Dead Letters: Episodes of Epistolary Horror

by Jacob Steven Mohr (Editor), T.T. Madden, Patrick Barb

Some horrors were never meant to be unearthed.

Evil lurks within the pages of Dead Letters: Episodes of Epistolary Horror...

A video game walkthrough harbors sinister secrets. A grieving sister’s letters blur the line between alive and dead (and alive again). A chain of frightening emails are the only evidence that a young woman ever walked the earth. And a series of journals pursue a dwindling wagon train marching into Hell—or someplace worse.

Haunting podcast transcripts. Blood-soaked police reports. Bewildering court findings. Brace yourself for an anthology that resurrects the chilling power of epistolary fiction—where ordinary documents transform into vessels of absolute terror.

Spanning 21 original tales blending the classic gothic horror of Stoker’s Dracula with the contemporary dread of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca, Dead Letters contains both short sharp shocks and prolonged sojourns into the macabre—and promises to haunt your sleepless nights.

Featuring thrilling contributions from Gemma Files, Ai Jiang, Gordon B. White, J.A.W. McCarthy, and Red Lagoe, and curated with precision by Jacob Steven Mohr (The Unwelcome and Nightfall and Other Dangers) Dead Letters: Episodes of Epistolary Horror solidifies its place among the pantheon of must-read horror anthologies.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction, Paranormal, Aliens, Mystery

434 pages, Paperback

First published November 27, 2023

About the author

Jacob Steven Mohr does not believe in human consciousness; his works emerge as though from the ether, fully formed and fully ominous. Selections of these can be observed in Cosmic Horror Monthly, Shortwave Magazine, Chthonic Matter Quarterly, Weird Horror Magazine, and The Best Horror of the Year Vol. 15. He exists in Columbus OH. Follow him everywhere @jacobstevenmohr.

Reviews

[inciminci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everyone and their mother knows I'm a big fan of the assorted horror anthologies of Crystal Lake Publishing. My usual enthusiasm gives way to a cautious esteem in the case of Dead Letters: Episodes of Epistolary Horror, which I enjoyed reading, but didn't adore as I do any other CL anthology. Two stories especially stood out for me;

Next of Kin by Sandra Henriques
Famous author Madeleine Jones passes to her estranged daughters she hasn't seen in years an unsettling inheritance – her diary. What's written in there saddened even me, and scared me.

The Behavioral Patterns of the Displaced Siberian Sirene by Amanda M. Blake
Mind blowing!
This scientific document issued for the Miskatonic University reports the death of a research team who fell prey to the titular Siberian Sirenes. Who knew deafness and loud music can save literal lives? The sirenes were described so biologically matter-of-factly it gave me the chills.

Still recommended for fans of found footage horror!

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There is so, so much open sky. There's no place they can't see us.

Please. Please send someone."
— T.T. Madden

Full review to come!

[thevampireslibrary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun unsettling anthology, I particularly enjoyed the epistolary format, it always makes me feel like I'm being privy to something I shouldn't be? It just appeals to the true crime nerd in me, I love reading between the lines, analysing the trivalities of time stamps/dates, maybe I take it too seriously (LEAVE ME ALONE MY NAME IS DCI JANE) theres something in here for everyone, UFOs, cursed music, a giant disembodied hand? Caves full of charred skeletons of missing children, a weird creature called james who was born from a hole in the wall? One unifying theme throughout is the discovery of communication after death, which adds a layer of meloncholy, but honestly, this is one CREEPY collection, each story is unique but there is an inherently sinister atmosphere throughout this entire book that made me uneasy from the start, I had a lot of fun reading it I really think fans of horror love this! I will 100000% be picking up a physical copy I loved it that much, trust me, you're gonna want this one!

[Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dead Letters is an anthology with a brilliant concept which just happens to be weighted towards subgenres I don’t much enjoy. If you prefer monster stories, cosmic horror, action/gore and dark fantasy over ghost stories and subtler shades of weird fiction, you might get more out of this book than I did. Which is to say I didn’t love it, but that’s not a value judgement, just a matter of taste. And of course there are some great stories here, especially ‘Re: The Hand (of god)’ by J.A.W. McCarthy, which uses emails and messages to tell the story of a woman who gets trapped at work... with a severed hand... that keeps getting bigger. How you even come up with an idea as original and strange as this story, I’ll never know. Also really liked ‘Something Cool Behind the Waterfall’ by Nat Reiher (similarly original), ‘Family Dirt’ by Justin Allec, ‘The Second Death’ by Christina Wilder, ‘Echo Chamber’ by Gemma Files and ‘Berkey Family Vacation 1988’ by Jacob Steven Mohr.

[Leigh F · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may be biased for my feelings towards this anthology because it was edited by one of my favorite authors. But it contains some incredible stories by some authors who are new to me and a few by ones I have read before. When I say that every story brings its own fire to this anthology I mean it. Each of these stories could hold its own against any of the best epistolary fiction I’ve read, and I wouldn’t even feel bad saying that many of these stories I want as longer fiction.

The best part about this whole anthology is that every story is so different from the one before it, yet each one almost feels like they are tied together by some phantom thread.

This is by far one of the best anthologies I have ever read, and yes I might be biased, but to be fair, if you sit down and read this anthology I think you all would agree with my feelings on it.

Highly recommend

[Bill Hsu · Rating 3 out of 5]

J.A.W. McCarthy's "Re: The Hand of God" is a blast. The rest, not so much,

More notes:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Angustia⋆Cósmica · Rating 4 out of 5]

"[girl] That’s not Daddy."

---x---

Amazing collection of mixed media horror. Yes, it does say epistolary horror, but what we're treated to isn't JUST letters; oh no, we get a bit of everything. And I mean EVERYTHING.
We even get a bit of a story to happen inside a GAME GUIDE. As someone who has been an avid user of GameFAQs before you can imagine my absolute delight at finding such a surprise amidst this creative bunch.

My big favourite was, however, "Bury My Bones In The Bastard That Killed Me". I was thrown a curveball in the shape of urban fantasy, a little sneaky hidden between the horror.

Now, rather than me babbling praises to the hard work of all these authors, I'd rather that whoever is out there actually picked up this book and devoured it with gusto just like I did. I'm asking you all to give it a chance, I can tell you that you won't regret it.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not normally a huge fan of short story anthologies, but I adore epistolary fiction; horror I think is especially well-suited to that format. I was really blown away by the quality of stories in this collection. There was only one that I didn't vibe with; the rest were anywhere from really good to seriously outstanding.

"Spindly fingers. Spindly fingers." Brr! I was so genuinely creeped out.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5 stars.

An outstanding collection of epistolic horror.

Although some of these stories follow a traditional format of letters and journal entries, others take full advantage of the myriad forms of communication—some traditional, some digital, others bizarre—available to us in the modern age. The quality of stories that Mohr has put together as editor is excellent, and many of them are legitimately dread-inducing. This is an easy recommendation to anyone who's a fan of found footage, but also just horror short stories generally.

I read Dead Letters in digital form, and will definitely be picking up a physical copy as well to reread in the future.

[Trevor Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epistolary fiction is one of the oldest styles of horror, with many of our classical texts in horror taking the form of discovered documents. It's the case of Frankenstein or Dracula, as well as short fiction from literary masters like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or Charlotte Perkins Gilman. What epistolary fiction has going for it is the air of authenticity; the stories uncovered carry specific kinds of voice, the characters narrators themselves. Epistolary horror has an advantage that other forms of horror might not have: the advantage of immersion.

Dead Letters is a celebration of epistolary style in horror, with some more straightforward stories told as correspondence and others pushing the boundaries as to what can be called "epistolary." To be sure, every one of the stories in this volume are a form of correspondence, but some of that correspondence can look very different from what we might expect. Some standout examples in this volume are Gordon B. White's story, which involves a hodgepodge of different scraps of correspondence (to say nothing of how bananas that story is), Gemma Files's story about a lost podcast transcript, or Patrick Barb's story through text messages. Form is function in this book, and each of the stories plays with literary style while weaving curious and interesting stories in their own right.

There are few stories in this whole anthology that I didn't really connect with, and the vast majority of the book features fantastic stories from unique voices and perspectives. This might be yet another themed anthology in an indie marketplace flooded by themed anthologies, but Dead Letters is less about finding thematic fiction than it is about exploring the conventional boundaries of form and function in prose. Its authors push their craft for storytelling in exciting directions through their discovery and their celebration of form, and I am delighted to report that these stories don't just work, they all explore exciting new ideas through both unconventional and conventional formatting.

I love Dead Letters for its vision, and even more for its collection of compelling fiction.

[Diana | Indie Book Addict · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dead Letters: Episodes of Epistolary Horror offers 21 tales of horror told through texts, journals, online chats, and emails. I thought this was super easy to read because of the format and, as the reader, you feel like you’re really involved in each story. Some were unsettling, some were strange, and a couple felt like they could have been episodes of The Twilight Zone.

Below are some of my favorites from this collection.

The Night Nurses of Verdun by Gregg Stewart
I really enjoyed the setting in this one and how haunting it was learning the truth about the night nurses. A great story with a wonderful ending.

Re: The Hand (of God) by J.A.W. McCarthy
This one was so trippy to me watching Katie fall apart. Questioning what is real and what isn’t. This felt like a Twilight Zone episode to me.

The Samhain Tapes by Colin Leonard
This one was creepy, and I loved it! No spindly fingers for me!

Drawn Home by Red Lagoe
This one was so eerie. I loved how unsettling the whole thing was, right down to the ending.

The Second Death by Christina Wilder
Everything goes wrong after people watch a video by a band called Stemma. Watching all of this unfold was so entertaining and so creepy.

If you enjoy epistolary horror, don’t miss this one!

[Chiara Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!! An original anthology of short stories about all the types of correspondence that in this case have turned out to be deadly one way or another!

All the stories are fantastic and I'm baffled by their originality, with concepts I could have never imagined!

This read confirms again my love for anthologies of short shorties by various authors as you get to experience all the talent in the same book. The common theme as well allows the reader to experience all its facets so that the creativity of the authors is highlighted even more!

Some of the stories terrorised me, others made me think and others are etched in my mind forever! Let's say I won't look at a letter, email or text in the same way again.. Even writing this makes me uneasy!

If you want a taste of some talented authors read this epistolary anthology, you will want to write about it!!

Thanks to Crystal Lake Publishing for a copy and this is my honest review.

[Pagefingers · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much fun. I loved this one.

[Icy_Space_Cobwebs · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been nothing but nonstop terrifying since I started this superb Anthology. From the horrifying first story all the way through to the end, I've experienced 21 opportunities (in 21 tales) to chill my spine, curdle my blood, and weaken my bones. Even better, there's plenty of variations here, so that even trope-specific readers can revel. DEAD LETTERS: EPISODES OF EPISTOLARY HORROR is a definite don't miss anthology!!
PS: Do not read late at night. Do not read outdoors. Do not read alone. Do not listen to "Voices." Do not Panic.
Release December 1 2023

[Francesca Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down! There are so many great stories in here. Some of my favorites included a historical tale about St. Vitus's Dance expertly crafted by Gemma Files, a supernatural horror amidst the plains of the vast unchartered America by Kyle Toucher, things that feed on a WWII battlefield by Gregg Stewart, the frigid cold of Siberia by Amanda M. Blake, and a wicked little number based on Irish Folklore from Colin Leonard. This anthology of letters, notes, journal entries, texts and emails makes for a quick read, with high stakes and high tension throughout. I loved the creative way each author chose to tell their tale, it made for a refreshing and fun read.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

My love for epistolary stories has no bounds. I was so excited to read this book and it did not disappoint. There was one story that landed flat for me only because the formatting on Kindle at least made it confusing to read - otherwise - I loved each of the stories.

[Vavita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very creepy. There were only 3 stories that didn’t grab me. The rest were a lot of fun!

[Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good collection of epistolary horror! As always with collections, there were some stories I felt were stronger than others but most were trying terrifying or at least made you think. Good, solid spooky season fare!

[Just Another Final Girl Review (Brittany) Levely-Connolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

“They don’t believe our stories, no matter how many of us tell them the same thing.” -T.T.Madden

In cleaning out the office storage room you find a filing cabinet that appears to have been untouched and forgotten by whatever company leased the space before yours did. You wipe off the cobwebs and layers of dust, attempt to lift it and realize it’s full of what you think are useless documents. The only way to move it therefore is to empty it, but it’s locked! So you find a flat head screwdriver and jimmy the drawer open, revealing the files of Dead Letters (basically the unsolved X-Files cases Scully and Mulder never investigated). You pick up the first folder and begin to look at the transcripts and evidence it contains, and in the process you have now crossed the threshold and haveentered what can only be conceived of as the realm of The Twilight Zone. But these classified documents were never meant to see the light of day, so becareful who you tell and what you say. They just may sent the Hand of God to erase you too.

“ I realize there are circumstances where secrets help no one. The truth must come out in the end, for better or worse.” -Gregg Stewart

I got sent an arc copy of Dead Letters by Jacob and I have to say I was blown away by this anthology! This anthology contains short stories from a wide selection of newer authors that are the future of the horror and sci-fi/horror genre and demonstrate their unique narrative abilities and writing skills.
“ It does not depict valor or conquest, but the slow disintegration of honest people strangled by the hand of fate.” - Kyle Toucher

Each short story reads almost as a file that contains only primary documents of the events are being recorded, ie emails, text messages, audio recording transcripts, text messages, cctv transcripts, Diary entries, 911 transcripts, written letters, crime reports, newspaper articles, letters to loved ones, government records, usps letters, journal excerpts, video game walk throughs, family home video transcripts, interview transcripts, etc. Secondary source material is included in some stories only to offer context of who gathered them, where they came from or why these events are important. There is no narrator in any of the shorts but rather each one is a series of vignettes in the form of document reveals a particular detail or event that when combined in a particular order creates terrifying unsolved events that all could have happened in real life. It creates a sense of anxiety and anticipation for reader as well as the sense that they have stumbled on something that was never meant for their eyes and must be kept a secret and read alone. Ps. The transcripts of video are written so well you visually can see the distorted found footage or family vacation.

“ It is, with all sincerity, a Hell no sane mind could conjure in a thousand nightmares.”-Gregg Stewart

The tone of majority of the narratives is dark and ominous.
Highly recommended for fans of the x-file or the twilight zone. Personally The Samhain Tapes by Colin Leonard scared me the most and I absolutely loved Gemma Files ‘The Echo Chamber’. And I highly recommend this book, even though I received an ebook copy I will be buying a physical edition because this is one anthology that I need to add to my collection. Every single author brought their A game and the way in which Jacob ordered the stories created a cohesive flow and ensured that the narratives didn’t feel repetitive or overly similar. It covers a wide range of horror, sci fiction and dark fantasy covering tropes of alternate realities, alien invasions, disappearances with no record of existence except emails, music with the potential to kill, murder mysteries, psychopath, vampires, inherited family trauma.

“ Don’t be afraid. It’ll all soon be over. I know you’re too afraid to look in the mirror. I know I was. Still am.”- Ai Jiang

But be warned, do not expect to walk away from these stories feeling any form of cathartic relief. Some mysteries leave you only with more questions than answers.

[Runalong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly inventive anthology using various formats to tell scary tales - from podcasts, video game walkthroughs and of course letters it’s a lot of great storytelling

Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...

[Ian Gielen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re a fan of found footage movies like I am then you have to pick this one up.
It’s a fantastic and creepy collection of stories written in varied ways but consistently great in their execution.
There are journals, text exchanges, video and tape recording transcriptions all of which amp up the spooky. Well recommended if you’re after something different from the norm.

[Debbi Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dead Letters has stories that will make you wonder about picking up anything in a piece of paper again. Letters, notes, anything readable doesn't matter.
An extremely enjoyable book that will scare your pants off. Great stories, great authors, I enjoyed it all.
Good job Crystal Lake.

[Emily Haynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Letters

What do a game, a letter, and an email have in common. All hide something terrifying withen. Something evil. Can the people involved escape?

[Madalena Feliciano Santos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best horror anthologies I've read. Every short story is unique and there are stories for every taste: ones more classical, vampire and war stories and others where I just go «Where did this idea come from?». There are video games, parallel universes, aliens, psychopaths, you name it. And even if you do not usually like some kind of horror, the writing is so good in every single one of the stories that you end up reading all of them.
Now to some of my favourites:
«Next of Kin», by Sandra Henriques, is on the top there, it grabbed my attention from the first line until the last and the creativity of the story blew my mind (this is not a biased review).
«...», by Patrick Barb, was one of the most interesting ones to read because it describes parallel universes through texts! The impressive thing is how the author is able to create not one, but two universes using this format and doing it in a way that we understand what is happening and are following these stories in two separate universes.
«The Night Nurses of Verdun», by Gregg Stewart, is one of my favourites in terms of the writing style. Even though a «classic» human-vampire love story, the writing really brought me to feel for the characters.
«Bury My Bones in the Bastard that Killed Me», by Gordan B. White, was a creepy one, and one of those where you are confused in the end, but the more you think about it the more you start to put pieces together. I loved it.
«Something Cool Behind the Waterfall», by Nat Reiher, is a super creative one, and a scary one too. This is up there on the «Where did this idea come from?» stories,
BUT «RE: the hand (of god)», by J.A.W. McCarthy, is top on that list. Who would ever tell me I'd be scared while reading about a giant growing hand...

[B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm always apprehensive of anthologies but this was a win. I liked the vast majority of these stories and only had 2 DNFs. There will be a story for everyone in here. But don't marathon this book. Space it out over a week or more.

The first 3 stories were great, the 4th was a little boring.

I have no idea how I came about this collection and I don't recognise any of the contributors but so far so good. The right amount of spooky for me.

There's a surprise love story in here. Very cute. Still has horror elements but also quite wholesome.

The twin story was incomprehensible but maybe that was my fault choosing method 2 of reading it.

"I have slain enough monks to know they live lavishly." Wow, what a sentence.

The vietnam story was so good

The one after it was my first DNF. Had I been the young wife I would've stopped reading when he posed the question of the will. His voice is grating, I hate everything about him and I am bored.
I did skim the ending and it was just as predictable as expected.

The siren story was excellent.
The game one too.

A second dnf in the testament of wanderers. Boring and somewhat incomprehensible.

Spindly fingers was too gory for me but I did finish it and I do think it's good.

The cave one was so unsettling. I love it.

I like how distinct all the voices are in the second to last story but if I never have to read something in the voice of Nathaniel Quint again I'll be very happy. Maybe this is why I DNFd that earlier story. It was also written in a style from centuries ago.

It's hard to rate an anthology but I think because I've had so many wins and the last 3 stories were all great I have to give it a 4,5 rounded up to a 5.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

It's difficult to give a single star rating for an anthology of 21 stories by different authors. Some of them I absolutely loved and immediately searched for more works by those authors. Others were good, nothing amazing, but a good time. And a couple just did not work for me. Looking back through the notes I took while reading my most common issues were that the stories weren't long enough and/or not developed enough. It can be tough to flesh out characters when you are limited to the medium of emails, or letters, or chat room dialogue. Or to build tension. Or to fully flesh out a world. The authors who did this the best (in my opinion) were T.T. Madden, Gregg Stewart, Patrick Barb, Zachary Rosenberg, Liam Hogan, Emily Ruth Verona, and Jacob Steven Mohr. I would definitely pick up something else from each of these authors in the future. Each of these authors made me feel something, whether that was fear or the sensation of being watched or even humor. They each did something special.

Thank you to Crystal Lake Publishing for providing me with an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

[avery (avereads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I can feel them stirring. They never stay dead for long.”

Dead Letters is a collection of epistolary horror stories traditionally told in the form of letters. While some stories have the gothic feel of an old letter, there are many modern takes as well, including stories told through the lens of a chat room, emails, and text messages. When only having access to the limited macabre documents, it gives the reader a sense of secrecy and the horror of reading between the lines. The scariest things can be what is left out and our mind creates. This collection was a lot of fun, but there were a few that stood out. Next of Kin by Sandra Henriques mixes emails and journal entries of a writer slowly losing their mind in a very unsettling way. Family Dirt by Justin Allec combines emails and chat messages involving a divorced father spending a strange amount of time hiking with his children. Incredibly tense and preys on some of the greatest fears parents have. Something Cool Behind the Waterfall by Nat Reiher is uniquely told through the transcript of a video game walk through which set off one of the wildest rides of the collection. Few stories didn’t work for me and I found it strange that two had a very similar theme. But overall I really enjoyed it. Dead Letters feels like found footage, the Twilight Zone, and campfire stories all Frankensteined together and has something to offer everyone.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a fun short story collection. I love epistolary writing BUT presented together I found that there were some similarities in overall scope and tone of the tales. Some stories I enjoyed a lot more than others. Many stories referenced graphics but did not have them and I think that may have helped distinguish the stories some.

[Natalie Arn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good collection of stories. Epistolary horror is a format/subgenre that I really like, and it can allow a lot of variety if you use it creatively enough. It is definitely used creatively by the writers here. Of the twenty-one stories, my top five were:

* "The Parthas UFO Incident" by T. T. Madden

* "No Blood, No Bones" by Zachary Rosenberg

* "The Behavioral Patterns of the Displaced Siberian Siren" by Amanda M. Blake

* "Something Cool Behind the Waterfall" by Nat Reiher

* "RE: The Hand (of God)" by J.A.W. McCarthy

[Amber Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

We need more epistolary horror!