A new bundle of short (and some longer) stories by the amazing horror writer Darcy Coates!

This was one of my MOST anticipated reads of 2024 and it definitely delivered all I wanted + more!

I skipped the first story, which is just a bit revised edition from Ghost Camera. I read that story in 2016 and I wasn’t in the mood to read it again. Check out my review here. I also skipped Cathedral as I read that one last year, review here.

But all the others? I enjoyed, devoured, and loved them!

Payment for the Dead: (most of the story is 3 stars, but that ending brought it up to a 4 stars). A lot of this story was a tad boring but also mostly it felt very familiar, like another story I read in another anthology by someone else. About two graverobbers who are digging a grave but what is in it. In this one at least the ending was different haha. I had not expected that to pop out. I love that it got less boring and more ominous as soon as we got near to the casket. Oh yes.

Death Birds: HOLY FUCK. I am sorry, but this terrified me to the end. What would happen if Death Birds would appear in your world. They are an omen. They eat the dead (or well, something of them but what isn’t clear). They can be 12 feet tall (NOPE). And Darcy Coates also describes them in detail that I could vividly see. Thanks for the nightmares. We go back and forth, from the hospital our MC works in and how more and more Death Birds are coming to the past when things just started with those birds and what happened to our MC’s family. And then back to the now and HOLY CRAP it got scary.

The House on Boxwood Lane: OK, you guys, if you ever see a strange house on the streets with no one in but lights burning and stuff just ready? Don’t FUCKING go inside. This was a terrifying story and it will definitely haunt me for my life. Especially when things really got going. NOPE. BYE.

The Run to Broken Ridge Lighthouse: (maybe 5 stars for the later part). In this one a group of teens decide to do dumb things and now people are dying, oh and RUN BITCH RUN. Never summon a dead person with a vengeance kids, because before you know it… she runs faster than you. The descriptions to what happened to people, well let’s see my food wanted to come out. Thanks. I loved how this ended, no rest for me I guess, haha.

Remains: This got more fucked up as the story continued. At first you are like, OK girl, eww and why, but then you learn more and more and more and I was just WTF-ing with each reveal. Everything you think you know is totally thrown around and I LOVE IT. This was such a good story, but also so depressing once you know.

Untamed Things: This was terrifying. Darcy Coates, please. About a plane crash, about a mountain full of bad things that will nomnom on you, about survival, about messed up things, and so much more. I just couldn’t stop reading and was terrified all the way through. shivers

A Box of Tapes: Thank you Darcy, for the nightmares. Holy crap. I thought all the other stories were messed up and scary as heck, but this longer story just got more and more terrifying with each step. I would have definitely NOT watched those tapes. Or maybe watched one and then got out of the fucking house. Like, BYYYYYEEEEEE, you can keeeeeeeeppp ittttt! grabs kid and runs But no, things escalated more and more and you are doubting what is real and what isn’t? Is our MC seeing things? Or is something really hunting? The ending got so NOPE NOPE NOPE. I definitely had some nightmares after that. XD I love the ending, but I seriously hope it was a good one. For now I am on the fence.

As you can see, this was an amazing anthology/collection of short stories and I cannot wait to see what is next for Darcy Coates. She is really an amazing horror writer. I would HIGHLY recommend this collection to all!