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Menagerie: Stories
An animal can be many things.
Such is very much the case in this collection of 10 creature-themed horror stories that delve into the dark, the sinister, and the absurd. A taxidermist’s life is turned upside down after he accepts a bizarre project request; a vet trip reveals horrific secrets within a man’s newly adopted cat; a struggling young woman develops a psychic connection with a great white shark.
From rising horror writer Jacob Thomas Austin, Menagerie promises a terrifying carousel of claws, teeth, horns, beaks, and everything in between.
Such is very much the case in this collection of 10 creature-themed horror stories that delve into the dark, the sinister, and the absurd. A taxidermist’s life is turned upside down after he accepts a bizarre project request; a vet trip reveals horrific secrets within a man’s newly adopted cat; a struggling young woman develops a psychic connection with a great white shark.
From rising horror writer Jacob Thomas Austin, Menagerie promises a terrifying carousel of claws, teeth, horns, beaks, and everything in between.
- GenresShort Stories
241 pages, Paperback
Published November 19, 2025
About the author
Jacob Thomas Austin
6 books11 followersJacob Thomas Austin is a writer from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He is the author of the short story anthology Menagerie, a collection of creature-related horror stories.
Austin's work has appeared in numerous successful publications, including, but not limited to, The Fear House, Literary Yard, and Bewildering Stories. In 2018, he was shortlisted for the genre fiction award in the 87th Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition.
Austin's work has appeared in numerous successful publications, including, but not limited to, The Fear House, Literary Yard, and Bewildering Stories. In 2018, he was shortlisted for the genre fiction award in the 87th Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 29, 2025
As a big fan of Stephen King’s writing, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this collection of stories. They are well-written and gripping. The imagery in these is terrific - making you feel immersed in the story without doing too much. Would highly recommend to anybody who enjoys the genre. And perhaps even those who don’t. I’ll be thinking about some of these for quite a while.
April 7, 2026
I found a signed copy in an indie bookshop and was excited to read a local author. A few pages in and I awkwardly looked it up to make sure I hadn't unknowingly picked up something intended for kids. Should've put it down since clearly that was a sign I wasn't going to enjoy it but it was SO short and in the back it says the stories were written in different years (which means they must improve over time as the author gained skill, right?) so I ploughed on through.
I spent the whole collection with the nagging feeling that this was destined for a middle grade book if not for the sprinkling of more adult content, because the writing style is very straightforward and the stories themselves are very basic. It reads sort of like someone describing movie scenes rather than writing fiction for adults (the last story, "Carnival Mansion", straight up has camera angling written in), and it relies very heavily on trying to visually describe monsters the same way you might when directing someone to draw them (here's the eye color, the teeth shape, the ultra cool barbed tail, etc.), rather than complex plotting, emotions, or anything else that I want out of a non-visual medium. Sadly the monsters it describes are pretty boring, checking all the generic spooky-ooky boxes of glowing eyes and sharp claws and decay and whatnot, and the descriptions themselves aren't fun to read given they are done with very plain language and the occasional dull metaphor.
The stories are all short enough that I feel like describing them beyond what's already on the GR blurb would be too spoiler-y, but none of them are particularly compelling. They mostly rely on basic tropes/beats you'll have seen many times elsewhere if you watch or read even a little horror, the characters are very flat, and the interactions feel stilted. There's a few stories that are primarily dialogue-driven and the conversations are either so realistic as to be boring or so unrealistic that it's like watching robots fail to mimic human social interaction.
There's really only one story that I liked, "The Shampoo", because it was more surreal & comedic than the others and kind of gave me Welcome To Night Vale vibes. Give me more of the capitalism triceratops please! And absolutely no more Mac and Me with the Brand Name Soda swapped for strawberry milkshakes...
The book also needed another round of editing. It's littered with little grammatical and formatting mistakes (things like double hyphens instead of EM dashes, mixed up homophones, or uncapitalized proper nouns); nothing that impacts readability or meaning but should be easy enough to notice and fix if you're taking the time to produce a physical book.
I know it's mean to leave a negative review for such a small author, but I'm just... very disappointed. The cover is so cool and I feel like the author has a pretty good grasp of the basics to the point I think he could make some great stuff in the future. But as-is these stories were just so bland and need reworking to have the bold flavor I want (and expect) out of horror, especially indie horror where you can get as wild as you want.
I spent the whole collection with the nagging feeling that this was destined for a middle grade book if not for the sprinkling of more adult content, because the writing style is very straightforward and the stories themselves are very basic. It reads sort of like someone describing movie scenes rather than writing fiction for adults (the last story, "Carnival Mansion", straight up has camera angling written in), and it relies very heavily on trying to visually describe monsters the same way you might when directing someone to draw them (here's the eye color, the teeth shape, the ultra cool barbed tail, etc.), rather than complex plotting, emotions, or anything else that I want out of a non-visual medium. Sadly the monsters it describes are pretty boring, checking all the generic spooky-ooky boxes of glowing eyes and sharp claws and decay and whatnot, and the descriptions themselves aren't fun to read given they are done with very plain language and the occasional dull metaphor.
The stories are all short enough that I feel like describing them beyond what's already on the GR blurb would be too spoiler-y, but none of them are particularly compelling. They mostly rely on basic tropes/beats you'll have seen many times elsewhere if you watch or read even a little horror, the characters are very flat, and the interactions feel stilted. There's a few stories that are primarily dialogue-driven and the conversations are either so realistic as to be boring or so unrealistic that it's like watching robots fail to mimic human social interaction.
There's really only one story that I liked, "The Shampoo", because it was more surreal & comedic than the others and kind of gave me Welcome To Night Vale vibes. Give me more of the capitalism triceratops please! And absolutely no more Mac and Me with the Brand Name Soda swapped for strawberry milkshakes...
The book also needed another round of editing. It's littered with little grammatical and formatting mistakes (things like double hyphens instead of EM dashes, mixed up homophones, or uncapitalized proper nouns); nothing that impacts readability or meaning but should be easy enough to notice and fix if you're taking the time to produce a physical book.
I know it's mean to leave a negative review for such a small author, but I'm just... very disappointed. The cover is so cool and I feel like the author has a pretty good grasp of the basics to the point I think he could make some great stuff in the future. But as-is these stories were just so bland and need reworking to have the bold flavor I want (and expect) out of horror, especially indie horror where you can get as wild as you want.
February 24, 2026
Picked this one up in an indie bookstore called Bookish in the King of Prussia Mall! I like to rate each story individually then give the whole book an averaged overall rating.
First Dip: 2.5. A pair of brother’s trip to the shore goes wrong in an unexpected way. The characters here did not do it for me at all unfortunately.
Scrabble Goes to the Vet: ⭐️ 4. A man adopts a stray cat with a mysterious skin condition. I really enjoyed this one, but it didn’t go in the direction that I wanted it to.
The Forgiveness: 3.5. Under a mountain of debt, a man takes advice from a talking barn owl. The conflict hit a little too close to home for me 😔. The twist at the end was good though!
The Shampoo: 4. Back in his hometown for a quick vacation, Danny notices that things aren’t quite right. Short, mysterious, and sweet. This was a very cool concept!
Loyal: 3.5. A family deals with the consequences of cloning their dead dog. This one really got to me by the end, ngl.
The Pharaoh and Lawrence Experience: 👎 2. An elephant suddenly gives birth to a stillborn child. This one was just ridiculous and felt like it was trying to go into several different directions all at once.
Chimera: 3. A struggling taxidermist receives an odd job. Once again, my main complaint in this one is the characters.
Sarah and Strawberry: 2. Diagnosed with a psychological condition, a young woman somehow forms a psychic connection with a shark. Yeah…
Carnival Manor: 3. While interviewing the eccentric owner of a large mansion, a journalist gets more than she bargained for. Cool concept, strange follow through.
Morning Session: 4. A therapist and his client have a discussion about their places in the world. Another short one, with a nice little twist!
Overall thoughts and rating: 3.1 stars rounded down. A rather okay set of stories. Some of them were definitely more fleshed out than others.
First Dip: 2.5. A pair of brother’s trip to the shore goes wrong in an unexpected way. The characters here did not do it for me at all unfortunately.
Scrabble Goes to the Vet: ⭐️ 4. A man adopts a stray cat with a mysterious skin condition. I really enjoyed this one, but it didn’t go in the direction that I wanted it to.
The Forgiveness: 3.5. Under a mountain of debt, a man takes advice from a talking barn owl. The conflict hit a little too close to home for me 😔. The twist at the end was good though!
The Shampoo: 4. Back in his hometown for a quick vacation, Danny notices that things aren’t quite right. Short, mysterious, and sweet. This was a very cool concept!
Loyal: 3.5. A family deals with the consequences of cloning their dead dog. This one really got to me by the end, ngl.
The Pharaoh and Lawrence Experience: 👎 2. An elephant suddenly gives birth to a stillborn child. This one was just ridiculous and felt like it was trying to go into several different directions all at once.
Chimera: 3. A struggling taxidermist receives an odd job. Once again, my main complaint in this one is the characters.
Sarah and Strawberry: 2. Diagnosed with a psychological condition, a young woman somehow forms a psychic connection with a shark. Yeah…
Carnival Manor: 3. While interviewing the eccentric owner of a large mansion, a journalist gets more than she bargained for. Cool concept, strange follow through.
Morning Session: 4. A therapist and his client have a discussion about their places in the world. Another short one, with a nice little twist!
Overall thoughts and rating: 3.1 stars rounded down. A rather okay set of stories. Some of them were definitely more fleshed out than others.
May 27, 2026
I got this via a giveaway, thank you, and all thoughts are my own!
I like a good set of short stories, and some of these were scarier than others, and some of these were better than others. I’m weirdly delighted by Shampoo, and Sarah and Strawberry was incredibly striking! Generally a good time, even if some (the one about dead elephant babies, mostly) occasionally felt more… leering? Than I really find fun in my horror. But I guess that’s part of the spooky shock factor.
I like a good set of short stories, and some of these were scarier than others, and some of these were better than others. I’m weirdly delighted by Shampoo, and Sarah and Strawberry was incredibly striking! Generally a good time, even if some (the one about dead elephant babies, mostly) occasionally felt more… leering? Than I really find fun in my horror. But I guess that’s part of the spooky shock factor.
December 19, 2025
insightful. thrilling, mysterious and fun!
To be read once for gun and then two or three more times to delve into a mysterious, sometimes gross and alarming world of the macabre. Definitely not dull with surprises around every corner; i dare you to read and find a deeper meaning in the world of the Menagerie!
To be read once for gun and then two or three more times to delve into a mysterious, sometimes gross and alarming world of the macabre. Definitely not dull with surprises around every corner; i dare you to read and find a deeper meaning in the world of the Menagerie!
December 1, 2025
Thoroughly engaging, Menagerie’s short stories are filled with vivid imagery and unexpected endings using animals as a common thread throughout the book. Menagerie is both captivating and thought provoking, and I highly recommend this book of short stories to lovers of the genre!
December 7, 2025
As someone who’s just getting into the horror-centric genre, Menagerie was an outstanding introduction. It was a great mix of thrilling and thought-provoking, with captivating themes and relatable character experiences throughout. I’m looking forward to any new releases in the future!
January 23, 2026
Entertaining collection short stories. You are left wishing each story was longer, they are that good. That is a sign of a good story and story teller.
November 28, 2025
Austin is a talented writer who develops suspenseful stories that often leave you thinking about the messages behind them. I enjoyed each one of these creative tales and look forward to his next work!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews