Twisted Tales of Spring Equinox

by Melisa Peterson Lewis

Spring brings renewal. Light returns, the world stirs, and balance is restored.

But not everything that awakens is kind or gentle.

Tumble through six dark stories where the thaw takes an unsettling turn. Lovers spiral into twisted, angst-filled passion. Gods of the forest whisper to the lost. Ancient forces stir beneath melting soil, and sunlight carries something contagious.

From folklore-infused terror to psychological unraveling, these stories reveal what happens when rebirth curdles. Every equinox is a threshold. Are you ready to step across and see what waits on the other side?

Bonus story: Sometimes the most terrifying tales are the ones that really happened. Lewis reveals her own brush with the unknown.

260 pages, Paperback

First published March 20, 2026

About the author

Melisa Peterson Lewis would absolutely not survive a zombie apocalypse, but there's nowhere she'd rather ride it out than Baltimore, where the Lazarus City series was born. Currently, Melisa lives in suburbia with her spunky kids, barky dogs, and patient husband. When she's not working her day job as a technical recruiter, she is writing or digging around in her garden.

Reviews

[Lady MacDeath · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a joy for me to read…six short stories connected to the Spring/Vernal Equinox (Ostara), one of my favourite events of the Pagan calendar. Ostara is a time for new beginnings and rebirth, where Druids and Pagans also celebrate the Saxon goddess of fertility, Eostre (Easter). It’s also when the sun crosses the Equator, and we see almost equal days to night.

As soon as I saw this gorgeous cover, I knew I just had to read it. Each story has a beautiful illustration at the beginning, and Melisa definitely knows how to weave stories involving horror, folklore, and superstition. I loved each and every one of these stories, though my favourites were ‘Serial Awakening’, ‘Pan’, ‘Rockingham’ and ‘The Last Morning’, though each one is a winner for me. This won’t be to everyones taste, but this whole book was something special for me. There is also a personal story from the author at the end.

4.5 ⭐️

Thanks to the author, the publishing company, and BookSirens, for providing me with this free ARC, with which I leave a voluntary review.

Available: NOW

[Haly Hoards Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

3☆

A collection of six short stories with a personal story of the author's. I comment on each story in this review.

●Serial Awakening ~ Opal finds the perfect man, but as her love for him grows so do her murderous urges. This one has a twist I didn't see coming.

●Pan ~ A retelling of the myth of the Greek God, Pan. It was ok.

●Rockingham ~ A little girl and her dog, Kevin, go missing in the Appalachian woods. Folklore Is built on the disappearance especially after more and more hikers go missing. I wish this story was more fleshed out.

●Silver Sisters ~ I smiled when I saw the image of the Wyoming Jackalope! But, in this tale the wildly deformed jackalope signal of a land that is hungry, and on Ostara it must feed.

●The Last Morning ~ Watching the Ostara sunrise on an ice field in Southern Greenland leads to death. Don't look at the sun!

●Café Lizard ~ Every few years a "big tipper" leaves an envelope full of money for any one of the employees at Café Lizard brave enough to take it. What happens afterward is the scare.

●A Little Ghost Story of My Own ~ Steange but not scary.

I received a free copy through Booksirens and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to the author for the opportunity.

The stories are original, none of them truly grabbed me, and yet none were not worth the read. The shortest of them, Rockingham, was my favorite. I think it has the potential to become a longer, more fleshed out work.

[Haly Hoards Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

3☆
A collection of six short stories with a personal story of the author's. I comment on each story in this review.

●Serial Awakening ~ Opal finds the perfect man, but as her love for him grows so do her murderous urges. This one has a twist I didn't see coming.
●Pan ~ A retelling of the myth of the Greek God, Pan. It was ok.
●Rockingham ~ A little girl and her dog, Kevin, go missing in the Appalachian woods. Folklore Is built on the disappearance especially after more and more hikers go missing. I wish this story was more fleshed out.
●Silver Sisters ~ I smiled when I saw the image of the Wyoming Jackalope! But, in this tale the wildly deformed jackalope signal of a land that is hungry, and on Ostara it must feed.
●The Last Morning ~ Watching the Ostara sunrise on an ice field in Southern Greenland leads to death. Don't look at the sun!
●Café Lizard ~ Every few years a "big tipper" leaves an envelope full of money for any one of the employees at Café Lizard brave enough to take it. What happens afterward is the scare.
●A Little Ghost Story of My Own ~ Steange but not scary.

I received a free copy through Booksirens and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to the author for the opportunity.

The stories are original, none of them truly grabbed me, and yet none were not worth the read. The shortest of them, Rockingham, was my favorite. I think it has the potential to become a longer, more fleshed out work.

[The Morbid Mama ☠︎︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, huge thank you to @booksirens for the ARC!

What a wonderful little collection! This was my first book by Melisa Peterson Lewis and won’t be my last. Obviously this cover drew me in immediately 🤭 But these 7 stories were the PERFECT length and had just the right amount of substance for them to keep you drawn in. Each story also has an illustration at the beginning that are absolutely STUNNING! After reading the first couple stories, I knew I had to have a physical copy for my collection!

[Krystle · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

This one really surprised me in a good way. I went in expecting a few spooky stories with a spring theme, but it ended up being so much more layered and atmospheric than that.

Each tale has this light, almost hopeful seasonal feel at first, then slowly shifts into something quite unsettling. The way spring is woven through the horror is clever and gives the whole collection a really distinct tone.

The illustrations are STUNNING! They add so much to the mood and honestly elevate the reading experience.

I genuinely enjoyed this. It is well worth reading.

Thank you to BookSirens and the author for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

[Nisa_nisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Spring brings renewal... but not everything that awakens is kind and gentle."

I enjoy reading horror stories, especially short, punchy ones like those by Grady Hendrix and T. Kingfisher, so when I read the premise of this collection, I knew I would love it. Especially with the setting... when we think of horror, we rarely think of the spring. As a pagan, I celebrate Ostara and welcome all the new and lovely things back into the world, so needless to say, these stories were unsettlingly delicious... my favorite had to be "The Last Morning" about a podcaster who decided to take a trip to Greenland to broadcast the sunrise from the tallest mountain.

"I'm bringing my followers the dawn from the top of the world."-- only to run into some unexpected company... strange noises, echoing voices, potential time disruptions, unexplained mechanical failures, a large amount of hubris... I just really love it when stories are set in isolated, icy landscapes. I can practically feel the snow against my skin and, you should be afraid of the sun...

[Julie Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought each story was pretty good, you could picture what was happening in your mind with relative ease. The story of Pan was sad, but I think I liked it the best. Always trying so hard but never feeling it was enough. Falling in Love with something that can never be. The Silver Sisters was probably the weirdest. Man against the land, and you guessed it, the land won. Cafe Lizard is the tale as old as time. “Listen to your elders they know best” but a silly young girl wanting a life of adventure doesn’t listen and things might not end well for her.

I could see these stories turning into a collection of short films.

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

[Ellie W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genuinely LOVED this collection of short stories - each one was unique & just as tantalizing as the former. Peterson's writing style is nicely paced with rich imagery & thoughtful characters. The spring equinox is woven into each story *almost* seamlessly & I enjoyed all of the folklore. Normally when people discuss the equinox they discuss rebirth & renewal; I'd never seen someone write about the darker side of the equinox and it was a refreshing change of the normal focuses of spring!

I am excited to look into more books by Melisa Peterson Lewis; it seems she has a large repertoire of books that are just as scary!

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

[Micki-D · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of 6 eerie, seasonal short stories with a mix of folklore, suspense, and unsettling twists. Each tale has its own flavour, but the overall tone stays consistently creepy. A great pick for readers who enjoy short, punchy horror with great imagery in the writing.

Serial Awakening probably my favourite story
Opal finds the perfect man, but as her love for him grows so do her murderous urges

Pan id a retelling of the myth of the Greek God, Pan. It’s a story of trying hard but never feeling like it was enough. While falling in love with something that can never really be. It’s a relatable tale

Silver Sisters ~ a tale of man against land, with a wildly deformed jackalope. The signal of a land that is hungry. Sometimes man wins but not this time.

[Nicola Blamires · Rating 3 out of 5]

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

This anthology of horror stories pulls each piece together with a central theme of ostara which is an interesting concept that the author pulls off well with a collection of interesting tales. I did feel like some could have been a little shorter and gotten to the conclusion in a more concise way. Also not sure if I missed it but the 2nd to last story had no connection to ostara. All in all a well written and interesting read.

[Caitlyn Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories were a little long for me when I think of short story. It was a bit hard to get into at first. My favorite did end up being Pan, as I have never heard of this god. It was a good little read to start spring off!

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