Book Review | Dark Stars: New Tales of Darkest Horror

Dark Stars is an anthology of 12 horror stories created as an homage to the classic horror anthology, Dark Forces, edited by Kirby McCauley. The new collection is edited by John F.D. Taff with a foreword by Josh Malerman. The stories here are made of our darkest fears, from malevolent spirits to emotional damage to dangerous people. I enjoyed all the stories, it was hard to choose a favourite!

Have you ever had to run as if your life depended on it, run as fast and as hard and with as much fearful feral animal instinct as your bones and flesh could withstand, have you ever run with such brutal purpose that it felt like your lungs were on fire, your heart pounding against your contorting ribs until you thought your entire body would explode like a dying sun?

– Volcano (Livia Llewellyn)

I’ve always found stories about false memories and psychological fears to be really scary. All The Things He Called Memories by Stephen Graham Jones is about a couple sharing their scariest memories while stuck at home during the pandemic. It’s a terrifying look at relationships and remembrance that had me reeling. A Life In Nightmares by Ramsey Campbell is a mind-bending trip through nightmarish scenes by a man struggling to keep his sanity. It’s written in a stream of consciousness style where you can’t tell what is true and what is not.

People’s capacity for evil can be scarier than any ghosts, as shown here. Caroline Kepnes’s The Attentionist focuses on a teenage girl who receives creepy phone calls at home, leading to horrifying consequences. It’s a disturbing story about stalking, sisterhood, and trauma. In Challawa by Usman T. Malik, a woman returns to her home country and gets more than she bargained for. Set in Pakistan, this is a gothic horror about superstitions, rituals, and grief.

This collection also features stories with chilling supernatural elements. Mrs. Addison’s Nest by Josh Malerman looks at four school friends who saw their teacher’s frightening true self and have to face her years later… if only they can remember. It’s a hallucinatory coming-of-age horror about friendship and survival. Volcano by Livia Llewellyn is about a woman with a dark past who accepts a perfect job that comes with a price. This story gives spooky cosmic horror vibes that left a huge impression on me.

The rest of the stories are just as fantastic, and I appreciate the inclusion of the authors’ notes at the end. Read Dark Stars and say hello to your new nightmares!

I received a copy from the publisher for review purposes.

About the editor: John F.D. Taff

Photo by Kevin Escate