Silent House Press returns from the void with fifteen of horror’s best voices…
Step into our library where you’ll find scavenger hunts, interdimensional portals, monsters, murder, and maybe even some magic….
These dark murmurs aren’t for the faint of heart, but you knew that already,
didn’t you?
STORIES BY:
Mocha Pennington
Elizabeth Massie
Richard Chizmar
Brandon Scott
Philip Fracassi
Lydia Prime
Patrick R. McDonough
Catherine McCarthy
Josh Darling
Rowan Hill
Joshua Marsella
Jill Girardi
J. Snow
Ellie Douglas
Gwendolyn Kiste
With foreword by Michelle Renee Lane
Edited by Lydia Prime
Dark bleatings, my beloved tribe! I’m talking about an anthology this week, edited by Lydia Prime, full of authors that I either know the work of very well, or have never heard of at all. I like that mix, and it’s given me new authors to follow. Something to note about this particular author line-up is that a transparent and nice-natured attempt was made to ensure there was diversity amongst those involved. I think the book benefits massively from this because several of the stories were told from perspectives less familiar to me, and as such, I got a sense that I was learning things (as well as enjoying the horror) but without being preached to.
There were a couple that weren’t quite my cup of tea, as in most anthologies, but overall I do wholeheartedly rate this one. It’s very strong, and its best (in my opinion) stories are worth buying the book for alone. Out of the 15 tales, here are my favourite 5:
STARGAZER LILY by Brandon Scott: This is a sad but touching story about true love, and the lengths that some people will go to for their soulmate. Laced with supernatural aspects, the horror is to be found in the human emotions of this one, and I adored it.
TEA FOR TWO by Elizabeth Massie: A magician that seems to be the real deal inflicts a peculiar but absolutely bloody horrifying fate on the unsuspecting folk around him. The dread just kept expanding with every new detail on this one.
THE LETTER by Lydia Prime: It’s like Clive Barker meets the minds behind Monty Python in this story of a demon just doing his job…. er… sort of. The horror is… well… it’s totally horrific. One of the worst things you can imagine happening. But the unexpected humour adds some much-needed lightness. Grim, but very funny!
SERIAL NUMBERS by Philip Fracassi: Hilarious. How to even explain this one without spoilers? I can’t. The premise is absolutely batshit insane and I couldn’t stop laughing once it got going. Er…. a tale of karma… that’s what it is!
FAREWELL II FLESH by Mocha Pennington: Without a shadow of a doubt, my absolute favourite in this anthology, and one of my favourite horror shorts so far this year. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I read it, and that was some time back now. The absolute horror – the layered horror, the heartbreakingly tragic protagonist, and the overall story is a masterclass in empathetic character and plot construction. In my humble opinion, anyway.
A trans woman who just wants to feel pretty (though it’s suggested through others that she already is) goes to dangerous lengths to fit in. I’m not trans, but I have felt like an outsider my entire life, and have a long-standing internal war raging about my appearance. I have never been comfortable with my body, and the older I get, the more things I find about my face to criticise. I’m halfway between shrugging and honestly thinking “eh, who gives a f*** anyway, I’m fine as I am” and “you hideous bitch, why can’t you just stop eating pizza, have a flatter stomach, and somehow achieve a less moon-like head?” And I don’t mind telling you that because basically every woman that I know – trans or cis – has issues with how they look. We live in a capitalist society that basically conditions this into us from childhood so that we buy beauty products and subscribe to weird diet stuff. And by that statement – I hasten to add – I don’t mean to compare my general lack of self-confidence to a trans experience, because I know there’s a lot I don’t understand, despite the surface level relatability of body issues. I simply cannot fathom all of that internal self-loathing tossed on top of body dysmorphia to the degree that my trans friends talk about. At least I couldn’t, until I read this story. Holy shit, this story.
I was crying within a few pages, and this is the story that opens the anthology. My heart was just breaking for this poor woman and her inner turmoil and I connected to her more than I have with a character in quite a while. All I wanted was for her to realise that she was fine as she was and to get over her struggle so she could live her best life. But this is a horror anthology.
The plot itself was the stuff of mad sci-fi horror, and had me hooked while my blood boiled. What goes down is absolutely chilling. Not only is this story so damn human that it ran my full range of emotions while reading it, but it’s also just a bloody good horror story too. Ticked every box, and I’d love to see it expanded upon in a longer work. An absolute belter of a story to open an anthology with.
Overall, I’d definitely recommend Dark Murmurs for fans of short horror fiction – it’s one of my favourite anthologies now. If you’d like to check out the book or the press, there are links below for you:
Happy Goat Horror 
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