Midnight. Some call it the witching hour. Others call it the devil’s hour. Here in the graveyard, midnight is a very special time. It is a time when ghostly spirits are at their strongest, when the veil between our world and theirs is at its thinnest. Legend has it, that while most of the world is asleep, the lack of prayers allow the spirits to communicate under the cover of darkness, among the … the headstones, their whispers rustling in the leaves of the old oak trees. But if you’re here in the graveyard, you can tell yourself it’s just the wind, that the moonlight is playing tricks on your eyes, that it’s only the swirling mist you see. But when you hear the graveyard gate clang shut, the dead have something to say. Here are their stories…
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4.5 stars, rounding up!
MIDNIGHT IN THE GRAVEYARD, edited by Kenneth W. Cain, is the debut anthology from Silver Shamrock Publishing. This collection features 25 stories that run the gamut of horror: from ghosts–some innocent, and others not–humans, animals, psychological, monsters, revenge, redemption, and even nature itself, there is a type of story here for just about everyone.
The incredible truth is, that with this line-up of both established, and newer authors, there isn’t a “bad” tale among them. While certain ones obviously stuck with me more than others, there wasn’t a single one that I felt I “wasted time on”.
I rated the vast majority of these individual selections between four and five stars. For an anthology of any kind, this is astounding. I believe that the variety of the stories, and the varying strengths of the different authors, is what made this such an overwhelming success.
If I were to point out the merits of each story, this would quickly become a five page review. Although I honestly believe each deserves recognition, here are just a few of my personal favorites:
–“Tug O’ War”, by Chad Lutzke: This one hones in on our sense of wanting to find some sort of solace after the death of a loved one. “I can smell him rotting.” Not only did I not see this coming, but it’s one that I found impossible to stop thinking about afterwards.
–“Drown”, by Hunter Shea: In this tale, we are (re)introduced to the paranormal experts, Jessica and Eddie, who appear in other novels by the author. It is NOT necessary to have read them first, in order to understand this story. This one has a secret at its core that truly surprised me, and a dynamic ending! “. . . Yep, you’re broken.”
–“Dog Days”, by Kenneth W. Cain: This one will mess with you… I was spellbound throughout, and could easily see this becoming part of a longer work.
–“The Glimmer Girls”, by Kenneth McKinley: This story was horrific in its implications, and in the fact that it has a basis in reality. Often, the stories with a kernel of truth are the most unforgettable for the fact that they can/did happen–at least, to an extent.
–“Last Call at the Sudden Death Saloon”, by Allan Leverone: Here we have a journalist visiting “The Most Haunted Town in America”. “. . . Probably not the ideal thing to be known for, but you don’t get to pick your fate . . .” This story was oozing with atmosphere from the beginning, and I felt like I was actually there.
–“Russian Dollhouse”, by Jason Parent: A Halloween “haunted house” story with a twist–done to perfection! “. . . It’s this house . . . It knows . . . This house knows everything.” I loved all of the details in this one!
–“Those Who Are Terrified”, by Elizabeth Massie: This story of a trio of young children staying at their grandparents’ home was my absolute favorite! Almost immediately, when the children refer to their Grandfather as “Sir”, the unease began to set in. The best part is that there wasn’t much “predictable” about this story–when things hit you, they hit hard! “. . . Well, those who are terrified deserve to be terrified . . . ” I had to re-read this one immediately afterwards to be certain I didn’t miss a thing.
–“Portrait”, by Kealan Patrick Burke: The only thing I will say about this story is that it paints the perfect ending to the anthology!
Obviously, the stories contributed by authors such as William Meikle, Robert McCammon, Thomas F. Monteleone, Catherine Cavendish, Ronald Kelly, and other familiar names were wonderful to lose yourself in, but their names alone will tell you that much. This assortment consisting of well known and up and coming authors has just about everything a horror enthusiast could ask for. MIDNIGHT IN THE GRAVEYARD just made my number one anthology of 2019.
Highly recommended.
Silver Shamrock Publishing decided to swing for the fences with this anthology and boy did they hit a home run. All of the boxes for horror fans are checked off here and how you wouldn’t want to read this is beyond me.
Let’s run the list shall we?
Fantastic cover art done by Elderlemon Design aka Kealan Patrick Burke? Check.
Foreword written by one of the nicest guys out there (and a decent writer some would say), Jonathan Janz? Check.
A who’s who of authors contributing stories that are great reads buts also creepy as Hell? Check.
The table of contents of this thing reads like a bestseller’s list on Amazon, even including the giant of horror that is Robert R. McCammon. I would wager that the number of Bram Stoker nominations and wins in this collection is close to being the most in a single release in some time.
With a list of so many great authors, I found all of the stories very enjoyable.
I’ll highlight a few that really creeped me out or connected with me.
‘Sawmill Road’ – Ronald Kelly. What a great creepy story. I loved the folklore/small-town gossip aspect of what happened to create the bones of this story. Having grown up in a town with sawmills and logging, there were always a few stories floating around about severed limbs and gruesome deaths.
‘Justin’s Favorite’ – Jeremy Hepler. Good grief did this one give me the heebie-jeebies. Hepler packs a novel’s worth of chills into a short story here. I dug the ‘first time owning a house together’ aspect and as things started to unravel, he kept his foot firmly on the gas.
‘Drown’ – Hunter Shea. I adored this story of a ghost chaser struggling with possibly losing her powers. The dynamic of the couple was great and the setting was fantastic. The ending worked fantastically and I’d love to read more about these two.
‘Portrait’ – Kealan Patrick Burke. Not only did KPB design a stunning cover, but he also delivers a stunning story. I really loved the way this one unfurled and Kealan once again shows just why he’s one of my favorite authors.
My top story, the one that I really need to highlight here was ‘Join My Club’ by Somer Canon.
This one was emotional, devastating and if every other story kept the scary at 100, this one sat firmly at 200. A small child dealing with horrible parents finds a possible friend in the shed outside.
At one point while reading this, I was lying in bed with my son asleep beside me. Right at a pivotal point, our heating kicked in and how my bladder didn’t let go is anyone’s guess. Well done – you almost literally scared the **** out of me.
Overall, this is a stellar collection and after having read some novels/novellas from Silver Shamrock already, it’s great to see that they can deliver a stunning anthology.
This is truly a must-read for all horror fans and I think this will be an anthology that people rave about for many, many years to come.
This anthology is truly expectional. All the stories are great, haunting and original.
WOW! This was one of the best anthologies I have ever read! I had a feeling when I first started seeing all the authors that were going to be in this book slowly trickling in and signing up that this book was going to rock! It is like the all-star team has come to reside within these pages! What an impressive first start for Silver Shamrock Publishing!
With all that being said, there is not one story that I didn’t like and all the stories gave me chills and thrills! Since all of the stories were excellent, I will just name a few here that I enjoyed without giving away spoilers of the stories:
Devil’s Dip by Shannon Felton
Justin’s Favorite by Jeremy Hepler
Drown by Hunter Shea
Those Who Are Terrified by Elizabeth Massie
Russian Dollhouse by Jason Parent
Sawmill Road by Ronald Kelly
The Graveyard by Lee Mountford
The Cemetery Man by John Everson
New Blood, Old Skin by Glenn Rolfe
Glimmer Girls by Kenneth McKinley
Ghost Blood by Kelli Owen
Swamp Vengeance by Brian Moreland
But all of the stories just swept me away and carted me off to a haunting world of horror, intrigue, suspense, mystery and a thrilling stay in the graveyard! Giving this awesome anthology five “ghostly” stars!
Too long and too boring
Short stories have never been my preferred choice of reading material but I had good luck over the last year or so reading some exceptional anthologies. This wasn’t one of them, sorry to say. This book is the main reason why I don’t like anthologies, as a rule.
There are 25 stories by different authors in this book. The book was too long and almost all the stories I either didn’t like or I found boring. There were about 5 stories that I truly enjoyed.
But if you like short stories, go for it. I’m in the minority not liking this book. Everybody’s taste is different.
I received this book from Silver Shamrock Publishing through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.