Creatures. Grotesqueries. Aliens. Cryptids. Ghosts. These are just a few of the anomalies we’ve unearthed.
Join us as we pursue monstrosities, unwittingly stumble upon unspeakable horrors, and bring terrifying abominations to life. They’re all waiting for you—the monsters from your nightmares, the noises you ignored as a child, the shadows hiding atrocities you can’t fathom. They’re all there—creeping in the darkness, waiting to be discovered.
Allow us to lure you in. Let us captivate and tantalize you with the unknown. But beware, you might not be ready for what you find. Or what finds you.
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Foreword by Deborah Sheldon
Contributing Authors:
Charles Barouch, Jesse Bethea, S.R. Bevilacqua, Rachel Bregnard, Thomas William Brewer, Tim W. Burke, Morgan Chalfant, Sarah Chamberlain, Clint Collins, Rachel Delaney Craft, Craig Crawford, Megan Diedericks, Corey Farrenkopf, Alyson Faye, Harrison Foreman, Daniel Fox, David Jón Fuller, Jessica Gleason, Alex Goldberg, Callum Haire, Kay Hanifen, Mackenzie Hurlbert, Brad Kelechava, Robin Knabel, Leonardo Lamanna, Nicholas Manzolillo, Jen Mierisch, Daniel Mowery, Cindy O’Quinn, Camellia Paul, Kevin Eric Paul, Michael Picco, Corinne Pollard, J. L. Royce, Jeremy Russell, J.D. Sanderson, Paul Sheldon, Kathy Sherwood, Marc Sorondo, Jake Stein, Karamia Subocz, Alex Tucker, Tyler J. Welch, Pauline Yates
Dark bleatings, my lovely tribe! New horror anthology out next week, and it’s an absolute beast containing over 40 stories, edited by Robin Knabel. I normally like to say a little bit about each story in an anthology, but considering the number I’m contending with here, I’ve had to limit this review to overall thoughts, with specifics about a few of my favourites.
Favourites first!
WHALE SONG by Tim W. Burke
Oh god! The world (or at least a city) is under siege from a variety of scary monsters that fell off a bigger monster, and they lure people and animals to their chomped deaths by mimicking the sound of their prey. There are worms that sound like whales, for example. A man goes to the last place he knew his girlfriend to be, and he hears her but….
I’m currently playing FFX, and those in the know might agree that this sounds like an even more twisted Sin monster. Such a scary idea!
COURTING THE CADAVER by Jessica Gleason
A woman obsessed with a particular mummy sets out to resurrect him so they can be lovers, but he might not be as receptive as she hoped…
Dark comedy that raised a chuckle (and also much stomach-churned wincing!).
THE BEAR OF BAD NEWS by Kay Hanifen
A couple risk life, limb, and hypothermia to rescue their son from a very real lizard man. Fun and kind of wholesome. One of the few with a more uplifting tone to it, and much needed!
THE PIT by Tyler J. Welch
A total standout and my favourite in the book. The quality of the writing and story telling is fantastic. Two kids go to a well and speculate about what’s down there. Let me tell you…the thing in that well is pure hideousness, and that’s not even the most frightening element of the story. Outstanding. Great horror story.
Alrighty, time for overall thoughts.
Firstly, a tremendous amount of work has clearly gone into this anthology, and that cover art is awesome. There’s a lot of range in the stories, with loads of subgenres and different nasties being covered. I also loved that there were a few authors I recognised, but most of them are new to me, and that’s why I love anthologies. I’ve found several favourites this way, so I really liked the new (to me) voices.
The stories themselves were quite hit and miss for me. There were quite a few that weren’t my cup of tea but the others that I liked, I really liked. The ratio of like/not for me was a bit more mixed than I would usually prefer, but I think that’s just down to the sheer number of tales and my own personal preference. For an anthology this size, it would have been great to see a few more countries represented with the authors (especially because of the title and theme and how well that could lend itself to local folklores and things), but that’s not a criticism because I do think the editor made a great effort in terms of representation here.
Overall, if you enjoy short horror stories and you’re looking for great variety and a book that offers a lot for your money, this is probably a good choice!
If you’d like to check out the book or the editor, I’ve popped some links below for you. Of Beasts and Bones is due for release on the 28th!
Bleeeeat!
Happy Goat Horror 
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