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virago's review against another edition
3.0
And interesting collection of stories, but nothing that jumped out at me.
bmacenlightened's review
4.0
A pretty great collection of stories from authors specifically chosen because they're new to the scene. It struck me how well the stories were written as there were opportunities for corners to be cut and in each case they weren't. Oftentimes the ends were nowhere near what I thought they would be, which is a great thing when it comes to short stories to keep my interest.
I don't have a favorite or really a least favorite because they also were pretty uniformly good, without any let downs in the bunch from a writing perspective. The thing keeping it from a 5 star review is that while things were well written a few of them didn't hit me as well as the rest. So while I can see the value of them it wasn't perfect.
However, what was probably most beneficial about reading this is that it reignited that interest in reading stories written by newer and lesser known authors because clearly while they don't have the library to fall back on, they can have stories that pack a helluva punch.
I don't have a favorite or really a least favorite because they also were pretty uniformly good, without any let downs in the bunch from a writing perspective. The thing keeping it from a 5 star review is that while things were well written a few of them didn't hit me as well as the rest. So while I can see the value of them it wasn't perfect.
However, what was probably most beneficial about reading this is that it reignited that interest in reading stories written by newer and lesser known authors because clearly while they don't have the library to fall back on, they can have stories that pack a helluva punch.
spooky_librarian's review
5.0
Haunted film reels, ancient evils discovered on a forgotten Earth, police officers with the controversial ability to possess the people they serve! This anthology was loaded with talent, all from new writers debuting their best!
HOWLS FROM HELL is a collection of 16 short stories ranging from paranormal to science fiction to cosmic horror. I found myself easily flipping through pages of dark whimsy, gruesome body horror, and supernatural circumstances. Every contribution to this anthology was a literary treat brought to fruition by horror writers from the HOWL (Horror Obsessed Writing and Literature) Society—a book club/ community for horror enthusiasts!
There were some stories where the bloody details succeeded in making me cringe, while other stories were so witty and darkly imaginative! As a lover of sci-fi horror, “MANUFACTURED GOD” by P.L. McMillan (one of the illustrators for this anthology) needs to be transformed into an entire series! Shane Hawk’s “SHE’S TAKEN AWAY” made me wish there was a full novel about an institutionalized young woman and her evil twin, and Thea Maeve’s “RED AND THE BEAST” was such a dark, creative marriage of two familiar fairy tales (Thea, please tell me you have a whole unpublished collection of reimagined fairy tales hidden away somewhere! I very much need them in my life. Thank you.)
For lovers of ingenious and macabre short stories, this anthology will be available in May!
A great big thank you to Howl Society and Night Worms for this #NightWormsBookParty review copy!
HOWLS FROM HELL is a collection of 16 short stories ranging from paranormal to science fiction to cosmic horror. I found myself easily flipping through pages of dark whimsy, gruesome body horror, and supernatural circumstances. Every contribution to this anthology was a literary treat brought to fruition by horror writers from the HOWL (Horror Obsessed Writing and Literature) Society—a book club/ community for horror enthusiasts!
There were some stories where the bloody details succeeded in making me cringe, while other stories were so witty and darkly imaginative! As a lover of sci-fi horror, “MANUFACTURED GOD” by P.L. McMillan (one of the illustrators for this anthology) needs to be transformed into an entire series! Shane Hawk’s “SHE’S TAKEN AWAY” made me wish there was a full novel about an institutionalized young woman and her evil twin, and Thea Maeve’s “RED AND THE BEAST” was such a dark, creative marriage of two familiar fairy tales (Thea, please tell me you have a whole unpublished collection of reimagined fairy tales hidden away somewhere! I very much need them in my life. Thank you.)
For lovers of ingenious and macabre short stories, this anthology will be available in May!
A great big thank you to Howl Society and Night Worms for this #NightWormsBookParty review copy!
_readwithlauren_'s review
3.0
Howls From Hell is a horror anthology collecting together sixteen stories. I have never read an anthology so this was a lot of fun. If you enjoy horror, then you should enjoy some of these stories. I do have some favorites but overall these were all really good. Some of the stories did drag and some I felt like were a little too short. I think my favorites are Junco Creek by S.E. Denton and Suspended in Light by Alex Wolfgang, I would buy these if they were a book. Thank you to NetGalley and HOWL Society Press for the ARC.
bobmetal's review
4.0
A really enjoyable collection of horror stories all from Authors that I've not encountered before.
Some of my favorite stories were
A Casual Encounter - Quinn Fern. A really good start to the collection, great monster tale
The Pigeon Lied - J.W. Donley. Demons, hats and untrustworthy Pigeons. Lots of fun
She's Taken Away - Shane Hawk. A transcription of an interview between a DR and his patient about her evil twin and the struggles of being the good one
Possess And Serve - Christopher O'Halloran. In the future there is a branch of the Police that can assume control of people to solve problems, but what if one of these officers was causing problems
Duplicitous Wings - Amanda Nevada DeMel. Family revenge that goes about as well as you expect
It Gets In Your Eyes - A women comes home from vacation with something irritating her eye. Eyes are one of the things that freak me out the most so this was a great story for me
If you want to find some new horror authors to try this collection is worth your time
Some of my favorite stories were
A Casual Encounter - Quinn Fern. A really good start to the collection, great monster tale
The Pigeon Lied - J.W. Donley. Demons, hats and untrustworthy Pigeons. Lots of fun
She's Taken Away - Shane Hawk. A transcription of an interview between a DR and his patient about her evil twin and the struggles of being the good one
Possess And Serve - Christopher O'Halloran. In the future there is a branch of the Police that can assume control of people to solve problems, but what if one of these officers was causing problems
Duplicitous Wings - Amanda Nevada DeMel. Family revenge that goes about as well as you expect
It Gets In Your Eyes - A women comes home from vacation with something irritating her eye. Eyes are one of the things that freak me out the most so this was a great story for me
If you want to find some new horror authors to try this collection is worth your time
bookishactor's review against another edition
5.0
Howls from Hell, published by the HOWL Society, is an anthology of short horror fiction not to be missed! This collection contains stories from numerous up and coming authors, some making their publishing debut and others a bit more established, and contains works spanning the horror subgenres from cosmic to sci-fi to psychological to cursed media and more! Plus this collection is blessed by a foreword by none other than Grady Hendrix (Horrorstor, My Best Friend’s Exorcism, etc.). This is an outstanding collection that is a MUST READ for all fans of short horror fiction.
This book came into being in response to the horrific events of 2020. Around April of that year a Redditor posted to the /r/horrorlit subreddit (a horror literature message board moderated by Hendrix) inquiring if others might be interested in forming an online horror book club during the pandemic. Many readers and writers, eventually including myself, joined the freshly created Discord server to read and discuss books in the genre. From that day on the server has grown. Members participate in reading and discussing a book of the week, writers discuss the business and craft, and ever increasing numbers of people find channels to chat about all things horror. Over time, some of the writers in this group, The Horror-Obsessed Writing and Literature (HOWL) Society, were inspired to work together to create an anthology of original work to be published and shared with the world. Thus The HOWL Society Press and this book were born.
First, as an artist, I want to commend my fellow members for creating an opportunity to publish their own work. So many artists wait to be given permission by someone else to share their work (or even worse, create in the first place). Well, that’s not these folks. They grabbed Cthulhu by the madness-inducing tentacles and held on for the ride! Through a process of group critique and editing these authors have created an anthology of outstanding new fiction.
Second, I want to urge you to stop reading this review and purchase this book immediately! Seriously, stop reading and go now. From Hendrix’s heartwarming foreword (one of the best forwards I’ve read) through each story, this book oozes quality. If I were rating these out of 10, almost all of them would be 7+, with several 9s and 10s in the mix. One of these stories (which happened to be one of my favorites) is probably long enough to even be considered a novelette. There are some really wonderful tales in these pages!
I hope you’ll check it out, I’m glad I did.
(Note: although I am a member of the HOWL Society I am not published in this collection and am in no way profiting from sales of this anthology).
This book came into being in response to the horrific events of 2020. Around April of that year a Redditor posted to the /r/horrorlit subreddit (a horror literature message board moderated by Hendrix) inquiring if others might be interested in forming an online horror book club during the pandemic. Many readers and writers, eventually including myself, joined the freshly created Discord server to read and discuss books in the genre. From that day on the server has grown. Members participate in reading and discussing a book of the week, writers discuss the business and craft, and ever increasing numbers of people find channels to chat about all things horror. Over time, some of the writers in this group, The Horror-Obsessed Writing and Literature (HOWL) Society, were inspired to work together to create an anthology of original work to be published and shared with the world. Thus The HOWL Society Press and this book were born.
First, as an artist, I want to commend my fellow members for creating an opportunity to publish their own work. So many artists wait to be given permission by someone else to share their work (or even worse, create in the first place). Well, that’s not these folks. They grabbed Cthulhu by the madness-inducing tentacles and held on for the ride! Through a process of group critique and editing these authors have created an anthology of outstanding new fiction.
Second, I want to urge you to stop reading this review and purchase this book immediately! Seriously, stop reading and go now. From Hendrix’s heartwarming foreword (one of the best forwards I’ve read) through each story, this book oozes quality. If I were rating these out of 10, almost all of them would be 7+, with several 9s and 10s in the mix. One of these stories (which happened to be one of my favorites) is probably long enough to even be considered a novelette. There are some really wonderful tales in these pages!
I hope you’ll check it out, I’m glad I did.
(Note: although I am a member of the HOWL Society I am not published in this collection and am in no way profiting from sales of this anthology).
readingvicariously's review
4.0
This anthology is great because not only did it introduce me to a bunch of new authors, but it introduced me to the HOWL Society (the "Horror-Obsessed Writing and Literature" society) which I'm very excited to learn more about - and maybe join one day??
Man, what a fun collection of stories! There is so much variety presented here (body horror, sci-fi horror, folklore, occult/cults, cosmic horror, hilarious horror, demons, monsters, evil twins, etc). Seriously, there's definitely something for everyone here - and luckily for me almost all of it worked! It just seemed like everyone involved had a great time writing these twisted tales, and their enthusiasm and creativity spills from the pages.
And speaking of the writers, it was awesome getting to meet a huge cast of new (to me) authors! Lots of talent here for sure. Oh, and several of the authors also provide illustrations for the stories which were so cool! Like I said, lots of talent.
I really did enjoy most of these stories, but some stand out ones for me were:
"Manufactured Gods" by P.L. McMillan - an epic blend of sci-fi horror, tech horror, and Egyptian mythology where a group of scientists go to explore the ruins of Earth and find a truly unsettling monster deep below ground.
"Red Punch Buggy" by B.O.B. Jenkin - at first read I found it to be a funny and disturbing little tale, but it has since burrowed into my brain and I can't stop thinking about it. Much like Scott Cole's Crazytimes, it uses humor mixed with shocking violence to wonderful effect.
"A Fistful of Murder" by Lindsey Ragsdale - a story about a man who finds a dollar bill with the word KILL written on it, and every time he looks at it he is forced to do just that. It's a simple idea but structured and played out beautifully.
"Suspended in Light" by Alex Wolfgang - another one that got under my skin and I can't stop thinking about. Creepy story of a women reviewing old film reels and unleashing a haunting force. I didn't fully understand the ending, but I enjoyed the ride.
Man, what a fun collection of stories! There is so much variety presented here (body horror, sci-fi horror, folklore, occult/cults, cosmic horror, hilarious horror, demons, monsters, evil twins, etc). Seriously, there's definitely something for everyone here - and luckily for me almost all of it worked! It just seemed like everyone involved had a great time writing these twisted tales, and their enthusiasm and creativity spills from the pages.
And speaking of the writers, it was awesome getting to meet a huge cast of new (to me) authors! Lots of talent here for sure. Oh, and several of the authors also provide illustrations for the stories which were so cool! Like I said, lots of talent.
I really did enjoy most of these stories, but some stand out ones for me were:
"Manufactured Gods" by P.L. McMillan - an epic blend of sci-fi horror, tech horror, and Egyptian mythology where a group of scientists go to explore the ruins of Earth and find a truly unsettling monster deep below ground.
"Red Punch Buggy" by B.O.B. Jenkin - at first read I found it to be a funny and disturbing little tale, but it has since burrowed into my brain and I can't stop thinking about it. Much like Scott Cole's Crazytimes, it uses humor mixed with shocking violence to wonderful effect.
"A Fistful of Murder" by Lindsey Ragsdale - a story about a man who finds a dollar bill with the word KILL written on it, and every time he looks at it he is forced to do just that. It's a simple idea but structured and played out beautifully.
"Suspended in Light" by Alex Wolfgang - another one that got under my skin and I can't stop thinking about. Creepy story of a women reviewing old film reels and unleashing a haunting force. I didn't fully understand the ending, but I enjoyed the ride.
slimeandslashers's review
4.0
I thought this collection of horror stories was an enjoyable read! It was diverse, and there is sure to be something for everyone within these pages. Plus, the forward by Grady Hendrix kicked things off on a positive and exciting note.
Like with all anthologies, inevitably there will be stories that are stronger than others. The same goes for the contents of Howls From Hell. I especially enjoyed Suspended in Light by Alex Wolfgang. It's about a student who's health starts to deteriorate after discovering a strange set of film reels from long ago. Another one that stuck out was The Pigeon Lied by J.W. Donley. It was so strange, but that's what I liked about it. A unique story with some wonderfully gross imagery.
That's just scratching the surface though, there are plenty more tales of horror to love in Howls From Hell! 4 stars! Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book to review.
Like with all anthologies, inevitably there will be stories that are stronger than others. The same goes for the contents of Howls From Hell. I especially enjoyed Suspended in Light by Alex Wolfgang. It's about a student who's health starts to deteriorate after discovering a strange set of film reels from long ago. Another one that stuck out was The Pigeon Lied by J.W. Donley. It was so strange, but that's what I liked about it. A unique story with some wonderfully gross imagery.
That's just scratching the surface though, there are plenty more tales of horror to love in Howls From Hell! 4 stars! Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book to review.
emilyyjjean's review
5.0
This collection includes 16 stories, and I loved every minute of reading them! I want to highlight a few stories, but I'm having a hard time picking my favorites, because they were all so dang good.
1. Red and the Beast by Thea Maeve
Little Red Riding hood meets Beauty and the Beast.
This was a mashup that I didn't even know I needed. This story was very well written, and has made me realize that I need more fairytale mashups like this in my life.
2. The Pigeon Lied by J.W. Donley
A world where humans and demons co-exist. Can Little Rob-Robb show his worth when he gets mixed up in the dealings of demons?
I absolutely loved this world. The story was well paced, and I was sad to see it end. I would definitely read more about these characters and the society that they live in.
3. Manufactured God by P.L. McMillan
Futuristic anthropologists travel to an abandoned Earth. They stumble upon an Ancient Egyptian structure that was never found when humans occupied Earth. What they find in the tomb might have been better left undiscovered.
This story gave me chills. I was terrified for the characters while they were exploring the structure. The villain of this story would be a horrible sight to see.
Again, I loved all of these stories. I'm going to definitely buy a physical copy for my library!
If you love the thrilling, chilling, and horrifying give this collection a read!
Thank you to NetGalley and HOWL Society Press for the ARC
1. Red and the Beast by Thea Maeve
Little Red Riding hood meets Beauty and the Beast.
This was a mashup that I didn't even know I needed. This story was very well written, and has made me realize that I need more fairytale mashups like this in my life.
2. The Pigeon Lied by J.W. Donley
A world where humans and demons co-exist. Can Little Rob-Robb show his worth when he gets mixed up in the dealings of demons?
I absolutely loved this world. The story was well paced, and I was sad to see it end. I would definitely read more about these characters and the society that they live in.
3. Manufactured God by P.L. McMillan
Futuristic anthropologists travel to an abandoned Earth. They stumble upon an Ancient Egyptian structure that was never found when humans occupied Earth. What they find in the tomb might have been better left undiscovered.
This story gave me chills. I was terrified for the characters while they were exploring the structure. The villain of this story would be a horrible sight to see.
Again, I loved all of these stories. I'm going to definitely buy a physical copy for my library!
If you love the thrilling, chilling, and horrifying give this collection a read!
Thank you to NetGalley and HOWL Society Press for the ARC