Screams from the Dark: 29 Tales of Monsters and the Monstrous

by Ellen Datlow (Editor), Stephen Graham Jones, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Joe R. Lansdale, Joyce Carol Oates

Overview

A bone-chilling anthology from legendary horror editor, Ellen Datlow, Screams from the Dark contains twenty-nine all-original tales about monsters.

WINNER of the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in an Anthology!

A Shirley Jackson and Locus Award Finalist! A World Fantasy Award Nominee!

From werewolves and vampires, to demons and aliens, the monster is one of the most recognizable figures in horror. But what makes something, or someone, monstrous?

Award-winning and up-and-coming authors like Richard Kadrey, Cassandra Khaw, Indrapramit Das, Priya Sharma, and more attempt to answer this question. These all-new stories range from traditional to modern, from mainstream to literary, from familiar monsters to the unknown … and unimaginable.

This chilling collection has something to please—and terrify—everyone, so lock your doors, hide under your covers, and try not to scream.

Contributors include: Ian Rogers, Fran Wilde, Gemma Files, Daryl Gregory, Priya Sharma, Brian Hodge, Joyce Carol Oates, Indrapramit Das, Siobhan Carroll, Richard Kadrey, Norman Partridge, Garry Kilworth, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Chikodili Emelumadu, Glen Hirshberg, A. C. Wise, Stephen Graham Jones, Kaaron Warren, Livia Llewellyn, Carole Johnstone, Margo Lanagan, Joe R. Lansdale, Brian Evenson, Nathan Ballingrud, Cassandra Khaw, Laird Barron, Kristi DeMeester, Jeffrey Ford, and John Langan.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250797056
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/09/2023
Pages:	496
Sales rank:	382,151
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

ELLEN DATLOW has been editing science fiction, fantasy, and horror short fiction for over thirty-five years as fiction editor of OMNI Magazine and editor of Event Horizon and SCIFICTION. In addition, she has edited more than a hundred science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologies, including the annual The Best Horror of the Year series, The Doll Collection, Mad Hatters and March Hares, The Devil and the Deep, Echoes, Final Cuts, Body Shocks, and When Things Get Dark.

She’s won multiple World Fantasy Awards, Locus Awards, Hugo Awards, Bram Stoker Awards, International Horror Guild Awards, Shirley Jackson Awards, and the 2012 Il Posto Nero Black Spot Award for Excellence as Best Foreign Editor. Datlow was named recipient of the 2007 Karl Edward Wagner Award, given at the British Fantasy Convention for “outstanding contribution to the genre,” was honored with the Life Achievement Award by the Horror Writers Association, in acknowledgment of superior achievement over an entire career, and honored with the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award at the 2014 World Fantasy Convention.

She lives in New York and co-hosts the monthly Fantastic Fiction Reading Series at KGB Bar.

ELLEN DATLOW has been editing science fiction, fantasy, and horror short fiction for over thirty-five years as fiction editor of OMNI Magazine and editor of Event Horizon and SCIFICTION. In addition, she has edited more than a hundred science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologies, including the annual The Best Horror of the Year series, The Doll Collection, Mad Hatters and March Hares, The Devil and the Deep, Echoes, Final Cuts, Body Shocks, and When Things Get Dark.

She’s won multiple World Fantasy Awards, Locus Awards, Hugo Awards, Bram Stoker Awards, International Horror Guild Awards, Shirley Jackson Awards, and the 2012 Il Posto Nero Black Spot Award for Excellence as Best Foreign Editor. Datlow was named recipient of the 2007 Karl Edward Wagner Award, given at the British Fantasy Convention for “outstanding contribution to the genre,” was honored with the Life Achievement Award by the Horror Writers Association, in acknowledgment of superior achievement over an entire career, and honored with the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award at the 2014 World Fantasy Convention.

She lives in New York and co-hosts the monthly Fantastic Fiction Reading Series at KGB Bar.

Table of Contents

Introduction by Ellen Datlow

You Have What I Need by Ian Rogers

The Midway by Fran Wilde

Wet Red Grin by Gemma Files

The Virgin Jimmy Peck by Daryl Gregory

The Ghost of a Flea by Priya Sharma

The Atrocity Exhibitionists by Brian Hodge

“The Father of Modern Gynecology”: J. Marion Syms, M.D. (1813-1883) by Joyce Carol Oates

Here Comes Your Man by Indrapramit Das

Siolaigh by Siobhan Carroll

What Is Love But the Quiet Moments After Dinner? by Richard Kadrey

The Island by Norman Partridge

Flaming Teeth by Garry Kilworth

Strandling by Caitlín R. Kiernan

The Special One by Chikodili Emelumadu

Devil by Glen Hirshberg

Crick Crack Rattle Tap by A. C. Wise

Children of the Night by Stephen Graham Jones

The Smell of Waiting by Kaaron Warren

Now Voyager by Livia Llewellyn

The Last Drop by Carole Johnstone

Widow-Light by Margo Lanagan

Sweet Potato by Joe R. Lansdale

Knock, Knock by Brian Evenson

Three Mothers Mountain by Nathan Ballingrud

What is Meat with No God? by Cassandra Khaw

Bitten by Himself by Laird Barron

Burial by Kristi DeMeester

Beautiful Dreamer by Jeffrey Ford

Bloedzuiger by John Langan

About the Authors

About the Editor

Editorial Reviews

WINNER of the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in an Anthology!

A Shirley Jackson and Locus Award Finalist! A World Fantasy Award Nominee!

“Screams from the Dark crackles with ferocious energy and ravenous delights. A thrilling feast for we who love monsters. Datlow has gathered the kinds of stories to which all gruesome campfire tales aspire.” —Hailey Piper, author of Queen of Teeth

“Screams from the Dark brings together some of the boldest voices in horror to create a shrieking chorus that will echo in your mind long after you’ve closed the book. There is a darkness in these pages that leaks out and shows you worlds you never dreamed possible. Not even in your worst nightmares.” —Philip Fracassi, author of Beneath a Pale Sky

“This epic volume, with its impressive table of contents, will satisfy the hordes of readers looking for new takes on the monster trope.” —Library Journal

“An unflinching symphony of darkness… Screams from the Dark earns my highest recommendation, ranking among the best compilation of short stories that I’ve read in any genre.” —Grimdark Magazine

“'What is a monster?' Datlow (the Best Horror of the Year series, editor) asks in her introduction to this excellent anthology, which brings together a tremendous variety of answers from the leading voices in horror.…Any horror fan will be glad to check this out.” —Publishers Weekly

“This is a treat for horror fans.” —Booklist

Praise for Ellen Datlow

“There are certain brand names that imply undeniable quality, and when I see Ellen Datlow as editor on an anthology, my first thought is always, That's a must-buy. She's such a knowledgeable editor, with a sharp eye and a long-standing love of the genre that leaps from every page.” —Tim Lebbon, author of The Silence

“Ellen Datlow is the empress of the horror anthology—enviably well-read, eagle-eyed for talent, eager for originality, she’s one of the glories of the field. Nobody who loves horror should lack any of her books. They’re a crucial shelf all by themselves, and something of a history of modern horror.” —Ramsey Campbell, author of The Searching Dead

“Ellen Datlow is the tastemaker, the greatest, most respected, and most prolific horror anthologist who’s ever lived. Every Datlow anthology is a gift to the genre.” —Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Ararat

From the Publisher

02/28/2022

“What is a monster?” Datlow (the Best Horror of the Year series, editor) asks in her introduction to this excellent anthology, which brings together a tremendous variety of answers from the leading voices in horror. Indrapramit Das depicts a home invasion in the searing “Here Comes Your Man,” while Stephen Graham Jones delivers a twisty Bigfoot hunt in “Children of the Night.” Siobhan Carroll’s haunting “Siolaigh” explores an Outer Hebrides island, and Priya Sharma’s beautiful “The Ghost of a Flea” travels the murderous streets of London. The great outdoors provides the terror in Glen Hirshberg’s “Devil,” while A.C. Wise’s unforgettable “Click Clack Rattle Tap” delves into the slippery interior horror of postpartum psychosis. Other standouts include Gemma Files’s visceral “Wet Red Grin,” Daryl Gregory’s sweet “The Virgin Jimmy Peck,” and Caitlín R. Kiernan’s achingly lonely “Strandling.” Unfortunately, some of the older titans of horror suffer for being placed next to their younger, more inventive colleagues; neither Joyce Carol Oates nor Jeffrey Ford manage to stick the landing. But even the weaker pieces are connected to the whole by a resonant common thread: whatever the monster, it’s always created, encouraged, or worsened by the actions of humans. Any horror fan will be glad to check this out. (June)

Publishers Weekly

04/01/2022

Much as she did for the ghost story in the award-winning anthology Echoes, Datlow here turns her focus to monsters, collecting original stories from 29 authors, including best sellers Stephen Graham Jones and Joyce Carol Oates as well as emerging voices like Chikodili Emelumadu and Priya Sharma. The result is a book that redefines this classic and much-beloved subgenre for a 21st-century audience with stories that actively explore the monsters that surround us, both supernatural and human. With so many talented authors represented, there is also a satisfyingly wide arc of writing styles, settings, types of monster, and range of fear induced, from psychological dread to visceral terror to darkly humorous, with all stops in between. Two stories that stand out are Kaaron Warren's "The Smell of Waiting," a compelling and creepy tale of a young girl with a gift (or is it a curse?), and John Langan's mesmerizing "Bloedzuiger," a tale that is both innocuously mundane and terrifyingly disturbing. VERDICT This epic volume, with its impressive table of contents, will satisfy the hordes of readers looking for new takes on the monster trope. It pairs nicely with the Bram Stoker-nominated collection Miscreations: Gods, Monstrosities, and Other Horrors, edited by Doug Murano and Michael Bailey.—Becky Spratford

Library Journal