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Arithmophobia: An Anthology of Mathematical Horror
"Arithmophobia," The fear of numbers or mathematics.
Whether you love mathematics or find it terrifying, this anthology of original tales of terror is sure to send a chill down your spine. With an unlucky thirteen brand new horror stories and a bonus poem in case any readers suffer from triskaidekaphobia, these pages combine the talents of some of the genre's most experienced award-winning practitioners of terror and some of the literary world's most promising new voices.
Featuring contributions by Elizabeth Massie, Miguel Fliguer, Mike Slater, Patrick Freivald, Liz Kaufman, Damon Nomad, Sarah Lazarz, Martin Zeigler, Josh Snider, Rivka Crowbourne, Joe Stout, Brian Knight, Wil Forbis, David Lee Summers, and Maxwell I. Gold.
These stories tell us of strange and horrifying new geometries, crazed and violent mathematicians, sentient and malevolent numbers, and even some new mathematical twists on some classic monsters. You needn't be a mathematician to experience these new forms of mathematical terror, though students of the discipline might recognize some familiar names and ideas lurking in the shadows.
So pull up a chair, dust off your abacus and slide rule, and prepare to experience...
Arithmophobia.
Whether you love mathematics or find it terrifying, this anthology of original tales of terror is sure to send a chill down your spine. With an unlucky thirteen brand new horror stories and a bonus poem in case any readers suffer from triskaidekaphobia, these pages combine the talents of some of the genre's most experienced award-winning practitioners of terror and some of the literary world's most promising new voices.
Featuring contributions by Elizabeth Massie, Miguel Fliguer, Mike Slater, Patrick Freivald, Liz Kaufman, Damon Nomad, Sarah Lazarz, Martin Zeigler, Josh Snider, Rivka Crowbourne, Joe Stout, Brian Knight, Wil Forbis, David Lee Summers, and Maxwell I. Gold.
These stories tell us of strange and horrifying new geometries, crazed and violent mathematicians, sentient and malevolent numbers, and even some new mathematical twists on some classic monsters. You needn't be a mathematician to experience these new forms of mathematical terror, though students of the discipline might recognize some familiar names and ideas lurking in the shadows.
So pull up a chair, dust off your abacus and slide rule, and prepare to experience...
Arithmophobia.
- GenresHorrorAnthologiesFiction
254 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 14, 2024
8 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Robert Lewis
5 books25 followersRobert (Bob) Lewis is a Colorado-based author, editor, publisher, magician, scholar, podcaster, YouTuber, entrepreneur, and more. He holds degrees with Latin honors in Biology, English, Mathematics, and Psychology from the University of Colorado Denver (where he also took an Astrophysics minor) as well as a Master of Education in Science and the Public from the University at Buffalo. A dedicated polymath, he likes to tell people that his hobby is to collect new hobbies. Among his current favorite pastimes are chess, cooking, woodworking, tinkering in his workshop, collecting bizarre artifacts and curiosities, and (re)learning his musical instruments. By the time you read this, he’ll assuredly have added some more to the list.
Professionally speaking, he is the founder, owner, and executive editor of Polymath Press, host of the YouTube channel Phobophile, co-host of the Do You Like Scary Movies horror podcast, member of the Rocky Mountain Paranormal Research Society, and performs as a magician at Bob Lewis Magic. By the time you read this, there’s a good chance he’ll be in the process of adding something to this list as well.
Professionally speaking, he is the founder, owner, and executive editor of Polymath Press, host of the YouTube channel Phobophile, co-host of the Do You Like Scary Movies horror podcast, member of the Rocky Mountain Paranormal Research Society, and performs as a magician at Bob Lewis Magic. By the time you read this, there’s a good chance he’ll be in the process of adding something to this list as well.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 27, 2024
Definitely a new concept, a horror anthology with numbers as the baseline for a story theme. Rest assured, mathaphobes: you don't have to be any sort of algebraic genius to enjoy this, or even remember the Pythagorean theorem.
The quality here is quite good, the overall story average comes in at a solid B to B+, for me. There are four outstanding stories here that crush the overall good ones, the only drawback is that two of those end WAY too early, and leave a lot of story on the table to be explored. The stories 'Eratosthene's Map' and 'Critical Mass' are prime examples, I would loved to have seen the ideas in at least a novella. 'Map' is a fantastic one about the search for the gates of Heaven and Hell, based on numbers. This story alone is worth the cost of the book. Thankfully, another of the real bangers, 'Solve for X,' hits the length perfectly and leaves nothing untold, while being a great story.
The other stories deal with a variety of things, although one sort of theme is people who get obsessed with analytics and symmetry of numbers, and they take it to ugly extremes. 'Real Numbers' is a great example of this, and 'One Two Buckle My Shoe' is a more disturbing, less wild take on the idea.
The old physics problem about two trains approaching at different speeds (c'mon, we all had to solve this problem in Physics 101) gets a nice take in the story 'Trains Passing.' Two strangers meet on the train, obsessed with seeing the problem actually functioning...but they have very different motives for wanting to see it. I also loved 'Lost and Found,' as a former teacher, it was a lot of fun to see a story with a truly nutty teacher, and it had a nice undercurrent of dark humor to it also, resulting from the teacher using very old discipline methods.
Overall, a very solid collection of stories, and most important: this is something original, an anthology that goes outside of the normal horror themes, or is able to twist old themes with the mathematical concept. There were only two duds in the entire book, that's a pretty good average for a 13 story collection. For horror fans, this is certainly worth the read.
The quality here is quite good, the overall story average comes in at a solid B to B+, for me. There are four outstanding stories here that crush the overall good ones, the only drawback is that two of those end WAY too early, and leave a lot of story on the table to be explored. The stories 'Eratosthene's Map' and 'Critical Mass' are prime examples, I would loved to have seen the ideas in at least a novella. 'Map' is a fantastic one about the search for the gates of Heaven and Hell, based on numbers. This story alone is worth the cost of the book. Thankfully, another of the real bangers, 'Solve for X,' hits the length perfectly and leaves nothing untold, while being a great story.
The other stories deal with a variety of things, although one sort of theme is people who get obsessed with analytics and symmetry of numbers, and they take it to ugly extremes. 'Real Numbers' is a great example of this, and 'One Two Buckle My Shoe' is a more disturbing, less wild take on the idea.
The old physics problem about two trains approaching at different speeds (c'mon, we all had to solve this problem in Physics 101) gets a nice take in the story 'Trains Passing.' Two strangers meet on the train, obsessed with seeing the problem actually functioning...but they have very different motives for wanting to see it. I also loved 'Lost and Found,' as a former teacher, it was a lot of fun to see a story with a truly nutty teacher, and it had a nice undercurrent of dark humor to it also, resulting from the teacher using very old discipline methods.
Overall, a very solid collection of stories, and most important: this is something original, an anthology that goes outside of the normal horror themes, or is able to twist old themes with the mathematical concept. There were only two duds in the entire book, that's a pretty good average for a 13 story collection. For horror fans, this is certainly worth the read.
March 24, 2024
What an original anthology! I've been willing to read more short stories these days, and I'm glad I read Arithmophobia.
Like with every short story collection or anthology, there are stories stronger than others, or simply some stories that each reader will like more than others. My favorite of the entire anthology is Real Numbers by Liz Kaufman. It got me stuck to my seat! The others that I liked the most are They'll Say It Was the Communist by Sarah Lazarz, Trains Passing by Martin Ziegler, Asymetrical Dreams by Josh Snider, and Solve for X by Wil Forbis.
Overall, it's a strong anthology with a good variety of stories. Though they all have something to do with numbers and mathematics, each story is very different from the others, and I never felt like I was reading similar plots or concepts. And even the stories that didn't resonate with me still had something interesting in them, leading me to read every single one of them carefully. Kudos to Bob Lewis for putting together such a nice selection of stories.
Like with every short story collection or anthology, there are stories stronger than others, or simply some stories that each reader will like more than others. My favorite of the entire anthology is Real Numbers by Liz Kaufman. It got me stuck to my seat! The others that I liked the most are They'll Say It Was the Communist by Sarah Lazarz, Trains Passing by Martin Ziegler, Asymetrical Dreams by Josh Snider, and Solve for X by Wil Forbis.
Overall, it's a strong anthology with a good variety of stories. Though they all have something to do with numbers and mathematics, each story is very different from the others, and I never felt like I was reading similar plots or concepts. And even the stories that didn't resonate with me still had something interesting in them, leading me to read every single one of them carefully. Kudos to Bob Lewis for putting together such a nice selection of stories.
February 4, 2025
"But if numbers exist in the physical world, where exactly do they exist?
Where do they originate from? Oil exists under the earth, diamonds in caves well below the surface, oxygen in the air. All of these things existed before human beings were conscious of them. Human beings discovered them. Did human beings discover numbers too?”
Stories of mathematics creeping up on people in the most unnerving ways, which will make you wonder how mathematicians don’t go insane with all the possibilities of error that math can bring, whether it be spiritual, physical or some other worldly being. This is such a unique concept, I loved every single story in here.
Where do they originate from? Oil exists under the earth, diamonds in caves well below the surface, oxygen in the air. All of these things existed before human beings were conscious of them. Human beings discovered them. Did human beings discover numbers too?”
Stories of mathematics creeping up on people in the most unnerving ways, which will make you wonder how mathematicians don’t go insane with all the possibilities of error that math can bring, whether it be spiritual, physical or some other worldly being. This is such a unique concept, I loved every single story in here.
June 13, 2024
A cool concept with a lot of great stories. Stories range from everyday horror, to SF, cosmic horror, and some that are just a bit weird. All in all a great, fun read if you are looking for something a bit different.
April 8, 2025
Good book. Not great. A few stories were just ok. Most were pretty good. And a couple were exceptional.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews