Recommendations: Short Story Collections & Anthologies

Short Story Collections:

Everything That’s Underneath by Kristi DeMeester

DeMeester’s collection is a deliciously dark assortment of stories focusing on feminism, relationships and sexuality with a literary weird twist. Be sure to listen to our interview with author, Kristi DeMeester where she describes her literary style and Southern Gothic influence.

Darkest Hours by Mike Thorn

This debut collection opens up with an unforgettable story called “Hair”, and it doesn’t stop there. This was mentioned on our Canadian Horror episode, where Stephanie gushed about the specific stories that she loved.

Ghost Summer: Stories by Tananarive Due

This is an incredible collection that has atmospheric stories all set in Florida. They have a lot of range. They explore different types of horror, especially from an African-American point-of-view, and even delve into post-apocalyptic and speculative fiction. This was also a book Stephanie recommended on our Summer Horror episode.

We Should Have Left Well Enough Alone by Ronald Malfi

This was a collection that Stephanie read recently. There was a lot of great stories in here, with a very strong opening story called “The Dinner Party”. There was another story involving  a dinner party from hell that seemed like the ultimate introvert NIGHTMARE! A fun read.

The Books of Blood by Clive Barker

I had to include this classic collection. There are so many great stories in here, including “The Yattering and Jack” and “In the Hills, the Cities” that we mentioned in our Queer Horror episode.

 

She Said Destroy by Nadia Bulkin

This is one of Rachel’s favorites. It was also mentioned by Paul Tremblay in our interview with him. It was nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award.  This collection showcases her skills with this unique, socio-political horror.

Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez

This is one that was especially recommended by Paul Tremblay. Enriquez is from Argentina and these short stories have a little bit of a Shirley Jackson flair.

 

Anthologies:

New Fears edited by Mark Morris

This anthology features stories from Ramsey Campbell, Nina Allan, Alison Littlewood,  Sarah Lotz and many more! Josh Malerman’s story “The House of the Head” is creepy.

Tales from a Talking Board edited by Ross E. Lockhart

This Shirley Jackson Award-nominated Word Horde collection has been mentioned on quite a few episodes, including our Best of the Year and Queer Horror episodes. Notable stories include the one by Kristi DeMeester and Matthew M. Bartlett.

Eternal Frankenstein edited by Ross E. Lockhart

Another Word Horde collection. This book was published in honor of the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The Krisit DeMeester story in this collection was actually chosen for the Ellen Datlow’s Best Horror of the Year vol. 9.

Nights of the Living Dead edited by Jonathan Maberry and George Romero

This zombie-centric collection was nominated for a Bram Stoker award and takes place in the same 24 hour period as The Night of the Living Dead film. This was edited by Jonathan Maberry and the late George Romero. I loved the variety in these stories!

Slasher Girls and Monster Boys edited by April Genevieve Tucholke

This was mentioned in our Young Adult Horror episode. This is an anthology that features stories that were inspired from popular horror movies from different eras. There was a good variety, things from Hitchcock to I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Fists of the Spider Woman: Tales of Fear and Queer Desire edited by Amber Dawn

Rachel talked about this collection in our Queer Horror episode. The idea behind the book is queer writers are asked what they fear and what they desire. This anthology has some horrifici stories along with some erotic ones.

The Devil and the Deep: Horror Stories of the Sea edited by Ellen Datlow

This Ellen Datlow anthology was featured in our Underwater Horror episode. There were a lot of great stories in this collection including “What My Mother Left Me” by Alyssa Wong, “Fodder’s Jig” by Lee Thomas, and “Broken Record” by Stephen Graham Jones.

Dead North: Canadian Zombie Fiction edited by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Rachel talked about this other zombie themed anthology on our Canadian Horror episode. There were some great stories including a very Canadian story featuring a poutine truck!