The moon takes on an ominous form, threatening mankind as it hangs from the heavens. A woman must confront her past and accept her fate when her dying best friend ask her to inherit an ancient power she might not be ready to handle. An LRT skip train sends passengers to an alternate dimension, where manila is ridden with strange creature hungry for flesh. A troubled little girl tiptoes around her stern mother after gaining a creepy new playmate. A mysterious all knowing entity manipulates the concept of time, sending a pair of friends on a descent into madness. A young ink aficionado unravels after getting tattoo, possessed by an unknown force that threatens the very fabric of her being.
All these stories and more are part of All That Darkness Allows- a modern horror anthology containing 13 works of speculative fiction from today's brightest young literary voices and the country's most prolific author in the genre. Written in blood and penned in the shadows, these are fearsome tales of horror and grief, sick humor and sheer evil, and how the macabre and the mundane can coalesce and coexist, allowing darkness to eventually take over
My favorite stories were: Mama's Here, All the Birds, Going Down, and Inked.
"Mama's Here" gave me quite the creeps and then some sadness when I confirmed what I suspected where the story would go. "Inked," for me, was the best story and the most creepy. As somebody who likes getting tattoos, it's a good reminder to never impulsively get a tattoo when angry and drunk, and from a random tattoo shop with a tattoo artist named Mang Babarang.
I'm curious, though how the order of the stories was curated. I thought the fear factor would heighten towards the end, but "Stigmata" and "Phantoma" were momentum-breakers. "Phantoma" seemed out of place amongst the other stories. It's a good thing this collection ended with "Inked."
Oh, and I wish this book was printed with a larger font size. It was uncomfortable and intimidating to read the small font size and the tight spacing.
The root of all horror is fear, but people frequently mistake fear as an easy experience; it's that obvious crescendo in the scoring during a movie when you know some weird shit is about to go down. Horror then is reduced to mere jump scares and cheap thrills to shock and repulse people, but that ultimately is a disservice. Granted, said genre in film had often catered to audiences that are simply looking for mindless gore and lifeless dialogue being spoken by flat characters whose only purpose are to be brutally murdered and disposed.
But with recent entries like The Babadook, It Follows and even The VVitch, horror movies can possibly become more exploratory and symbolic; just as it had been decades ago in its prime before all these franchises about serial killers, ghosts and demon possessions have turned the genre into something rather repetitive and sublimely stupid.
Such stories after all lack the human element which is exactly what horror is supposed to be all about regardless if it deals with the paranormal or the macabre. Horror stories must deliver a harrowing tale of the human condition in which madness, grief and vulnerability are fully realized and exposed for the pickings of vultures. Anyone who has ever read Edgar Allan Poe would understand that there is more to horror than just surprising you with a well-timed jump scare or a literal rendition of blood and guts spilled for your viewing pleasure.
In this modest Filipino anthology written in the English language, thirteen writers exhibit their own harrowing narratives. Enclosed in a compact collection that is truly impressive as the sum of all its parts, All that Darkness Allows s a worthwhile read with a few stories layered with unforgettable symbolism while others explore myths as the rest were cautionary tales that delivered some punches. Right off the bat, it opens with its titular story about a lunar event that threatens the peaceful quiet living of Earth's residents. The first-person story was hypnotic, prone to melancholic contemplation as readers feel the utter loss of hope.
Afterwards, readers would sample The Skip which presents a post-apocalyptic landscape with almost Lovecraftian monsters thriving in the tunnels of a subway system. We also get a surprising ghost story entitled Going Down whose twist at the end was rather commendable.
A staple of the horror genre often deals with female protagonists discovering something terrible and inescapable about their lives and this trope is very much present in a lot of the anthology's stories such as Dalaw, Mama's Here, The Invite, Sunshine, All the Birds, Fire Tree and Inked.
From this bunch, the ones that stood out for me are All the Birds and Sunshine whose symbolisms have open interpretations that at first exposure would only feel slightly uncomfortable until they really settle in and leave impressions that can chill the bones. Mama's Here and Fire Tree both deal with any mother's truest fear coming to life while Dalaw and Inked have their female protagonists succumb to inner darknesses during one fateful moment. The only difference is that Inked's protagonist truly caved in and offered herself to forces beyond her comprehension. Meanwhile, The Invite explored the nuances of grief and guilt, a rather unpleasant and oppressive combination.
Certain other stories have very perplexing premises and these are Analemma and Phantoma, Towards the Pharmacology which I feel I can't even spoil and readers themselves have to get into. They are respectively written by Eliza Victoria and Karl De Mesawhose works I am more than familiar with in the past. One story of this collection stood out the most because it's probably the only one that really sickened me in a lot of levels and that's the body horror masterpiece entitled Stigmata. The descriptions of debauchery performed by two men of cloth, as well as those concerning a certain illness that inflicts the body, did get my stomach churning for a bit--and when the connotations of religious fanaticism came into play, I really can't stop myself from cringing even as I finished the story itself.
In a nutshell, All that Darkness Allows is something you don't want to miss out on. If you're looking for horror stories that are more than just passing tales about ghost hauntings and garden-variety gore, then you may want to purchase this from your local bookstore soon.
"All that Darkness Allows: 13 Tales of Horror and Dread" contained 13 short horror stories which were all accompanied by photographs which were taken by Shaira Luna - these photos went perfectly with the stories, since these were all equally mesmerizing and terrifying. This collection included a variety of topics and voices, which made it a pleasure to read. My favorite stories include "Mama's Here" and "Going Down".
My actual rating for this book was 4.5/5 stars. I really liked this anthology!
My 3rd entry for #AkdangPinoyAugust2024 with the reading prompt:
🌟 [N] Read a book by a Filipino author who is a NEW AUTHOR or NEW TO YOU.
All That Darkness Allows: 13 Tales of Horror and Dread by various authors 😱
Another anthology I savorly read. I do love reading this kind of format in between long novels. And this time, it's another horror-themed collection. I recognize at least 2 authors here, Ms. #YvetteTan and Ms. #ElizaVictoria. I have not yet read their own stories so this will be my first time before I hopefully buy their own books.
The book aims to ask a lot of speculative questions circling all about our emotions of fear. That's the central theme for this 13 short stories.
The haunting photographs were a nice touch and added to the atmospheric narratives.
Here are my thoughts for each entry:
🖤 All that Darkness Allows The eponymous first story is a festival apocalypse that asks more than it answers. For me, I didn't find the pay off satisfying though I really like the beautiful descriptive writing style, combining city life and the unknown.
🖤 Skip Train Shake Rattle Roll's LRT and Nope rolled into one but with prolonged dialogues and your usual apocalyptic angst.
🖤 Dalaw I get the metaphor but too much backstory for a little scare and twist. Could be enjoyed by those who like stories about city girls and urban legends.
🖤 Mama's Here I knew the twist from far ahead, told as if someone's just telling you what happened so spoils the thrill for me, even though it was used for an ending twist you'll knew right away.
🖤 The Invite Although with a predictable ending, the set-up and writing style made up for it. It just strikes the right amount of haunting atmosphere. My fave quote: “The word ‘bereavement’ comes form an ancient German word that means ‘to rob’ or ‘to seize by violence.’ That is exactly how it feels to have someone's life snatched away from you. Your grief is normal. It's not your fault.”
🖤 Sunshine Another story about grief but for me less effective and more convoluted set-up.
🖤 All the Birds First time to read an Yvette Tan story. She effectively used imagery, symbolism, fusion of tradition and modernity, and foreshadowing creating a tragic, albeit with lots of questions, story. “People say that everybody has a choice, and this is true. But sometimes, the choices are moot, skewed, unfair, irrelevant.”
🖤 Going Down A great leap of faith is needed for that twist for an eerie and tragic story, but yes it's entertaining and unnerving at the same time.
🖤 Fire Tree A short tale about houses and inherited curse that the author could play more with the tropes though.
🖤 Analemma Wow. What a creative concept that both create dread and mystery at the same time. This could be explored more for a SciFi Thriller/Horror concept if you will.
🖤 Stigmata A visceral, estatic, and what the heck kind of horror, even though I barely understand the meaning behind those descriptive words.
🖤 Phantoma There was an attempt on blending the medical with the supernatural. After reading it, I was surprised to get the double meaning of the title. Haha clever.
🖤 Inked Another clever attempt at mixing supernatural tradition with modern sensibilities that made me ask if this also happens in real life, imaginative.
Overall, it was fun reading them. They're entertaining and most of the time make you think about the world around you.
A great collection of stories, really enjoyed some, others were okay, but overall a great anthology to start with.
Individual rating of stories:
1. All That Darkness Allows - ⭐⭐⭐ Liked the story, not that impactful for me. Interesting concept. Great writing style, very poetic.
2. The Skip - ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 Enjoyed this one, might be on my top 3 stories in this collection. The dialogue was quite blunt and boring, but the ending did it for me.
3. Dalaw - ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 Another story on my top 3, this is one of the creepiest ones and I had to pause reading cause it got so creepy. I couldn't read it in one go lol.
4. Mama's here - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Enjoyed this as well. The ending was really great. The story itself is also very creepy.
5. The Invite - ⭐⭐⭐.5 Liked this but I thought that this story is very familiar to a horror movie I've watched :))
6. Sunshine - ⭐⭐⭐ The exact definition of three stars, an okay read.
7. All the birds - ⭐⭐⭐.5 Weird but really interesting concept.
8. Going Down - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Oh my, this was such a fun read. It is short but really great. Loved this.
9. Fire Tree - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Another great read, really nice concept, and scary (kind of).
10. Analemma - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ GREAT concept. There are some parts where I got confused but when I understood it, oh my. Such a great read.
11. Stigmata - ⭐ Gross and weird. Just ew ashdkhksada.
12. Phantoma, towards a Pharmacology - ⭐⭐ This is more of an informative story and less of a story story. But this is better than Stigmata :))
13. Inked - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Another weird one, but in a good way. Enjoyed reading this one while on a road trip :))
Top 5 faves: 1. Going Down 2. Analemma 3. The Skip 4. Dalaw 5. Mama's Here
All That Darkness Allows by Various Filipino Authors
4/5 🌟
pretty decent anthology of unsettling stories that do not dwell only with horror in its core, but also with grief to pinch the heart and curiosity to tickle with one's mind. personally, this would make a good mini-series and some stories could pass for a Shake, Rattle, & Roll episode. personal faves:
• The Invite- accessible and beautiful storytelling, especially using a child's perspective. it's also emotionally engaging. • Analemma- felt like a fever dream, sent me into a spiral. • Inked- wished it was longer but still a chef's kiss. it was dark in all the right places.
honorable mention: • All The Birds- something i read first on Tan's book; remarkable.
some i were longer like The Skip, it could've been deeply explored, had so much potential. i hated Phantoma with passion (!!!). others were just okay/meh.
but overall, this was a delightful, immersive read.
It is not the attempt to scare and forewarn that rendered this book an interesting quality. It is the authors' enjoyment of the worlds they chose to write about. They know well their respective universes, the ruling and robed creatures as well as the naked, putrid vermins lurking in shadows and silhouettes. And this enjoyment, this enthusiasm bordering on gratification, is manifested through the command of language. To strike as the most horrifying, stories need some sophistication and fluidity. Kudos to Summit Books!
some stories were my personal faves like Mama's Here, The Invite, Going Down, Fire Tree, Analemma and Inked. some stories were a bit of a miss like All That Darkness Allows, Stigmata, Phantoma and The Skip.
my rating for this is the average of the 13 short stories in this book All That Darkness Allows: 2.5 The Skip: 3 Dalaw: 3.5 Mama’s Here: 4.5 The Invite: 4.5 Sunshine: 4 All The Birds: 3.5 Going Down: 5 Fire Tree: 5 Analemma: 4.5 Stigmata: 2 Phantoma, Towards A Pharmacology: 2 Inked: 5
I'm quite imaginative (in other words, I get scared easily after reading/watching anything in the horror genre) so even if I wanted to devour this in one night, I had to take some breaks. I like the collection of stories in this one, it makes me want the collection to have a Part 2. It's also nice to see familiar names (from the YA/NA/magazine world) writing some horror. My favorites would have to be "Mama's Here", "Inked", "Going Down", and "The Invite". Great photos by Shaira Luna, as well.
Got a copy of this ordering a blind date with a book online. So.... took me a while to finish this one. Read a couple of books in between, and I think that says a lot about it. It's more of a 3.5 than a 4. I did enjoy some of the stories, but most of them were just okay. The ones I did like were somewhat predictable. I have to say though that all the short stories were written well, most of them were just not to my personal liking. Would still recommend this book though.
Ahhh. I simply need more of this. I always reserve horror anthologies for whenever there are power interruptions. It's just the perfect time, all the time.
My top stories would be Analemma by Eliza Victoria (somebody please turn this into a movie huhu) and Going Down by Kara Ortiga (currently living in Baguio so talk about the perfect setting).
There were some stories that I didn't particularly enjoy but I liked most of the 13 tales. All The Birds is my personal favorite, Going Down a close second.
(Full review to come... probably. If I don't get lazy.)
All that Darkness Allows is a compilation of 13 stories of horror of varying approach and focus. Some are of ghosts, other of gore, and some again are of phenomenon I would not dare conjure even in my dreams - all of which tackling something deeper than just the supernatural.
A diverse anthology of horror stories by Filipino authors, each easily digestible in one sitting. Voices vary from author to author, which does take some time to get used to. Otherwise, I loved that it's something tailor-made for the modern Filipino horror reader.
There were some stories I didn't particularly like (I'm looking at you, Phantoma), but I still enjoyed most of the stories in this anthology. Pretty short read too.
only about 3 stories were interesting. the photographs are great though and like how the table of contents look like. i wish there more space for the words because the layout was too tight, which makes it awkward to read since the binding is not that good.