In this chilling new collection curated by bestselling horror anthologist Kevin J. Kennedy, five masterful Welsh authors invite you deep into the shadowy heart of Cymru, where ancient myths still breathe and old gods never truly die.
Drawing inspiration from the rich, eerie landscape of Welsh folklore, each tale is a haunting journey into a world where the veil between the living and the legendary grows thin. From cursed mountains and ghostly choirs to forgotten beasts lurking in forested glens, Horror Tales From Wales delivers dread steeped in history, myth, and blood.
These five brand new stories are as lyrical as they are terrifying—blending timeless superstition with modern fears, and reminding us that in Wales, the past is never truly buried.
Come for the folklore. Stay for the nightmares.
Dark bleatings, my lush tribe. Today’s review is of an anthology that I’m particularly excited about because I’m Welsh, so this is a very rare treat for me. Diving right into the stories, let’s take a look at how my fellow Welshies tackled horror this time.
They Came at Night – by Richard Clive
I was delighted to see this anthology open with a story by Richard, because he’s an exceptional short story writer and I just knew it would be great. Simon visits Brian, a friend, who doesn’t seem to be doing so well after the sudden and untimely death of his husband. He claims that children keep bothering him at night, and isn’t convinced that they’re…normal. Simon, naturally, is more concerned and sceptical than anything else, until he finds reason to worry that Brian might be right.
This is incredibly atmospheric, paced perfectly, and is super creepy. I really enjoyed the folklore element of it and the writing, and the story overall. So, in short, this one was a winner for me.
Dogs of Hell – by CL Raven
It’s been ages since I last had the pleasure of seeing or speaking to the fabulous twins that make up CL Raven, so I was very excited to see them here. One Halloween, a guy decides that he wants to…take the “romantic” way out by ending things as a couple, but his girlfriend isn’t on board with this idea, and tries to save him. He soon realises that there are things in death that are much worse than anything he might have struggled with in life.
This story is perfectly seasonal, and contains a melodramatic gothic flair (highlighted by the thoroughly not impressed girlfriend), as well as some myth and legend that I had never heard of, which was really fun. Thoroughly entertaining and also thought-provoking.
The Vengeance of Black Bart – by CS Jones
I don’t know CS Jones, but I have read him before so, as with the others, I was excited to turn the page and see his name appear. This start with pirates and initially, I thought, “Ahhh no!” because for some reason, I am just not interested in pirates, or ships as settings. However, this was mostly the preamble to set up the story, and the rest of it is about a pair of kids at the mercy of something not strictly of the living…but also, the living have quite a bit to do with it. This is a Welsh twist on the idea of the Pied Piper, one of my favourite fairy tale villains.
Bravo – by David Watkins
David’s a friend, and therefore another delight to get to read in this lovely little book. Two guys are in the woods on an excursion when some red dots appear….eyes. Ehhhhhh I hate this (but also love it). I shan’t elaborate on what they eyes belong to, but this is a great cryptid-type story that reminded me of some local town rumours I grew up with about what was lurking in the woods up the various mountains. Action-packed and lots of fun.
Lunar Eclipse or Melltith y Ddraig – by Lee Allen
I don’t know this author personally, but I am aware of Lee Allen, so all in all this was a really fun book to work my way through because this is the first time I’ve been familiar with every author in an anthology. This story wasn’t a favourite, unfortunately, because I am quite the mega prude and it contains a lot of sexy sexiness. It’s about a guy that forms a monthly ritual in time with the full moon that involves an alter and an extremely hot, naked woman. The direction the story went in was a pleasant surprise because I truly didn’t know what the crux of it would be, but it was not your run of the mill type of tale for this subgenre.
Overall, I had a great time with this lovely, cool little anthology. Each of the stories were very Welshy, but also completely different, and it was a refreshing take on horror from the land of dragons and daffodils.
If you’d like to check out the book, I’ve popped a link below for you:
Bleeeeat!
Happy Goat Horror 
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