What do you think?
Rate this book
The Shivers Collection #1-5
The Shivers Collection
In this chilling collection, five acclaimed authors invite you into a world where the supernatural hides in plain sight.
Look closely, and you’ll find it: lurking within an ancient tree, stalking an idyllic beach, and whispering through a friend’s letter. Your curiosity is exactly what it’s been waiting for.
Jackknife by Joe Hill
In this chilling collection, five acclaimed authors invite you into a world where the supernatural hides in plain sight.
Look closely, and you’ll find it: lurking within an ancient tree, stalking an idyllic beach, and whispering through a friend’s letter. Your curiosity is exactly what it’s been waiting for.
The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones
Don’t lose your head over office politics…The horrors of the modern workplace meet actual horror in a fiendishly entertaining short story from New York Times bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones.
When the lights go out and the slideshow begins, middle manager Jennifer has a disturbing vision: a headless colleague right across the boardroom table. Is it a trick of the light, or a vision of the future? She tries to brush it off and salvage the afternoon—but when her ex unexpectedly drops off her son at the office after school, suddenly her whole world takes an alarming turn.
The Blanks by Grady Hendrix
Residents have an unspoken pact with the island’s unnatural inhabitants: ignore them, live happily. But in New York Times bestselling author Grady Hendrix’s thrilling short story, one boy can’t look away—and pays the price.
Jeckle Island offers Rachel’s children the chance to spend summers roaming wild and free, as long as they follow the rules. But when her son comes face to face with a terror they dare not speak of, she must prepare for their perfect world to change. Forever.
Night and Day in Misery by Catriona Ward
In the gloom of her hotel, a mother readies to rejoin her past. Feverish nightmares meet the chilling light of day in this haunting short story from USA Today bestselling author Catriona Ward.
Room 17 was the last stop on her husband and son’s journey. Eight years after their deaths, Stella books the same room, hoping to commune with their memories. But as she tries to sleep, disturbing and urgent visions blur the lines between reality and the supernatural, and the other side sends a terrifying message.
Letter Slot by Owen King
A helping hand, a fateful cost. In this ominous short story from New York Times bestselling author Owen King, the cost of living keeps rising—and it collects payment from the soul.
Sensing his mother’s failing health, a struggling teenager pours out his worries in a letter and drops it through the mail slot of an abandoned show house. He’s surprised when a response arrives, promising good fortune for the price of just one name: someone he hates. He’d give anything for his mother. But the true cost may be more than he’s willing to pay.
Look closely, and you’ll find it: lurking within an ancient tree, stalking an idyllic beach, and whispering through a friend’s letter. Your curiosity is exactly what it’s been waiting for.
Jackknife by Joe Hill
In this chilling collection, five acclaimed authors invite you into a world where the supernatural hides in plain sight.
Look closely, and you’ll find it: lurking within an ancient tree, stalking an idyllic beach, and whispering through a friend’s letter. Your curiosity is exactly what it’s been waiting for.
The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones
Don’t lose your head over office politics…The horrors of the modern workplace meet actual horror in a fiendishly entertaining short story from New York Times bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones.
When the lights go out and the slideshow begins, middle manager Jennifer has a disturbing vision: a headless colleague right across the boardroom table. Is it a trick of the light, or a vision of the future? She tries to brush it off and salvage the afternoon—but when her ex unexpectedly drops off her son at the office after school, suddenly her whole world takes an alarming turn.
The Blanks by Grady Hendrix
Residents have an unspoken pact with the island’s unnatural inhabitants: ignore them, live happily. But in New York Times bestselling author Grady Hendrix’s thrilling short story, one boy can’t look away—and pays the price.
Jeckle Island offers Rachel’s children the chance to spend summers roaming wild and free, as long as they follow the rules. But when her son comes face to face with a terror they dare not speak of, she must prepare for their perfect world to change. Forever.
Night and Day in Misery by Catriona Ward
In the gloom of her hotel, a mother readies to rejoin her past. Feverish nightmares meet the chilling light of day in this haunting short story from USA Today bestselling author Catriona Ward.
Room 17 was the last stop on her husband and son’s journey. Eight years after their deaths, Stella books the same room, hoping to commune with their memories. But as she tries to sleep, disturbing and urgent visions blur the lines between reality and the supernatural, and the other side sends a terrifying message.
Letter Slot by Owen King
A helping hand, a fateful cost. In this ominous short story from New York Times bestselling author Owen King, the cost of living keeps rising—and it collects payment from the soul.
Sensing his mother’s failing health, a struggling teenager pours out his worries in a letter and drops it through the mail slot of an abandoned show house. He’s surprised when a response arrives, promising good fortune for the price of just one name: someone he hates. He’d give anything for his mother. But the true cost may be more than he’s willing to pay.
174 pages, ebook
First published April 15, 2025
21 people are currently reading
656 people want to read
About the author
Joe Hill
504 books29.6k followersJoe Hill's debut, Heart-Shaped Box, won the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel. His second, Horns, was made into a film freakfest starring Daniel Radcliffe. His other novels include NOS4A2, and his #1 New York Times Best-Seller, The Fireman... which was also the winner of a 2016 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Horror Novel.
He writes short stories too. Some of them were gathered together in his prize-winning collection, 20th Century Ghosts.
He won the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long running comic book series, Locke & Key, co-created with illustrator and art wizard Gabriel Rodriguez.
He lives in New Hampshire with a corgi named McMurtry after a certain beloved writer of cowboy tales. His next book, Strange Weather, a collection of novellas, storms into bookstores in October of 2017.
He writes short stories too. Some of them were gathered together in his prize-winning collection, 20th Century Ghosts.
He won the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long running comic book series, Locke & Key, co-created with illustrator and art wizard Gabriel Rodriguez.
He lives in New Hampshire with a corgi named McMurtry after a certain beloved writer of cowboy tales. His next book, Strange Weather, a collection of novellas, storms into bookstores in October of 2017.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 155 reviews
May 2, 2025
3 1/2 stars. Loved the Ward and O. King stories!
September 12, 2025
Finished 5/5 books. Overall rating for this horror story collection: 3 stars
April 18, 2025
Thank you to Netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for this advanced readers copy of the Shivers Collection in exchange for my honest review.
Honestly, this collection did not impress me. There is not much to say as each novella is less than 50 pages, but one of them bored me to death, one included writing that cringed me out and contained unnecessarily disgusting diction, and the other three novellas were meh. I wish I had something good to say about this collection. They were not thrilling or scary in the least, and I was expecting more. I guess I can say I enjoyed The Blanks the most.
Honestly, this collection did not impress me. There is not much to say as each novella is less than 50 pages, but one of them bored me to death, one included writing that cringed me out and contained unnecessarily disgusting diction, and the other three novellas were meh. I wish I had something good to say about this collection. They were not thrilling or scary in the least, and I was expecting more. I guess I can say I enjoyed The Blanks the most.
June 25, 2025
mostly boring but overall it was fine.
April 21, 2025
The nitty-gritty: An uneven but solid bunch of stories, I was ultimately won over by three that were very good indeed.
This is my first time reading a collection of Amazon original stories, and overall it was a fun experience. Below I’ll give a brief review and rating of each of the five stories. Let me know which ones sound good to you!
JACKKNIFE by Joe Hill
4 stars
This was a very creepy story about a man who encounters a killer tree, and I liked it a lot.
Dennis Lange, a college professor, is in all sorts of trouble when he is forced to move out of his house after his wife catches him sexting with one of his students at school. He rents an Airbnb, and while taking a walk one day, he encounters a strange sight: a huge sycamore that appears to be halfway wrenched out of the ground. Embedded in its trunk is an old jackknife, and strange phrases are carved into the tree next to the knife. With a misguided sense of nostalgia, he decides to remove the knife and takes it home.
The next day, Dennis spots the tree again—but it has moved. And the next day, the same thing happens. Trees can’t walk, can they? Then why does it feel like the tree is stalking him? Dennis is about to find out the hard way.
Hill does a great job of building suspense around the tree, and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen. He gives Dennis a nice backstory, painting him as a guy who got himself into trouble, but it’s not completely his fault. The ending was a bit abrupt and “out there,” but up to that point I was terrified!
THE INDIGO ROOM by Stephen Graham Jones
2 stars
This story was not good, unfortunately. I was very surprised because I usually love the author’s work.
The story takes place in a corporate setting. Jennifer is a manager for the company, and during a meeting, she begins to see odd things in the conference room. When the lights go down, she thinks she sees one of her coworkers without a head. Later, an accident in the elevator leads her to believe she might be seeing the future.
The author’s scattered writing style is present here, but it doesn’t work at all in this setting. I was both bored and confused while reading this story, and it wasn’t until the end, when Jennifer’s son Cole takes on a very emotional role, that things picked up. It almost felt like Jones knew the ending before he started writing but couldn't figure out how to get there in a way that made sense.
THE BLANKS by Grady Hendrix
5 stars
This was my favorite of the bunch, and it was a really good one!
Rachel and her husband have been bringing their two kids to Jeckle Island for years. Every summer they move into their Jeckle Island house for two months of sunny beaches, drinks and cookouts with the neighbors. Everyone on Jeckle Island knows about the Blanks, and they all know the rules: if you see a Blank, you ignore it and look away. You pretend it isn’t there. Even the kids have the rules drilled into them.
But one day, Rachel’s young son Callum sees a Blank attack one of their neighbors—and the Blank sees Callum. Rachel is terrified, because she knows exactly what comes next…
The beauty of this story is the way Hendrix creates unease right from the beginning. You have a happy family spending an idyllic summer at the beach, but the reader knows something is off. The author never explains what the Blanks are, but leaves it up to the reader’s imagination, which makes them even scarier. I also loved the way everyone is in complete denial about the Blanks and what they do. It was simply chilling!
NIGHT AND DAY IN MISERY by Catriona Ward
4 stars
I loved this one too! This is a more serious, heartbreaking story that the others, about a woman whose husband and son died in a car accident, and she’s decided to end her life, hoping to be reunited with her son.
Stella is retracing the steps her ex husband and son took before they ended up in the lake, dead from drowning. She's come to the same hotel they spent the night in, and Stella has plans to visit the fateful scene of their accident and join her son in the watery depths. But then a boy appears in her hotel room, a boy that looks like her son, but older. And he's trying to tell her something important.
Catriona Ward’s writing is so good, and I felt for the main character Stella, who has so much grief in her past and can only see one solution to ending it. This story has lots of potential triggers, including spousal abuse, alcoholism, death of a child and suicide ideation. There’s also a Sixth Sense vibe that I really loved.
LETTER SLOT by Owen King
3 stars
This took a while to get going and I was bored for the first half of the story. Maybe not the best pacing for a short story, just saying. A young boy and his mother are struggling to make ends meet, when the boy comes across an almost magical way to turn their luck around.
Letter Slot had some creepy moments, but the ending disappointed me, and so it was just an OK read.
I also want to mention that in several of these stories there are dogs who are killed off, and once again I’m wondering why writers think animal cruelty is necessary for a good horror tale. I’m at the point where whenever there’s a dog in the story, I expect it’s going to meet a bad end. Sigh.
But aside from that, I'm glad I took a chance on this collection. It was a nice change of pace to read shorter works of fiction!
This is my first time reading a collection of Amazon original stories, and overall it was a fun experience. Below I’ll give a brief review and rating of each of the five stories. Let me know which ones sound good to you!
JACKKNIFE by Joe Hill
4 stars
This was a very creepy story about a man who encounters a killer tree, and I liked it a lot.
Dennis Lange, a college professor, is in all sorts of trouble when he is forced to move out of his house after his wife catches him sexting with one of his students at school. He rents an Airbnb, and while taking a walk one day, he encounters a strange sight: a huge sycamore that appears to be halfway wrenched out of the ground. Embedded in its trunk is an old jackknife, and strange phrases are carved into the tree next to the knife. With a misguided sense of nostalgia, he decides to remove the knife and takes it home.
The next day, Dennis spots the tree again—but it has moved. And the next day, the same thing happens. Trees can’t walk, can they? Then why does it feel like the tree is stalking him? Dennis is about to find out the hard way.
Hill does a great job of building suspense around the tree, and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen. He gives Dennis a nice backstory, painting him as a guy who got himself into trouble, but it’s not completely his fault. The ending was a bit abrupt and “out there,” but up to that point I was terrified!
THE INDIGO ROOM by Stephen Graham Jones
2 stars
This story was not good, unfortunately. I was very surprised because I usually love the author’s work.
The story takes place in a corporate setting. Jennifer is a manager for the company, and during a meeting, she begins to see odd things in the conference room. When the lights go down, she thinks she sees one of her coworkers without a head. Later, an accident in the elevator leads her to believe she might be seeing the future.
The author’s scattered writing style is present here, but it doesn’t work at all in this setting. I was both bored and confused while reading this story, and it wasn’t until the end, when Jennifer’s son Cole takes on a very emotional role, that things picked up. It almost felt like Jones knew the ending before he started writing but couldn't figure out how to get there in a way that made sense.
THE BLANKS by Grady Hendrix
5 stars
This was my favorite of the bunch, and it was a really good one!
Rachel and her husband have been bringing their two kids to Jeckle Island for years. Every summer they move into their Jeckle Island house for two months of sunny beaches, drinks and cookouts with the neighbors. Everyone on Jeckle Island knows about the Blanks, and they all know the rules: if you see a Blank, you ignore it and look away. You pretend it isn’t there. Even the kids have the rules drilled into them.
But one day, Rachel’s young son Callum sees a Blank attack one of their neighbors—and the Blank sees Callum. Rachel is terrified, because she knows exactly what comes next…
The beauty of this story is the way Hendrix creates unease right from the beginning. You have a happy family spending an idyllic summer at the beach, but the reader knows something is off. The author never explains what the Blanks are, but leaves it up to the reader’s imagination, which makes them even scarier. I also loved the way everyone is in complete denial about the Blanks and what they do. It was simply chilling!
NIGHT AND DAY IN MISERY by Catriona Ward
4 stars
I loved this one too! This is a more serious, heartbreaking story that the others, about a woman whose husband and son died in a car accident, and she’s decided to end her life, hoping to be reunited with her son.
Stella is retracing the steps her ex husband and son took before they ended up in the lake, dead from drowning. She's come to the same hotel they spent the night in, and Stella has plans to visit the fateful scene of their accident and join her son in the watery depths. But then a boy appears in her hotel room, a boy that looks like her son, but older. And he's trying to tell her something important.
Catriona Ward’s writing is so good, and I felt for the main character Stella, who has so much grief in her past and can only see one solution to ending it. This story has lots of potential triggers, including spousal abuse, alcoholism, death of a child and suicide ideation. There’s also a Sixth Sense vibe that I really loved.
LETTER SLOT by Owen King
3 stars
This took a while to get going and I was bored for the first half of the story. Maybe not the best pacing for a short story, just saying. A young boy and his mother are struggling to make ends meet, when the boy comes across an almost magical way to turn their luck around.
Letter Slot had some creepy moments, but the ending disappointed me, and so it was just an OK read.
I also want to mention that in several of these stories there are dogs who are killed off, and once again I’m wondering why writers think animal cruelty is necessary for a good horror tale. I’m at the point where whenever there’s a dog in the story, I expect it’s going to meet a bad end. Sigh.
But aside from that, I'm glad I took a chance on this collection. It was a nice change of pace to read shorter works of fiction!
May 9, 2025
Five short horror stories that I enjoyed reading, all pretty good too. My favourite was probably the last story ‘Letter Slot’ by Owen King.
April 27, 2025
Owen King - 4 stars
Joe Hill - 3.5 stars
Stephen Graham Jones - 2 stars
Grady Hendrix - 3 stars
Catriona Ward - 3.5 stars
Joe Hill - 3.5 stars
Stephen Graham Jones - 2 stars
Grady Hendrix - 3 stars
Catriona Ward - 3.5 stars
April 24, 2025
This collection was awful… two of the stories I DNFed. With such popular authors I was expecting more. Night and Day in Misery is by far the best in the collection. Catriona Ward is the only author I have any interest in reading more works from. Average of 1.7 🌟 rounded up to 2 🌟
Jackknife 2 🌟 It was alright, predictable with a character you couldn’t help but hope would die at the end. It took me 3 days to finish this short story, and not because I was busy.
The Indigo Room 1 🌟 I couldn’t wait for this short story to be over. I just didn’t care about anything that was happening…
The Blanks 1 🌟 Second Grady Hendrix Dnf, I guess this author just isn’t for me.
Night and Day in Misery 3.5 🌟 By my favorite short story in this collection. I did enjoy this one but it did start out slow. I’ll have to check out one of Wards other books 🥰
Letter Slot 1 🌟 DNF… Wow, this is a short story with sooo much potential. I truly enjoyed the story, it was probably my favorite of the short stories in the collection. I just couldn’t finish it because of the constant blows directed towards conservatives. It added literally nothing to the story, it’s about a a child caring for his sick mother who starts communicating with something in an abandoned house…
Jackknife 2 🌟 It was alright, predictable with a character you couldn’t help but hope would die at the end. It took me 3 days to finish this short story, and not because I was busy.
The Indigo Room 1 🌟 I couldn’t wait for this short story to be over. I just didn’t care about anything that was happening…
The Blanks 1 🌟 Second Grady Hendrix Dnf, I guess this author just isn’t for me.
Night and Day in Misery 3.5 🌟 By my favorite short story in this collection. I did enjoy this one but it did start out slow. I’ll have to check out one of Wards other books 🥰
Letter Slot 1 🌟 DNF… Wow, this is a short story with sooo much potential. I truly enjoyed the story, it was probably my favorite of the short stories in the collection. I just couldn’t finish it because of the constant blows directed towards conservatives. It added literally nothing to the story, it’s about a a child caring for his sick mother who starts communicating with something in an abandoned house…
March 26, 2025
I really enjoyed this chilling short story collection featuring stories from some of my favourite authors. It would be perfect to read in September/October for spooky season so go ahead and add it to your TBR…. It’s sure to give you The Shivers :)
Thanks NetGalley for the complementary digital copy in exchange for my review.
Thanks NetGalley for the complementary digital copy in exchange for my review.
March 31, 2025
Netgalley ARC
April 14, 2025
Thank you Net Galley for approving this audio-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Shivers is a horror anthology collection designed to send a chill down your spine. Whilst I don’t think it delivers on the spine-chilling promises, I think it was an enjoyable collection of short horror stories. The authors all have their own unique styles of storytelling that made it easy to identify when a new story started but maybe didn’t juxtapose well with each other. Individual reviews as follows:
Jackknife by Joe Hill
The first of two stories in this collection written by the progeny of Stephen King and I have to say its a mixed bag for me. Jackknife is easily the creepiest story in this collection with its seemingly sentient, eldritch-esq horror tree, but I also felt no emotional buy in to this fear simply because the MC sucked. Yes, this was intentional character design, but I just thing someone more morally grey would have been better because then you could almost root for them before reminding yourself they were an asshole? Unless ofc Joe Hill thinks a lecherous academic is “morally grey” instead of “morally reprehensible” which having read some of his other works wouldn’t shock me… 3.5/5 ⭐️ because that tree was sinister!
The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones
Described as “the horrors of the modern workplace meet actual horror”, The Indigo Room was perhaps my biggest let down of this collection. SGJ is one of my fave horror authors but this story was less actual horror and more “oh capitalism, the horror!” which I don’t disagree with, I just wanted it to be more sinister or scary. I think the premise was interesting but the execution was too short for me to care about the characters and it felt like it was written for the audience to care about them more than to see something spooky. 2.5/5 ⭐️.
The Blanks by Grady Hendrix
In a move I did not see coming, a story by Grady Hendix was easily my favourite in this collection. An idyllic beachfront community that hides - ignores - a haunting secret made for an excellent, spooky short story, and was the only entry to have my spine even thinking about tingling. I do think the ending flopped a bit and I found the parental reactions to be wildly inaccurate but alas, I guess that is what I should expect from this man who insists on continuing to write female MCs. That aside, this was really good and by far my fave story - 4/5 ⭐️.
Night and Day in Misery by Catriona Ward
Haunting rather than chilling, this tale of grief and remorse was hard to read at times but in a good way that I now forever associate with Catriona Ward. A mother grieving the loss of her son to his drunk/abusive father contemplates her life as mysterious forces influence her. I think this was another story that lost something for me with how sympathetic/unsympathetic the MC was, along with my own personal mother issues lmao. I do love how Ward writes these complex characters who are compelling even when they are unlikeable, but I wanted more time with them than this story gave me and so things fell a bit short. 3/5 ⭐️.
Letter Slot by Owen King
Rounding out this collection is Stephen King offspring #2 Owen with a delightful tale reminiscent of the Paul Jennings/Round the Twist stories of my childhood. The biggest critique I have for this story is the choice of narrator. The MC of this story is a younger teen desperate to support his struggling mother. The narrator sounded like he was easily in his 40’s which was incredibly jarring and took me so far out of the story that I never really found my way back. Outside of this, Letter Slot was curiously charming with an undercurrent of sinisterness that I really liked. I think I would have enjoyed this story more if it had been in print. 3.5/5 ⭐️.
Overall this was a fun collection of short stories but I don’t know that I would recommend it to that many people. None of the stories were especially innovative or, most egregiously, scary, and I found myself constantly underwhelmed.
The Shivers is a horror anthology collection designed to send a chill down your spine. Whilst I don’t think it delivers on the spine-chilling promises, I think it was an enjoyable collection of short horror stories. The authors all have their own unique styles of storytelling that made it easy to identify when a new story started but maybe didn’t juxtapose well with each other. Individual reviews as follows:
Jackknife by Joe Hill
The first of two stories in this collection written by the progeny of Stephen King and I have to say its a mixed bag for me. Jackknife is easily the creepiest story in this collection with its seemingly sentient, eldritch-esq horror tree, but I also felt no emotional buy in to this fear simply because the MC sucked. Yes, this was intentional character design, but I just thing someone more morally grey would have been better because then you could almost root for them before reminding yourself they were an asshole? Unless ofc Joe Hill thinks a lecherous academic is “morally grey” instead of “morally reprehensible” which having read some of his other works wouldn’t shock me… 3.5/5 ⭐️ because that tree was sinister!
The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones
Described as “the horrors of the modern workplace meet actual horror”, The Indigo Room was perhaps my biggest let down of this collection. SGJ is one of my fave horror authors but this story was less actual horror and more “oh capitalism, the horror!” which I don’t disagree with, I just wanted it to be more sinister or scary. I think the premise was interesting but the execution was too short for me to care about the characters and it felt like it was written for the audience to care about them more than to see something spooky. 2.5/5 ⭐️.
The Blanks by Grady Hendrix
In a move I did not see coming, a story by Grady Hendix was easily my favourite in this collection. An idyllic beachfront community that hides - ignores - a haunting secret made for an excellent, spooky short story, and was the only entry to have my spine even thinking about tingling. I do think the ending flopped a bit and I found the parental reactions to be wildly inaccurate but alas, I guess that is what I should expect from this man who insists on continuing to write female MCs. That aside, this was really good and by far my fave story - 4/5 ⭐️.
Night and Day in Misery by Catriona Ward
Haunting rather than chilling, this tale of grief and remorse was hard to read at times but in a good way that I now forever associate with Catriona Ward. A mother grieving the loss of her son to his drunk/abusive father contemplates her life as mysterious forces influence her. I think this was another story that lost something for me with how sympathetic/unsympathetic the MC was, along with my own personal mother issues lmao. I do love how Ward writes these complex characters who are compelling even when they are unlikeable, but I wanted more time with them than this story gave me and so things fell a bit short. 3/5 ⭐️.
Letter Slot by Owen King
Rounding out this collection is Stephen King offspring #2 Owen with a delightful tale reminiscent of the Paul Jennings/Round the Twist stories of my childhood. The biggest critique I have for this story is the choice of narrator. The MC of this story is a younger teen desperate to support his struggling mother. The narrator sounded like he was easily in his 40’s which was incredibly jarring and took me so far out of the story that I never really found my way back. Outside of this, Letter Slot was curiously charming with an undercurrent of sinisterness that I really liked. I think I would have enjoyed this story more if it had been in print. 3.5/5 ⭐️.
Overall this was a fun collection of short stories but I don’t know that I would recommend it to that many people. None of the stories were especially innovative or, most egregiously, scary, and I found myself constantly underwhelmed.
October 16, 2025
1) -
Jackknife
By: Joe Hill
45 pages
Carved into the base of the trunk are many messages, but two stand out.
"F*ck this tree"
If only he had listened...........
"Don't Touch"
Instead, he grabs the handle of the jackknife that was buried in the soft bark and wiggles it out. Clean and bright, a lucky charm.
Not all luck is good luck.
He should have paid attention to ALL the carved messages.
Weird short story about a killer tree. Vibes of Kealan Patrick Burke. No cleat ending. Everything is open to international. I'm not even sure if I enjoyed the read. The character wasn't likable but still easy to root for. The writing is engaging. It's easy to read and short. ( I read it with my morning coffee.) Not scary, barely spooky. It's more of a Scary Story To Tell In The Dark than anything else. Campfire tale.
2) -
The Indigo Room
Stephen Graham Jones
35 pages
"No, her head, your head, it was gone, it wasn't -"
And so begins Jennifer's frightening tale of how an office room holds more secrets than the normal eye can see.
Short story that packs a punch. Can't say much without giving it away. Jones is a master of the slow build-up. Innocuous details that lead down rabbit holes of destruction.
3) - 5⭐️
The Blanks
Grady Hendrix
35 pages
"Callum saw a Blank, and now I'm Sherry Litvak."
This one sentence sums up the story. If it doesn't make sense to you, that's OK. None of the story makes sense. And yet it does. It makes perfect sense out of nothingness.
This is raw and gritty and brutal while staying simple. It's like watching a horror movie behind a veil. You can just make it out, and it scares you without being able to see/comprehend the full extent of it.
4) - 4⭐️
Night and Day in Misery
Catriona Ward
34 pages
Trigger - child death and abuse
"Welcome to Missouri," he says. "Or Misery, we call it. It's a terrible place."
She hadn't wanted to leave her two year old son with her husband. She hadn't trusted it. Her instincts were right, if maybe, for the wrong reasons. Eight years later, she is back. Staying in the last place, they stayed. Trying to comune with them once again, today, on the anniversary of their death.
Her son is here. Here to show her how it all really happened. Here to save her.
5) -
Letter Slot
Owen King
54 pages
"Dear Pal"
And so the journey begins with a simple letter.
I didn't find this book scary or even spooky. It was more a sad Homage to Monkey Paw. (The game, not the book) A lesson in being careful what you wish for and the consequences of putting your needs above other people.
Jackknife
By: Joe Hill
45 pages
Carved into the base of the trunk are many messages, but two stand out.
"F*ck this tree"
If only he had listened...........
"Don't Touch"
Instead, he grabs the handle of the jackknife that was buried in the soft bark and wiggles it out. Clean and bright, a lucky charm.
Not all luck is good luck.
He should have paid attention to ALL the carved messages.
Weird short story about a killer tree. Vibes of Kealan Patrick Burke. No cleat ending. Everything is open to international. I'm not even sure if I enjoyed the read. The character wasn't likable but still easy to root for. The writing is engaging. It's easy to read and short. ( I read it with my morning coffee.) Not scary, barely spooky. It's more of a Scary Story To Tell In The Dark than anything else. Campfire tale.
2) -
The Indigo Room
Stephen Graham Jones
35 pages
"No, her head, your head, it was gone, it wasn't -"
And so begins Jennifer's frightening tale of how an office room holds more secrets than the normal eye can see.
Short story that packs a punch. Can't say much without giving it away. Jones is a master of the slow build-up. Innocuous details that lead down rabbit holes of destruction.
3) - 5⭐️
The Blanks
Grady Hendrix
35 pages
"Callum saw a Blank, and now I'm Sherry Litvak."
This one sentence sums up the story. If it doesn't make sense to you, that's OK. None of the story makes sense. And yet it does. It makes perfect sense out of nothingness.
This is raw and gritty and brutal while staying simple. It's like watching a horror movie behind a veil. You can just make it out, and it scares you without being able to see/comprehend the full extent of it.
4) - 4⭐️
Night and Day in Misery
Catriona Ward
34 pages
Trigger - child death and abuse
"Welcome to Missouri," he says. "Or Misery, we call it. It's a terrible place."
She hadn't wanted to leave her two year old son with her husband. She hadn't trusted it. Her instincts were right, if maybe, for the wrong reasons. Eight years later, she is back. Staying in the last place, they stayed. Trying to comune with them once again, today, on the anniversary of their death.
Her son is here. Here to show her how it all really happened. Here to save her.
5) -
Letter Slot
Owen King
54 pages
"Dear Pal"
And so the journey begins with a simple letter.
I didn't find this book scary or even spooky. It was more a sad Homage to Monkey Paw. (The game, not the book) A lesson in being careful what you wish for and the consequences of putting your needs above other people.
August 8, 2025
4.5*
Aquesta col·lecció de contes de terror escrits per alguns dels mestres contemporanis del gènere de terror, i dissenyada per a ser escoltada — aprofita el format audiollibre per a fer-te sentir literalment els calfreds del títol. Cada conte és una mostra de l'estil signatura de l'autor i és, veritablement, una antologia excepcional, tant que em resulta impossible escollir el o els millors, ja que tots ells són d'una qualitat que fa honor al nom de cadascun dels autors.
Aquesta col·lecció de contes de terror escrits per alguns dels mestres contemporanis del gènere de terror, i dissenyada per a ser escoltada — aprofita el format audiollibre per a fer-te sentir literalment els calfreds del títol. Cada conte és una mostra de l'estil signatura de l'autor i és, veritablement, una antologia excepcional, tant que em resulta impossible escollir el o els millors, ja que tots ells són d'una qualitat que fa honor al nom de cadascun dels autors.
September 24, 2025
Jackknife: evil tree comes to life 2/5
The Indigo Room: a woman who works on soulcrushing office job has some excitement. Meh 2/5
The Blanks: very original and scary 5/5
Night and Day in Misery: average Missouri experience, trauma porn and ghost story 2/5
Letter Slot: a teenager makes not entirely morally justifiable deals 4/5
All in all only "The Blanks" is worth reading but it REALLY IS worth reading, reminded me of "By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain" for some reason.
The Indigo Room: a woman who works on soulcrushing office job has some excitement. Meh 2/5
The Blanks: very original and scary 5/5
Night and Day in Misery: average Missouri experience, trauma porn and ghost story 2/5
Letter Slot: a teenager makes not entirely morally justifiable deals 4/5
All in all only "The Blanks" is worth reading but it REALLY IS worth reading, reminded me of "By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain" for some reason.
April 9, 2025
3.5 - some good & others?
April 25, 2025
Jack knife by Joe Hill- 3 ⭐️s
The Indigo Room by SGJ- 3 ⭐️s
Blanks by Grady Hendrix- 5 ⭐️s
Night and Day in Misery by Catriona Ward- 4 ⭐️s
Letter Slot by Owen King/ 3 ⭐️s
Worth it for Hendrix’s story alone but I enjoyed them all.
The Indigo Room by SGJ- 3 ⭐️s
Blanks by Grady Hendrix- 5 ⭐️s
Night and Day in Misery by Catriona Ward- 4 ⭐️s
Letter Slot by Owen King/ 3 ⭐️s
Worth it for Hendrix’s story alone but I enjoyed them all.
April 25, 2025
REVIEW TO COME
May 18, 2025
For a collection titled "The Shivers" I would have expected to have had minimal hair raising for each and every story. Unfortunately, not only did the majority of this collection fall rather flat, it was simply not scary at all with a few notable exceptions.
The first two short stories introduced, Jackknife and The Indigo Room both felt like stories that were written last minute just before an assignment was due. With Joe Hill and Stephen Grahm Jones being both prolific horror writers, I was exceptionally disappointed in the lack of execution on both stories. While the writing was descriptive, the plot lines for both failed miserably. Jackknife started off extremely strong and quickly dissolved into an ending that simply did not make any sense, even though the author himself kept giving away an appropriate ending. Stephen Graham Jones' short story had the opposite effect. The beginning was slow if not outright boring and confusing and the ending had the cool shock value that while the cool idea was there, the actual storytelling failed to hit the mark to make it as creepy as it should have been. The author himself admitted to never having worked in an office, and honestly, it showed.
The Blanks by Grady Hendrix had an interesting concept that was reminiscent of Jimmy Juliano's Dead Eleven and Josh Malerman's The Bird Box. The problem I had with this one was not that it wasn't creepy, but that the creepiness was ultimately dismissed like any other day that ends in Y. As a huge Grady Hendrix fan, I missed the underlying dark humor for which he is known and was instead left...well, blank.
Catriona Ward's Night and Day in Misery was the second strongest of the five. It had a cohesive storyline that left me satisfied with strong details and believable characters. The only issue I had was the story has been done a thousand times over and I found it a bit predictable.
Owen King's Letter Slot was the best out of the entire collection. Clearly, he understood the assignment with a cohesive storyline, realistic charcters, and a hair raising short story that gave me all the goosebumps with the reveal at the end. This one could easily be nominated for a best horror short story award.
It is clear that all of these authors know how to write and everyone has that swirling idea that is not strong enough for a novel, but could be played around with for a short story. Unfortunately, several in this collection needed a bit more time and energy to make them truly give someone "the shivers"
Thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories, and the Authors for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.
The first two short stories introduced, Jackknife and The Indigo Room both felt like stories that were written last minute just before an assignment was due. With Joe Hill and Stephen Grahm Jones being both prolific horror writers, I was exceptionally disappointed in the lack of execution on both stories. While the writing was descriptive, the plot lines for both failed miserably. Jackknife started off extremely strong and quickly dissolved into an ending that simply did not make any sense, even though the author himself kept giving away an appropriate ending. Stephen Graham Jones' short story had the opposite effect. The beginning was slow if not outright boring and confusing and the ending had the cool shock value that while the cool idea was there, the actual storytelling failed to hit the mark to make it as creepy as it should have been. The author himself admitted to never having worked in an office, and honestly, it showed.
The Blanks by Grady Hendrix had an interesting concept that was reminiscent of Jimmy Juliano's Dead Eleven and Josh Malerman's The Bird Box. The problem I had with this one was not that it wasn't creepy, but that the creepiness was ultimately dismissed like any other day that ends in Y. As a huge Grady Hendrix fan, I missed the underlying dark humor for which he is known and was instead left...well, blank.
Catriona Ward's Night and Day in Misery was the second strongest of the five. It had a cohesive storyline that left me satisfied with strong details and believable characters. The only issue I had was the story has been done a thousand times over and I found it a bit predictable.
Owen King's Letter Slot was the best out of the entire collection. Clearly, he understood the assignment with a cohesive storyline, realistic charcters, and a hair raising short story that gave me all the goosebumps with the reveal at the end. This one could easily be nominated for a best horror short story award.
It is clear that all of these authors know how to write and everyone has that swirling idea that is not strong enough for a novel, but could be played around with for a short story. Unfortunately, several in this collection needed a bit more time and energy to make them truly give someone "the shivers"
Thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories, and the Authors for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.
April 7, 2025
I liked but didn't love the Joe Hill story - which is highly unusual as I usually love both his novels and his shorter form work. This one was enjoyable but didn't quite have the magic of his longer stuff - the characters just didn't feel as robust as usual. It was still a cool construct though.
I've been struggling with Grady Hendrix's newer material lately, and blanks was more of the same in that regard for me. I just couldn't find the rhythm of the writing, which was also the case with the most recent Wayward Girls book.
The Indigo Room was odd - I still don't really know if I would say I liked it or not, which is an unusual position that I don't usually find myself in after finishing something. Of all five authors, he was the one I was least familiar with, I can't really say whether that is a typical reaction or not. It was an unusual enough concept that I will look for more from Graham Jones, though.
The Catriona Ward was one of my favorite of the stories. It just had a fully three-dimensional feel in a way that the others, even the Joe Hill, did not for me. I really enjoy her writing. This one felt less quirky and unusual than the novels of hers that I have read, but it was every bit as magical for all its bleak intensity.
The Owen King was also fabulous. In general I am a big fan of all of the Kings, Father and Sons, and this one just had that magically eerie tone that embodies any of their writings at its finest. It was crisp and tight and absolutely perfect.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.
I've been struggling with Grady Hendrix's newer material lately, and blanks was more of the same in that regard for me. I just couldn't find the rhythm of the writing, which was also the case with the most recent Wayward Girls book.
The Indigo Room was odd - I still don't really know if I would say I liked it or not, which is an unusual position that I don't usually find myself in after finishing something. Of all five authors, he was the one I was least familiar with, I can't really say whether that is a typical reaction or not. It was an unusual enough concept that I will look for more from Graham Jones, though.
The Catriona Ward was one of my favorite of the stories. It just had a fully three-dimensional feel in a way that the others, even the Joe Hill, did not for me. I really enjoy her writing. This one felt less quirky and unusual than the novels of hers that I have read, but it was every bit as magical for all its bleak intensity.
The Owen King was also fabulous. In general I am a big fan of all of the Kings, Father and Sons, and this one just had that magically eerie tone that embodies any of their writings at its finest. It was crisp and tight and absolutely perfect.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.
September 24, 2025
Jackknife 4,25/5
The Indigo Room 2/5
The Blanks 4,25/5
Night and Day in Misery 3/5
Letter Slot 3/5
The Indigo Room 2/5
The Blanks 4,25/5
Night and Day in Misery 3/5
Letter Slot 3/5
September 30, 2025
If you had told me that my favorite story in this collection would be written by Owen King I'd have told you to fuggoff somewhere south of hell. This collection has Joe Hill, Stephen Graham Jones, Catriona Ward, and Grady Hendrix, for fuck's sweet sake, and the only story worth more than two stars is by Owen fucking King? The coauthor of the shit show that was SLEEPING BEAUTIES?? The author of the unreadable mess that is THE CURATOR??? The author of the literary masterpieces that are WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER and DOUBLE FEATURE????? Surely, Shirley, you jest! But no. It's probably because he has something to prove while the others don't. People tend to create their best art during times of turmoil and uncertainty, so it makes sense. Still...OWN FUCKING KING??? Anyway, this collection is largely not worth your time. Thank fuck it's free if you have Prime. Hill and Jones especially sucks here, which is depressing, because I love their stuff.
April 6, 2025
Horror fans can rest easy knowing that there is a collection of stories put together like The Shivers! Five of the most well-known horror authors have contributed a story to the collection.
Joe Hill and Stephen Graham Jones are always hit or miss for me. Not bad stories but not exactly my style. But I loved the other three. Grady Hendrix and Catriona Ward can do no wrong for me.
The stories are bite sized tastes of each author's writing. I highly recommend checking it out if you want to discover some new favorites! I have really enjoyed the past horror collections that Amazon has put together.
Thank you to NetGalley, Joe Hill, Stephen Graham Jones, Grady Hendrix, Catriona Ward, Owen King, and Amazon Original Stories for the opportunity to read The Shivers. I have written this review voluntarily and honestly.
Joe Hill and Stephen Graham Jones are always hit or miss for me. Not bad stories but not exactly my style. But I loved the other three. Grady Hendrix and Catriona Ward can do no wrong for me.
The stories are bite sized tastes of each author's writing. I highly recommend checking it out if you want to discover some new favorites! I have really enjoyed the past horror collections that Amazon has put together.
Thank you to NetGalley, Joe Hill, Stephen Graham Jones, Grady Hendrix, Catriona Ward, Owen King, and Amazon Original Stories for the opportunity to read The Shivers. I have written this review voluntarily and honestly.
July 20, 2025
Jackknife, by Joe Hill 3⭐️ (45 pages)
We have a , a shitty main character, animal and human deaths (both descriptive). I did like the whole , but I needed more from the horror of it and from the ending.
The Indigo Room, by Stephen Graham Jones 1⭐️ (34 pages)
What was the point of this? Is this even the same author who wrote so many awesome novels? Ugh
The Blanks, by Grady Hendrix 5⭐️ (35 pages)
For a short story, this was exquisite. The ending was painful and I would read a full novel about this.
Night and Day in Misery, by Catriona Ward 4⭐️ (34 pages)
More sad than creepy, but I liked it a lot.
Letter Slot, by Owen King 3⭐️ (45 pages)
I did not like the ending!
We have a , a shitty main character, animal and human deaths (both descriptive). I did like the whole , but I needed more from the horror of it and from the ending.
The Indigo Room, by Stephen Graham Jones 1⭐️ (34 pages)
What was the point of this? Is this even the same author who wrote so many awesome novels? Ugh
The Blanks, by Grady Hendrix 5⭐️ (35 pages)
For a short story, this was exquisite. The ending was painful and I would read a full novel about this.
Night and Day in Misery, by Catriona Ward 4⭐️ (34 pages)
More sad than creepy, but I liked it a lot.
Letter Slot, by Owen King 3⭐️ (45 pages)
I did not like the ending!
May 21, 2025
from favorite to least favorite:
The Blanks by Grady Hendrix - 4 stars! this had the most impact on me and the most chilling effect.
Night and Day in Misery by Catriona Ward - 4 stars? this felt like an episode of Beyond Belief Fact or Fiction lol
Letter Slot by Owen King - 3 stars. pretty mid, interesting idea, reminds me of the movie The Box.
The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones - 2.5, not a single person understand this ending.
Jackknife by Joe Hill - 2 stars. interesting premise but could have done without the man dealing with an affair bs.
The Blanks by Grady Hendrix - 4 stars! this had the most impact on me and the most chilling effect.
Night and Day in Misery by Catriona Ward - 4 stars? this felt like an episode of Beyond Belief Fact or Fiction lol
Letter Slot by Owen King - 3 stars. pretty mid, interesting idea, reminds me of the movie The Box.
The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones - 2.5, not a single person understand this ending.
Jackknife by Joe Hill - 2 stars. interesting premise but could have done without the man dealing with an affair bs.
April 16, 2025
Looking for some bite-size horror?
The Shivers is a collection of short stories by five talented horror writers. Each story spans about 45 pages or roughly an hour on audio. These tales twist ordinary experiences into something eerie, blending the mundane with supernatural dread. The result is a collection that is unsettling, atmospheric, and surprisingly emotional at times. I thoroughly enjoyed all the narrators, and I believe you can't go wrong with either format.
The Shivers is a collection of short stories by five talented horror writers. Each story spans about 45 pages or roughly an hour on audio. These tales twist ordinary experiences into something eerie, blending the mundane with supernatural dread. The result is a collection that is unsettling, atmospheric, and surprisingly emotional at times. I thoroughly enjoyed all the narrators, and I believe you can't go wrong with either format.
July 4, 2025
I went into this book with high expectations. I’ve enjoyed almost everything I’ve read from all these authors, with the exception of Owen King, since I had never read anything from him before,
Each short story had creepy moments but overall it just didn’t do it for me. I disliked Jackknife the most. It took me so long to read. I kept restarting it, took weeks off. I just couldn’t focus on it. Once I got past that story, I was able to read the others pretty quickly. My favorites were “The Indigo Room and “Night and Day of Misery.” Truly haunting.
My overall rating for the complete collection is 2.5.
Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Each short story had creepy moments but overall it just didn’t do it for me. I disliked Jackknife the most. It took me so long to read. I kept restarting it, took weeks off. I just couldn’t focus on it. Once I got past that story, I was able to read the others pretty quickly. My favorites were “The Indigo Room and “Night and Day of Misery.” Truly haunting.
My overall rating for the complete collection is 2.5.
Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
April 6, 2025
3.5, rounded up.
A decent collection of stories by some very well known horror writers. I found these stories to be lacklustre compared the these authors other works but worth a quick read. Standouts were The Blanks and Letter Slot. Both definitely fit the creepy vibe the best.
A decent collection of stories by some very well known horror writers. I found these stories to be lacklustre compared the these authors other works but worth a quick read. Standouts were The Blanks and Letter Slot. Both definitely fit the creepy vibe the best.
April 12, 2025
I really enjoyed these! Sure, some more than others, but this was a solid collection of supernatural reads. Easily my favorite Amazon Original short story collection so far.
April 15, 2025
The Blanks is the best story in the collection but all are solid five stars
April 25, 2025
Definitely not a collection I'll be revisiting. Why were so many focusing on child death and trauma? Not super fun tbh.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 155 reviews