Enter Boogeyman

by Alessandro Manzetti (Editor)

“He’s a shadow. He’s in the closet, or he’s under the bed. Maybe he’s in the mirror... or maybe he’s just in your head. He can hurt you; he’ll eat your heart and memories without you realizing. He is the boogeyman. You saw him once before, a long time ago. You glimpsed those claws, those teeth, in the sheath of darkness that came alive as it thickened around you. It’s familiar to you; this scent of things dead. Do you remember...?”

Who is the Boogeyman? A better question might Who isn’t he? This is the question Poppy Z. Brite asks in the introduction to this horror anthology dedicated to the scariest monster of them all... the one who lives where you live, who watches you in the night, the one you think you left behind as a childhood fantasy.
Here, some of the best pens in contemporary horror give us their own answers to this question. From stories by known masters of horror fiction, to new names giving fresh life and direction to the horror genre, Enter Boogeyman is a collector’s edition anthology. Edited by multiple Bram Stoker award winner Alessandro Manzetti, and illustrated by Francesco Biagini, this is a must-have for the horror enthusiast and the bibliophile alike.

Genres: Horror

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2024

About the author

Alessandro Manzetti (Rome, Italy) is a Three-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author, editor, scriptwriter and essayst of horror fiction and dark poetry whose work has been published extensively (more than 40 books) in Italian and English, including novels, short and long fiction, poetry, essays, graphic novels and collections.
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English publications include his novels Shanti - The Sadist Heaven (2019) and Naraka - The Ultimate Human Breeding (2018), the novella The Keeper of Chernobyl (2019), the collections The Radioactive Bride (2020), The Garden of Delight (2017), The Monster, the Bad and the Ugly (2016, with Paolo Di Orazio), and The Massacre of the Mermaids (2015), the poetry collections Dancing with Maria's Ghost (2021), Whitechapel Rhapsody (2020), The Place of Broken Things (2019, with Linda D. Addison), War (2018, with Marge Simon), No Mercy (2017), Sacrificial Nights (2016, with Bruce Boston) Eden Underground (2015), Venus Intervention (2014, with Corrine de Winter), and the graphic novels Calcutta Horror (2019), Her Life Matters (2020) and The Inhabitant of the Lake (2021), and the Guide '150 Exquisite Horror Books' (2021)
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He edited the anthologies The Beauty of Death (2016), The Beauty of Death Vol. 2 - Death by Water (2017, with Jodi Renee Lester) and Monsters of Any Kind (2018, with Daniele Bonfanti)
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His stories and poems have appeared in Italian, USA, UK, Australian, Polish and Russian magazines, such as Weird Tales Magazine, Dark Moon Digest, Splatterpunk Zine, Disturbed Digest, Space and Time, The Horror Zine, Illumen, Devolution Z, Hinnom, Recompose, Polu Texni, Nothing's Sacred, Okolica Strachu, and anthologies such as Splatterpunk Forever, The Best Horror of the Year Vol. 13, Classic Monsters Unleashed, Best Hardcore Horror of the Year Vol. 2, 4, 5, 6, The Big Book of Blasphemy, Midnight Under the Big Top, Bones III, Rhysling Anthology (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021), HWA Poetry Showcase Vol. 3 and 4, The Beauty of Death Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, World of Light and Darkness, One of Us, Professor Charlatan Bardot's Travel Anthology to the Most (Fictional) Haunted Buildings in the Weird, Wild World, Tales of the Lost Vol. 3, Hope: Poems of Hope and Resilience From the Pandemic, Sorrow and many others

He edited the anthologies The Beauty of Death (2016), The Beauty of Death Vol. 2 - Death by Water (2017, with Jodi Renee Lester) and Monsters of Any Kind (2018, with Daniele Bonfanti)

Awards and Nominations:
• Bram Stoker Awards 2021 winner
• Bram Stoker Awards 2019 winner
• Bram Stoker Awards 2015 winner
• SFPA Elgin Awards 2019 winner
• Bram Stoker Awards 2019 three-time nominee
• Bram Stoker Awards 2018 nominee
• Bram Stoker Awards 2017 two-time nominee
• Bram Stoker Awards 2016 two-time nominee
• Bram Stoker Awards 2014 nominee
• Splatterpunk Awards 2019 nominee
• Splatterpunk Awards 2018 nominee
• Rhysling Awards 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 nominee
• Elgin Awards 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 nominee
• This is Horror Awards 2017 nominee
• HWA Specialty Press Awards 2017 winner (as CEO of Independent Legions Press)

Furthermore, he received honorable mentions (for stories and poems) in Ellen Datlow's 'The Best Horror of the Year' Vol. 7-8-9-10-12-13
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​He is the CEO & Founder of Independent Legions Publishing, editor of 'Molotov Magazine' (in Italian), HWA Active member and a former HWA Board of Trustees member. In 2021 he served the Science Fiction Poetry Association as the Rhysling Award Chair.

He lives in Trieste, Italy
website: www.battiago.com

Reviews

[Gabriel D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember when the campaign to get funds for this book started, YouTuber CriminOlly shared details on how to get to it, and I fell in love with the theme, growing in anticipation for this anthology to hit the scene. When the physical version was available, though, I somehow missed the mark on getting one. I reached out to Acheron through their contact page and they increased my hopes by promising a digital version. It's 2025 and I finally got my hands into it and finished it not as fast as I thought I would. Did the anticipation paid off? Yes, for the most part.

You see, Enter Boogeyman collects 17 stories from well-known authors, some stories are originals, some are republications, with the boogeyman as the main theme, but not as you would expect. Can't the boogeyman take many shapes and forms? Yes, indeed, and these short stories explore interesting variants of this premise.

I took 4 months to read this book. For some reason, I had to drop it to read novels, 4 novels, that is. There was something about getting short bursts of boogeyman, one after another, that just threw me off a bit. The stories range from average to great, yet I had to get rest when reading. Enter Boogeyman delivers on its premise and promise, and I think you won't regret getting your hands into it if you are a fan of horror.

To wrap this review up, a rapid-fire list reviewing each short story:

DREAMS IN THE WINTER HOUSE by Anna Taborska is about a boy dreaming some creepy stuff until he gets to a sour truth. Average stuff.

BOOGEYBOY by Graham Masterton and Karolina Mogielska is about, well, that. Quite disturbing but nice story.

SHADOW BRO by Lisa Tuttle is about one brother coming to terms with his other eerily brother. Average.

MACKINTOSH WILLY by Ramsey Campbell is about urban legend going real. Alrighty one.

THE MONSTERS AND THE MAIDEN by Gwendolyn Kiste is about a girl growing up in a terrible environment and the results of such enduring. Predictable.

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM LANE by Richard Chizmar is about a cold case going hot again. Great, but ending is mixed.

OF CHILDSKIN by Lucy Taylor is about a traumatized mother trying to protect her son. I'm not sure about these negative arcs, though.

LONG BLACK BEING by Brian Evenson is about said being terrorizing kids. Quite cool.

THE ACCIDENTAL BOOGEYMAN by Linda D. Addison is about someone coming to terms with his childhood trauma. Average

THE LONG GOODBYE by Craig Spector is about a man coming to terms with his relationship with his mother. Nice dialogue, but that is it.

AUON DEWA by Lucy A. Snyder is about something lurking through eons. Reminds me of a report by H. P. Lovecraft.

MORNING, NOON AND NIGHT by Joe R. Lansdale is about an inevitable encounter with an inevitable ending. Just goes by, as my daughter would put it.

CRY by RC Matheson is about a woman that needs tears. Touching.

ONLY CHILDREN by Gemma Files is a weird twist about a mother that would do anything for her son. Confusing.

ELECT “BO” GEEMAN! by John Shirley is about doing anything for your out-of-touch boss. I like the analogy, but c’mon.

ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN MONSTERLAND by Mercedes M. Yardley is about dealing with traumas and the effects it has on your kids. Alright but cringey at the end.

BIRTHED FROM THE AIR, FROM THE HEIGHTS by John Langan is a great story about urban legends from Alaska and Korea.

[Maurizio Ferrero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comincio subito a dire che l'edizione del libro, piena di illustrazioni in bianco e nero, è splendida. Eppure, sarà un problema mio che non sono mai stato particolarmente affascinato dalla figura del Boogeyman, ma ho trovato buona parte dei racconti piuttosto dimenticabili.

Note di eccezione su quelli di Tuttle, Kiste, Lansdale e Langan, che mi sono piaciuti davvero tanto. Quello di Lansdale in particolare, lungo solo dieci pagine, è probabilmente il migliore della raccolta, seguito a ruota da quello di Langan.

[Lel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really liked this collect of short stories. There are obviously ones that stand out more to me than others but on the whole there is a great mix of characters, types of boogeymen and how they interact and affect the world around them. On the whole they were all pretty creepy and worth a read.

[Steve Chappell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection of horror from masters of the field. This is a diverse collection, with a huge variety of boogeymen myths from around the world. All are well told and at least some of them will creep you right out.

[JoeBob Trash · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book.