Liminal: 15 Horror Stories about Infinite Spaces

Anthologies of Terror

by Blair Daniels

WAITING A man finds himself lost in a doctor's waiting room, for all of eternity.

A couple gets lost in a never-ending development of identical, cookie-cutter houses.

A big box store that never ends...

Back rooms. Never-ending offices. Hallways that twist and turn. The stories in this book explore liminal spaces--infinite, unsettling, shrouded in darkness. Read... if you dare.

Genres: Horror, Anthologies, Horror Thriller, Short Stories

230 pages, Paperback

Published July 29, 2024

Reviews

[Stitching Ghost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some stories exploited the concept of liminality better than others but overall, it was a pretty solid collection of short stories dealing with the concept of endless spaces. There's a sprinkle of retail horror too, I can't get enough of liminality or retail horror, so I was pretty happy about that.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea of liminal spaces is truly scary to me, but, sadly, most of these stories weren’t great. I wish the idea would be used by a different group of writers.

[Kate Victoria RescueandReading · Rating 4 out of 5]

From first to last page, this book captivated me. It was spectacularly creepy, with each tale having its own unique flavour of weirdness and horror.

Backrooms, liminal spaces, the uncanny valley… you’ll find so much to make a chill creep up your spine in each entry. Going to a greenhouse, the supermarket, a roadside restroom will forever have me thinking about what I’ve read. What if you’re trapped in endless halls with monstrous things chasing you? What if the people you know slowly start disappearing or transforming around you? What if they aren’t the same people at all? What if they aren’t people?

Now I will be on the search for more stories about eerie places. Hopefully they’ll be a Liminal 2 anthology in the future as well!

Thank you to the publisher, BookSprout & authors for a copy!

[Jon Von · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice collection of short, sort-of-silly Liminal horror stories that has a little fun with the environments. Worlds that enter the Twilight Zone right at the moment that you arent paying attention; sidewalks, rooms, hallways, and parking lots. Store aisles become infinite, and dreamlike, stranding the characters in a different reality. Fun stuff, a nice collection.

[Milt Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's very easy to get excited about this anthology: great theme, awesome stories, incredibly good endings and impeccable execution. I really liked all the stories and would heartily recommend them to all horror fans who enjoy creepy, immersive, Backrooms-style tales. You don't even need to know what "liminality" means, just that it implies the idea of getting lost in places which produce a feeling of uncanniness and unfamiliarity, coupled with a sense of menace and an atmosphere of dread. Not one story let me down; three of them, however, stood out, and one of them actually stunned me for its incredible prose and mood. The three stories were: Blair Daniels' "Playground", a perfect liminal space story with a heart breaking ending, T.W. Vesperbelle's "Isomart", the quintessential "lost in a supermarket" story with a fantastic twist, and H.T. Wiate's "Office". The one haunting story that stands head and shoulders above the rest for its amazing writing, perfect pace, lyrical atmosphere, and original concepts, was "Beach" by Jacob Early. Worth the price of the book alone.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Janet (iamltr) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad...

This anthology was much better than I was expecting. This one was not really scary, so most people will be able to get through it with no issues.

There were no bad stories in here, all of them were readable and not too long.

I absolutely loved the story told by IT ticket. That was awesome.

[Norma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of these stories were extremely good.

[Ashley Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of these stories kept me reading, faster and faster, so I could see what happened next; and each one left me wanting more of the story, leaving you hanging in the best way. It's a very aptly named book! It was an excellent way to spend a rainy, lazy afternoon. There were a few typos in "Prison" and "Mall", but overall, 5 stars to all the stories and authors. Blair Daniels is, as always, a personal favorite of mine. <3.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[C.J · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a cool read, different stories from different authors, with Blair Daniels (one of my favorite authors) contributing 2 stories to the collection. Some of my faves were OFFICE (I really liked this one), PLAYGROUND, ISOMART (had a nice twist), and I also liked SCHOOL a lot and MALL. All in all it's a nice book with good short stories.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

[Rhiannon Boyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The liminal space concept is explored here with 15 short stories. The cover confusingly (or purposefully?) says there are 13 tales… a clever joke or just a poor last minute editing job?

Anyway, some of these tales did an excellent job of exploring the liminal space idea very well, creating just the right amount of ambiguity, confusion and disorienting dread of spaces. Highlights for me were Samantha Whitmore’s ‘Greenhouse’, Blair Daniels’ ‘Suburbs’ and ‘Playground’ and H.T. Waite’s excellent ‘Office’.

A few missed the mark for me in that all-too-crucial atmosphere that is absolutely necessary for a liminal space tale to be truly terrifying and unsettling. A few were somewhat predictable, or repetitive, which I think is usually the author’s attempt to create that disorientation but sometimes just comes off as exasperating or monotony without the constraint.

I think liminal space stories can be a tricky place to navigate for authors. For me they require a very balanced and sophisticated narrative and if it’s not found it becomes a basic horror story. Not necessarily a bad story, but not a strong liminal horror one. All in all, this collection averaged out with a handful of really good mixed with the ‘just ok’. It’s probably a good introduction for anyone dipping their toes into this rather metaphysical sub-genre of horror and weird fiction.

[M.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A neat little theme and the majority of the stories were quite good with a few that were excellent.
The stand outs for me were:

Greenhouse by Samantha Whitmore
The first story. Eerie and set a good tone/precedent for what was coming after.

Office by H.T. Waite
Probably my second favorite story. Had an attention grabbing epistolary format that let your own imagination fill in any gaps. Borderline hilarious at moments and very creepy.

Suburbs by Blair Daniels
I have felt the unease and mild creeping panic of trying to navigate my way through a Cookie-Cutter new construction suburban neighborhood. Good setting, growing unease, well written.

Playground by Blair Daniels
Anything with kids in peril scares the hell out of me and the bar where it goes from from fun scary to intolerably upsetting is LOW. This one perfectly balanced that and so I found it very effective.

Rest Stop Bathroom by Jamie Polizzi
Nasty and scary and explains very little (positive)

and the best of the bunch:
Isomart by T.W. Vesperbelle
Impossible not to be drawn in my the first paragraph. A great hook, an interesting voice and satisfyingly weird ending.


“Good evening, shoppers. I regret to inform you that our store is now closed,” I heard a young woman announce over the Isomart’s PA system, just as I was hurrying towards the exit. I immediately thought that ‘regret to inform you’ was an odd choice of words for announcing that a store was closed, and just beneath the woman’s default retail monotone I could have sworn I picked up a tinge of guilt and anxiety. “I’m… sorry. I was supposed to warn you. I was supposed to give you time to get out but I… I’m sorry. It’s too late now. The night crew woke up early and we can’t risk them getting out. The doors are shut; there’s no way out until morning. It’s store policy; there’s nothing I can do! It’s not my fault! I’m sorry, just… just stay out of their way, and you should be fine. They’ll be out on the floor shortly if they’re not there already. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Th-thank you for shopping at Isomart, and have a nice day.”

By the time the PA system crackled off, the woman was openly sobbing."

Damn, that's a five star story right there!

[Kalin Stevey]

*3.88 star average*

Greenhouse 3.5 stars
Office 4.5 stars
Suburbs 4 stars
Beach DNF
Hatchery 4 stars(purely because I kept laughing lol)
Waiting room 3 stars
Prison 2.5 stars
Float barn 3.5 stars
Playground 5 stars
Library 5 stars
Night club 4 stars
Isomart 3 stars (great setting, missed the liminal mark)
School 4 stars
Mall 4 stars
Rest stop bathroom 4.5 stars

Overall, this was a really creepy, fun collection. As with any collection some worked better for me than others but I had a good time reading a story or two before bed each night.

[Laureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea of liminal space horror was a very creepy and dreadful concept. I wanted this to be better than it was. Most of the writing was good. A couple of the stories really needed to be edited. The compilation of stories here felt like the same story slightly altered over and again. There were a couple that induced some fear and anxiety, but I wouldn’t say overall it was great. The price I paid made it worth the effort.

[natalielikesbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️: 3.5

”A tear leaks from my closed eyes as I realize it’s not just a hole I lay in, it’s a grave. My grave. I’m trapped here, in this deadly greenhouse at the center of this wretched maze, lost, injured, and with no way out.”

Though the stories were really good and had that creepy element to them I was hoping for, some weren’t really giving “liminal space”. So even though some stories weren’t really giving that and some did, I still enjoyed the book and the short stories.

[Megan Scott · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pure garbage.

Seriously, don't bother. No clear voice, no personality, nothing is salvageable about the writing or the contents of this book.

This author has 40 published books, all of which are 4 stars and above. I call bullshit. These reviews have to be artificially inflated by friends and family (AT BEST), but I honestly wouldn't be surprised to learn that they were paid for.

[Christopher Howell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't want to be this guy, but I agree with some of the other reviews. Some of these stories are great! Unfortunately, there were a fair amount that fell short. Some that were terribly edited, which doesn't necessarily break my immersion, but with a detail lacking story, it doesn't help. There was one in particular that seemed to be trying to do too much, but couldn't quite provide the details to achieve the intended imagery. Otherwise, some solid bangers and rather enjoyable.

[Hummingbird · Rating 3 out of 5]

All in all the stories were decent and entertaining. In the future please edit. If you are self published then have friends help you with this. Some of the authors have a weak grasp on punctuation, spelling, syntax etc and it is confusing and detracts from the enjoyment of reading.
Fun example: I’s is NEVER EVER a word.

[jody scheppmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

First time for this author

Stories are interesting and short..which I like..and new ideas..which I like..my favorite one was the last..I have also considered roadside restroom spooky

[Deedra Shankweiler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like most anthologies, there are always stand outs and weaker entries. As always, Blair Daniels' contributions never disappoint.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Mawmm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This had lots of good stories inside, once you start you can't stop. Another addition to the brilliant mind of Blair Daniels.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Danielle Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like most books made up of short stories, some were good and some weren't. Some of these stories didn't really have anything to do with the backrooms at all. My top favorites were probably the one about the playground and the one about the doctors office.

[Becca’s Korner Shelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

It wasn't my favorite book of hers but it does have some good stories. Pick up a copy and give it a go.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jason Cornelius · Rating 1 out of 5]

Book of short stories. This was a hard miss for me. Lots of typos, poor grammar and just amateur writing. Felt like a collection of short stories written by schoolkids to be honest.

[DaniPhantom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every single space, or story, depicts a setting that gives you a sense of unease in every day life. Adding in the allure of liminal spaces and the back rooms, this book is a great collection of short stories about the void.

[Tanica · Rating 5 out of 5]

blair daniels never misses !!

[Morgan Embleton · Rating 2 out of 5]

ehhh this one was pretty boring tbh

[Fletch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun anthology built around the theme of liminal spaces. Some very good stories, some mediocre and some that weren't really on theme, but nothing truly bad. Nice, bite-sized, creepy reads.

[Sentinelle23 · Rating 4 out of 5]

🏘Chilling and successful!

15 scary stories:
- Greenhouse (Samantha Whitmore).
- Office (H.T. Waite).
- Suburbs (Blair Daniels).
- Beach (Jacob Early).
- Hatchery (René Rehn).
- Waiting Room (Kajetan Kwiatkowski).
- Prison (Kyle Harrison).
- Playground (Blair Daniels).
- Library (C.M. Robinson).
- Night Club (H.R. Welch).
- Isomatt (T.W. Vesperbelle).
- School (Jesse Pullins).
-Mall (Ashley Watson).
-Rest Stop Bathroom (Jamie Polizzi).

**********

A successful anthology of chilling, mysterious stories that sometimes leave you with a slight feeling of discomfort, oddity or unease.

A must-read for fans of the genre!

[Sarah Leis · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐

[Laura Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great collection of liminal horror stories - each story is set in a different eerie location and this book had me enthralled from the first page. While all of the stories were good, I found Float Barn, Playground, and Nightclub especially fantastic. There's some truly haunting, well written imagery that encapsulates the liminal horror vibe perfectly in them.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.