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October Focus on Horror: Anthologies
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October Focus on Horror: Anthologies
Created by Bob Helmbrecht, collection development librarian
Our Focus on Horror today is on horror anthologies.
I love losing myself for hours in a big, door-stopper horror novel. Sometimes, though, I'm just looking for something I can start and finish in one sitting.
Short stories are an ideal way to get some reading in for those of us with busy lifestyles, and there is a long tradition of horror in short fiction. Anthologies are a great way to find new authors, and to sample a variety of styles. Here is a selection of some great recent anthologies to get you started.
- "Beyond the Bounds of Infinity: An Anthology of Diverse Horror" edited by Vaughn A. Jackson & Stephanie Pearre
Welcome to a world of horror viewed through a kaleidoscope lens. Embark on a journey to untangle the writhing tendrils of human terror in a dimension where the possible and impossible blend-an unstable realm where comfort can be found in the coldest pits, and dark gods feast upon the sweetest suffering-where infernal sounds birth silent letters that drift along midnight shores and the unexplained lurks beneath crumbling urban structures. Step over the edge of what you think you know, and find yourself...Beyond the Bounds of Infinity!
- "Bound in Blood” edited by Johnny Mains
A chilling anthology of nineteen stories of cursed and haunted books; featuring malevolent second-hand books, cursed novelizations, unsettling journals and the end of the world. This anthology brings together horror’s best and brightest to delve into the pages of cursed books, Eldritch tomes and haunted bookstores.
- "In These Hallowed Halls: A Dark Academia Anthology" edited by Marie O'Regan & Paul Kane
In these stories, dear student, retribution visits a lothario lecturer; the sinister truth is revealed about a missing professor; a forsaken lover uses a séance for revenge; an obsession blooms about a possible illicit affair; two graduates exhume the secrets of a reclusive scholar; horrors are uncovered in an obscure academic department; five hopeful initiates must complete a murderous task and much more!
- "Mother Knows Best" edited by Lindy Ryan
New and exclusive short stories and poems inspired by bad mothers from some of today’ s fiercest women in horror. From mama trauma to smother mother, this all-new women in horror anthology features stories about the scariest monster of them all— our mothers.
- "Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology" edited by Shane Hawk & Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
Many Indigenous people believe that one should never whistle at night. This belief takes many forms: for instance, Native Hawaiians believe it summons the Hukai'po, the spirits of ancient warriors, and Native Mexicans say it calls Lechuza, a witch that can transform into an owl. But what all these legends hold in common is the certainty that whistling at night can cause evil spirits to appear--and even follow you home. These wholly original and shiver-inducing tales introduce readers to ghosts, curses, hauntings, monstrous creatures, complex family legacies, desperate deeds, and chilling acts of revenge.
- "Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror" Edited by Jordan Peele & John Joseph Adams
The visionary writer and director of "Get Out," "Us," and "Nope," and founder of Monkeypaw Productions, curates an anthology of all-new stories of black horror, exploring not only the terrors of the supernatural but the chilling reality of injustice that haunts our nation.
- "Weird World War: China" edited by Sean Patrick Hazlett
What if the United States went to war with the People's Republic of China? How would these rivals fight for supremacy on land, sea, air, and across the stochastic streams of time? What wonder weapons would be unleashed? What horrors would emerge from the irradiated sludge of the South China Sea? What heroes would rise and forever change the course of history? Tread into the deepest and darkest dimensions of the multiverse, gaze through a kaleidoscope of fractured realities, and bear witness to the disturbing visions of World War III.