Dark Spores

by Carol Gyzander (Editor), Rachel A. Brune (Editor), Clay McLeod Chapman (Foreword)

Enter the dark, mycelia-laden world of mushroom horror:
• A food blogger hunts for a killer recipe.
• Ceaseless rain drives a lonely man into his fungus-covered town.
• A grieving son purchases a kit to regrow his dead mother.

This anthology explores the mysterious world of fungi, spores…and things that dwell in the dim forest under the rotting leaves. Here you’ll find 31 stories and 5 poems of quiet, cosmic, and body horror—plus subtle humor. Works examine themes of loneliness, desire, consumption, and connection with what lurks in the shadows.

Edited by Carol Gyzander and Rachel A. Brune, Dark Spores is the fourth volume in the Stories We Tell After Midnight horror series. Devour these stories—before they devour you!

Featuring works by Meghan Arcuri, Rachel A. Brune, Samantha Bryant, R. E. Carr, James Chambers, Rick Claypool, Randee Dawn, Teel James Glenn, Maxwell Ian Gold, Timothy Granville, Rob Grimoire, Carol Gyzander, John G. Hartness, Pedro Iniguez, Jo Kaplan, Nicholas Kaufmann, Ariana Khaim, Gwendolyn Kiste, Nicole Givens Kurtz, Jamie Lackey, Gordon Linzner, M. Lopes da Silva, Lee Murray, Victoria Nations, Candace Nola, Gregory Norris, Tonia Ransom, Daniel Roop, Jef Rouner, Rebecca Rowland, Sumiko Saulson, Shannon Scott, Angela Yuriko Smith, Sara Tantlinger, Elizabeth Twist, and L. Marie Wood.

With a special foreword by Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Ghost Eaters: A Novel.

Cover: Lynne Hansen

Contents:
Mushrooms in Our Blood: Foreword by Clay McLeod Chapman
Swamp Fever by Jamie Lackey
The Epigeous Dead by James Chambers
Appetizers A Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter Short Story by John G. Hartness
Flesh, Fungi & Farewell by Gwendolyn Kiste
Dead and Forgotten in Manhattanville by Nicholas Kaufmann
Ballerinas of the Earth by Sara Tantlinger
The Fourth Girl by Meghan Arcuri
In the Dark by Teel James Glenn
Lichenthropy by Gregory L. Norris
Real Science Shit by L. Marie Wood
The Parasitium by M. Lopes da Silva
Point Zero by Lee Murray
Butterfly Hisses by Tonia Ransom
The Cycle of Consumption by Rebecca Rowland
Fruiting Bodies by Victoria Nations
Devilish Deeds by Candace Nola
Fun Gus by Pedro Íñiguez
Notho-Pan: A City on Angel Wings by Maxwell I. Gold
A Dark Infestation by Ariana Khaim
Wold by Jef Rouner
A Dark Spore Grows in the Rot by Rachel A. Brune
Of Teeth and Mushrooms by Nicole Givens Kurtz
The Mushroom Child by Samantha J. Bryant
The Greenhouse by Carol Gyzander
The Must of Your Body Covers Me by Sumiko Saulson
The Angels of Scruggs County by Daniel Roop
Tender Flesh by Elizabeth Twist
Cordyceps Angelus by Rob Grimoire
Buttons by R.E. Carr
Sporadikos, or Why We Don't Date Mushrooms by Angela Yuriko Smith
An Indisposition by Timothy Granville
Foraging by Shannon Scott
New Mom Grow Kit: Two Stars by Rick Claypool
New Life by Gordon Linzner
An Unwanted Growth by Jo Kaplan
Pretty Maids All in a Row by Randee Dawn

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 24, 2024

Reviews

[Kate Victoria RescueandReading · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve discovered I really enjoy creepy fungal tales, or as Clay McLeod Chapman calls them in his wonderful intro: “Sporror”.

His words lead into the “Dark Spores” anthology perfectly: “The stories you find in your hands now are in of themselves fruiting bodies—spores of a different sort—ready to spread their own particular terrors.”

The book also has the most incredible cover designed by Lynne Hansen! It’s absolutely stunning.

I did find the quantity of tales a bit overwhelming; I honestly was a bit worried I’d become weary of mushroom horror. Thankfully this didn’t happen, and even though I did pace myself, each time I picked up where I left off, I was excited to see what the next author had in store.

Not all of the stories hit it off with me, I’m not a huge fan of poetry in collections or mixing other tropes (for example: vampires, cryptids, fairies, etc) in with such a strong theme already in place. These are strictly my opinions though, so other readers may prefer these aspects.

Favourite stories included: “The Epigeous Dead” by James Chambers, “Dead and Forgotten in Manhattanville” by Nicholas Kaufmann, “In the Dark” by Teel James Glenn, “Lichenthropy” by Gregory L. Norris, “Fruiting Bodies” by Victoria Nations, “Fun Gus” by Pedro Iniguez, “Buttons” R.E. Carr, and “An Unwanted Growth” by Jo Kaplan.

A great collection put together by some terrific editors!

[Wren Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s something about the concept of fungus and rot that is just so malleable and transformative. When it comes to horror as a genre, it can be applied in so many ways from the extremely literal to the intrinsically metaphorical.

In Dark Spores, we explore stories about bad trips, corporeal reanimation, fae folk, and even some that are incredibly politically driven.

We have a look into how rot relates to deterioration, not just physically, but in relationships, in how we handle our grief, in how a nation can be manipulated and the minds of its most vulnerable turned to mycological mush.

This collection of short stories and poetry went through a large range of different places, some of the stories I really loved, for example the one where a man who is obsessed with a red pilling radio personality finally meets his hero, only for his girlfriend to be with him and see that the man is a corpse being controlled by rotten mycelium.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with these stories. There was plenty of diversity amongst not just the stories, but the characters as well, and would highly recommend picking this up!

[Alenna Burleson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a short story collection about everything mushrooms, some of my favorite stories but not all of them were…

appetizers- two vampires go to to dinner but they are the ones being hunted for once.

the forth girl- girls are getting swept up and killed by some strange powder being blown into their face by a handsome traveler.

fruiting bodies- everyone is starting to get tethered together by a stalk that no one knows why or how it’s made but people go looking for their stalk mates.

This was a really fun collection!

[Nicholas Kaufmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I have a story in this anthology ("Dead and Forgotten in Manhattanville"). However, anyone who's familiar with my work knows I'm fascinated by fungus, so not only was I honored to be included, I was compelled to read the anthology cover to cover!

Fungus makes for a versatile topic because there are so many different kinds of fungi that have different fascinating traits, and that's reflected in the wide range of stories (and occasional poems) found here. My favorites include "The Epigeous Dead" by James Chambers, "Flesh, Fungi & Farewell" by Gwendolyn Kiste, "The Fourth Girl" by Meghan Arcuri, "Fruiting Bodies" by Victoria Nations, "A Dark Infestation" by Ariana Khaim, "The Angels of Scruggs County" by Daniel Roop, "Foraging" by Shannon Scott, "Pretty Maids All In a Row" by Randee Dawn, and "An Indisposition" by Timothy Granville, which might have been my favorite of the bunch.

That's a lot of stories to be among my favorites of an anthology, which speaks highly of the selection offered here. Your mileage may vary, of course. There are a lot of stories to choose from.

Recommended for anyone who loves fungal horror (or "sporror," as the kids call it) but also for horror readers looking for a wide variety of stories, from cosmic to classic EC Comics. I'm proud to be a part of this one!

[Zane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark Spores Vol. 4 is the kind of book you open “just to sample” and suddenly it’s 2 a.m., your room is too quiet, and you’re side-eyeing the shadows. Each story feels like a whispered secret passed around a fire after midnight unnerving, strange, and impossible to forget.
The fungal horror theme is used brilliantly here. This isn’t just body horror (though yes, there’s plenty of deliciously unsettling imagery) it’s atmospheric dread, existential rot, slow-burn unease, and that creeping realization that something ancient is watching… and growing.
What really impressed me was the range. Some stories are sharp and brutal, others lyrical and haunting, but every single one understands the assignment:
🍄 decay
🍄 transformation
🍄 the horror of nature reclaiming what we thought we owned
The editors deserve serious credit for curating a collection that feels cohesive without being repetitive. This volume proves that fungal horror isn’t a gimmick it’s fertile ground for genuinely chilling storytelling.
If you love:
• horror that lingers instead of jump-scares
• anthologies with real atmosphere
• nature horror, cosmic dread, or “something is wrong with this place” vibes

…this belongs on your shelf immediately.

Read it after midnight. Trust me. Just maybe don’t eat mushrooms for a while.

[David Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

While entertaining, this is not a book I would recommend reading front to back ... because it falls into that anthology flaw that is hard to overcome. The stories all center on "spores" or fungus, mushroom, something along that line. The problem is that most of them are versions of the same basic plot. I won't say what it is, but I bet you can guess. Some of them would have fared very well in unthemed anthologies as the ONLY fungus story, but all in a row it's hard to remain engaged. I liked Daniel Roop's "The Angels of Scruggs County," which has a ver redneck voice and kept me intrigued. Appetizers by John G. Hartness is more of a short vignette, based on characters from his popular Quincy Harper series - fun, but probably moresofor fans of the series. L. Marie Wood's "Real Science Shit" is a dark tale with a twist ending that stuck with me. The poems "Ballerinas of the Earth," by Sara Tantlinger and in particular "The Must of Your Body Covers Me" by Sumiko Saulson were very dark, creepy, and beautiful.

Overall, like any anthology, there are a range of stories that appealed to me, did not appeal to me, and a bunch that fell in the middle. I believe that the narrow concept hampered the overall effect. Mileage on anthologies will vary reader to reader. Glad to have had read it.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I’m feeling a bit…peckish” Rebecca Rowland

I just LOVE spore horror. Give me all the nefarious fungus, errupting skulls and Mycelium. Crone Girls Press assembled the best authors for this volume 4 of their Dark Spores anthology of short stories. Rebecca Rowland, Jo Kaplan,  R.E. Carr and James Chambers are just a few of the super star authors included. Clay McLeod Chapman wrote the introduction. The release date is still fluid as the editor deals with her real life home mold horror but whenever it releases it's going to be a huge success. I've ordered the first 3 volumes through their Kickstarter and plan on circling back for them.

[Jovan · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 star for the cover art and for the couple of good stories in there. Short story collections are never good (at least I haven’t found one) and this was no different.