Dark Murmurs: A Compendium of Curiosities

 

Rating: ★★★★★

Genre: Horror

Format: eBook

Pages: 266

Read: 01/16/23

Synopsis:

Silent House Press returns from the void with fifteen of horror’s best voices...

Step into our library where you’ll find scavenger hunts, interdimensional portals, monsters, murder, and maybe even some magic....

These dark murmurs aren’t for the faint of heart, but you knew that already,

didn’t you?

Forward by Michelle Renee Lane

"In this “unthemed” anthology you’ll find a cross-section of humanity dealing with loss, unrequited love, greed, sadness, lust, and, of course, fear."

Edited by Jill Girardi & Lydia Prime

Content:

Farewell II Flesh by Mocha Pennington

Tea for Two by Elizabeth Massie

Last Words by Richard Chizmar

Stargazer Lily by Brandon Scott

Serial Numbers by Philip Fracassi

The Letter by Lydia Prime

A Show Called Life by Patrick R. McDonough

The Cobbler and the Golem by Catherine McCarthy

It Takes A Village by Josh Darling

Marble, Colorado by Rowan Hill

Error-X by Joshua Marsella

One Every Year by Jill Girardi

Shadow of Sanity by J. Snow

Webbed by Ellie Douglas

Things We Need for the Homecoming by Gwendolyn Kiste

Review:

Curiosities, indeed! 

The dark atmosphere and overall unique creativity shines through the writing style and talents from each of the 15 author's. 

Themes including: mental abuse, body dysmorphia, evil intentions, unrequited love, disturbing secrets, vampires, greed, demons, mistakes made,  futuristic, virtual control, dark fantasy, historical settings, mythology, conspiracy, failed experiments, cosmic horror, physical abuse, urban legends, revenge, psychological affects from abuse and isolation, creepy crawlies ( POV of a spiders life), teenagers plotting a great night of mayhem and fun to cast aside the feelings of being discarded by the world. 

There is so much to ponder on throughout each of these stories. Some are heartbreaking at their core and some are laugh inducing while all being completely entertaining. 

While I enjoyed every one of these, there were a few that really stood out:

Last Words by Richard Chizmar

Serial Numbers by Philip Fracassi

The Cobbler and the Golem by Catherine McCarthy

It Takes A Village by Josh Darling

One Every Year by Jill Girardi

Shadow of Sanity by J. Snow

A very 5 star worthy anthology!

A shout out and a very kind thank you to the lovely and talented, Jill Girardi, for putting this on my radar to read and review!

Goodreads Link:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/

Amazon Link:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/

Review Links:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/