The newest collection from award-winning writer, Dan Coxon, Come Sing for the Harrowing is a terrifying menagerie of the strange and weird. Unsettling, poignant, and always masterfully crafted, these 16 stories are a feast of folk horror where the fine line between the mundane and the malevolent is blurred beyond repair.
With five never-before-published stories as well as tales featured in publications such as Beyond the Veil and Great British Horror 7, this collection is a tour de force from one of the most talented rising stars in the horror fiction landscape.
Dark bleatings, my harrowed tribe! (I hope you’re not harrowed). I’m reading a lot of Dan Coxon at the moment, and having a jolly good time with his particular brand of horror. Behold my thoughts on his recent short story collection!
Come Sing for the Harrowing
Great folk horror and a brilliant book opener. Jack is amongst a new group of people in a new job, and we all know what that feels like, right? A little anxious, you don’t really know anyone, you hope they’ll like you, etc. Jack feels only mildly paranoid when he thinks people are talking about him, and a little more paranoid when he thinks he sees a mysterious figure lurking in the treeline, but he can’t be sure.
This story is right up my goaty little street. I was practically cackling with glee when it’s revealed what’s going on. Just fabulous.
The Wives of Tromisle
Oof this one is sinister. It’s hopeful on the surface but has a sour, briny underbelly. A woman, after not hearing from her mother for five years after the death of her child, receives a letter. Her geriatric mother is pregnant, and therein begins a twisted but extremely interesting story. It’s dark. And weird. And awesome.
Bring Them all into the Light
A strange and engrossing story about a guy who moves his family to a new home and then gets obsessed with his construction plans. Also, there’s a supernatural entity (not a ghost) at play! I love this kind of story. I first read this in Great British Horror 7 and was delighted to re-read it here, because it was one of my favourites in that anthology.
Bumblethatch
A girl is friends with a boy who it’s really unwise to be friends with, if you don’t want to be bullied along with him. She’s still hanging out with him despite the fact he died a short while back. Thoroughly creepy.
A Broken Vessel
Three experienced criminals decide to rob an elderly millionaire, thinking it’ll be easy money. But this dude…they shouldn’t have messed with him, is all I’ll say. Absolutely not the kind of story I was expecting, and I loved it.
Vile Jelly
Apparently, some eyeballs are worth more than others. Ew. Eyeballs. I have to admit, I didn’t like this one very much. On account of the eyes. Can you tell that I’m quite squeamish about eyes?
From the Earth
I think this might be my favourite in the whole collection because the idea is SO good, and I’ve not seen it before. The story, as a whole, reminds me of a Clive Barker story (but isn’t at all derivative, just the same kind of weird). Arwen has been a prisoner for her entire life because some godly folk believe that God talks directly to her. She’s special. So naturally she’s been kept in solitary confinement. I shan’t spoil anything that follows but it was so scary when a certain thing was revealed and I was applauding Coxon’s imagination.
Bodies on the Dance Floor
Short but not sweet, this story details a particular kind of purgatory or Hell. And this is when I knew I was on the same wavelength as Dan Coxon, because I’d assume I was in Hell too if I had to listen to the same Sean Paul song on repeat. SEANAPAUL!
Clockwork
This one is really hard-hitting, definitely a favourite, and I think a story that a lot of people will connect with and find comforting somehow. Wish fulfilment in its finest, horrific form. A person had to grow up with abusive dad, and after his death, they start working through their trauma in a ridiculously interesting way. Love the writing in this one, in particular.
“We all gather damage over time.” – you’ll love this quote once you know what it means.
The Darkness Below
Oh shit, no wait – THIS is my favourite in the collection! I think. It’s hard to pick in a collection this good, but anyway…
A family partaking in some tourist activities are enjoying a guided cave tour when the teenage son goes missing for a brief time, only to turn up absolutely fine. Or is he? This story is in first-person, which is a genius decision for reasons that become clearer as the story progresses. I did not know what to believe. I prefer to believe the more sinister option, and it is scaaary.
There’s a wonderful paragraph near the beginning (Dan’s such a good writer), about how well parents know their kids’ eyes – not just colour and shape, etc, but the very essence of their personality. It made me think a lot about those sorts of relationships and connections.
Long Gone (Slight Return)
Have you ever felt like things are just off? Like, everything looks right but there’s something wrong that you can’t put your finger on? This story really works with that sort of uncanny valley anxiety, and it’s stress-inducing! Told in interviews between the members of a band and a journalist, the format is fresh too.
In Flickering Light
This concept is also stress-inducing: a man happens upon a homeless woman and realises he knows her because she’s an ex co-worker. Their boss was a scumbag of the highest calibre, for reasons we find out a little later. It’s a real-world horror story but the note I made as I read it goes as follows – “There’s something creepy and fucky going on that feels supernatural.”
Gorphwysfa
Oh my dark lord, this story. I’m sure there’s a definitive answer to what is actually going on, but I see two quite clear possibilities. This is either a really smart story about karma, or a story about history repeating itself and descended bad fortune. Either way, it’s dark and it stressed me out, while it hooked me like a fish.
Grains of Sand
A creep called Tep is searching for someone. If I were that someone, I would NOT want to be found. Not a favourite, but only because it’s overshadowed by a bunch of others that were just a bit more excellent.
London Deep
Well, would you look at that. Almost at the end of the book and Dan throws in some cosmic creature horror. I was not expecting it and it was a welcome surprise. Also, this just goes to show why I would never willingly live in London. A man investigates his brother’s disappearance, uncovering weird notes and photos…DON’T GO INTO THE SEWERS!
Beyond the Beach, the Trees
And finally, we close this collection with a massive dose of anxiety. But in a good way – this is horror, after all! I loved this one because, again, I couldn’t quite decide what was ACTUALLY going on here. There’s room for interpretation and as is my preference, I decided to lean towards the more hideous possibility. A man is holidaying with his family but not quite enjoying it as much as they are. Sunstroke will do that to a person. It gets nail-bitingly tense.
Overall, I would absolutely, wholeheartedly recommend this book. There were only one or two stories that weren’t my cup of tea, and I still enjoyed them. With the amount of review requests I receive and my own personal TBR of literally hundreds of books, I’ll admit that sometimes, reading can feel like a chore. Thankfully, authors like Dan Coxon get rid of that feeling for me when it’s this much of a pleasure to read their work.
If you’d like to check out the collection or the author, I’ve popped some links below for you:
Bleeeeat!
Happy Goat Horror 
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