A mother faces a difficult choice in times of chaos. A serial killer gets more than he bargained for. Two Vikings must team up in order to escape a terror swimming in the ocean. A sexual assault survivor has an opportunity to exact vengeance on her attacker. Four friends experience a trip of their lifetime in the volcanic Iceland. Spend some uncomfortable time with a creepy cult while journeying through an eerie doll museum. Take a walk in the woods and you’ll realize it’s never a good idea to fuck with Mother Nature.
As the Night Devours Us is the stunning debut short story collection from the Icelandic author of the Nocturnal series, Villimey Mist. These dark stories will burrow under your skin and make you question whether or not it’s safe to go out at night.
Dark bleatings, my beloved tribe! So, I finally got around to reading this short story collection that has been patiently waiting on my review pile forever. I’ve had quite the backlog of requests for quite some time, but I’m on a bit of a tear managing to finally get through them. And man, was I delighted to get to this one. Villimey Mist is an Icelandic author who uses traditional, regional folklore in several of these stories, and it pays off in a big way. I was unfamiliar with some of the myths entirely, so these horrors were a welcome and unique surprise, which I ate up like the greedy little hamster that I am.
A MOTHER’S JOB – Zombies! I love them so, and this short didn’t disappoint.
THE THRILL OF THE HUNT – A serial killer picks the wrong victim.
TAUMUR – A mythological tale of delicious deception.
THE MOSS COVERED VOLCANO – This was one of my favourites. Cultured Finn and his douchebag friends are disrespectful to the local landscape and culture when they holiday in Iceland, and they soon regret it…
NAILS – This reminded me of an episode of The Twilight Zone, and it’s another favourite in the collection for me. Have you ever wondered what happens to your fingernails when you clip them? Have you ever thought much about… imps?
HOPE – Barry takes his Tinder date on a hike. I totally thought I knew where this was going. I thought I had it all figured out. So convinced was I of my deductions that I immediately felt bored…. but I was SO wrong. What a beast of a story!
THE DOLL MUSEUM – Once again, I thought I knew what this story was but I didn’t. Great!
SPLIT – Not my favourite in the collection, but only because I don’t really like spy thrillers.
SKOTUMODIR – Found footage at its finest!
THE RESCUE – Shades of The Wicker Man, but more terrifying!
SHED THE NIGHT’S SKIN – Another favourite and reads like an episode of Supernatural.
RECEIVING IS BETTER THAN GIVING – This was fantastically folk-ish and weird! And seasonal! A great read for winter/Christmas.
KOKKURI-SAN – An awesome alternative take on a ouija board story.
WHAT THE CHEF RECOMMENDS – This was like one of those amazing, old-school horror tales straight out of a 1980’s anthology horror show.
THE BANQUET – A sweet and salty revenge story that ends the collection gloriously.
Overall, this is a super strong collection and perfect if you’re looking for stories that are outside of the usual horror boxes. It’s a truly wonderful mix of scary peculiarities, and I thoroughly enjoyed all of it. If you’d like to get your own copy, or check out the author, there are some links below for you:
Happy Goat Horror 
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