The Best Horror of the Year Volume Eleven

by Ellen Datlow

  Cthulhu Deep Down Under Volume 2 edited by Steve Proposch, Christopher Sequeira, and Bryce Stevens (IFWG) appears to be a reissue of Cthulhu Deep Down Under published in 2017, a Lovecraftian anthology out of Australia, but adding five new stories, the best of the new ones by Kirstyn McDermott, Robert Hood, and Lee Murray.

  Corporate Cthulhu edited by Ed Stashoff (Pickman’s Press) is an all-original anthology of twenty-five Lovecraftian tales related to bureaucracy. There are notable stories by John Taloni, Josh Storey, Peter Rawlik, Mark Oxbrow, Darren Todd, and a collaboration by Evan Dickens and Adrian Ludens.

  Cthulhu Land of the Long White Cloud edited by Steve Proposch, Christopher Sequeira, Bryce Stevens (IFGW Publishing) is a Lovecraftian inspired anthology centering on New Zealand, making for an intriguing change of venue from most cosmic horror I’ve read. There are eleven stories, and the strongest are by J. C. Hart, Dan Rabarts, Lee Murray, David Kuraria, and a collaboration by Debbie and Matt Cowens. Australian writer Kaaron Warren wrote the introduction.

  New Fears 2 edited by Mark Morris (Titan Books) is the second volume of un-themed horror stories sporting twenty-one different voices and types of horror. The ones I liked best are by John Langan, Priya Sharma, Bracken MacLeod, Brian Evenson, Robert Shearman, Stephen Volk, and Aliya Whiteley. The Shearman and Langan stories are reprinted herein.

  A Suggestion of Ghosts: Supernatural Fiction by Women 1854—1900 edited by J. A. Mains (CreateSpace) is a self-published an all-female anthology of fifteen supernatural stories that have not seen print since their original publications. With an introduction by Lynda Rucker.

  Night Light edited by Trevor Denyer is an anthology of non-theme horror containing twenty stories, all but two new. The best are by Mat Joiner, Ian Steadman, and Stephen Laws.

  A World of Horror edited by Eric J. Guignard (Dark Moon Books) features twenty-two new stories—mostly horror—written by authors from around the world. There are notable stories by Kaaron Warren, L Chan, Thersa Matsuura, David Nickle, Suyi Davies Okungbowa, Valya Dudycz Lupescu, Rhea Daniel, Ray Cluley, Ashlee Scheuerman, Yukimi Ogawa, and David McGroarty. With illustrations by Steve Lines.

  The Alchemy Press Book of Horrors edited by Peter Coleborn and Jan Edwards (The Alchemy Press) is a very good all-original non-theme anthology of twenty-five stories. The strongest are by Ralph Robert Moore, Keris McDonald, John Grant, Ray Cluley, Ramsey Campbell, Peter Sutton, Jenny Barber, Madhvi Ramani, Storm Constantine, and Marion Pitman. The Sutton story is reprinted herein.

  One trend noted in 2018 was the proliferation of “folk horror.” There were these three anthologies:

  A Ghosts & Scholars book of Folk Horror edited by Rosemary Pardoe (Sarob Press) is a strong anthology of ten Jamesian reprints and seven new stories, with an introduction by Pardoe taking a crack at defining “folk horror.” The new stories by Gail-Nina Anderson, Christopher Harman, S. A. Rennie, Tom Johnstone, John Llewellyn Probert, and David A. Sutton are strong entries in the tradition of that sub-genre.

  The Fiends in the Furrows: An Anthology of Folk Horror edited by David T. Neal and Christine M. Scott (Nosetouch Press) features nine new stories, the best of which are by Coy Hall, Sam Hicks, Lindsay King-Miller, and Steve Toase. The Hicks and Toase stories are reprinted herein.

  This Dreaming Isle edited by Dan Coxon (Unsung Stories) is an anthology of seventeen new stories of horror and the weird centered on the folktales and history of the British Isles. There are some very strong pieces by Ramsey Campbell, Stephen Volk, Catriona Ward, Angela Readman, Alison Moore, Robert Shearman, Jenn Ashworth, and Kirsty Logan.

  In Dog We Trust edited Anthony Cowin (Black Shuck Books) has eleven new horror stories about the changing power balance between dogs and owners. While a few of the stories are predictable, there are strong entries by Ray Cluley, Gary Fry, and Amelia Mangan. The Cluley and Mangan stories are reprinted herein.

  A New York State of Fright: Horror Stories from the Empire State edited by James Chambers, April Grey, and Robert Masterson (Hippocampus Press) features eight reprints and sixteen originals about New York horrors. There were notable new stories by Alp Beck, Charie La Marr, Jeff C. Stevenson, and Hal Johnson.

  Suspended in Dusk II edited by Simon Dewar (Grey Matter Press) is an anthology of stories centering around dusk. Four of the seventeen stories are reprints. The strongest new ones are by Bracken Macleod, Gwendolyn Kiste, Paul Michael Anderson, J. C. Michael, Dan Rabarts, Karen Runge, and Letitia Trent. The book includes an introduction by Angela Slatter.

  Ghosts, Goblins, Murder & Madness edited by Rebecca Rowland (Dark Ink Books) is a Halloween anthology of twenty stories, one of them a reprint. There’s a notable new story by Michel Sabourin.

  Doorbells at Dusk edited Evans Light (Corpus Press) is another Halloween-themed anthology with fourteen new stories (four by the editor and his associates—not a good look). Despite that, there are notable stories by Evans Light and Josh Malerman.

  Flight or Fright edited by Stephen King and Bev Vincent (Cemetery Dance) features fourteen reprints and two new stories related to flying. The new stories, by Stephen King and Joe Hill, are very good. With an introduction by King and an afterword by Vincent. The Hill story is reprinted herein.

  Fright into Flight edited by Amber Fallon (Word Horde) is also about flying and things that fly, this one all from the female point of view. Most are reprints, but there are two originals.

  Monsters of Any Kind edited by Alessandro Manzetti and Daniele Bonfanti (Independent Legions Publishing) contains eighteen stories about monsters, six of which are reprints. The strongest new stories are by Damien Angelica Walters, Erinn L. Kemper, Santiago Eximeno, Mark Alan Miller, and Lucy Taylor.

  The Mammoth Book of Halloween Stories edited by Stephen Jones (Skyhorse Publishing/A Herman Graf Book) is a big book of twenty-six stories and one poem, seventeen of them new. The best of these are by Robert Hood, Robert Shearman, Michael Marshall Smith, James Ebersole, Thana Niveau, Richard Gavin, Sharon Gosling, and Alison Littlewood. The Niveau story is reprinted herein.

  What October Brings: A Lovecraftian Celebration of Halloween edited by Douglas Draa (Celaeno Press) features seventeen original stories intending to connect Halloween and Lovecraftian fiction. That connection is tenuous at best, but there are notable stories by John Shirley, Ann K. Schwader, Nancy Holder, Darrell Schweitzer, Lucy A. Snyder, Chet Williamson, and Adrian Cole.

  Lost Highways: Dark Fictions From the Road edited by D. Alexander Ward (Crystal Lake Publishing) contains twenty-four stories, all but two new, and features an introduction by Brian Keene. The strongest originals are by Lisa Kröger, Orrin Grey, Bracken MacLeod, and Christopher Buehlman. The Grey story is reprinted herein.

  Phantoms: Haunting Tales from the Masters of the Genre edited by Marie O’Regan (Titan Books) is an anthology of eighteen ghost stories, four of them reprints. The strongest new ones are by Alison Littlewood, Gemma Files, A. K. Benedict, Mark A. Latham, Helen Grant, Tim Lebbon, Robert Shearman, Angela Slatter, and Catriona Ward.

  Welcome to the Show edited by Matt Hayward and Doug Murano (Crystal Lake Publishing) is an anthology of seventeen new stories all taking place in an imaginary music venue called The Shantyman. While there are some clichés, and a feeling of sameness about the stories, there are notable ones by Brian Keene, Adam Cesare, Mary SanGiovanni, and Alan M. Clark.

  Chiral Mad 4 edited by Michael Bailey and Lucy A. Snyder (Written Backwards) presents four dark novellas, four novelettes, four short stories, and four graphic adaptations, each co-written by a different set of writers/artists. All but two are original. The most interesting horror stories are the collaborations by Maurice Broaddus and Anthony R. Cardno, Elizabeth Massie and Marge Simon, Bracken MacLeod and Paul Michael Anderson, Chesya Burke and L. H. Moore, and one by Kristi DeMeester, Richard Thomas, Damien Angelica Walters, and Michael Wehunt. This last is reprinted herein.

  Lost Films edited by Max Booth III and Lori Michelle (Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing) is an anthology of nineteen
new stories about movies in all their forms. There are strong entries by Brian Evenson, Gemma Files, Bob Pastorella, Leigh Harlen, Jessica McHugh, Ashlee Scheuerman, Kristi DeMeester, and David James Keaton.

  Tales From the Lake Volume 5 edited by Kenneth W. Cain (Crystal Lake Publishing) has twenty-two stories and three poems, all new. The strongest are by Lucy Taylor, Allison Pang, and Laura Blackwell.

  The Devil and the Deep: Horror Stories of the Sea edited by Ellen Datlow (Night Shade Books) includes fifteen original horror stories about the sea and coast. The stories by Michael Marshall Smith and Siobhan Carroll are reprinted herein.

  Great British Horror 3: For Those in Peril edited by Steve J. Shaw (Black Shuck Books) is another original anthology of maritime or coast horror, this featuring eleven new stories. It’s meant to be a part of a series featuring all-British contributors plus one international contributor. The strongest stories are by Kayleigh Marie Edwards, Simon Bestwick, Rosalie Parker, and Georgina Bruce.

  Clickers Forever: A Tribute to J. F. Gonzalez edited by Brian Keene (Deadite Press) is an anthology of non-fiction and fiction honoring the late writer and editor who died of cancer in 2014. His best-known work might be the novel Clickers and its sequels, the first written in collaboration with Mark Williams, the next three written with Brian Keene—all inspired by the horror novels of Guy N. Smith and James Herbert. Of the new pieces of fiction, there were notable stories by Matt Hayward and Charles R. Rutledge.

  Ashes and Entropy edited by Robert S. Wilson (Nightscape Press) is an impressive un-themed crowdfunded anthology of twenty-two stories, the best of which are by John Langan, Nadia Bulkin, Laird Barron, Paul Michael Anderson, Jessica McHugh, and Tim Waggoner. The Barron story is reprinted herein.

  Hellhole: An Anthology of Subterranean Terror edited by Lee Murray (Adrenaline Press) has eleven new stories about monsters underground. Several of the stories are military sf/horror and there’s a bit of a sameness about many or them. However, there’s notable work by Jonathan Maberry and Rena Mason.

  Pickman’s Gallery edited by Matthew Carpenter (Ulthar Press) is an anthology of seventeen new stories about Lovecraft’s insane artist Richard Upton Pickman. While most of the stories are pastiches, there is some inspired work by Rebecca J. Allred, Mike Chinn, Peter Rawlik, and LC von Hessen.

  Gothic Fantasy, Lost Souls: Short Stories edited by Laura Bulbeck (Flame Tree Publishing) is a big book of hauntings, with forty-four stories, many classic, several contemporary, and eleven of them new.

  Dracula: Rise of the Beast edited by David Thomas Moore (Abaddon Books) is more a braided novel than an anthology, and takes place more than one hundred years after Dracula’s death. Told in an epistolary form, the collection consists of stories by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Milena Benini, Bogi Takács, Emil Minchev, and Caren Gussoff Sumption.

  Creatures: The Legacy of Frankenstein edited by David Thomas Moore (Abaddon Books) is a sort of companion volume to the above Dracula anthology, although these five novellas each stand alone. The stories are by Emma Newman, Paul Meloy, Kaaron Warren, Tade Thompson, and Rose Biggin.

  Down Home Country Vampires (CreateSpace) is a self-published mini-anthology of four vampire stories taking place in the country. The only notable one is by ZZ Claybourne.

  The Black Room Manuscripts Volume Four edited by Michael David Wilson (Sinister Horror Company) contains twenty-four stories, all but four new, under the loosely themed framing device of an insane asylum. The strongest new stories are by Tracy Fahey, Gary McMahon, John McNee, and Mark West.

  Michael Bailey produced an impressive souvenir book anthology as Stokercon 2018’s giveaway to all members of the convention. It includes a bit of original fiction, book excerpts, and interviews with the Guests of Honor, plus essays by some of the award nominees, artwork, and a whole lot more.

  There were a number of Best of the Year anthologies covering horror including: Best British Horror 2018 edited by Johnny Mains, which returned after a brief hiatus-now published by Newcon Press. Year’s Best Weird Fiction Volume Five edited by Robert Shearman and Michael Kelly (Undertow Publications), is alas, giving up the ghost with this final volume. There’s no overlap with my own The Best Horror of the Year Volume Ten in the twenty-four stories, but one contributor is in both books. The intent of the series—to bring attention to stories that aren’t horror or dark fantasy, was an admirable one, and I’m sorry that there weren’t enough sales to sustain it. Best New Horror #28 edited by Stephen Jones (Drugstore Indian Press) covers material published during 2016. In addition to twenty-stories, the volume contains extensive coverage of horror books, magazines, television, graphic novels, and movies in 2016. Paula Guran edited The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror: 2018 Edition for Prime. None of the twenty-nine stories and novellas overlapped with my own Best of the Year.

  Also, in 2018, Night Shade Books published The Best of the Best Horror of the Year: Ten Years of Essential Horror, my selection of twenty-eight stories culled from the first ten years of my annual anthology series The Best Horror of the Year.

  MIXED-GENRE ANTHOLOGIES

  Mantid Volume 3 edited by Farah Rose Smith (Wraith Press) began life as a magazine and has evolved into an anthology, featuring eight weird and/or dark stories by women. The strongest are by Gwendolyn Kiste and Carrie Laben. Tiny Crimes edited by Lincoln Michel and Nadxieli Nieto (Black Balloon Publishing) features forty micro-stories about crime, most of them new. Not all are dark, but the best of the dark ones are by Carmen Maria Machado, Brian Evenson, Adrian Van Young, Kenneth Nichols, Misha Rai, Laura Van Den Berg, and Adam Sternbergh. Black Magic Women: Terrifying Tales by Scary Sisters edited by Sumiko Saulson (Mocha Memoirs Press) contains seventeen stories by women of color. Zion’s Fiction: A Treasury of Israeli Speculative Literature edited by Sheldon Teitelbaum and Emanuel Lottem (Mandel Vilar Press) features sixteen science fiction and fantasy stories published since the 1980s, several new. There are a few darker fantasies. With an introduction by Robert Silverberg. Robots vs Fairies edited by Dominick Parisien & Navah Wolfe (Saga Press) has eighteen original stories about either robots or fairies. There’s no actual horror in here, but there are couple of notable dark tales by Sarah Gailey and Jim C. Hines. Gaslight Gothic: Strange Tales of Sherlock Holmes edited by J. R. Campbell and Charles Prepolec (Edge) is an anthology of ten new stories about the adventures of the famous detective, each imbued by the supernatural. There are notable stories by Angela Slatter, Stephen Volk, Lyndsay Faye, Mark A. Latham, and Nancy Holder. A Book of the Sea edited by Mark Beech (Egaeus Press) is a good-looking volume, with attractive endpapers and illustrations throughout. The anthology contains twenty uncanny tales and poems about the sea. Although only occasional horrific, there are strong stories by George Berguño, David Yates, Stephen J. Clark, Tom Johnstone, Charles Schneider, Jane Jakeman, Martin Jones, S. A. Rennie, and Albert Power. Uncertainties Volume III edited by Lynda R. Rucker (The Swan River Press) is the third volume in this beautifully produced series of weird fiction. This volume of twelve stories has less horror than the earlier two, but there are notable dark stories by Matthew M. Bartlett, Adam L. G. Nevill, and a collaboration by Julia Rust and David Surface. Also, a lovely, strange fantasy by Rosanne Rabinowitz. With an introduction by the editor. Nightscript IV edited by C. M. Muller (Chthonic Matter) is a strong combination of twenty-one new, weird, and/or horrific stories. The strongest of those I’d consider horror are by Kirsty Logan, Daniel Braum, Joanna Parypinski, J. T. Glover, L. S. Johnson, Armel Dagorn, Ross Smeltzer, and Christi Nogle. The Five Senses of Horror edited by Eric J. Guignard (Dark Moon Books) is a reprint anthology of fifteen fantasy and horror stories focused on one of the five senses. With commentary by a psychologist and illustrations by Nils Bross. The Silent Garden: A Journal of Esoteric Fabulism (Undertow Publications) is a beautiful hardcover anthology-like object edited by a collective, filled with weird and uncanny and occasionally dark fiction, poetry, and articles. There are color illustrations throughout. Some of the work is translated, an
d published in English for the first time. It’s intended as the first volume of a series. There are notable dark stories by Georgina Bruce and Ron Weighell. Thrilling Endless Apocalypse Short Stories edited by Josie Mitchell (Flame Tree Publishing) presents thirty-one classic and new stories and excerpts, mostly science fiction. Thirteen of the stories are new and a few are horror. The two notable horror pieces are by Bill Davidson and Jennifer Hudak. The Davidson story is reprinted herein. Fantastic Tales of Terror edited by Eugene Johnson (Crystal Lake Publishing) presents twenty supernatural tales about historical figures or events. Five are reprints. There’s a notable original by Jess Landry. Birthing Monsters: Frankenstein’s Cabinet of Curiosities and Cruelties edited by Alex Scully (Firbolg Publishing) is a beautifully presented tribute to Mary Shelley and her creation. An amalgam of excerpts from the novel, essays, ruminations, plus some poetry and fiction inspired by it, in addition to copious illustrations. A great gift or collectible. Occult Detectives Quarterly Presents: An Anthology of New Supernatural Fiction edited by John Linwood Grant and Dave Brzeski (Ulthar Press) contains eight novellas about different occult detectives. The Lovecraft Squad: Dreaming edited by Stephen Jones (Pegasus) is an entertaining shared world anthology mixing history with Lovecraftian situations. Dark Voices: A Lycan Valley Charity Anthology edited by Theresa Derwin (LVP Publications) is an anthology of thirty-eight stories written by women. Nine are reprints. Worlds Seen in Passing: 10 Years of Tor.com Short Fiction edited by Irene Gallo (Tor) showcases a sampling of the many stories published on the Tor.com website. Included are dark stories by Kij Johnson, Veronica Schanoes, Helen Marshall, Cassandra Khaw, and Kai Ashante Wilson.

  COLLECTIONS

  All the Fabulous Beasts by Priya Sharma (Undertow Publications) is the debut of this talented British author’s short fiction, featuring sixteen stories published since 2006, two of them original. Sharma makes a graceful shift between the fantastic and horror genres, and many of her stories have been included in Best of the Year anthologies. Her novelette “Fabulous Beasts” was nominated for the Shirley Jackson Award and won the British Fantasy Award. Highly recommended.