Review | Howls From Hell: A Horror Anthology

In this collection of sixteen horror stories, terror comes from unexpected places to disturb your days and haunt your nights.

Every band of scrappy humans standing down a zombie apocalypse, every group of parapsychologists investigating a haunted house, every motley gang of vampire hunters or creepy flock of vampires form a family.

Howls From Hell is an anthology by the HOWL Society, a community of horror readers and authors on Discord. Featuring a foreword by Grady Hendrix, this collection showcases new and upcoming authors. I won’t be surprised to see these names becoming regulars of the genre in the future. The stories are unique and varied, with compelling narratives and engaging storylines. I appreciate the illustration accompanying each story as well, it’s a brilliant move to set the scene for readers. I had a great time reading this book!

There’s a running theme of a loss of control in this anthology. In Possess and Serve by Christopher O’Halloran, police officers assume control of other people’s bodies to diffuse a tense situation but something goes wrong. Red Punch Buggy by B.O.B. Jenkin looks at a car accident that becomes the catalyst to a terrifying encounter. The Intruder by Justin Faull sees a man finding an intruder in his house and tries his best to escape the situation. In A Fistful of Murder by Lindsey Ragsdale, a man starts behaving strangely after seeing a dollar bill with a disturbing message.

Body horror features in a few stories and their visceral description creeped me out! It Gets In Your Eyes by Joseph Andre Thomas is about a woman who comes back from vacation with alarming eye pain. Sprout by M. David Clarkson shows a man whose interest in a mysterious woman leads him down an unexpected road. In Gooseberry Bramble by Solomon Forse, a man’s testimony at a murder trial reveals a horrifying memory.

I liked how some of the stories employ the usual horror tropes yet still delivers the scares. Clement & Sons by Joe Radkins is an effective haunted house tale. Manufactured God by P.L. McMillan is a science-fiction horror combining exploration with the otherworldly. In Junco Creek by S.E. Denton, a vacation nightmare for a mother and son gets a slice of eco-horror. Suspended In Light by Alex Wolfgang is a take on found-footage horror where a student discovers distressing images in old film reels.

While I enjoyed the different types of stories, I prefer a more cohesive anthology with a common topic so I ended up taking a longer time to finish this book. I also wish the stories are more uniform in length. But that’s my personal contention and I believe horror readers would have a blast with this collection.

If you’re looking for an entertaining collection of scary stories by fresh new voices in horror, you don’t want to miss out on Howls From Hell! It’s out now in digital and paperback.

Thank you to HOWL Society Press for a review copy.

Photo by Marek Szturc