#BookReview ‘Darkness Beckons’ edited by Mark Morris

About the book…

An incredible fourth book in the horror anthology series which Booklist called “Highly recommended for longstanding horror fans and those readers who may not think horror is for them. There is something for everyone in this one.”

‘Darkness Beckons’ is the fourth volume in the non-themed horror series of entirely original stories, showcasing the very best short fiction that the genre has to offer, and edited by Mark Morris.

This new anthology contains 20 original horror stories, 16 of which have been commissioned from some of the top names in the genre, and 4 of which have been selected from the 100s of stories sent to Flame Tree during a 2-week open submissions window. A terrifying cocktail of the familiar and the new, the established and the emerging.

Previous titles in the series, all still in print are ‘After Sundown’ ,‘Beyond The Veil’ and ‘Close To Midnight’.(Not sure where my review of this is, cannot believe I skipped ahead a volume!)

It’s a go-to collection for me, I always get excited when I see Mark put his call out for submissions as this is a gold standard anthology series which showcases the best in horror fiction.

This volume differs from previous ones with a higher percentage of women writers, and this really affects the tone of it in a very positive fashion.

When you read a mostly male anthology , as I have done recently going back through my old Pan Books Of Horror, there is a very different energy present which does affect the overall taste, kind of like a secret ingredient which elevates the overall dish.

Mark acknowledges this in his introduction-and let’s not forget he is a superb writer, as well as editor!-and then leads off with Nina Allan’s Saint Barbara , a tale of female infatuation and fascination which is a strong start and a very hard act to follow. She never fails to deliver not matter which field she writes in and this is no exception.

I will be honest, several times I had to stop reading and process the tales before moving on, this is not a race to get through the book, rather a slow, languid , delicious repast worth savouring.

There is literally something for everyone here, and it is difficult to pick a stand out or two, even a week after finishing the anthology.

Stephen Volk presses far too many buttons in his shudder inducing tale, for those of us in the UK his central figure is an all too recognisable public figure’s fall from grace. With a horrific twist which is saying something…He is honestly, for my money, one of the most consistent and fear inducing writer working in the field today. Please look up his books, particularly , ‘Whitstable‘ which is an all time favourite of mine.

Eric LaRocca, I don’t want to say is dependeable as I think he would probably consider that an insult, what I should clarify is that seeing his name and his always fantastic story/book titles gets me excited for which manner he will eviscerate my feelings this time around. His story of love and monsters is truly phenomenal and for anyone who hasn’t encountered him before, you will be wanting more.

Folk Horror from Lucie McKnight Hardy and H.VC Patterson slot in beautifully beside urban horror and hauntings , longer stories next to small shivers such as Mark Gatiss’ dinner date gone wrong.

Carly Holmes ‘Dodger’ is uncomfortable, real and horrofic and this is a new writer to me, but I absolutely will be looking for more.

The October vibe is captured by Ronald Malfi in his Halloween set story, he makes a setting quite unlike anyone else I have read with a sadness and regret which underpins the haunting horror or family love that extends beyond the grave. It manages the trick of feeling old and new all at the same time.

Alyssa C Green’s tale of an expedition gone wrong is a perfect mirroring of the modern obsession of ‘solving’ mysteries of the Don’t Fuck With Cats kind, given even more nuance by recent cases where social media *inbvestigators* have hampered with, and even ruined missing people/murder cases in the UK.

The title is ‘Darkness Beckons’ and it really does, whether that is the sleep you fight going into as you don’t know what’s waiting thee, the monster in the shadows lurking round the corner or the inevitability of death and worse, not leaving your trace on the world as if you never existed. Whilst these anthologies have no central ‘theme’ , what they do is peel apart the skin of reality and poke around underneath , reporting back to us readers in their own, inimitable style.

I can’t pick a favourite so don’t make me, each is lined up against the other like a beautiful smorgasbord of body/gothic/haunting/folk horror. I hope I have piqued your interest and you pick up this, or another volume in the series and look out for next year’s volume, ‘Fever Dreams’

Table Of Contents

Saint Barbara by Nina Allan

Hare Moon by H.V Patterson

Under Cover Of Darkness by Stephen Volk

Dusk by Angela Slatter

A Face Leaving No Traces by Brian Evenson

Good Bones by Sarah Read

Facts Concerning The Disappearance Of The Orloff Six by Alyssa C. Greene

He Wasn’t There Again Today by Peter Atkins

Dodger by Carly Holmes

From The Man Seat by Reggie Oliver

The Service by Ally Wilkes

The Late Mrs Applegarth by Mark Gatiss

The Fig Tree by Lucie McKnight Hardy

If I Were A Pitchfork I’d Despise You by Eric LaRocca

Heebie Jeebies by Amanda Cecelia Lang

Killing Bones by Simon Clark

Il Crepuscolo by Helen Marshall

Remember Me by Ronald Malfi

Witch’s Clutch by Simon Stranzas

Camp Never by J.S Breukelaar

About the editor…

Mark Morris became a full-time writer in 1988 on the Enterprise Allowance Scheme, and a year later saw the release of his first novel, ‘Toady’. He has since published a further sixteen novels, among which are ‘Stitch’, ‘The Immaculate’, ‘The Secret Of Anatomy’, ‘Fiddleback’, ‘The Deluge’

He has written tie-in novels for popular movies as well as orginal stories for ‘Doctor Who and ‘Torchwood’

His short stories, novellas, articles and reviews have appeared in a wide variety of anthologies and magazines, and he is editor of the highly-acclaimed Cinema Macabre, a book of fifty horror movie essays by genre luminaries, for which he won the 2007 British Fantasy Award.

His most recently published or forthcoming work includes Obsidian Heart trilogy and editing short story collections New Fears 1 and 2  for Titan Books.

His anthologies for Flame Tree Press are widely acclaimed and eagerly anticipated.

Facebook @Mark Morris Twitter @flametreepress