Terrible Things That Happen When You're Lost in the Dark

by Desiree Horton, Chisto Healy, E.M. Otero

You’ve heard the terrible things that happen when you’re alone in the dark; now, find out what else awaits you in the darkness.



More authors, more galactic horror. Join us as we go deeper in space and into the depths of fear.



Find out the terrible things that happen when you’re lost in the dark…

224 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 1, 2026

About the author

Desiree Horton is a horror writer and enthusiast. She can be found at home in the PNW with her two dogs, two kids, and one husband. Her work can be found in other horror anthologies, and on the edges of papers she will lose almost immediately. More information on her works can be found at authordesireehorton.my.canva.site or on Amazon. Instagram and tiktok: @horrortonwritesabook

Reviews

[Milt Theo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Space horror! - but as quirky and weird as it gets. 15 contributions, some by authors I can't have enough from, Phrique, Desiree Horton (she's also the editor), Jerry Blaze, Chisto Healy, Kirsten Noelle Craig, Zach Ellenberger, E.M. Otero, Dev Solovey, and by a new to me author, J.M. Fickling. Although I can't always vouch for the physics and the cosmology, the storytelling displayed in the book made for some very cool, exciting, and frankly memorable tales of space madness and chilling isolation.

The poem by Phrique opening the volume I'll just skip (since I don't really like poetry); happily, he also has a couple of stories in the anthology: "Who Is My Space Daddy?", a space operatic romp of ancient prophecies, cosmic horror comedy, and close escapes; and "When The Moon Hits Your Eye", about cosmic serendipity - five cases of death via meteorite: accidents... or something more?

Ellenberger's story, "A Thousand Deaths", is broken in two parts, far separated from each other (wish that'd been noted somewhere, since I was scratching my head in confusion, after finishing the first part on a cliffhanger): an intriguing tale of clone experiments on a space station, figuring abuse of power, ambiguity of identity, and lots of adventure!

Horton & Healy co-author "Lost Gods", a twisty story of a man believing himself to be God, and stumbling upon a robot that will help him realize the truth of his existence. Totally unexpected ending!

Fickling also has a story broken in two parts, "Troglodyte" and "Astrocyte": two prospectors have their eye on an asteroid mysteriously hanging over a black hole; one of them visits the rock, only to discover that something's already occupying the place; surprised, he ends up falling into the black hole! What follows is a physicist's fever dream, literally the titular "terrible things that happen when you're lost in the dark"! The story's second part tells the fate of the prospector left behind. Still wondering which one's end was worse!

Craig has a couple of stories, "The Knock" and "Archive of the Universe". The first takes on the familiar idea of getting a knocking when one is alone on a spaceship - nice ending! The second explores the idea of a unknown signal reaching a space vessel, and the existential mayhem that ensues.

Horton's "Just Like Laika" was one of my favorites: a near-future tale of a woman's fate after being found guilty " by a panel of 10 men, women, and non-binaries." The use of the metaphor of Laika, the unlucky Soviet space dog, was gut-wrenching and heartbreaking.

Otero's "Blighted Flesh" combines the theme of body augmentation with the idea of humanoid exo-suits, to tell a hugely entertaining tale of a mecha-pilot tasked with solving the mystery of workers disappearing in the tunnels of a new planet. Corporate cynicism, creepy mine exploration, and plenty of action! Another favorite.

Jerry Blaze's "Amnion" I'd read before: a steamy, occasionally hilarious, short novelette of alien sex, body horror, and bloody carnage! I suggest going into it blind.

Solovey's "Endless Harvest" is a complex tale of a human merging with an alien intelligent fungus, and becoming a fungus messiah. Really, that's what it's about! I enjoyed it immensely!

Healy's "Adrift" was another favorite: a man wakes up floating in space, his memory not working properly; when he reaches a spaceship, and discovers no one wants him to come inside, things take a very nasty, very dark turn. Strange how the quite bleak ending felt so poignant!

Overall, a terrific, wide-ranging anthology, with stories about caves, parasites, queer fun, black holes, sinister corporations, cosmological suprises, and creepy doppelgangers! Definitely recommend!