Prepare the Coffin: Tales of the Macabre

by Cassandra O'Sullivan Sachar

Life runs amuck in Blackthorn, Pennsylvania, and residents are rarely safe from the hands—or claws—of nefarious forces. From tragic accidents to revenge slayings to supernatural encounters, trouble is always afoot.

A dream excursion to the Great Pyramids of Giza turns into a nightmare.
A tenant becomes consumed by her desire to stay home.
A husband’s plan to collect his wife’s inheritance hits a snag.
A young writer goes to dangerous extremes bringing realism to her work.
A camp counselor receives more than she bargained for at a bonfire.

In these stories and more, the people of Blackthorn are dying to meet you.

180 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 17, 2025

Reviews

[BookSplatterBritt · Rating 5 out of 5]

These chilling stories did not disappoint! A couple actually scared me but the rest were of revenge, just pure unfortunate luck, and plain stupidity. But the way these stories unfolded, were incredible. I can't express how good these stories are! highly recommend!!

[Andrew Kibe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had fun reading the short stories that were in this collection. Without putting any spoilers I will say many have very interesting and surprising ways of death.

[S.E. Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Prepare the Coffin: Tales of the Macabre" is a collection of dark vignettes featuring the lives and untimely deaths of various people from the idyllic town of Blackthorn, Pennsylvania. The book opens with an introduction to one of Blackthorn's more noteworthy residents, Death Herself, and sets the stage for the colorful cast of characters who follow, and all the grim, gruesome, and grisly ways in which they ultimately meet their respective demises.

Though each story is brief, Sachar does a fantastic job of fully developing each and every one, so that by the time the ax falls (or one of any number of creative, strange, and violent death scenarios), the reader is fully immersed and invested. We may not always like these unlucky folks, but we get to know them well nonetheless.

I've read and enjoyed longer works by Sachar, but she really seems in her element with short pieces like this. Each vignette is well-crafted and well-paced, and each is completely different from the other. In her afterword, she explains not all of these were originally written to be part of this compilation, which is surprising because they all fit together perfectly, as if crafted to complement each other, and come together in a cohesive whole.

My favorites were:

1. "Deserted," in which an over-eager American tourist finds herself stranded in the Egyptian desert, on her own against extreme elements, when her camel tour of the Great Pyramids goes horribly awry.

2. "Your Eyes," in which a jilted lover devises a ghoulish way to keep her beloved with her all the time.

3. "Thou Shalt Not Covet," which I thought was the best of the bunch, about a conniving young woman who plots to steal her roommate's boyfriend. Her plan goes off without a hitch, at least until her roommate, a practicing witch, discovers the ruse and plots her revenge.

4. "Overboard," in which a gullible young college student realizes her professor, who is also her lover, is neither the man she wants him to be, nor the one she deserves.

While there were a few gory moments, Sachar's greatest skill is building a creeping, ongoing sense of dread, which pervades every story in her collection. From out of the gate, you know things aren't going to end well for each of the main characters to whom we're introduced, but Sachar is skilled and inventive enough to make the trip to the end worth the read. This was dark, twisted fun. Definitely recommended!

[J.A. Barrios · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generally I take my sweet time with collections, reading a story once a day, but with this release on the horizon (9/17) I doubled up one in the morning and one in the evening which still gave me time to digest them. Plus, these were very quick reads!

16 shorts in a book that’s under 200 pages, a perfect companion for a nice summer trip, whether you need some macabre on the beautiful sandy beach, or lounging with a scenic mountain view.

Although these stories were all very short, Cassandra does not shy from building a full story. The depth of some of these characters had me feeling as if I was reading them for several chapters already. Each character felt so whole!

Theme wise Prepare was reminiscent of Tales from the Crypt, showing stories mostly about unlikable characters whose hubris gets the better of them. Each one was so very satisfying, although I did think Squish was more unfortunate than the others, same with Que Syrah Syrah. There were so many characters I truly hated, which for how short some of these are I was very pleasantly surprised how invested I got. 

I enjoyed the variety of stories. Most on the more realistic side like Writer’s Retreat and Schrodinger's Wife- great name by the way. Some had a more fantastical feel like No Place like Home and Camp (In)Vocation- which might have been my favorite one!

A couple I wanted to put more of a spotlight on, Ringtone was great and honestly it’s a fantastic modern day Tell Tale Heart. The collection ends with Overboard, which had one of the most satisfying endings within this collection of satisfying endings

If you haven't read Sachar's work, defintely take a step into Blacktorn, PA this September!

[Eric Radulski · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sharp, playful, and surprisingly varied short story collection. The prologue hooked me immediately. Giving Death a voice and purpose was a clever way to set the stage, and the brief history of Blackthorn hinted at a larger design behind the tales.

The stories themselves strike a balance between horror and wit. 'Deserted' and 'Onward and Upward' highlight Sachar’s humor, even as things take darker turns. The best pieces feel grounded in everyday life, nudged into the horrific. 'Onward and Upward' especially left me wanting more despite its wild, fitting ending.

Personal favorites included 'No Place Like Home,' 'Que Syrah Syrah,' and 'Schrödinger’s Wife,' which nailed its concept with a sharp, perfectly paced payoff. Other standouts were 'Ringtone,' 'The Writing Retreat,' and 'Write What You Know.' Even shorter pieces like 'Rotten' and 'Camp (In)vocation' offered bite, imagery, or claustrophobic dread.

The collection’s quick pacing makes it incredibly bingeable, though sometimes I wished to linger longer with the characters.

Overall, 'Prepare the Coffin' is smart, darkly funny, and consistently inventive. Sachar has a gift for blending humor, relatability, and gut-punch endings. If you enjoy horror anthologies with a sly wink and a taste for twisted finales, this is an easy recommendation.

[Milt Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the premise of this collection! Set in the fictional town of Blackthorn, PA, a place cursed by a wrongly accused witch hanged for the murder of a young native girl, it describes sixteen different cases of death coming for its residents today! Occasionally with strong Final Destination vibes, each story goes in its own direction, often embodying supernatural twists and shocking surprises that guarantee clever and deeply satisfying endings: from Faustian bargains with demons and fateful encounters with covens of witches, to skirmishes with a camel in the Sahara desert, annoying ringtones and vindictive cats, these sweetly dark tales show Sachar at her playful best.

Mostly figuring female main characters, the book conveys the author's genuine empathy for women's troubles in a male-dominated world, though she never foregoes the demands of a good horror story for either moralizing or politics. This is primarily a fun collection, Sachar eager to make you smile as much as shock and entertain you! Even (or especially) if you’re in a reading slump, these short tales with their twisty endings will instantly rekindle your passion for good fiction; or if you're after a good palate cleanser to refresh your mind, this collection will be the best change of pace! Highly recommended!

[Don Anelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall, this was a fantastic collection of stories with a lot to like. The inherent variety of the stories, with a wide-ranging variety in not just the topic and theme but also the general style presented in each one, helps it create a rather enjoyable energy, which is quite fun to see explored with the stories on display. Ranging from the inherently chilling to the more vengeful, as supernatural or human forces get together to dish out revenge on the unfortunate members who do something they shouldn’t and get attacked for it. These have a solid old-school vibe to their storytelling that meshes well with the modern format and themes of grief that haunt plenty of the stories in the collection. Given that they’re so brief and are so numerous in quantity that it’s a brisk, easy read as well, with it moving to a new one quickly, perhaps so quickly that some might want to have a bit more to them so it doesn’t feel so fast, but there’s still quite a lot to enjoy with this collection.

4.5/5

[Breanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prepare the Coffin isn’t just another gore-soaked horror collection, it’s stories steeped in revenge, morality, and the dark weight of grief. Beneath the blood and brutality lies a cautionary tale about how far pain and anger can push someone. The book explores the cycle of violence and the way trauma doesn’t just haunt the individual, but everyone around them.

What really struck me was how the author wove in themes of justice versus vengeance. At times, it makes you question who is really in the right, or if anyone is. The characters are raw and flawed, carrying the scars of their choices, and that makes the horror more impactful. It’s not horror for shock alone, it’s horror with meaning, and it lingers long after the last page.

[Dan Mckeithan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blackthorn, PA is a scary place to live. Cassandra brings us 16 creepy shorts set there and each one keeps me turning the pages. The characters are greatly drawn and are easy to follow in the stories. These stories have an old school vibe--think Tales of the Crypt and Creepshow. Revenge stories, supernatural elements, characters that seem to beckon death. Great reads and a fun ride. Can't wait to read more from her.

[Kyle Goodwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sachar really knows what she’s doing when it comes to these short works of horror. Yet another fantastic set of tales that are filled to the brim with gore and suspense. The glimpses into the lives of her characters with each story feels like we’re looking through the eyes of real people instead of ones that only exist on paper and in our minds. The emotions, the sorrow, the revenge, all link together to weave a beautiful collection that sticks with the reader far past finishing the last page.

[M.J. Mars · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast, fun, engaging stories to give you the creeps!

I romped through this collection by Cassandra O'Sullivan Sachar. As always, she paints believable characters and larger-than-life settings that drags the reader into the thick of each story. Fast-paced and varied, every one of these shorts kept me thoroughly entertained!

[Susan West · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well written anthology centered around a curse that happened when the town of Blackthorn, PA crossed the wrong witch. All of the descendants of the people of Blackthorn are doomed and Ms O'Sullivan Sachar has some really gruesome and creative fates lined up for them. Really enjoyed these stories and loved that they all have a backstory outlined in the first story.

[the.horror.girl.27 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this as an ARC and loved this collection by @cosachar 💀⚰️ i enjoy collections of short stories to read in between my day where I don’t have time for a book. This collection was strange and bloody and all the stories had such imagination and surprising aspects. My favorites were Onward and Upward, Deserted, No place like home and ringtone

[Heather Samples · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like short stories that are the perfect level of creepy then you need to read these. I enjoy being able to read a couple at a time.

These follow the town of Blackthorn, PA, which is a cursed town after crossing a witch. These will make you think about them long after you finish reading it.

[Serena Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Prepare the Coffin! I was creeped out at several points and will need to seek therapy potentially after some of them, specifically Your Eyes. Somehow this author doesn’t seem to run out of incredible and ghouling ideas! I liked how it started with death being personified, that was fun.

[Zaher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

Cassandra O'Sullivan Sachar's book is a unique blend of horror stories that will surely linger with the reader. The language is simple and accessible, and the plots are impressively intriguing. I highly enjoyed it!