What do you think?
Rate this book
Shadows Over Main Street
What happens when idyllic small-towns, and the simple folk who inhabit them, collide with inexplicable evil borne of a vast and uncaring cosmos? Imagine a series of stories set in a golden era of American life, where worldly troubles are regarded from a distance, if at all.
Hear the buzz of playing cards clipped in children’s spokes echo down quiet lanes. Smell the faint aroma of rich tobacco smoke from an old man’s pipe on a shady boulevard. Listen to the gossip of small towns where everyone knows everyone’s business.
Or do they?
Sometimes, deadly secrets lurk out in the barn. Sometimes, unimaginable evil awaits us in the root cellar. Sometimes, we fall under the sway of the Shadows Over Main Street.
Come inside and sit for a spell…
---
Foreword by Ramsey Campbell.
Cover illustration by Luke Spooner.
Interior illustrations by Paul Carrick, Vincent Chong, John Coulthart, Galen Dara and M. Fersner.
Table of Contents:
(Alphabetical by author name)
Gary Braunbeck, The Friendless Bodies of Unburied Men
Chesya Burke, Mountaintown
James Chambers, Odd Quahogs
Tim Curran, The Thing with a Thousand Legs
T. Fox Dunham, The Flesh or the Father
Brian Hodge, This Stagnant Breath of Change
Kevin Lucia, The Black Pyramid
Adrian Ludens, Estranged
Josh Malerman, A Fiddlehead Party on Carpenter’s Farm
Nick Mamatas, Χταπόδι Σαλάτα
Rena Mason, Red Hill
Lisa Morton, The Ogre
Aaron Polson, Undergrounders
Mary SanGiovanni, The Floodgates of Willow Hill
Lucy A. Snyder, The Abomination of Fensmere
Cameron Suey, The Crisis
John Sunseri, Homecoming
Richard Thomas, White Picket Fences
Jay Wilburn, Boss Cthulhu
Stephanie Wytovich, The 21st Century Shadow
Hear the buzz of playing cards clipped in children’s spokes echo down quiet lanes. Smell the faint aroma of rich tobacco smoke from an old man’s pipe on a shady boulevard. Listen to the gossip of small towns where everyone knows everyone’s business.
Or do they?
Sometimes, deadly secrets lurk out in the barn. Sometimes, unimaginable evil awaits us in the root cellar. Sometimes, we fall under the sway of the Shadows Over Main Street.
Come inside and sit for a spell…
---
Foreword by Ramsey Campbell.
Cover illustration by Luke Spooner.
Interior illustrations by Paul Carrick, Vincent Chong, John Coulthart, Galen Dara and M. Fersner.
Table of Contents:
(Alphabetical by author name)
Gary Braunbeck, The Friendless Bodies of Unburied Men
Chesya Burke, Mountaintown
James Chambers, Odd Quahogs
Tim Curran, The Thing with a Thousand Legs
T. Fox Dunham, The Flesh or the Father
Brian Hodge, This Stagnant Breath of Change
Kevin Lucia, The Black Pyramid
Adrian Ludens, Estranged
Josh Malerman, A Fiddlehead Party on Carpenter’s Farm
Nick Mamatas, Χταπόδι Σαλάτα
Rena Mason, Red Hill
Lisa Morton, The Ogre
Aaron Polson, Undergrounders
Mary SanGiovanni, The Floodgates of Willow Hill
Lucy A. Snyder, The Abomination of Fensmere
Cameron Suey, The Crisis
John Sunseri, Homecoming
Richard Thomas, White Picket Fences
Jay Wilburn, Boss Cthulhu
Stephanie Wytovich, The 21st Century Shadow
275 pages, Paperback
First published January 28, 2015
111 people are currently reading
973 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
July 6, 2023
A Lovecraftian Thrill!
This book is a great pleasure! There are twenty stories written within of the Lovecraft pastiche. Some are better than Lovecraft, himself.
The small towns, the small minds. The people who live life like the denizens of Arkham. The monsters, the subhumans. The smells, the eyesores. The rundown houses of the neighborhood.
The feelings, the emotions. The love and pain of the people. The experience is eventful and enjoyable. Unfortunately, not endless.
But the most important part of this is that the stories are very subliminal. The call for Cthulhu is outrageous, but it does come.
The book is written for lovers of horror. So step on up to Shadows Over Main Street. You will want to read this book.
Five fantastic stars. 💫💫💫💫💫
This book is a great pleasure! There are twenty stories written within of the Lovecraft pastiche. Some are better than Lovecraft, himself.
The small towns, the small minds. The people who live life like the denizens of Arkham. The monsters, the subhumans. The smells, the eyesores. The rundown houses of the neighborhood.
The feelings, the emotions. The love and pain of the people. The experience is eventful and enjoyable. Unfortunately, not endless.
But the most important part of this is that the stories are very subliminal. The call for Cthulhu is outrageous, but it does come.
The book is written for lovers of horror. So step on up to Shadows Over Main Street. You will want to read this book.
Five fantastic stars. 💫💫💫💫💫
April 11, 2015
It wasn't until I read the editor's blurb at the end of the anthology that I really, truly, understood what he was going for with this collection. Once I read it however, I realized that Murano had not only succeeded, but had also captured a truly unique idea for his anthology. Small towns, especially in the Americas, holds a certain view in their cultural vision. Combine that with mythos tales, and you get something that contains a very nice level of creeping horror.
There were a couple that stood out, both for the good and for the bad, within this anthology.
The Ogre by Lisa Morton feels like the odd man out in this anthology. The horror is there, make no mistake about it, as is the small town feel. The lovecraftian or mythos aspect of it however, isn't. Rather, it's a tale about mankind's ability to become the monsters themselves, which is a great concept. It just doesn't fit in among all the other stories in this collection, or with the general theme of the anthology of itself. This made Morton's story less impactful than it could have been in another, more appropriate anthology.
The Crisis by Cameron Suey played along my emotional scale extremely well. Even though it took a bit to realize the protagonist was a girl, the entire story plays out exactly like you want to, with one of the most satisfying moments of justice in the entire anthology. The story brings about a lot of interesting elements that you don't see much in the rest of the collection, which makes it worth a read and makes it stand out among the rest.
The Stagnant Breath of Change by Brian Hodge was my favorite story in this anthology. Pulling together a number of horror elements, Hodge brings about a tale that is haunting in a number of ways, and weaves them together masterfully. I could easily reread this story a number of times and still get the same pleasure from it that I did initially. Definitely a good one!
The Black Pyramid by Kevin Lucia built was a premise that I truly loved. Lucia pulled in everything that should have been in this story and wove it into a wonderful tale of corruption. Unfortunately, the actual conversion itself was a bit too over the top for my tastes, but the beginning and end of the tale more than made up for it. A very enjoyable story.
Overall, this is a good anthology with a number of themes and different types of horror that make it a pleasure to read. Both Lovecraft's themes and mythos, as well as the American Small Town setting are handled well and it brings about a level of horror we don't generally see in other Lovecraftian anthologies. Well worth picking up, especially if you have ever lived in a small town!
There were a couple that stood out, both for the good and for the bad, within this anthology.
The Ogre by Lisa Morton feels like the odd man out in this anthology. The horror is there, make no mistake about it, as is the small town feel. The lovecraftian or mythos aspect of it however, isn't. Rather, it's a tale about mankind's ability to become the monsters themselves, which is a great concept. It just doesn't fit in among all the other stories in this collection, or with the general theme of the anthology of itself. This made Morton's story less impactful than it could have been in another, more appropriate anthology.
The Crisis by Cameron Suey played along my emotional scale extremely well. Even though it took a bit to realize the protagonist was a girl, the entire story plays out exactly like you want to, with one of the most satisfying moments of justice in the entire anthology. The story brings about a lot of interesting elements that you don't see much in the rest of the collection, which makes it worth a read and makes it stand out among the rest.
The Stagnant Breath of Change by Brian Hodge was my favorite story in this anthology. Pulling together a number of horror elements, Hodge brings about a tale that is haunting in a number of ways, and weaves them together masterfully. I could easily reread this story a number of times and still get the same pleasure from it that I did initially. Definitely a good one!
The Black Pyramid by Kevin Lucia built was a premise that I truly loved. Lucia pulled in everything that should have been in this story and wove it into a wonderful tale of corruption. Unfortunately, the actual conversion itself was a bit too over the top for my tastes, but the beginning and end of the tale more than made up for it. A very enjoyable story.
Overall, this is a good anthology with a number of themes and different types of horror that make it a pleasure to read. Both Lovecraft's themes and mythos, as well as the American Small Town setting are handled well and it brings about a level of horror we don't generally see in other Lovecraftian anthologies. Well worth picking up, especially if you have ever lived in a small town!
December 2, 2015
Before starting this book, I had some doubts, but the name of Josh Malerman, one of a dozen or so authors who contributed to this collection and whose "Bird box" I had recently read and quite enjoyed, worked like a magnet, so I decided to give it a shot. I noticed, that this is a "lovecraftian" book, but since I haven't read Lovecraft, I thought that it would be worth a try. Turns out, I'm not really in "lovecraftian" stuff. I mean, can't say something negative about it. Even more, I actually still think that this book is certainly quite decent even if it's not my cup of tea, as they say, so I can safely presume, that people who ARE into Lovecraft(ian) would really enjoy it. But since I'm not one of those guys, my verdict is that it is simply an OK book - 2* and dropped it after some 40%.
October 18, 2017
In keeping with my effort to read more horror this October, I finally made my way around to this anthology - and it's actually a pretty great collection.
As with any collection of short stories, there are some standouts:
This Stagnant Breath of Change, by Brian Hodge - considering it came out in 2015, it's an awfully relevant piece about an old generation sacrificing the future of their children to maintain their fragile view of how the world should be. Also one of the few pieces that gives a nod to the less-savoury side of HP and his intolerance.
The Friendless Bodies of Unburied Men, by Gary A. Braunbeck - framing Lovecraft within the bounds of one man's mental breakdown, and does it brilliantly.
The Abomination of Fensmere, by Lucy A. Snyder - really reminiscent of those "young girl sent to live with relatives for a summer after losing a parent/gaining a sibling" books that I read so many of as a kid. Also incredibly satisfying.
Homecoming, by John Sunseri - the final piece of the collection, quite short but very impacting.
Lots of these were quite short actually, but it's a strong collection nevertheless; when I'm left with multiple authors to add to my groaning to-read list, I know it's been a success.
As with any collection of short stories, there are some standouts:
This Stagnant Breath of Change, by Brian Hodge - considering it came out in 2015, it's an awfully relevant piece about an old generation sacrificing the future of their children to maintain their fragile view of how the world should be. Also one of the few pieces that gives a nod to the less-savoury side of HP and his intolerance.
The Friendless Bodies of Unburied Men, by Gary A. Braunbeck - framing Lovecraft within the bounds of one man's mental breakdown, and does it brilliantly.
The Abomination of Fensmere, by Lucy A. Snyder - really reminiscent of those "young girl sent to live with relatives for a summer after losing a parent/gaining a sibling" books that I read so many of as a kid. Also incredibly satisfying.
Homecoming, by John Sunseri - the final piece of the collection, quite short but very impacting.
Lots of these were quite short actually, but it's a strong collection nevertheless; when I'm left with multiple authors to add to my groaning to-read list, I know it's been a success.
March 1, 2015
A wonderfully curated collection of small town Lovecratian terror.
March 13, 2015
Solid Lovecraftian anthology.
August 5, 2019
A wonderfully crafted collection, 'Shadows Over Main Street' delves deep beyond the surface of your 'normal', everyday little town, where nothing ever happens, right? Wrong! Thankfully, there is way more going on than a first glimpse would ever reveal, and discovering just how much, is a terrifying journey into some very, very dark places.
These stories are all superb. They have been written by some of the very best authors in this genre, and they stand as a complete collection that deserves to be read by every fan of darker horror fiction. I particularly enjoyed the Lovecraft twists and turns that some of these stories may nod casually to, or, in other cases, rip right through the thin tissue between worlds, and throw us right into where the darkest of our possible imaginings await. It is done so deftly and with such care and skill, that I honestly think this is one of the best collections of its kind that I have had the pleasure to read.
If you love your horror on the dark side, and you are a fan of the Lovecraft mythos, then you are in for a hell of a treat in 'Shadows Over Main Street'. Unforgettable fiction and a truly nightmare journey, visit at your own risk...but do visit. It's well worth the sleepless nights when you simply cannot put this collection down.
Of course, I am going to be heading back - yes, I am delighted to be able to say there is a 'Shadows Over Main Street Volume 2'!
Wonderful. Simply wonderful. An extremely ambitious project that excels all expectations, don't miss this collection!
These stories are all superb. They have been written by some of the very best authors in this genre, and they stand as a complete collection that deserves to be read by every fan of darker horror fiction. I particularly enjoyed the Lovecraft twists and turns that some of these stories may nod casually to, or, in other cases, rip right through the thin tissue between worlds, and throw us right into where the darkest of our possible imaginings await. It is done so deftly and with such care and skill, that I honestly think this is one of the best collections of its kind that I have had the pleasure to read.
If you love your horror on the dark side, and you are a fan of the Lovecraft mythos, then you are in for a hell of a treat in 'Shadows Over Main Street'. Unforgettable fiction and a truly nightmare journey, visit at your own risk...but do visit. It's well worth the sleepless nights when you simply cannot put this collection down.
Of course, I am going to be heading back - yes, I am delighted to be able to say there is a 'Shadows Over Main Street Volume 2'!
Wonderful. Simply wonderful. An extremely ambitious project that excels all expectations, don't miss this collection!
September 11, 2015
“Shadows Over Main Street” is a highly entertaining anthology of 20 stories richly incorporating the style and characters of H.P. Lovecraft. One need not be a Lovecraft aficionado to appreciate these delectable tales of horror run amuck, but if one IS a Lovecraft fan, this collection will be a delightful find.
The subtitle of this collection is ‘An Anthology of Small-Town Lovecraftian Horror’. Having lived a large part of my life in very, very small towns – with populations ranging from 150 to 500 – I can personally attest to the accuracy of the small-town persona presented herein.
Some of the stories in this collection are penned by authors who already will be very familiar to readers of the horror genre. Others are written by authors who may soon become favorites. I found the stories to vary greatly, but all were well-written and hard to put down.
I highly recommend “Shadows Over Main Street” for all Horror fans. You will not be disappointed.
The subtitle of this collection is ‘An Anthology of Small-Town Lovecraftian Horror’. Having lived a large part of my life in very, very small towns – with populations ranging from 150 to 500 – I can personally attest to the accuracy of the small-town persona presented herein.
Some of the stories in this collection are penned by authors who already will be very familiar to readers of the horror genre. Others are written by authors who may soon become favorites. I found the stories to vary greatly, but all were well-written and hard to put down.
I highly recommend “Shadows Over Main Street” for all Horror fans. You will not be disappointed.
October 27, 2018
As with all anthologies this is a grab bag: some good, some middling, some poor. The best story - 'The Ogre' - has nothing to do with the Cthulhu mythos at all really. There are too many stories that have the same theme and tone - Dagon & his amphibian-like progeny - and only the final tale 'Homecoming' has a real twist-in-the-tale ending, which truly captures a Lovecraftian feeling of horror. It's worth a read if you don't have high expectations.
May 9, 2015
I have a great love of horror anthologies. My only complaint is that every one contains a story or two that I really don't like. That was NOT the case with this collection. I loved them all. My only complaint with this book is that it ended FAR too soon!
April 9, 2015
A good collection of short stories combining two of my very favorite things: small towns and madness-inducing Lovecraftian monstrosities. It's like a marriage made in Haddath.
April 15, 2015
Big fan of Lovecraftian horror. The way this book ties in small town life with otherworldly horror is great.
October 9, 2022
As with any collection a mix of good to very good. First time reading cosmic horror
and overall enjoyed the collection.
and overall enjoyed the collection.
January 13, 2018
The collision of small-town America and Lovecraftian nightmares makes for enjoyable reading. This is a fine collection of stories, bringing the horror of the Old Ones to the streets and front yards of the idyllic America that really never was. These are the "good old days" of fifties and sixties television, but with a darkness hiding just under the surface. I would recommend it for all lovers of weird fiction.
November 23, 2017
A OLD BOX OF DREARY TALES IT IS.....
Hello, this is your usual collection of authors trying to be "Lovecraftian". I would say that half did an okay job and one of two were good. The rest were not so good. Thanks.
Hello, this is your usual collection of authors trying to be "Lovecraftian". I would say that half did an okay job and one of two were good. The rest were not so good. Thanks.
September 27, 2018
Worth the price...but..
So I bought this solely for the Josh malerman story. Which sadly was one of the weakest stories in this collection. However, many of the other stories made it worth the money.
So I bought this solely for the Josh malerman story. Which sadly was one of the weakest stories in this collection. However, many of the other stories made it worth the money.
May 26, 2022
Overall a good anthology, some stories are hit or miss, Golem especially while a horror story doesn't fit into the Cthulhu mythos, oh it is tied to small town horror yet not to Cthulhu, still I am considering reading the second book.
April 4, 2019
I'm not impressed.
The stories and writing were simply mediocre, nothing more needs to be said. Much of it barely got into the genre.
The stories and writing were simply mediocre, nothing more needs to be said. Much of it barely got into the genre.
August 11, 2022
Overall an entertaining anthology, but the selection of stories near the end didn't hit the mark of enjoyment with me. 3 stars for the collection.
June 20, 2016
Lovecraftian fiction set on the streets of every small town you’ve ever wandered through. Cosmic horror attacking the peace and tranquility of towns where people remember “that one time there was a car accident.” In the small nestled corners where people still move at a leisurely pace, Shadows Over Main Street introduces reasons to run.
These streets are no longer safe.
Twenty authors came together to create this amazing new take on Lovecraft’s world. What’s that you say? You’re unfamiliar with Lovecraft’s work? Before this anthology, so was I. Luckily, the foreword, written by the great Ramsey Campbell, provides a detailed orientation into this style of writing and sets the mood for the stories which follow. But even if you were to skip Campbell’s words, you’d get the hang of it really quickly. This collection is geared for those of us who are new to the genre as well as those who have survived under Lovecraft’s dark umbrella for many years.
Every story in this collection more than deserves to be mentioned individually, but the ones that truly stuck with me afterward included Lisa Morton’s “The Ogre”, Josh Malerman’s “Fiddlehead Party on Carpenters’ Farm”, and “This Stagnant Breath of Change” by Brian Hodge.
This collection not only attacks our fears. It assaults them in the places we’ve been taught to feel the safest; and does so in such a satisfying way, we’re almost okay with it.
Not that the universe left us much of a choice anyway…
These streets are no longer safe.
Twenty authors came together to create this amazing new take on Lovecraft’s world. What’s that you say? You’re unfamiliar with Lovecraft’s work? Before this anthology, so was I. Luckily, the foreword, written by the great Ramsey Campbell, provides a detailed orientation into this style of writing and sets the mood for the stories which follow. But even if you were to skip Campbell’s words, you’d get the hang of it really quickly. This collection is geared for those of us who are new to the genre as well as those who have survived under Lovecraft’s dark umbrella for many years.
Every story in this collection more than deserves to be mentioned individually, but the ones that truly stuck with me afterward included Lisa Morton’s “The Ogre”, Josh Malerman’s “Fiddlehead Party on Carpenters’ Farm”, and “This Stagnant Breath of Change” by Brian Hodge.
This collection not only attacks our fears. It assaults them in the places we’ve been taught to feel the safest; and does so in such a satisfying way, we’re almost okay with it.
Not that the universe left us much of a choice anyway…
September 29, 2019
Something about small town America lends itself so well to the horror genre, whether it be The Shadow over Innsmouth or The Children of the Corn and Twin Peaks. The small town, its isolation in time and space, its residents, all combine to provide the perfect atmosphere for fear.
There are many short stories in this collection of weird fiction - some are good, some are great, and some not that good at all. Yet, they nearly all manage to capture that small town atmosphere. America lends itself so well to the Cthulu mythos because it is both simultaneously a new country in an ancient land, the small town guards its secrets well, the shadows over Main Street lengthen as the sun goes down, that which is dead cannot die.
There are many short stories in this collection of weird fiction - some are good, some are great, and some not that good at all. Yet, they nearly all manage to capture that small town atmosphere. America lends itself so well to the Cthulu mythos because it is both simultaneously a new country in an ancient land, the small town guards its secrets well, the shadows over Main Street lengthen as the sun goes down, that which is dead cannot die.
April 26, 2015
As far as anthologies go, this one is really, really even keel. A lot of anthologies give you super highs and super lows, but this stays at a steady above average level.
The downside, is that aside from Brian Hoge's contribution, none of the tale truly stand out. Good, consistent tales about cosmic, Lovecraftian horror lurking in familiar small town settings. Worth a read for a Lovecraft or a horror fan!
The downside, is that aside from Brian Hoge's contribution, none of the tale truly stand out. Good, consistent tales about cosmic, Lovecraftian horror lurking in familiar small town settings. Worth a read for a Lovecraft or a horror fan!
October 22, 2016
I loved most of the stories in this collection. Only two, very short, unfulfilling, stories kept me from awarding a five star rating. There are tales of a war between humans and gods, portals to dimensions of pure evil in small town America, human misery and suffering that would make any Old One ravenous.
June 27, 2018
Expected to love it. Wanted to love it. Just didn't. Although there were a few good stories, most of them just left me cold.
June 1, 2023
There is some great stuff in here, but there's also a lot of stuff that is pretty average in here.
October 20, 2015
Average
A few good, a few pretty poor, but mostly mediocre. Not much else to say about it. Worth a look for the few good stories
A few good, a few pretty poor, but mostly mediocre. Not much else to say about it. Worth a look for the few good stories
October 11, 2015
Great choice for fans of Lovecraft
March 25, 2015
garbage
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews