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Then It Was Dark
Have you ever seen something you can't explain? Heard a voice speak a warning to you as you drifted off to sleep? Ever see a strange woman on a long empty road? Ever talk to a serial killer?
From the strange, nighttime experiences of a man deployed in Iraq to the story of a house haunted by a mad Jewish matriarch. From a chaplain's experience performing an exorcism to the history of spiritualism and a ghost that seems to love LARPs, Then It Was Dark collects a variety of strange experiences from talented and diverse voices.
From the strange, nighttime experiences of a man deployed in Iraq to the story of a house haunted by a mad Jewish matriarch. From a chaplain's experience performing an exorcism to the history of spiritualism and a ghost that seems to love LARPs, Then It Was Dark collects a variety of strange experiences from talented and diverse voices.
210 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 15, 2026
Many scary stories that will give you goosebumps or have you looking over your shoulder. A very good anthology perfect for scary Halloween nights… or warm summer days!
WOW, this was dark and spooky! I love it. I am glad I found this one while browsing around looking for new books. I love horror and I love graphic novels. Anthologies can be a bit hit/miss but I have to say this was quite a nice mix. There were a few weaker ones, definitely, but the ones that were great lifted the story and that is why I gave the book 5 stars. Because of those epic ones. Those that are still giving me goosebumps just thinking about them. Eep!
Each of the story features a new kind of darkness. Something scary. Something spooky. We have headless ghosts (gruesome), water coming out of the drains (I already had a suspicion what may be up given I read a Japanese story that featured the same-ish story), dark twists and turns (which I definitely didn’t always see coming and which had me squeaking in fright), a dark spot in the room (sometimes quite literally), voices in the walls (and that maybe you shouldn’t do rituals to say hi back), and more. I loved the diversity in the story. It made me happy this wasn’t just about ghosts but about all sorts of spooky going-ons.
I have to say that some stories were a bit too short for my feeling and that the only reason I knew we were in a new story was because of the different art and the sudden story title. I would have liked a couple of stories to be longer especially because the story just didn’t work in the short format. I know that all these stories are short… but some were just a couple of pages. Not enough to give me goosebumps, and certainly not enough to satisfy me and my hunger for creepiness.
The art was hit/miss but that is what you get as each story is drawn by a different person. There were some I absolutely loved and some that I just didn’t like at all.
I loved the cover and how it set the tone for the book. Creepy hands coming out of the ceiling, welp!
I would recommend this spooky book to everyone looking for something scary and paranormal.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
WOW, this was dark and spooky! I love it. I am glad I found this one while browsing around looking for new books. I love horror and I love graphic novels. Anthologies can be a bit hit/miss but I have to say this was quite a nice mix. There were a few weaker ones, definitely, but the ones that were great lifted the story and that is why I gave the book 5 stars. Because of those epic ones. Those that are still giving me goosebumps just thinking about them. Eep!
Each of the story features a new kind of darkness. Something scary. Something spooky. We have headless ghosts (gruesome), water coming out of the drains (I already had a suspicion what may be up given I read a Japanese story that featured the same-ish story), dark twists and turns (which I definitely didn’t always see coming and which had me squeaking in fright), a dark spot in the room (sometimes quite literally), voices in the walls (and that maybe you shouldn’t do rituals to say hi back), and more. I loved the diversity in the story. It made me happy this wasn’t just about ghosts but about all sorts of spooky going-ons.
I have to say that some stories were a bit too short for my feeling and that the only reason I knew we were in a new story was because of the different art and the sudden story title. I would have liked a couple of stories to be longer especially because the story just didn’t work in the short format. I know that all these stories are short… but some were just a couple of pages. Not enough to give me goosebumps, and certainly not enough to satisfy me and my hunger for creepiness.
The art was hit/miss but that is what you get as each story is drawn by a different person. There were some I absolutely loved and some that I just didn’t like at all.
I loved the cover and how it set the tone for the book. Creepy hands coming out of the ceiling, welp!
I would recommend this spooky book to everyone looking for something scary and paranormal.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
May 24, 2017
A very well-done (if a little uneven) anthology of short, presumably true, paranormal-related indie comics. There's a great variety of art and each piece is appropriately creepy (although some stories are a little too vague and a few are kind of repetitive). As a fan of comics, horror, and the supernatural, I really enjoyed it.
FAVORITES:
"Pollock Twins" by Sarah Benkin & Danielle Rina - A pair of twin girls seem to have an eerie connection to their deceased twin sisters.
"Dog Tags" by CB Webb - A young woman is haunted by the sound of her dead dog's tags jingling.
"Hideaway" by Natalie Leif & Kelly Leigh Miller - A brother and sister discover a bizarre cell-like room in the back of the milking shed on their new family farm.
"Suffocating" by Morgan Beem - A young woman learns her roommate's terrifying nightmare may be more than just a dream.
FAVORITES:
"Pollock Twins" by Sarah Benkin & Danielle Rina - A pair of twin girls seem to have an eerie connection to their deceased twin sisters.
"Dog Tags" by CB Webb - A young woman is haunted by the sound of her dead dog's tags jingling.
"Hideaway" by Natalie Leif & Kelly Leigh Miller - A brother and sister discover a bizarre cell-like room in the back of the milking shed on their new family farm.
"Suffocating" by Morgan Beem - A young woman learns her roommate's terrifying nightmare may be more than just a dream.
October 9, 2015
As with any collection of stories from various authors and artists, some shone and others didn't... thus the three stars. Still, it was a fun and enjoyable read, and perfect for a spooky October evening...
April 3, 2022
Many stories are forgettable, too similar, and/or too short. There are a few gems, but most of the stories are just "there is a ghost" with nothing much else to say and with art that doesnt help create a frightening atmosphere.
May 28, 2022
A great anthology of spooky stories that truly is perfect to read at night! The art on each panel is unique and gorgeous which emulates each story abd the age of the person haunted or scared! Definitely read it if you can!
October 15, 2022
2.5*
This was badly edited! Sometimes there's nothing than the change of drawing style to separate the different stories it's kind of confusing and some of them are too short. I didn't understand some of the stories because it was too short and not explicit.
This was badly edited! Sometimes there's nothing than the change of drawing style to separate the different stories it's kind of confusing and some of them are too short. I didn't understand some of the stories because it was too short and not explicit.
June 3, 2017
A fun read, if occasionally anticlimactic. There are one or two gems - Lo's "Boring" comes to mind - and the rest are just fine. Recommended.
August 27, 2020
I feel underwhelmed. A few stories were great, and I would have loved to see them expanded. Some of the artwork was lovely. Mostly it was fluff.
November 10, 2021
It's nice to include different art styles in this collection.
January 9, 2022
The art was good. the stories had potential, but they didn't interest me.
January 23, 2024
Absolutely love these stories and the art styles!!
July 26, 2015
Overall a solid and fun anthology with two relatively minor flaws:
1) I was unclear if these were true stories or not. The back jacket was very unclear. I think they were true but it was hard to know....
2) and the lack of ISBN number to put the book up on other sites or to catalog it for our library. Bummer :(
1) I was unclear if these were true stories or not. The back jacket was very unclear. I think they were true but it was hard to know....
2) and the lack of ISBN number to put the book up on other sites or to catalog it for our library. Bummer :(
December 22, 2015
Have some intresting ideas in some of the stories but most are just generic, unengaging short stories of the paranormal kind. Maybe I was just expecting more deep and intresting to read stories, but this anthology didn't manage to deliver so much that in fact I couldn't carry myself to read it until the end.
Still - may be an intresting read to those just going into the genre as a whole.
Still - may be an intresting read to those just going into the genre as a whole.
April 26, 2015
Very mixed, as most anthologies are. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that one of the ghost stories was a history of Drew University.
July 12, 2020
what an excellent conceit for a graphic anthology! I'm super delicate and tried to read it in the dark but I could never make it through more than a few at a time.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews