Screams From The Asylum: A Horror Anthology

by Heather Ann Larson (Editor), L.M. Kaplin, Jerry W. Barksdale

Welcome to the Broken Brain Mental Institution, where we’ve collected the world's most deranged minds, from the criminally insane to the mentally disturbed and everything in between. You’ll begin your tour with a foreword by Clay McLeod Chapman and continue through fourteen rooms, each containing unimaginable horrors from today’s most talented authors. Inside you’ll find abandoned institutions and haunted sanitariums alongside modern clinics filled with unethical experiments and inhumane treatments that are sure to test the limits of your sanity.

Featuring brand new stories by:
Ben Young
Boris Bacic
Bridgett Nelson
C.M. Forest
David Viergutz
Heather Ann Larson
James G. Carlson
Jay Bower
Jeff Strand
Jerry W. Barksdale
Lee Mountford
LM Kaplin
Mark Towse
Sarah Jules

218 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 20, 2026

Reviews

[Hailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always wonder why I don’t read more anthologies, this collection was awesome.
Color me slightly biased because there were several authors in this I was looking forward to reading. But there was definitely a nice variety of stories from downright creepy, to crazy, to hysterical.

Bravo!

[Ali O · Rating 5 out of 5]

Screams From the Asylum
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This is a fantastic horror anthology from 14 amazing authors! I am so impressed at the quality of pieces in this collection! I loved reading these stories!
They all had the theme based on asylums, but went in so many different directions with each individual story! There are wild, scary, and haunting stories that I couldn’t stop reading!
I’m a sucker for a good asylum setting!!

I absolutely loved all of the stories, but a few standouts for me are:
• Forgive us our Trespasses by James G. Carlson
• The Amazing Moving Picture Show by Jay Bower
• The Separation Experiment by Boris Bacic
• Welcome to the Glen by Sarah Jules
• Screams from the Asylum by Heather Ann Larson
• Sanity Stats by Jeff Strand

I was very lucky to get an arc of this collection!!
**It’s out now and is a must read!!**
👻💉💊🏥

[Jesse Bollinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the idea of a haunted asylum for horror stories so I knew I was going to love this anthology. Every story in this anthology is unique and they all put amazing spins on the trope of the asylum. There’s a lot to love here and a lot of scares to be had. Check this out and you won’t regret it.

[Jennifer Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

He Spoke of Death – This was a great little piece to start the book out with. It sets the pace and gets you in the atmosphere of a broken mind.
Forgive Us Our Trespasses – You got to love it when a group of misfit kids gets into trouble beyond their comprehension. You feel sorry for them though because they seem like genuinely good kids that were dealt a sh@#$y hand. All ends well though and thank God for cats! There was a moment that I was appalled with what happened to the cats, but it is made up for.
The Amazing Moving Picture Show – This very much had a Twilight Zone kind of feel to it. It shows how such a simple idea can turn into the utmost tragedy. It just leaves you wondering, who was that guy?
Respect – This was your typical ghost hunter type story with a nice twist. It also highlights one of the most devastating medical interventions in the history of asylums in my opinion. There was so much misunderstanding back then or better yet, lack of the care to understand.
The Separation Experiment – This story kind of brings to the light the fear of trusting your doctor to do the right thing. You never know if you are part of some corrupt experiment. Maybe that is just the conspiracy theorist in me? However, it also showcases the breaking of the mind and how it will do anything it can to protect itself.
Welcome to the Glen – This story also falls in the category of never trusting doctors. You go somewhere thinking they have your best interests at heart, and they really are going to exploit you in every way possible. They use your illness as a gateway to their madness.
The Devil’s Perfume – This one pulls at your heart. Jed was dealt a crappy hand, and it led him to an even crappier one. As if life hasn’t been unfair enough, he must deal with more transgressions by the hands of those that are supposed to be helping him. The ending is superb!
If Tears Could Build a Stairway – This is just the definition of delusional. The story has such an unsettling atmosphere and leaves you wondering, what if he is right?
Screams from the Asylum – This is a fun little ghost hunter story. It is a nice reminder that you should be careful what and where you investigate. You never know what is lurking around the corner!
Wild is the Wind – Wow! That was a wild ride! The tragedy that was poor Lyric’s life just leaves you feeling empty and heartbroken. She endured what no child should ever have to endure and ended on a path that was so unfair. Even down to the very ending, understandable but not fair.
Where the Walls Don’t Meet – This story shines on the dangers of piercing the veil. Or at least attempting to. I do like how it seems that nobody is immune.
The Patient in Room 12 – This story makes you question your reality. Are you who you think you really are? Do you really belong where you are? Do you really know the people around you? What if the answer is no?
There is No Dog – This is a very haunting story. It is one of those, like many in this book, that make you question everything. You just want more info into what happened that night.
Sanity Stats – This was a funny little closer of a story. It really just reminds you of what living in a video game might be like.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Screams from the Asylum:
Edited by: Heather Ann Larson
Release date: 8/20/26
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

“Screams from the Asylum” is a fourteen story horror anthology with each story connected to the psychiatric institution setting. Rather than following recurring characters or a continuous storyline, the anthology is clever by using the Foreword as a framing device to set the stage for the rest of the anthology: a “tour” through the Broken Brains Mental Institution with each author and their story acting as a different room in the institution (check out what I mean from the most recent posts on the Broken Brain Books Facebook page).

This anthology is fantastic. The Foreword, written by Clay McLeod Chapman, is very well written. It spans a variety of horror subgenres including supernatural hauntings and haunted asylums, psychological horror, medical/asylum horror, and more. The anthology prioritizes inducing fear, uneasiness, and dread quickly with stories exploring themes including, but not limited to, psychological trauma, madness/insanity, and institutional cruelty those with mental illnesses could, and have, experience/experienced. Each author has a unique spin on the psychiatric institution setting with many stories blurring the lines between nightmare and reality. With most stories, the reader is left wondering if the character is actually experiencing what is happening or it is just a fabrication of his/her mind? These stories do an excellent job showing the reader that sometimes in the horror genre, the asylum/institution setting can be more terrifying than any supernatural/paranormal force.

Thank you to Broken Brain Books for this ARC and opportunity. Everything released by BBB is fantastic and a must read!

[Kate Victoria RescueandReading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some brutal stories in this anthology! I loved that each author brought their own “flavour” to this smorgasbord of a book. I wasn’t sure what to expect with the theme this time around, but was very impressed with the variety and quality of each entry.

“Welcome to the Glen” by Sarah Jules and “The Patient in Room 12” by LM Kaplin really put me in the patient’s perspective (and not in a positive way) and I almost felt trapped while I was reading these tales.

“Screams from the Asylum” by Heather Larson and “Where the Walls Don’t Meet” by Lee Mountford genuinely freaked me out. Two stories that highlight the importance of staying out of creepy, abandoned buildings with questionable histories.

Special shoutout to “There is No Dog” by C.M. Forest as I was actually staying in Banff while I was reading this and could picture some of the sprawling hotels as an asylum crouched on the mountainside.

These are just a few of the horrors within the “Screams from the Asylum” book. It’s well worth a read. Also, if you haven’t checked out the other works in the “Screams from” collection, you’re missing out!

[Sammi Dyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Screams from the Asylum is an anthology of horrifying tales involving the dark and twisted minds of fourteen different authors. Pure madness, as you go deeper and deeper into the book filled with each authors spin on what insanity and madness is. Welcome to the crazy house, one story at a time. We are all mad here!! Open the pages and come right in. Don’t turn off the light though or do, if you dare.

[Jen Ramsden · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sixth book in the Screams From Horror Collection, and another outstanding read. Lots of the authors were already known to me, but I also discovered some fun new ones to read more of. There wasn't a story in this book that I didn't like. Some of the stories are gory, some are nerve-wracking. Some are just plain weird. But what else can you expect when you enter the asylum?

[Dan Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very well put together collection. Highly enjoyable and full of great stories.

[Emily Haynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A asylum has the chance to see one of the first moving picture shows. It doesn't go as planned. An experiment has unexpected consequences. Tales of asylums to haunt your dreams.