mother enjoys giving back by providing her neighbors with soup. But she has one rule, they cannot see the cook. Because of this, she has her son deliver it for her. After a strange encounter with one of the residents, the boy is wary to deliver again. But when his mom insists, he runs into the new tenants and overshares.

This one had so many little eerie bits tossed into the mix! By the time we got toward the end, I was so nervous to see what we were going to learn next. What a killer tale to end the collection with!

The path was foreboding to say the least. The red dirt path snaked its way into a thick wood. The trees surrounding the road where dead, almost blackened and brittle, most of which seemed to lean or twist back away from it.   
“Well, if that don’t look downright fucking scary!” Matt exclaimed, leaning over to look out Will’s window.

Martha wasn’t sure which allocated day of the week it was this one early morning, as she had stopped counting them months ago, but she started noticing a change in one of her cats.

Soup is such a comforting dish. Warm, savory, and when done just right, a true meal on its own that can make one forget the troubles of the day. It is a truly relaxing culinary experience. Yes, I know what you’re thinking: Did this story just start by praising soup?

I know that It’s The End Of The World As I Dreamt It is one that is going to haunt me for a long time to come!

Horrors Untold: Volume 5 is must read for horror fans! Everyone is sure to find a tale that they love and another that makes them squirm here.

Rose by Mike Bryant is a super fun and hilarious tale about a woman that comes back from the dead to make sure those involved in her death get what they deserve.

Shout out to the author for providing a content warning at the start of the book! These warnings included death and graphic injuries.

This story begins with this amazing line:

From there, we see someone digging themselves out of their grave as they are drawn toward something… Next, we meet Katya, a woman still mourning the loss of her baby after she needed a heart transplant while pregnant. One evening, Katya hears something outside. When she goes to investigate, she meets a girl that announces that Katya has her heart. Panicking, Katya hits the girl, causing her head to flop to the side, her neck clearly broken. But when the girl stands there and simply asks why Katya would do that and the two begin to talk, the tension dissolves.

At first, the young dead girl has no memory. She just knows that she was drawn to Katya and has something she needs to do. Katya and her husband, Vijay, work to help her regain more memories, they discover that her name was Rose and that there is something not quite right with her reported cause of death.

From there, the three dig for more answers, putting them on the radar of those that tried to cover up the real cause of death.

Overall, this story was wonderfully heartwarming! There were so many scenes that had me smiling or laughing out loud. It’s only toward the end that we start to see the darkness of the corrupt town and the brutal payback that occurs. When I started to put the puzzle pieces together right along with the characters, my blood started to boil.

I was rooting for Rose every step of the way and I couldn’t wait to see what she would plan out next. Her sense of humor, even after her death, was awesome. I also loved the other characters that were helping her; Katya, Vijay, Amar, and Cecilia were all amazing! Their trust in Rose and her situation was so nice to see. I can’t imagine that many people would have gone to the same lengths as this crew did.

And that ending… Phew! Not only were the final steps in their plan intense and exactly what I was hoping to see these dirtbags go through, the very last chapter was so perfect it made me cry.

Wonderfully done, Mr. Bryant.

Most coffins collapse under the weight of the dirt. Hers was no exception.

Clark was six-foot-four and apparently made of tattoos in a black t-shirt.

Vijay set a tall, colorful beverage on the table in front of the girl.
“Ooh, what’s this?” she asked.
“A zombie,” he said, suppressing a grin.
“Dude!” said Katya, receiving her jet pilot. Vijay sat down with his lager.
“Nice,” said Possibly-Bella. “Liquid cannibalism.”

She walked up to the front door and peered inside. Foliage snaked its way through the broken windows and had begun to take hold in cracks in the floor. The remains of an old campfire sat cold in the middle of the hallway, the ceiling above it blackened. Graffiti covered every surface.

Fans of heartwarming zombie tales like Warm Bodies, you NEED to pick this book up immediately. The humor, the friendship, and the love, it’s all there, but we also get some brutal vengeance as well! Rose is officially one of my top favorite zombie tales!

The Unknown Man by Natalie Hanson is a dark mystery about an FBI agent that is blackmailed into taking on a case. Thinking she will handle things quickly, she has absolutely no idea what she is really about to walk into.

CW: Cancer, Drug Abuse, and others. Check out my review on StoryGraph for more detail.

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the author per request of an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way. 

Zalla Bennbett is an FBI agent under immense pressure. Her husband is sick with cancer and his life may just depend on her keeping her job, and most importantly, her health insurance. But her boss is threatening to falsify evidence to get her fired if Zalla doesn’t get back with her after their short affair ended. By forcing her into the case, Zalla is sent to a small town to investigate the kidnapping of the twin daughters of one of the FBI's sources.

Hoping to handle things delicately, Zalla partners with Dallon Brown, one of the two local police officers. Right away, she is put-off by Dallon, but as they spend a little more time together, the two start to build a friendship.

At first, they struggle to find any leads. When they do happen to catch a break, the leads just keep bringing them to dead ends. That is, until the puzzle pieces begin to fall into place… but at that point, is it already too late?

This book is intense! From the pacing of the storyline itself, to the punches that the author throws left and right, this book will leave you stunned! So many scenes toward the end turned my stomach and left me a bit nauseated for hours after I put my Kindle down.

I cannot recommend this one highly enough to fans of dark mysteries!

He wasn’t giving this blowhard any satisfaction. He’d lived in a lot of places in his life. Stupid seemed to be the same everywhere.

Suddenly he felt the weight of everything in his gut. Like and anchor has been tied to his lower intestines and tossed overboard.

“Everyone has a core, where the truth lives. People can try to put it in their basement and cover it with lies, but it’s still there,” she said.

“Small-town gossip is a beast that will chew you up and spit you out before you even realize it has you in it’s mouth.”

If the second book had been out when I completed this read, I would have snagged it and jumped in immediately! Needless to say, I will have my eyes on the look out for any new releases from Natalie Hanson! I can’t wait to see where this series goes!

See No Evil by J.P. Choquette is a suspenseful tale set in a town where all treacherous paths lead back to the same culprit. But will our main character make it out of this twisted maze unscathed?

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the author per request of an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way. 

CW: Tread lightly here, this author briefly handles some very heavy topics that may be unsettling to some readers.

Tayt Waters has a few gigs running at the same time; a cleaning company, a security company, and a special company that helps “people, mostly women, who haven’t gotten the justice they deserve the legal way.”

While she juggles work with the three roles, she soon starts to juggle separate cases that she’s looking into as well; a missing girl, a husband that up and left his family, and a murder… And the murder case is a little too close to home.

As Tayt goes deeper into her investigations, she soon realizes that these cases are all linked. As she get closer to finding where each of these paths lead, she also receives her first threat, telling her to leave it alone… But of course, Tayt can’t do that. Once she’s on a case, she is determined to see it through!

Readers are sure to be drawn toward Tayt almost immediately upon meeting her, and as you learn more about her, that interest only grows. I loved seeing how much she cares for total strangers, as well as a few of those close to her. I could certainly relate to her family dynamics, so I really felt for her there.

The storyline ramps up about midway through and then it’s a full on sprint to the end as things get more and more tense!

While the end of this book wraps up a number of situations, it also leaves a few things hanging. As this is the first book in the series, it will be very interesting to see those items come up later on!

The door on my rusted Toyota squeals like a squirrel who’s just been informed he has a nut allergy.

Apparently, there’s some sort of standoff between a hip-hop lover and a country-western fanatic. Vanilla Ice is yelling fast and loud as I survey the rest of the room. A half dozen round tables dot the room, most of them full. The carpet is an indeterminate color, stained dark in some areas, and I bet money that if I touched it, my hand would stick. Lighted signs announcing various beer brands are thrown on the walls in no apparent order, some hanging precariously, as though the slightest bump on the plaster surfaces will knock them down.

Stars above look like Lite Brite pegs, white points pushed into a velvety black background. 

Give me a to-do list of seventy-five items, and I’ll fly through them until I crash. Make me sit still in one spot for hours on end, though, and I come undone.

The next several miles are used putting together pieces in my mental jigsaw puzzle. My brain is moving much more quickly, thanks to the caffeine rush, spitting information and facts out to me like a well-run popcorn machine at the cinema.

If you’re looking for a very tense and suspenseful book to kick off a series centered around a woman doing the best she can with what she has, while also fighting for justice, then this is one you need to grab!

Cover Art by Vanessa Westermann is a breathtaking murder mystery in which wonderful characters bring small town secrets to light. While mostly cozy, this story doesn’t shy away from the darkness that is always present in small towns as well.

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the author per request of an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way. 

The story centers around two main characters; Charley and Matt.

Charley has come to town for the summer to open a pop up gallery. While she’s there, she plans to stay in her grandparents home that was left to her and her sister, but in which her sister now lives full time. Drawn back into the local charm of the town immediately, she also can’t help but get involved when things start going sideways.

Matt had come back to town months before Charley, but his focus was less fun. He was back in town originally to sort out his fathers belongings after the man passed away. But while doing that, he also opened up a chocolate shop that is a huge hit with the locals and the summer cottagers alike! When he’s not working at the shop, Matt is determined to uncover his fathers secrets as he just knows the man was hiding something from him.

In perfect cozy mystery fashion, these two have an adorable meet cute before their paths cross time and time again. The connection between them sparks immediately, causing readers to root for them from the very start!

The story starts out very warm and friendly, but soon tension begins to rise as various situations occur. Then a man dies and they suspect it wasn’t just an accident. This spins the tale into a tense and twisted path of secrets and coverups.

I was hooked immediately as I fell in love with all of the characters as soon as we met them. I loved really getting to know each of the characters and seeing their relationships with one another. I especially loved the sisterly bond between Charley and Meghan.

When the murder occurred, I could not put the story down. There were many scenes that had me hunching my shoulders as I read as quickly as I could to see what was about to happen next! The tension in many scenes really had my heart pounding!

I loved all of the curveballs that were thrown in along the way that make readers guess at the identity of the killer. For me, I couldn’t have pointed a finger in any one direction until the big reveal.

Nothing like a little fresh air to clear the mind, take the edge off frustration.

When everything else turned to chaos, Meghan was the eye in the storm, the calm at the centre of it all. She didn’t waste time asking questions. Used to emergencies, she grabbed the car keys off the hook on her way into the living room.

All around them, flowerpots overflowed with bright blooms. Mason jar lights dangled from wires. The flickering flames danced shadows over the face of the terracotta archer, kneeling between sage and lavender. Past all those green leaves around them, beyond the yellow and red flowering spikes of gladiolus, the lake gleamed, smooth as glass. A white sail flashed. In the distance, a great blue heron rose up form the shore. With slow wingbeats, it flew overhead.

The street was cloudless and sun soaked. But on the best days, Oakcrest was pleasure and pain, mixed into one. Like biting your tongue and tasting blood and chocolate at the same time. All that quaint charm, along with the memories he’d rather forget.

A stainless-steel Thermos mug rattled in the cupholder between them, sloshing and probably more than half-full, from the sound of it. He hadn’t even finished his coffee before offering to help her.

The sliding door in the living room stood wide open to catch the breeze off the lake, tinged with a hint of burnt sugar and wood smoke from some distant bonfire. The water mirrored the thick brushstrokes of colour that deepened the evening sky to shades of violet and red.

Sparks flew in the shadows. Rising like ghosts from the past, striking flint rocks in the night. A glimmer at first, then more and more flickered through the wildflowers lining the roadside. Drifting through clusters of Queen Anne’s lace, glowing between the tiny white flowers.
Fireflies.

Every move Matt made seemed to dredge up more secrets that muddied what should have been more clear as the lake on a summer day. But sometimes, when the silt settled, you found gold. And he was prepared to sift through the murk to find it.

“Life calls for many sacrifices, but a dream should not be one of them.”

I had an absolute blast reading this! Everything is just perfect, from the description of the town and the character development, to the pacing and the plotting of the story overall.

Fans of cozy murder mysteries, you need to snag this one!

Sickness Is In Season by Aiden Merchant has everything a horror fan craves! From light and spooky, to full-blown spine-chilling terror, this collection of short stories is a killer mix.

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book per request of an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way. 

Be prepared to experience sympathy pains while reading many of these tales! You’ll certainly be thankful that you’re not in these characters’ shoes…

Aiden hits on an amazing range of topics here; there’s brutal body horror, terrifying creatures, unsettling space horror, intense serial killers, gut-punch grief horror, spooky paranormal horror, sinister aliens, spine-chilling possessions, and so much more!

No matter what your personal favorite sub-genre of horror is, you’ll be sure to find something that sinks its teeth into you within this collection!

It was impossible for me to choose some favorites here, I loved each and every tale! Some were familiar to me from reading other works, but most were brand new to me.

Per usual, here are my notes on each tale:

Kicking off with a doozy of a body horror story set in space, readers will cringe while reading what this man goes through! But things only get worse from there. This one got both my claustrophobia and my arachnophobia going!

When a trip to try to save their marriage isn’t going well, this husband and wife duo split up for the afternoon. Just moments after his wife had left the area, he attempts to hit on a young woman. Little does this slime ball know, he hit on the wrong girl! I had first read this one in Slice of Paradise and loved it! I’m obsessed with the overlapping storylines and justice that this story brings! 

Set up as a recording from a serial killer to her fans, this narrator outlines their twisted way of choosing their next victim and how they go about their kills. But what’s even darker than that? They also discuss what led them to be a serial killer. This was so unsettling! The body horror had me curling up into a ball while reading. I was so nervous about what the killer was going to tell us next! 

When a man brings home a specimen that he doesn’t know, he calls in biologists to come take a look. But that night, things start to progress, and they end up getting totally out of control! Eek, the creatures here will make you squirm! There’s a scene toward the end of the story that is very The Taking of Deborah Logan-esque… if you’ve seen the movie, you know the scene I’m talking about! 

When a man in desperate grief is approached with the promise to reunite him with his daughter, he’s willing to try anything. But oh boy, does this being have other plans! This one is heartbreaking and brutal!

While out camping, the ground shakes and a noise is heard. With nothing better to do, the group of campers head out to investigate. When they approach the source, the see other animals fleeing. If only they had been like the animals and turned around! But their curiosity got the better of them. This tale will get your heart pumping! It’s so eerie. 

With a title like this, you know you’re in for a ride. When this teen dreads taking a camping trip with his step dad, he begrudgingly goes along with the plans after his mother insists. But a few hours into the trip and the father begins to feel ill, and their situation goes from typical camping to something that is straight from my nightmares. This one had my skin crawling! 

When a daughter returns to her father’s house to deal with his belongings after his passing, her and the moving crew make a dark discovery. The idea behind this one is so chilling! It forces readers to ask themselves if they really know their loved ones. 

I LOVED this story when I first encountered it in Damned Hunger, and I loved it even more on the second read through. This is a tale about the curiosity of two adventure seeking children that goes very, very wrong! While filled with horror, there’s also a couple of gut-punches of grief. 

When a young man leaves the house for the quiet of the woods while his parents fight loudly, all he wants is a bit of peace. On his walk, he discovers some holes in the ground, but unfortunately he can’t get out of there fast enough. The suspense and the body horror here is insane! I had first read this one in Damned Hunger, and the second I recognized the title, I debated not re-reading it, as I just wanted to imagine a happier ending for Davey! This poor kid…

When a man drops off his car to be cleaned, the staff are a bit spooked by the markings that they find inside. When the man leaves with a clean car, it unfortunately wasn’t just dirt that was left behind. Soon, one of the men that worked on the car stops coming into work and the other reports that he is burning up. This is another tale with a super unsettling plot that makes you question if you’ve ever been at risk of picking up some unwanted attention. 

After the world has changed forever when alien creatures began coming out of the ground, this family knows their time will come eventually. Then one day their dog starts to growl, and they rush to arm themselves. But will they survive the encounter or will they be picked off one by one? This one was action packed and terrifying! It’s got the horror of an alien encounter mixed with the terror of a home invasion blended together with lots of blood. This one will give you nightmares!

After going on a bender, this character is approached by a man who appears to be in costume. But he’s about to learn that this mask isn’t just for show… This one is brutal! I read this back in 2020 and when the tale popped up here, I was so excited to dive back in!

When this man’s father goes missing from a nursing home, he arrives hoping to find him. But after reading a letter that was left to him and in speaking to one of the nurses, the man learns that there was something darker going on here. This tale had a very real-world horror vibe with a splash of the paranormal. I was hooked and so antsy to see where it was going. 

This flash horror piece is incredible. Anyone looking to get into this format needs to read this! I first read this in Damned Hunger and loved it! 

When a man’s wife starts acting strangely, he’s convinced she’s cheating on him. But after a few days, he fears something much worse. The wife is stuck in a terrifying situation where the cabin she was originally drawn to is now holding her captive. This one is such an amazing quiet horror tale! It’s a slow burn with a wonderful focus on love. 

The opening paragraph of this one! My god, this one is terrifying. The thought of having a creature inside my body freaks me out more than anything else. And how this one gets in? No thank you! Prepare yourself before diving into this one and let me just say I’m glad I don’t currently have a gym membership. 

I’m still just as obsessed with this tale as I was the first couple of times I encountered it in Damned Hunger and Blackberry Blood! The slow build up that is filled with excitement at the carnival before everything turns to terror is so good. 

I read this tale back in 2020 and I fully stand by this comment: Tenebris by Aiden Merchant is a brutal short story that will make you want to reach through the pages to give a very good boy a pat!

Yikes, yikes, yikes! This flash fiction tale will leave you breathless after a punch of terror! 

When one of their friends goes missing after sending a text to announce that he was going onto a certain property, this group makes a plan to go in at night to try to find him. But they’re about to meet a similar fate as their friend. This one takes a turn so quickly! I went from feeling a little hopeful to dreading the outcome. 

When a man goes to rob a vacationing family, he gets much more than he expected from the encounter! This story is brutal from the very start and doesn’t let up! I would love to see more from the one character that walks away here.

When a local cult rounds up the people in a neighborhood, the neighbors band together to make a plan of escape. But will it work? This is a terrifying tale of the intensity of religion and possession. Yikes!

I got so drawn into these tales, I forgot to highlight all of my favorite passages! I only ended up snagging two passages, but boy are these good ones:

By nightfall, I was given a hammer and a shovel and told by my mother to “finish it.” I bashed his skull in until it looked like a Jack-O-Lantern someone had stepped on.

Screams multiplied until there were fewer of them to be heard.

Filled with action, gore, and terror, this is a collection of short stories that fans of all horror sub-genres can’t miss!