An Hour Before Dark

by Larry Hinkle, Linda Hartley (Editor), François Vaillancourt (Illustrator)

Strange things are afoot on the Eris Ridge Trail.

The barriers between worlds are breaking down.

People, planes, an entire military base—all have gone missing, transported to an ever-changing cosmic kaleidoscope where they’re hunted, haunted, recruited, and cursed, trapped in time and terrorized by forces they can’t comprehend.

A man afraid of flying boards a never-ending flight. An online paranormal show’s investigation takes a bloody detour. A woman on the run is recruited by a mysterious corporation with nefarious plans. An army guard fights for his life when the military opens a doorway they can’t close.

In An Hour Before Dark, Larry Hinkle returns to the Trail with ten interconnected tales that deepen the mystery while expanding the mythos.

Watch your step on the Trail. It will be dark soon.

161 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication February 24, 2026

About the author

Larry Hinkle is still probably the least famous writer you’ve never heard of. A copywriter living with his wife and two doggos somewhere in America, when he's not writing stories that scare people into peeing their pants, he writes ads that scare people into buying adult diapers, so they’re not caught peeing their pants.

His newest collection, An Hour Before Dark, comes out in February, 2026. His cosmic horror novella, The Eris Ridge Trail, was released to great reviews in March 2025, while his debut collection, The Space Between, was published in February 2024. His short stories made the preliminary ballot for the Bram Stoker Awards (horror’s highest honor) in 2020 and 2022. His stories have also appeared in The Rack: Stories Inspired by Vintage Horror Paperbacks; The Rack II: More Stories Inspired by Vintage Horror Paperbacks; October Screams: A Halloween Anthology; and multiple times on The NoSleep Podcast, among others.

He's an active member of the HWA; a graduate of Fright Club and Crystal Lake’s Author’s Journey short story and novella programs; an HWA mentee; and a survivor of the Borderlands Writers Bootcamp.

Stop by and visit him at thatscarylarry.com or stalk him on the socials at @thatscarylarry.

Reviews

[unstable.books · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Hour Before Dark is an unsettling return to The Eris Ridge Trail, a previously published book by Larry Hinkle. His horror feels disorienting and inevitable. Across ten interconnected stories, Hinkle dismantles any illusion of safety, showing how easily the familiar can fracture into something vast and unknowable. The collection thrives on it's deep sense of dread. Planes vanish mid-flight, investigations spiral into bloodshed, and entire institutions collapse under the weight of forces that are incomprehensible. Hinkle's characters are not heroes as much as they are witnesses. Just ordinary people thrown into extraordinary terror and struggling to understand rules that shift one moment to the next. Time bends, reality shifts, and survival comes at a terrible cost. What makes An Hour Before Dark especially effective is it's cohesion. Each story stands on its own, yet together they deepen the Eris Trail's mythology, layering menace and mystery until the landscape itself feels sentient. Hinkle balances the cosmic with human fear and anchors his kaleidoscopic horrors in anxiety, guilt, and desperation. Inventive and relentless, An Hour Before Dark invites readers to step onto the Trail, fully aware that once the light fades, there may be no way out. As a note, I have not read The Eris Trail yet but that will change soon, as I have since purchased that book. Thank you to Larry for sending me an ARC. Horror fans you can pick this up when it publishes February 24, 2026!

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is pure gold.
The way it’s written is something else.
You start out knowing absolutely nothing about these "shimmering dimensions," and then suddenly you’re at a rest stop that somehow has everything you need. From there, it’s a gamble: do you go back the way you came, or try the left door or the right one?
You could be stuck for five minutes or forever, and the uncertainty is what makes it such a good read.

The world-building is just incredible. The way the characters each have their own back stories and forward drive is great
To the fact that there is a second moon that shows from time to time, or that the sun cannot be trusted due to the game it plays, that's if it decides to show in the first place. That some people or animals can live forever or are they just from a different world/ dimension, are they brought back by something or are they just there? Same with places, objects anything really.

Each chapter is its own character-driven moment, but when you step back, they all weave together into one massive, plot-driven horrific world.
It’s super easy to read and perfect if you need something you can pick up and put down—though, honestly, good luck putting it down.

My 4-Star Breakdown

⭐ For being exactly what it said it would be.
⭐ For writing that's easy to fly through but never feels "dumbed down."
⭐ For world-building that actually connects in a satisfying way.
⭐ For giving every single character a story that feels unique.

[Adam Forster-Nnachi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Larry Hinkle, RDS Publish, Four Winds Bar Publishing and NetGalley for this free copy of An Hour Before Dark. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.


Although a collection of short stories, this could have just as easily been a novel as each one takes place in the same universe(s) and there is a central plot thread running throughout. 


I thought it was really clever how the author ties everything neatly together. Details and events that might seem strange and at times surreal when first mentioned start to make perfect sense as you progress through the collection.


Given each short story had so few pages, they packed a real punch, ranging from haunting to outright nightmare-inducing.


The author does an incredible job of illustrating the terror that the different characters experience and the descriptions of the monsters they encounter are truly vivid.


I definitely felt that the setting would make for a fantastic cinematic experience. So when is the movie getting made?

[SpinelessBookReviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last year I read the short story The Eris Ridge Trail and was floored by it so when when Larry Hinkle reached out to me with the chance to step back onto the trail and the horrors within I jumped at the opportunity.

The book that sets this one up, The Eris Ridge Trail, introduces a mysterious trail that only appears when it wants to. Once your step foot onto it, it leads you to impossible otherworldly scenarios that almost always spell your doom. On the trail, theres liminal spaces, interdimensional beasts, and even an inescapable kaiju monster. In this book, we're treated to 10 interconnected short stories that pull you deeper into the dangerous but fascinating world

While I would recommend reading the first Eris Ridge Trail book before this on, it's not exactly a necessity, more of just an additional recommendation of another great book. Both books are great and The Eris Ridge Trail is such a unique and entertaining environment that is a joy to get sucked into (as a reader, in real life your won't catch me dead steeping foot on a hellscape like this)

[Ian Gielen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short story collection that focuses in and around the Eris Ridge Trail, a mysterious place that mystifies and terrifies in equal measure and these stories only serve to heighten the intrigue around it.

There are an impressive array of stories that cover the gamut from a never ending flight to a military base where an experiment has gone terribly wrong, to a mysterious forest that appears in an abandoned mall. Every story is inventive and creepy which makes the Eris Ridge Trail and everything associated it, truly a terrifying location.

As part of a universe, these stories can be read without knowing any of the author's previous work but for those that do, they will find some nicely interconnected stories and recurring characters. Though the stories are short, the characters in each are brought to life in a way that makes you feel like you know them which is truly a hard feat to master.

There wasn't a weak story among the ten tales and every page was a joy to read. If you're a fan of the authors previous stories about the Eris Ridge Trail then this is a must read. For everyone else, you'll find yourself wanting to read more which is always a good thing.

[Matt M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Larry Hinkle’s novella, The Eris Ridge Trail, which came out last year. An Hour Before Dark, his newest collection of stories, is set in the world of The Eris Ridge Trail and features several stories of cosmic weirdness, time loops, and monsters. The opening story asks “what would happen if a plane encountered the weird slippery Eris Ridge Trail?” and it did not disappoint.

If you’re into cosmic horror, then I highly recommend this (and the novella it shares connective tissue with). There are many references to the novella here, including characters, but you don’t need to have read The Eris Ridge Trail to read this collection. Both get a strong recommendation from me!

Thank you to the author for an eARC for review!

[Travis Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Hour Before Dark
By Larry Hinkle
Pub Date: Feb 24 2026

This is a book of short stories. Hinkle is a very good horror writer. These stories are self contained but connect in a way. This is the first book I've read by Larry Hinkle but it won't be the last.
Thank you to NetGalley and RDS Publishing for the opportunity to read this book early in return for my honest review.

[Mark F · Rating 5 out of 5]

My latest read was An Hour Before Dark, a cosmic horror collection by Larry Hinkle, due to be released February 24, 2026. I was fortunate enough to be given an ARC of this book, but this review is given voluntarily. Back to the Eris Ridge Trail – and a bonus trip to Lake Eris – I go. (Luckily, I made it back home after reading this book, and I really hope it’s my real home and not some alternate one. I’ll know for sure once the moon comes out tonight. If there’s more than one, I’m screwed.)

In this latest collection, we first have, “You Are Now Free To Move About”. This story helped me to realize that my fear of flying doesn’t need to be fixed, as Doug had thought about his fear of flying. I’m fine with it. Nope, no need to fix anything with me. I’ll just drive anywhere I need to go, thank you. In “Lake Eris”, I’ve learned never to go boating when there is a fog over the water…or ever. That’s how much that story frightened me. Next up, “The Woods, Dark and Deep”. Great, now add woods to the list of places I need to stay away from, in addition to airplanes, lakes, and corn fields. It’s a creepy-ass story with an interesting ending that I didn’t see coming. Though I’m not entirely sure I fully understand what happened, I still “enjoyed” it. “Another Friday Night At The Mall” was a great story, just the kind that bothered me the same way the author’s novella, “The Eris Ridge Trail”, bothered me, in a mind-bending kind of way that I can’t quite explain, except to say that I never want to experience what these characters went through. Then we have, “Guarding the Infinite”, probably my favorite, with its many tie-ins to other stories involving the Eris Ridge Trail, and an ending that was a bit less dark than the other stories, in my humble opinion. (Now, if only I could remember more from the previous book/collection to put it all together, that would be awesome.) A slight break in the tension with a bit of humor, “And don’t call me Shirley,” was appreciated. Perfectly placed! Side note, during the next lightning storm we have here, I may just soil myself. If so, I’m sending Mr. Hinkle the cleaning bill.

“What the President Knew” was another good one, ending with what was supposed to be words of comfort, but stirring more terror in me, as a reader. Then we come to, “Strange Moon Rising”. Word of advice, DON’T TRUST ANYONE. That’s all I’ll say about that one. Next up, “Midnight at Koko’s”. I can’t say why this bothered me so much without spoilers, so I’ll just say that this one freaked me out quite a lot. As for “The Blue Bomber”, I just want to ask the author, Why? That one hurt my heart a bit more than the others. And lastly, “An Hour Before Dark”, is dark in a way that I don’t like to experience. Then again, this IS horror, so I guess it’s to be expected. The common concept of being stuck or trapped in a situation or a location is one type of horror that really terrifies me, so this one spooked me good, or bad, depending on how you look at it.


The author did a great job with the way the stories were interconnected, not only with the other stories in this collection, but with his other collection and novella as well. I feel like I’ve read so much about the Eris Ridge Trail, and now the Eris Lake, that I may just be stuck on the trail myself, in a never-ending loop of Erisness. Intentional or not, it’s effective in adding to the horror. How’s that for a twist I didn’t see coming!?! All in all, it was a really good read, though I think I need a break from the trail and all its darkness. Maybe I’ll read a few rom-coms to de-frazzle my nerves. This gets a 4.5 (9 out of 10), rounded up to a 5, from me.

P.S. As always, I love the mentions of Sammie and Koko!
P.P.S. That cover! Terrifyingly awesome.

[Milt Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Put simply, this is a spectacular collection of ten interconnected short stories, all of them eerie, edgy, and downright unnerving - if you've ever been lost on a trail, in a dense forest, an airport or a unfamiliar city, or even at sea, you'll definitely get that uncomfortable, annoying feeling of profound vulnerability and loss of control from Hinkle's writing!

Revolving around the Eris Ridge Trail, a mysterious access-point to other realities, the ten tales approach the place through a wide range of characters and settings:

"You Are Now Free To Move About,” the opening story, figures a man who fears flying; when the plane he's on passes above the trail, things get extremely chaotic (in fact, happenings from the other stories literally invade the poor man's reality)!

“Lake Eris” offers a glimpse into a different part of the place, through a trio of YouTubers interviewing a guy who's experienced the mystery firsthand and survived.

“The Woods, Dark and Deep” introduces the small town of Ramsey, where children are warned not to go to the woods after dark - a twisty ending makes perfect sense of this! (Though the book is a standalone, certain connections to the author's "Eris Ridge Trial" novella have already come up by this point, especially in this story.)

“Another Friday Night At The Mall” had strong urban legend vibes, as a couple of urban explorers stumble upon a creepy forest inside(!) a mall.

“Guarding the Infinite,” placed at the end of the book's first third, finally starts revealing aspects of the trail tying in both to the novella and the collection's opening story: a sergeant guarding a top-secret military base (and having trouble "with the name the Greek goddess of discord, four letters" when doing a crossword LOL), suddenly finds himself in the middle of a reality collapse! The mountain where the Army is working on "Project Eris" (whaaaa...?) is struck by ferocious lightning blasts - or "scenequakes", as a couple of very familiar faces (if you've read the novella) explain to him.

“What the President Knew” complements the previous story, filling in some blanks about Project Eris.

"Strange Moon Rising” might have been the story of a one-night-stand - but who can keep it casual on the Eris Trail!

“Midnight at Koko’s” finally provides necessary info on those weird "Koko’s Convenience Stores" often glimpsed in previous stories - plus, as the author himself remarks in his story notes, it features his "most blatant sexy time scene, which is hardly sexy at all"!

“The Blue Bomber” is a truly dark take on the familiar "kid on a bike" story, involving those strange and flesh-hungry creatures already seen on the Trail.

The closing story, the titular “An Hour Before Dark,” is tourist horror at its best! Or, to be more precise, literal "tourist trap" horror - the ending hit quite hard, kicking anyone's anxiety into overdrive. A claustrophobic, genre bending tale of sheer loopy madness!

All in all, this is a collection packed with creepy scenes and strong cosmic horror vibes. I enjoyed it immensely and highly recommend it!

[Craig Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have previously read – and very much enjoyed – Larry Hinkle's previous two books, his debut collection, The Space Between Us, and The Eris Ridge Trail. The novel's eponymous trail was introduced in some of the early short stories and expanded upon in that book, introducing us to a strange and unsettling hiking path that took walkers on a journey in which the rules of time and space did not apply. Whether strange creatures, like six-legged squirrel-type critters, or scenequakes – a storm that appears to change the entire environment whenever lightning flashes – or even an unusual number of moons in the sky above, heading down the Eris Ridge Trail is bound to change your very reality, whether subtly or by plunging you into a type of Lovecraftian terror.

Clearly inspired by this location, Hinkle has returned to it with An Hour Before Dark, a collection of ten new stories that expand on his previous world-building and introduce brand new terrors. What would happen to a commercial aeroplane, for example, that found itself over the Trail – and what would happen to the passengers aboard? How about a tourist advised to check out a local beauty spot, only to find when they're leaving that the landscape doesn't look the same anymore?

The page count is relatively low, and there is a pretty chunky story close to the middle, so I was a bit concerned, as my preference isn't usually for very short stories. Not a problem here, however – while individual stories may be on the shorter side, the shared location makes each of them feel like a part of a much larger, living, breathing world. There's even some crossover between stories, whether that is a story that directly follows on from the previous or even a couple of reappearances of the passenger jet I mentioned earlier, that means this never feels like a group of separate spooky tales, something I greatly appreciate.

Despite being linked to the previous books, I think you could read this as a standalone – although it may spoil some plot beats of The Eris Ridge Trail in particular, so I'd personally advise reading that first – so if some excellent short fiction set in this strange, ever-changing environment has piqued your interest, I'd highly recommend getting your hiking boots on and experiencing the trail for yourself. Just mind the noctules you might hear calling your name...

[Suki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A scary collection that will draw the reader in with each story. Each interconnected story explores the mysteries and dangerous encounters that unsuspecting travelers face on the Eris Ridge Trail. Every story contains unnatural phenomena and dread that will keep you in suspense. There are terrifying creatures, sketchy characters, politicians with secrets, and, of course, many creepy encounters. This collection is a true page turner that brings back the feeling and scares of campfire-style spooky stories.

This collection is a perfect introduction to readers who want to explore horror but aren't quite sure what to expect. It is a great place to start for readers who do not want to overcommit to a full horror novel but are still willing to try and get spooked. Readers can feel the lingering dark atmosphere bleed from one story onto the next. The stories are intriguing enough that even after completing the collection, you'll want to learn more about the Eris Ridge Trail and its travelers. These stories are great for fans who enjoy The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror storytelling.

I could not put this book down. I was immediately hooked after the first story and loved the interconnected nature of this collection. I was on the hunt for a low-stakes, mild horror book that still packed a punch without traumatizing me enough to leave a light on at night this week. This was an excellent choice and one I would highly recommend to readers who do not typically read horror but still want some scares.

For readers who enjoy Black Mirror and interconnected short stories

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is an advance reader copy (ARC) and may contain errors or changes before final publication. My review is voluntary and reflects my personal thoughts.

[Samantha Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man where to start even.... On the third installment of The Eris Trail we get more delightful and frightening and even 'sexy' moments with some new characters and some old ones too. I love that we get new and old stories to devour whole almost like the nocturnes having dinner. IYKYK. I found myself laughing at moment and squeezing my eyes shut and covering my face but peaking through them to keep going. The way Larry is able to take a story and not only make it a complete standalone but then tie in the other stories and have you going oh wow how did I miss that little nugget. All the stories are one massive jumbled mess in so many different dimensions and time periods. Its almost a puzzle for you to sort through and piece together how everyone fits into it and follow along the story as it shows you who or what is behind everything in the first place. He writes in a way that doesn't feel heavy the stories just flow smoothly and you find yourself finished with the whole thing and confused how you blasted through them but somehow so much happened in that short time. Overall yes its a great read if you want to be confused but have it all figured out at the same time. Just don't think to hard about the two moons even if one is green that's just a reflection of the light after all its just after 6pm and its an hour before dark.

[Emilia Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

From the first short story, I was hooked!

I went into this just thinking I'd read a couple stories, then come back to it, but I found the writing so engrossing, the stories so mysterious, that I found myself deep within a second cup of tea and unable to stop!

I don't want to give spoilers, but each short story deals with a different type of mystery (or sometimes horror) and there is a lot of interconnected unease. The first story really spoke to me. I hate flying, find myself anxious, so maybe that's why it resonated. I sometimes wanted more, but that's the point of the story. It cuts off when it gets to a big twist or reveal.

There's one story in particular where the protagonist explains the dangers of the woods. The ending ripped me. I don't want to give too much, again, each story is worth it.

I found the writing very easy to read and as a fast reader, I flew through it. Dialogue was good. I know since they were all short stories there would be differences, but sometimes tense changes were hard to adjust to, but this is just minor. I liked how connected to the characters I became in such a small amount of time, as though I saw a fraction into their life.

Overall this was sooo good. I needed a break from longer novels, and these creepy stories gave me that.

[Alison Faichney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Larry Hinkle is an author where I can’t believe he’s not more well known. I know not every reader puts stock in author blurbs but *I* do so I was super excited for this one. Plus it’s a Francois Vaillancourt cover so I feel like I’m early to the Hinkle party but know it’s gonna be good once other people realize what they’re missing. The Eris Ridge Trail was fantastic so I knew I’d vibe with this dimensional shifting short story collection that centers around the trail, a place where time and space remain in constant flux.

The stories are all interconnected and I can’t get enough of this genre. Hinkle is excelling at his craft and he could just keep writing about the Eris Ridge Trail and I’d keep reading (and this is coming from someone who avoids series). The little connected bits between stories are often subtle which makes discovering them a treat. I enjoyed all of these and don’t really have favorites because the collection felt cohesive like a novel while still feeling like complete short stories. Hinkle is clever with the nods and I really vibed with it. I would highly recommend checking out Larry Hinkle if you appreciate dimension hopping weird horrors. These were a bit darker than what I’ve previously read by Hinkle but definitely were my taste. Highly recommend.

[RavenReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly the kind of horror I love: ambiguous, unsettling, and full of creeps. Every story leans into cosmic and existential dread, with endings and origins that resist easy explanation. Hinkle trusts the reader to sit with uncertainty, and that restraint makes the horror hit harder. Even in brief formats, each piece is deeply character driven, grounding the strange and surreal in very human fears and flaws.

As with any short story collection, some entries stood out more than others, but impressively, I genuinely enjoyed every single story. None felt like filler. Each one delivered its own brand of quiet menace, emotional weight, or creeping paranoia. The atmosphere is consistently eerie, layered with just the right amount of “WTF?” energy. Add in some clever horror Easter eggs for genre fans, and this becomes both a thoughtful and entertaining read.

Creepy, smart, gory, and steeped in existential unease, this is a standout collection for anyone who loves subtle, cosmic leaning horror that prioritizes mood and meaning over easy answers.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Larry Hinkle, and RDS Publishing and Four Winds Bar Publishing for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting short stories that are all about Eris Ridge Trail. These stories are full of imagination and very visual. It was a lot of fun reading these as it unfolded more and more about Eris Trail, the mystery and wonder that created this weird place lost somewhere in the space between here and there.

Written as a stand alone book you don't need to read the book Eris Ridge Trail to enjoy this one but it would give you more insight into some of the short stories in here.

I really enjoy the author's imagination and use of Twilight Zone type stories, I will be looking forward to reading many more of his books.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

[Mylene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was searching for something to read when I stumbled upon An Hour Before Dark on NetGalley. It had many elements I love in stories: mystery, horror, and interconnected short stories.
I loved it. The writing is compelling. The individuality of each story is remarkable, even as they tie to one another. I flew through it, wanting to know more about the Trail. I'll need to seek the author's other stories for that, but I'm really happy to have discovered it.

[Kate Victoria RescueandReading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Larry brings us back to the weird, monstrous Eris Ridge in this dark collection. Each story had ties to the overarching cosmic distortions that make up the “Trail”.

Perfect for fans of his previous works, but also readers new to Hinkle’s imagination and prose. I recommend at some point you do check out his other collections/books too if you haven’t already.

If you’re looking for reading material that is unsettling, eerie and strange, look no further. This was the rare grouping of short stories where they were equally amazing; I loved each one.