When Things Get Dark

When Things Get Dark edited by Ellen Datlow is a magnificent anthology of short fiction inspired by Shirley Jackson. While a reader does not necessarily need to be familiar with Jackson to appreciate these stories, I do think that readers who have read her will get more out of this collection. Like Jackson's works, many of these stories are loaded with mystery, ambiguity, and the appearance of the supernatural. Most are superbly written. This is one of the strongest horror anthologies I've read. I was going to list my favorite stories, but honestly it's almost all of them. The final two - Tiptoe by Laird Barron and Skinder's Veil by Kelly Link - were particularly great! This is an excellent short story anthology. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

After reading The Haunting of Hill House I couldn’t stop thinking of the style of writing. It's slightly joking and darkly human. I loved the book so when I saw this one, I had to try it. Almost all of the stories in this collection are good but there are few standouts to me.

• Funeral Birds by M. Rickert
• For Sale by Owner by Elizabeth Hand
• In the Deep Woods; The Light is Different There by Seanan McGuire
• Money of the Dead by Karen Heuler
• Hag by Benjamin Percy
• Skinder's Veil by Kelly Link

The four bolded stories are my favourites of the standouts. Even if you aren’t interested in Jackson’s style these are worth the read. I am a little overloaded with book holds but when I am free again, I will definitely make the effort to find books by authors in this book.