The Darkest Night: 22 Winter Horror Stories

The Mouthless Body in The Lake

3/5 was written well but didn’t really enjoy it

Cold as Ice

3/5 this was a cool idea, I just wish there was little more meat to the story.

Children aren’t the only ones…

2/5 sad cause I really love Josh Malerman’s writing normally but this pretty forgettable.

The Vermin Moon

2/5 another really forgettable read that I personally didn’t find that interesting.

The Body of Leonora James

4/5 this was definitely a more enjoyable one. The story was interesting and had a brothers grim kinda vibe.

Mr. Butler

1/5 this one was creepy and not in a fun way, didn’t enjoy it but the author did manage to create a really unsettling story.

Feast of Gray

1/5 even more forgettable than the others.

Father’s Last Christmas

5/5 I really like this one it felt like the beginning of an epic novel but was still satisfying in its end.

The Warmth of Snow

1/5 felt like just reading someone complaining nonstop, almost skipped it part way through as it was almost unbearable to read.

Wintry Blue

4.5/5 I did like this one, had a good atmosphere and set was a little cringy at some parts but enjoyed it.

Carol of the Hells

4/5 not bad per se, was a really interesting idea. And definitely built up some dread but felt lacking.

Nice

5/5 I really liked this one as well thought it was really funny. And it work super well in the short format

Thaw

4/5 this one was fun was perfect length for what it was, wasn’t anything special though

Candy Cane

4/5 this is one I wished was longer I think this could make for a really fun full novel.

Eggnog

5/5 I really really loved this one, more realistic than the others which I think add to the horror.

Threads

5/5 another really good read, I do wish it was longer as it felt like there could be so much too but I still loved reading it.

The Ladies’ Society for the Dead

3/5 I typically like Darcy Coates writing, I really liked the setup but didn’t feel it really followed through.

Being Nice

5/5 this was super funny, and felt almost like a comedy sketch definitely drawn me to reading more from Jeff Strand

Ghosted

2/5 just kinda sad, and not very enjoyable.

Bruiser

4.5/5 while I really did love this story, find it sentimental and sweet, I didn’t feel like it really fit with the rest of the collection.

Overall I am glad to have read this collection, had 11 stories out of the 22 that I really liked, and 14 that were at least a 3 or above so not too bad.

Like most anthologies, this was definitely a mixed bag for me. While there were some real gems, there were also an unfortunate number of stories that left me wanting more. I'd rather focus on the standout pieces, though, so I have to shout out a few favorites: 'Mr. Butler' by Clay McLeod Chapman, 'Nice' by Nat Cassidy, 'Thaw' by Rachel Harrison, and 'Ghosted' by Mercedes M. Yardley.

I'm not sure this anthology will stick out in my memory much overall, but I enjoyed my time with it enough to recommend it to any readers looking for some chilling, wintry horror tales.

I read a final copy borrowed from the library, but for the sake of disclosure, I was also gifted an early review copy. All thoughts are honest and my own.