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Hauntings: A Collection of Short Horror Stories
A volcanic eruption unleashes a hidden, dormant evil. A washed-up film actor finds himself stranded in a haunted hotel during the COVID-19 quarantine. An astronaut's idealistic wife realizes her husband may not have returned alone from a recent mission. A cozy back yard in an idyllic subdivision hides a vicious, bloodthirsty secret. This collection of short stories, both new and previously published, takes readers along an unforgettable, twisted trail and into the terrifying world of author S.E. Howard.
- GenresHorror
219 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 31, 2025
30 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
S.E. Howard
20 books47 followersS.E. Howard lives in Kentucky where she works as a registered nurse, certified in toxicology (a fitting field given her side-hustle writing horror stories). Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies, and her short story “You’ve Been Saved” was also adapted for the screen in the 2022 GenreBlast film anthology Worst Laid Plans. Her horror novels The Vessel and What Lies Unseen are available now through Aethon Books / Wicked House. For more information, visit online at www.sehoward.com.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 27, 2025
Hauntings:A Collection of Short Horror Stories
by S.E. Howard
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This is a fun and very entertaining collection of 12 short horror stories. Each story is extremely unique and well written. The topics for each story are all very different, but each one invokes a dark fear or creeping feeling.
A few top standouts for me are:
- Swan Song
- Beware The Grindle-Wog
- Just Desserts
- The Periphery People
S.E. Howard is quickly moving up on my list as a must read author!! I love how she tells stories!
*This awesome collection comes out October 31st and I recommend grabbing this for the spooky season!!*
by S.E. Howard
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This is a fun and very entertaining collection of 12 short horror stories. Each story is extremely unique and well written. The topics for each story are all very different, but each one invokes a dark fear or creeping feeling.
A few top standouts for me are:
- Swan Song
- Beware The Grindle-Wog
- Just Desserts
- The Periphery People
S.E. Howard is quickly moving up on my list as a must read author!! I love how she tells stories!
*This awesome collection comes out October 31st and I recommend grabbing this for the spooky season!!*
October 29, 2025
An excellent short story collection! 12 creepy stories beautifully written, wide-ranging, with minimum gore and lots of tension! Despite the title, not every tale is about ghosts and haunted houses: in addition to the haunted hotel featured in the magnificent ghost story of "Swan Song," the collection includes creature features ("The Bobbit", "Beware the Grindlewog", and "It Will Have Blood"), sci-fi horror ("The Stranger", very much reminiscent of the 1999 movie The Astronaut's Wife, and the bizarre body swap tale "The Baxter Family’s Quantum Vacation"), a prequel to the author's debut novel "The Vessel" ("The Devil You Know"), metaphysical horror ("What Fresh Hell Is This?"), even hair-raising quiet horror ("The Periphery People"). My favorite stories were two short ones ("The Bobbit" and "The Periphery People"), and two of the longer ones ("What Fresh Hell Is This?" and "You've Been Saved", which I'd read before). Highly recommended for readers who enjoy psychologically complex horror stories with sophisticated and unpredictable dark turns!
February 7, 2026
I picked up this short story collection and initially thought it was my first experience with this author; however, I realized I'd read one of their short stories in another collection (a memorable short story too).
This collection of short stories is great. An astronaut's wife suspects her husband has returned from a mission... not himself, a quantum conundrum in which everyone on a family vacation accidentally switches bodies, a haunted hotel, and more!
This collection of short stories is great. An astronaut's wife suspects her husband has returned from a mission... not himself, a quantum conundrum in which everyone on a family vacation accidentally switches bodies, a haunted hotel, and more!
February 5, 2026
I started reading a story or two from Hauntings as a palate cleanser between other books and more often than not, I'd be pondering what I read throughout the day. These little gems really stick with you and I think that shows what a talented author S.E. Howard truly is. The first story, "The Bobbit" really sets the tone for the rest of the collection. "What Fresh Hell is This?" was a highlight in my mind and I swear if I ever encounter a Grindlewog I'll melt with anxiety immediately. I would absolutely recommend this if you're looking for a solid, spooky collection to cozy up with.
October 20, 2025
12 tales that are haunting and dark. S. E. brings us to stories that make us think and cringe when we see what these characters are experiencing. There are very unique situations like a haunted hotel during COVID, a volcanic eruption that brings an evil with it, and an astronaut that brings back more than himself when he returns. My favorite was Beware the Grindlewog, the suspense and tension as David and Adam descended the catacombs in order to find the rings was great. Each one of these are short quick reads and keeps you wanting to turn the page for the next one. I look forward to read more of S. E.'s works.
October 2, 2025
Amazing collection of short stories! I was hooked on them all, and one in particular gave me real chills. I won’t say which one as I don’t want to spoil anything but be prepared for a thrilling read!
October 29, 2025
NOTE: This review is based on an ARC copy of the book I received from the author for review. This review is entirely voluntary and I receive nothing in return for reviewing the ARC. This book is scheduled for publication on October 31.
Some short story collections can prove to be disappointing. There may be that one story that was just awful, that one story I won’t read because it’s written in third person POV, or too many stories at the beginning that are all just horrible and poorly written that I decide not to keep reading it – and return it, if it was borrowed.
Then there’s Hauntings: A Collection of Short Horror Stories by S.E. Howard. None of that stuff mentioned above happened here – these are good stories.
These stories are really creepy and terrifying. If you are looking for some really scary stories to read, you will certainly find them in this book.
Here are some of the stories I enjoyed:
“Beware the Grindlewog”
I loved this story! It was creepy and horrifying! The author set the mood for this story really well, enhancing the scary mood. The grindlewog sounds really terrifying! It was described so well that I could actually picture it about to attack.
“What Fresh Hell is This?”
I loved this story! The ending was a surprise. It got me thinking, ‘Wait a minute! Don’t you notice what’s going on?’ But that’s the beauty of the situation. And it was terrifying, too. I had to wonder if the familiarity which Shannon has at the beginning of the story fades away every time.
“It Will Have Blood”
This story took a very bizarre turn! Howard wrote the description of the monster in this story so well. It's a good story and I loved how it was written, especially the ending.
“You’ve Been Saved”
This is another great story. Talk about a vacation that turns into a nightmare! It’s a good reminder of how we think people we don’t know appear to be nice and friendly and we think “aw, gee, bless them,” but we don’t really know what kind of monsters they really are.
This collection of stories had many horrifying and spinetingling tales. I really enjoyed reading this book.
Some short story collections can prove to be disappointing. There may be that one story that was just awful, that one story I won’t read because it’s written in third person POV, or too many stories at the beginning that are all just horrible and poorly written that I decide not to keep reading it – and return it, if it was borrowed.
Then there’s Hauntings: A Collection of Short Horror Stories by S.E. Howard. None of that stuff mentioned above happened here – these are good stories.
These stories are really creepy and terrifying. If you are looking for some really scary stories to read, you will certainly find them in this book.
Here are some of the stories I enjoyed:
“Beware the Grindlewog”
I loved this story! It was creepy and horrifying! The author set the mood for this story really well, enhancing the scary mood. The grindlewog sounds really terrifying! It was described so well that I could actually picture it about to attack.
“What Fresh Hell is This?”
I loved this story! The ending was a surprise. It got me thinking, ‘Wait a minute! Don’t you notice what’s going on?’ But that’s the beauty of the situation. And it was terrifying, too. I had to wonder if the familiarity which Shannon has at the beginning of the story fades away every time.
“It Will Have Blood”
This story took a very bizarre turn! Howard wrote the description of the monster in this story so well. It's a good story and I loved how it was written, especially the ending.
“You’ve Been Saved”
This is another great story. Talk about a vacation that turns into a nightmare! It’s a good reminder of how we think people we don’t know appear to be nice and friendly and we think “aw, gee, bless them,” but we don’t really know what kind of monsters they really are.
This collection of stories had many horrifying and spinetingling tales. I really enjoyed reading this book.
October 22, 2025
I enjoyed S.E Howard’s ‘The Vessel’ so much that I decided to dig into this little trinket box of dark treats.
From the title, you’d be forgiven for thinking this is a book of ghost stories. Yet it’s so much more. These exquisitely written tales include time slips, shifts in consciousness, demonic possession, alien interlopers hunting for human skin, ‘Groundhog Day’ loops and travels to parallel universes.
And I loved catching up with the Mapothers and the evil Corvus Society once more.
Yet it’s very much the feeling of being haunted that creeps over the reader and holds the whole together. There are characters here with haunted pasts, there are haunted landscapes, haunted photographs and even a haunted hotel room. But the real haunting takes place in the reader’s mind, stretching the imagination into dark and frightening places.
My pick? I loved ‘The Periphery People’ and, in this, I think S.E. Howard saved the best for last. It’s quiet, understated, filled with creeping dread and written with the kind of restraint only skilled writers can master. Yet its tiny little details terrify. They made me catch my breath as my skin grew cold.
And if that’s not a haunting, then I don’t know what is.
From the title, you’d be forgiven for thinking this is a book of ghost stories. Yet it’s so much more. These exquisitely written tales include time slips, shifts in consciousness, demonic possession, alien interlopers hunting for human skin, ‘Groundhog Day’ loops and travels to parallel universes.
And I loved catching up with the Mapothers and the evil Corvus Society once more.
Yet it’s very much the feeling of being haunted that creeps over the reader and holds the whole together. There are characters here with haunted pasts, there are haunted landscapes, haunted photographs and even a haunted hotel room. But the real haunting takes place in the reader’s mind, stretching the imagination into dark and frightening places.
My pick? I loved ‘The Periphery People’ and, in this, I think S.E. Howard saved the best for last. It’s quiet, understated, filled with creeping dread and written with the kind of restraint only skilled writers can master. Yet its tiny little details terrify. They made me catch my breath as my skin grew cold.
And if that’s not a haunting, then I don’t know what is.
Read
November 14, 2025Hauntings
By S.E. Howard
⚰️⚰️⚰️⚰️⚰️/5
Hauntings is a diverse array of short fiction from a talented author!
My favorites are probably “Beware the Grindlewog” and “The Periphery People,” with an honorable mention to “You’ve Been Saved.”
Howard tends to present in a slow-burn style, allowing the dread to creep over you with each story. Though slow burn is usually not my favorite, Howard does it well, making this collection an enjoyable experience in a subgenre I usually struggle with.
By S.E. Howard
⚰️⚰️⚰️⚰️⚰️/5
Hauntings is a diverse array of short fiction from a talented author!
My favorites are probably “Beware the Grindlewog” and “The Periphery People,” with an honorable mention to “You’ve Been Saved.”
Howard tends to present in a slow-burn style, allowing the dread to creep over you with each story. Though slow burn is usually not my favorite, Howard does it well, making this collection an enjoyable experience in a subgenre I usually struggle with.
November 13, 2025
Hauntings
By S.E. Howard
⚰️⚰️⚰️⚰️⚰️/5
Hauntings is a diverse array of short fiction from a talented author!
My favorites are probably “Beware the Grindlewog” and “The Periphery People,” with an honorable mention to “You’ve Been Saved.”
Howard tends to present in a slow-burn style, allowing the dread to creep over you with each story. Though slow burn is usually not my favorite, Howard does it well, making this collection an enjoyable experience in a subgenre I usually struggle with.
By S.E. Howard
⚰️⚰️⚰️⚰️⚰️/5
Hauntings is a diverse array of short fiction from a talented author!
My favorites are probably “Beware the Grindlewog” and “The Periphery People,” with an honorable mention to “You’ve Been Saved.”
Howard tends to present in a slow-burn style, allowing the dread to creep over you with each story. Though slow burn is usually not my favorite, Howard does it well, making this collection an enjoyable experience in a subgenre I usually struggle with.
December 14, 2025
A hauntingly good collection of horror stories. There are 12 stories in all. Each are unique and engaging. They capture your attention and keep you on the edge of your seat.
You've Been Saved and The Stranger are standout stories from this collection that I would love to see developed into a full story. S. E. Howard is quickly becoming a must read author for me.
You've Been Saved and The Stranger are standout stories from this collection that I would love to see developed into a full story. S. E. Howard is quickly becoming a must read author for me.
March 15, 2026
What a beautifully haunting collection of stories! Prepare to set out on adventures that span time and space. To taste snippets of scary and languish in dark worlds. My personal favorites were the creepy crawlies and creatures that came in all shapes and sizes ... with the common goal of terrorizing! Definitely recommend!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews