What do you think?
Rate this book
Small Horrors: A Collection of Fifty Creepy Stories
Something mimics human voices as it lures you into the woods.
One of the morgue's corpses is missing.
Your friend wants to meet late at night, but they're not acting like themselves.
Immerse yourself in the macabre, the gothic, and the chilling with this collection of fifty short stories.
One of the morgue's corpses is missing.
Your friend wants to meet late at night, but they're not acting like themselves.
Immerse yourself in the macabre, the gothic, and the chilling with this collection of fifty short stories.
364 pages, Paperback
First published April 5, 2022
840 people are currently reading
3822 people want to read
About the author
Darcy Coates
71 books14.5k followersDarcy Coates is the USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen horror and suspense novels.
She lives in the Central Coast of Australia with her family, cat, and a collection of chickens. Her home is surrounded by rolling wilderness on all sides, and she wouldn't have it any other way.
You can hear about her next book by joining her newsletter: www.darcycoates.com/updates
She lives in the Central Coast of Australia with her family, cat, and a collection of chickens. Her home is surrounded by rolling wilderness on all sides, and she wouldn't have it any other way.
You can hear about her next book by joining her newsletter: www.darcycoates.com/updates
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 387 reviews
March 22, 2023
People like to embark on dangerous trips and adventures like camping deep in the woods or explore ghostowns like it's nothing. Or be on the hunt for an elusive beast of the sea and tell stories about monsters.
This book made me feel like reading a collection of NoSleep series on Reddit. A few of them were genuinely scary, others were so-so and unoriginal. Some of the chapters—if I think hard enough were already made into movies before, they were kinda familiar, you know.
Overall, this wasn't so bad. Took me a long time to finish it though. That must mean something. Good enough, I enjoyed the few jump scares and the cliffhangers. But not that memorable.
This book made me feel like reading a collection of NoSleep series on Reddit. A few of them were genuinely scary, others were so-so and unoriginal. Some of the chapters—if I think hard enough were already made into movies before, they were kinda familiar, you know.
Overall, this wasn't so bad. Took me a long time to finish it though. That must mean something. Good enough, I enjoyed the few jump scares and the cliffhangers. But not that memorable.
July 7, 2024
The first story and Skin House were probably my favorite stories. A lot of the stories ended in similar ways, but individually, the flash fiction style works for Darcy Coates for sure.
March 5, 2022
I give this 3.5 stars.
They're creepy and they're spooky .....
This was an amazingly large anthology of 50 short stories of horror. Some left you looking over your shoulder, some left you stunned from the twists and yes, some had you wondering why you always read these sort of stories .... at night .... in the dark!
Plenty of entertaining reads in the traditional horror, paranormal fields, and quite a few that were frighteningly eerie (I hate old dolls!) and others that left you wondering what exactly would happen next.
I love Darcy Coates' work, and this was another stunning example at why she's so good at this genre.
They're creepy and they're spooky .....
This was an amazingly large anthology of 50 short stories of horror. Some left you looking over your shoulder, some left you stunned from the twists and yes, some had you wondering why you always read these sort of stories .... at night .... in the dark!
Plenty of entertaining reads in the traditional horror, paranormal fields, and quite a few that were frighteningly eerie (I hate old dolls!) and others that left you wondering what exactly would happen next.
I love Darcy Coates' work, and this was another stunning example at why she's so good at this genre.
February 24, 2025
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
🎧 narrated byShane Emmett
This was my first experience reading a short story collection, and I have to admit it was not even intentional. Yes, I know the cover literally says A Collection of Fifty Creepy Stories, but what can I say? I'm a reader who does not read. It took me until the third story, when I started wondering why there were so many different characters, to finally check the cover and realize, oh, that makes sense.
With 50 stories packed into this collection, it is hard to pick favorites, but that is also where this book stumbles a bit. There are so many stories that it gets hard to keep track of them all. That being said, Darcy Coates does a fantastic job of setting up eerie atmospheres, creating tension, and crafting unsettling scenarios. However, just as each story reaches its climax, it ends. Almost every single one left me thinking, Wait! I want more! While this speaks to how well Coates builds suspense, it also left me feeling unsatisfied. I kept wishing she had fleshed out some of these into full novels.
I listened to this on audiobook through Libby, narrated by Shane Emmett. His narration was solid, not mind-blowing, but engaging enough that I could fully immerse myself in the stories without being pulled out of the experience.
This collection is perfect for readers looking for quick scares in between a busy schedule or for those who enjoy eerie bedtime reads. But be careful, you might plan to read just one or two stories and end up devouring the whole thing like I did.
🎧 narrated byShane Emmett
This was my first experience reading a short story collection, and I have to admit it was not even intentional. Yes, I know the cover literally says A Collection of Fifty Creepy Stories, but what can I say? I'm a reader who does not read. It took me until the third story, when I started wondering why there were so many different characters, to finally check the cover and realize, oh, that makes sense.
With 50 stories packed into this collection, it is hard to pick favorites, but that is also where this book stumbles a bit. There are so many stories that it gets hard to keep track of them all. That being said, Darcy Coates does a fantastic job of setting up eerie atmospheres, creating tension, and crafting unsettling scenarios. However, just as each story reaches its climax, it ends. Almost every single one left me thinking, Wait! I want more! While this speaks to how well Coates builds suspense, it also left me feeling unsatisfied. I kept wishing she had fleshed out some of these into full novels.
I listened to this on audiobook through Libby, narrated by Shane Emmett. His narration was solid, not mind-blowing, but engaging enough that I could fully immerse myself in the stories without being pulled out of the experience.
This collection is perfect for readers looking for quick scares in between a busy schedule or for those who enjoy eerie bedtime reads. But be careful, you might plan to read just one or two stories and end up devouring the whole thing like I did.
January 9, 2020
3.5 Stars
I usually don't enjoy short stories that much. A few pages just aren't enough for me to really love a story and get invested in the characters (obviously). Still, these are some of the best short horror stories I have read so far.
The stories are really short, like 3 pages short, and because of that extremely fast paced, which made it a lot easier to read. They all follow the same pattern and most of them have a quite surprising twist in the last paragraph, but they're still mostly unpredictable.
I loved how the stories are neither gory nor bloody, but just creepy as hell, some gave me chills and others made me look behind myself with paranoia more than usual. So this was exactly what I was looking for.
I usually don't enjoy short stories that much. A few pages just aren't enough for me to really love a story and get invested in the characters (obviously). Still, these are some of the best short horror stories I have read so far.
The stories are really short, like 3 pages short, and because of that extremely fast paced, which made it a lot easier to read. They all follow the same pattern and most of them have a quite surprising twist in the last paragraph, but they're still mostly unpredictable.
I loved how the stories are neither gory nor bloody, but just creepy as hell, some gave me chills and others made me look behind myself with paranoia more than usual. So this was exactly what I was looking for.
July 28, 2017
I picked up this digital copy in one of Amazon's many digital book sales and figured it would be perfect for my summer lite and fluffy reading. This was an amazing collection of short stories. And when I say short I mean 5 digital pages or less per story. The stories in this collection are short and rich, like a chocolate truffle. And like the truffles in question I found that reading more than a few at a time, is almost too much. Because the tales are short, the reader is often times left with many questions. I found if I read too many at a time, the questions tended to overwhelm me.
There are literally 50 short stories, so of course there were my own personal favorites, but all the stories were much, much, better than average. I'm already scoping out which of Ms. Coates books I plan to read next.
There are literally 50 short stories, so of course there were my own personal favorites, but all the stories were much, much, better than average. I'm already scoping out which of Ms. Coates books I plan to read next.
April 16, 2017
Small Horrors is a horror anthology, and anyone who knows me well, knows I love my anthologies! Especially the horror ones. This book was a little unusual for me, though, because instead of a dozen or so short stories, it was fifty stories of a few pages each. That said, I really enjoyed it! I tore through it and most of them were a little cheesy or predictable, but I still really had fun reading them and would recommend them to anyone who loves horror and isn't looking for anything terribly serious.
October 21, 2024
R.L Stine would be proud
December 12, 2016
So when I saw that this author had bundled her previous 30 stories, revised them, and wrote 20 more stories, I just had to buy this book.
So the following stories are already read (The Dog's Grave Digger, The Sightless, Flotsam, Great Aunt Enid, Footsteps in the Night, Those Who Live in the Woods, Ghost Town, Hazard Lights, The Resident, Host, Overheard, An Empty Church, Room for Rent, Snow Hunting, The Woman in the Morgue, Undeparted, Left Behind, The Last Bus, House for Sale, Diagen, Bunker, Abandoned, Radio, Bogrot, Beanie's Fast Food, 99 Messages, After Closing, Quarantine, Space Above the Wardrobe, The Cleaners) and you can find the review for them here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I just have two updates on stories:
Flotsam: Just skimmed through this and I can see why she took that head with her. Also there were a few little changes, very little, but it was fun seeing them.
Diagen: Re-read this one, and it made much more sense now. Maybe because I re-read it, or maybe things have been revised, but now I get it. So I will up my rating from 0.5 stars to 3 stars.
I have to say that I liked the 20 stories a bit more than the 30 stories in the previous book. The 20 new stories were mostly hit! I am not counting the re-read story of Diagen, but my rating for the Bites Collection 30 stories was a 3.5 stars.
These 20 stories would get a 4 stars.
I combined all my ratings for the previous stories (with the re-count of Diagen) + the new stories and I came to a nice and neat number of 4 stars.
So here are my ratings + comments for the new stories.
Knocker: 5 stars. Ohhhh this was a good story. Creepy, and I definitely liked the twist at the ending. I had goosebumps all over my body. I do hope our girl survives this.
Sixth Floor: 4 stars. What a dummy. Did he think it would be that easy? But it was creepy, and I was a bit confused at first, but it became clearer quickly what was going on.
Red Morning: 3.5 stars. This was an odd story. Like with other stories from the previous short story collection, some just need a bit more pages. Now it felt incomplete, odd, and weird. Of course I do get what happened, but I am still wondering about the why. Also I didn't expect that to be it. I thought it would be something different.
Surf: 3 stars. What? That is all I can say about this story. Quite a fun idea, but really, what? Why is it suddenly dangerous?"
Music Box: 4 stars. OMG, well that was creepy as hell. o.0 I am a bit curious as to who put that music box there the first, and the second time. But all in all, a terrific story that was very creepy."
The Magpie Girl: 4 stars. Gore, gruesomeness, and a policeman who got a fair chunk of karma for what he did. :| No one deserves what happened to the guy, but really, he did cross a lot of borders, and look what happened. :| I felt more sorry for the girl than for the policeman.
Snowbound: 4.5 stars. Well, golly great, I do hope I never get stuck in a train during a snowstorm. :| I will definitely remember this story then. *shivers* That was just scary as hell.
Red Oak House: 4.5 stars. Oh, I do love a good haunted house story. And this was definitely a good story. Creepy, scary, and that ending, wow!
The Monster and the Moors: 3.5 stars. That ending! This story went from creepy, to creepier. The only reason I am not giving this higher is because I was hoping x was real.
Angel of Mercy: 4.5 stars. Boy, I did not see that one coming! That was awesome! And also kind of sad. :( Definitely one of my favourite stories from the new batch so far.
Tune: 4.5 stars. Well, I didn't expect that to be the tune/reason for that tune. Poor guy. :( It must be hard to live with that knowledge now. I definitely like the story though. It was creative and interesting.
Witch's book: 4 stars. Oh, not an adult protagonist for once, but kids. That is pretty rare, most of this author's stories about about adults. It was a good story though, and I liked the ending, it was a bit scary, but also well done. Poor Zoe, though maybe she should have kept her attitude a bit in control.
Doll: 4 stars. *shivers*Doll stories, I don't like those, they are often just too creepy for me. And this one was exactly like that. Though I do wish to know who send that doll, and also why? Guess we will never find out, so I will just wish the best to the girl.
Underhouse: 4 stars. Wow, I did not expect that ending to happen. Creepy.... The whole story was already a goosebump party, the idea you can just crawl under your house like that, never knowing if there might be something lurking. *shivers*
Toxic: 1 stars. Sorry, but I don't get why that had to happened, it wasn't like our MC had anything to do with what happened. She was just working there, at the front desk, not even during that time and at that place, so I am sorry, but what? This just didn't make sense. Instead of creeped out, I was annoyed as hell.
Skin House: 0.5 stars. Meh, it was disgusting as hell, and I wanted nothing but the story to be over. The ending was also confusing. :|
Wax Museum: 4.5 stars. Ohhhh, a wax story! I just love those. Though I wonder why the guy wasn't worried. He got hired so fast, didn't he think something was wrong? I know he needed the job, but really? If I would get a job instantly without even having to show my credentials.... I would say no. Run away even. Wow, that sure was a creepy story! That ending!
Death Follows: 4 stars. Well, that was another creepy story, and I did love that Death was portrayed differently from all the other stories that are out there. This Death is much much creepier. The ending? Well, that is one way to escape Death for now, I guess....
Growth: 4 stars. Ewwwwwwwwwwwww to that ending. It was slightly confusing, but mostly it was a good story, though I have some questions. Mary was a bit annoying though.
Experimental: 0.5 stars. Meh, this was terribly boring, and I just was hoping for something to happen, but nothing really happened. Nothing scary at least.
I really enjoyed the stories, and I am so happy that the author made more bite-sized stories to enjoy and get goosebumps from. I now have no more Darcy Coates books to read (yes, there are some left, but none that I want to read), so I guess I will have to wait until January when a new book is supposed to come out. I can't wait!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
So the following stories are already read (The Dog's Grave Digger, The Sightless, Flotsam, Great Aunt Enid, Footsteps in the Night, Those Who Live in the Woods, Ghost Town, Hazard Lights, The Resident, Host, Overheard, An Empty Church, Room for Rent, Snow Hunting, The Woman in the Morgue, Undeparted, Left Behind, The Last Bus, House for Sale, Diagen, Bunker, Abandoned, Radio, Bogrot, Beanie's Fast Food, 99 Messages, After Closing, Quarantine, Space Above the Wardrobe, The Cleaners) and you can find the review for them here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I just have two updates on stories:
Flotsam: Just skimmed through this and I can see why she took that head with her. Also there were a few little changes, very little, but it was fun seeing them.
Diagen: Re-read this one, and it made much more sense now. Maybe because I re-read it, or maybe things have been revised, but now I get it. So I will up my rating from 0.5 stars to 3 stars.
I have to say that I liked the 20 stories a bit more than the 30 stories in the previous book. The 20 new stories were mostly hit! I am not counting the re-read story of Diagen, but my rating for the Bites Collection 30 stories was a 3.5 stars.
These 20 stories would get a 4 stars.
I combined all my ratings for the previous stories (with the re-count of Diagen) + the new stories and I came to a nice and neat number of 4 stars.
So here are my ratings + comments for the new stories.
Knocker: 5 stars. Ohhhh this was a good story. Creepy, and I definitely liked the twist at the ending. I had goosebumps all over my body. I do hope our girl survives this.
Sixth Floor: 4 stars. What a dummy. Did he think it would be that easy? But it was creepy, and I was a bit confused at first, but it became clearer quickly what was going on.
Red Morning: 3.5 stars. This was an odd story. Like with other stories from the previous short story collection, some just need a bit more pages. Now it felt incomplete, odd, and weird. Of course I do get what happened, but I am still wondering about the why. Also I didn't expect that to be it. I thought it would be something different.
Surf: 3 stars. What? That is all I can say about this story. Quite a fun idea, but really, what? Why is it suddenly dangerous?"
Music Box: 4 stars. OMG, well that was creepy as hell. o.0 I am a bit curious as to who put that music box there the first, and the second time. But all in all, a terrific story that was very creepy."
The Magpie Girl: 4 stars. Gore, gruesomeness, and a policeman who got a fair chunk of karma for what he did. :| No one deserves what happened to the guy, but really, he did cross a lot of borders, and look what happened. :| I felt more sorry for the girl than for the policeman.
Snowbound: 4.5 stars. Well, golly great, I do hope I never get stuck in a train during a snowstorm. :| I will definitely remember this story then. *shivers* That was just scary as hell.
Red Oak House: 4.5 stars. Oh, I do love a good haunted house story. And this was definitely a good story. Creepy, scary, and that ending, wow!
The Monster and the Moors: 3.5 stars. That ending! This story went from creepy, to creepier. The only reason I am not giving this higher is because I was hoping x was real.
Angel of Mercy: 4.5 stars. Boy, I did not see that one coming! That was awesome! And also kind of sad. :( Definitely one of my favourite stories from the new batch so far.
Tune: 4.5 stars. Well, I didn't expect that to be the tune/reason for that tune. Poor guy. :( It must be hard to live with that knowledge now. I definitely like the story though. It was creative and interesting.
Witch's book: 4 stars. Oh, not an adult protagonist for once, but kids. That is pretty rare, most of this author's stories about about adults. It was a good story though, and I liked the ending, it was a bit scary, but also well done. Poor Zoe, though maybe she should have kept her attitude a bit in control.
Doll: 4 stars. *shivers*Doll stories, I don't like those, they are often just too creepy for me. And this one was exactly like that. Though I do wish to know who send that doll, and also why? Guess we will never find out, so I will just wish the best to the girl.
Underhouse: 4 stars. Wow, I did not expect that ending to happen. Creepy.... The whole story was already a goosebump party, the idea you can just crawl under your house like that, never knowing if there might be something lurking. *shivers*
Toxic: 1 stars. Sorry, but I don't get why that had to happened, it wasn't like our MC had anything to do with what happened. She was just working there, at the front desk, not even during that time and at that place, so I am sorry, but what? This just didn't make sense. Instead of creeped out, I was annoyed as hell.
Skin House: 0.5 stars. Meh, it was disgusting as hell, and I wanted nothing but the story to be over. The ending was also confusing. :|
Wax Museum: 4.5 stars. Ohhhh, a wax story! I just love those. Though I wonder why the guy wasn't worried. He got hired so fast, didn't he think something was wrong? I know he needed the job, but really? If I would get a job instantly without even having to show my credentials.... I would say no. Run away even. Wow, that sure was a creepy story! That ending!
Death Follows: 4 stars. Well, that was another creepy story, and I did love that Death was portrayed differently from all the other stories that are out there. This Death is much much creepier. The ending? Well, that is one way to escape Death for now, I guess....
Growth: 4 stars. Ewwwwwwwwwwwww to that ending. It was slightly confusing, but mostly it was a good story, though I have some questions. Mary was a bit annoying though.
Experimental: 0.5 stars. Meh, this was terribly boring, and I just was hoping for something to happen, but nothing really happened. Nothing scary at least.
I really enjoyed the stories, and I am so happy that the author made more bite-sized stories to enjoy and get goosebumps from. I now have no more Darcy Coates books to read (yes, there are some left, but none that I want to read), so I guess I will have to wait until January when a new book is supposed to come out. I can't wait!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
October 29, 2022
Ahhh these stories were perfection!
“The Sightless” was like A Quiet Place and had vibes of her Voices in the Snow quartet. I’d love to see a full-length book of this!
I also really liked “Surf,” probably because of the beach setting!
“Those Who Live in the Woods” is another I’d kill to get a whole book for!
Some other standouts for me include “Magpie Girl,” “Hazard Lights,” “The Woman in the Morgue,” “Radio,” “Wax Museum,” and “Quaratine.”
I found “Tune” really interesting.
“Left Behind” was intriguing and RUDE because I need more answers!!
There was literally only one I wasn’t a fan of and that was “Witch’s Book.”
“Skin House” was so disturbing and shocking and I NEED ANSWERS.
I loved the portrayal of Death in “Death Follows”
“The Sightless” was like A Quiet Place and had vibes of her Voices in the Snow quartet. I’d love to see a full-length book of this!
I also really liked “Surf,” probably because of the beach setting!
“Those Who Live in the Woods” is another I’d kill to get a whole book for!
Some other standouts for me include “Magpie Girl,” “Hazard Lights,” “The Woman in the Morgue,” “Radio,” “Wax Museum,” and “Quaratine.”
I found “Tune” really interesting.
“Left Behind” was intriguing and RUDE because I need more answers!!
There was literally only one I wasn’t a fan of and that was “Witch’s Book.”
“Skin House” was so disturbing and shocking and I NEED ANSWERS.
I loved the portrayal of Death in “Death Follows”
October 9, 2023
Literally read this in a DAY. Sooo good for spooky season!!! Definitely some bone chilling, hair raising tales!!! 👻😱
December 22, 2018
These are the kind of short stories that I like! Finally! As short as they are, they still gave me the creeps when reading it! They're so short but they are definitely better than most of short stories that I've read so far. The author managed to get the exact part of scary in each story. Highly recommended for thise who loves horror stories and short stories.
March 19, 2025
All in all this is a pretty cool collection of short horror stories. The majority are only 6-10 pages long and are generally the kind of story which would be told around a campfire in a horror movie.
The only issue with these short stories is that they're so hit and miss, for the most part that it's due to the short length. Countering the previous statement, a handful of these tales hit pretty hard for their short word count.
I'd expect there to be something for everyone within this book.
The only issue with these short stories is that they're so hit and miss, for the most part that it's due to the short length. Countering the previous statement, a handful of these tales hit pretty hard for their short word count.
I'd expect there to be something for everyone within this book.
July 7, 2024
3.5. Great ideas but falls flat for me
May 1, 2025
Less a group of fully self-contained short stories and more a collection of very short Jump Scare stingers.
October 24, 2024
Here is how you do a small horror anthology with 50 stories with each story with 4/5 pages top.
First thing you realize that some are more pitch for new ideas and they didn't work OR there was no juice. I could see some of these to be a bigger ones, maybe turn into a novella or novel.
The vast majority are plain horror with a twist or holdup. In terms of genre we've got a normal urban horror and some had sci-fi, post apocalyptic feel with more horror. There are also a few with gore.
11 Stories I gave a 4 Stars
4 I gave a 5 Stars.
Overall I would say it's a very good anthology and I have no problem giving a 4 (85) because almost all others are 3 stars. There are only a few I didn't enjoy.
Some highlights
Hazard Lights - Another great alien invasion story. Would love to see more
Overheard - Reminds me of a movie (Scary Movie first kill)
Room for rent - What a finale twist...
In the Space Above the Wardrobe -
Death Follows - This could have been better as a more long novel
The Dog's Grave Digger - what a holdup.
The Sightless - a Post apocalpytic, alien invasion story. Could easily be turn into a novella.
Footsteps in the Night, Ghost Town, Magpie Girl, Tune
Really good.
First thing you realize that some are more pitch for new ideas and they didn't work OR there was no juice. I could see some of these to be a bigger ones, maybe turn into a novella or novel.
The vast majority are plain horror with a twist or holdup. In terms of genre we've got a normal urban horror and some had sci-fi, post apocalyptic feel with more horror. There are also a few with gore.
11 Stories I gave a 4 Stars
4 I gave a 5 Stars.
Overall I would say it's a very good anthology and I have no problem giving a 4 (85) because almost all others are 3 stars. There are only a few I didn't enjoy.
Some highlights
Hazard Lights - Another great alien invasion story. Would love to see more
Overheard - Reminds me of a movie (Scary Movie first kill)
Room for rent - What a finale twist...
In the Space Above the Wardrobe -
Death Follows - This could have been better as a more long novel
The Dog's Grave Digger - what a holdup.
The Sightless - a Post apocalpytic, alien invasion story. Could easily be turn into a novella.
Footsteps in the Night, Ghost Town, Magpie Girl, Tune
Really good.
November 30, 2025
Brisk collection of crisp flash fictions— that's how this book would be described by me. None of the stories are bad, nor are they particularly memorable. Yes, several have that trademark build-up of suspense that distinguishes the author's style. Unfortunately, due to the nugget-sized dimensions, many of the stories remained without any resolution, or even explanation. Nevertheless, as Aickman has established again & again, true horrors emerge from our minds when they are disturbed by such open-ended tales. Hopefully many people would be suitably disturbed after reading these.
As far as I am concerned, it was a good read— nothing more, nothing less.
As far as I am concerned, it was a good read— nothing more, nothing less.
March 25, 2024
Darcy Coates knows how to Jam Pack a scary story in my chapter and leave you terrified. These short stories are the scary stories and leave you wondering as they give you the scare and leave you to figure out what will happen.
Some of these stories I would love a full length story because they scared me so much.
Some of these stories I would love a full length story because they scared me so much.
December 18, 2024
I really enjoyed these small, delicious little horrors. My only grievance is that they were a little too short and not entirely compatible with my scattered attention. I solved that by just listening to a few stories at a time.
August 24, 2025
5 stars for another fantastic set of stories! I love that this book was set up with 50 ten-minute stories of creepiness! They were great to read when I had a few minutes or listen to while doing tasks.
August 6, 2021
My reading seems so slow to me at the moment. It sure doesn't help to read a book that I am not really drawn into picking up but that is definitely solid enough to continue aka. poster child of low 3*. I mean it is fine. "Small Horrors" is fine. It is not uncommon for short story collections to be mixed bags, still, this one was so fine I sometimes forgot to pick it up again, it was just a tad too unremarkable.
We are dealing with flash Horror fiction which is something that I usually enjoy quite a bit. 50 stories might have been a bit much though, it was obvious there would be rejects among the selection, so yes, it could have helped the book to focus on the stronger ones (though who knows maybe an editor would have taken out the ones that I personally liked?). To me these stories could be fairly equally divide into 3 groups:
a) stories I actually liked. With cool concept, well executed for its length (something that should not be underestimated), maybe a bit of a surprise element or some well planted atmospheric burst. There is some good stuff in here.
b) stories where I thought the concept was actually fun but underdeveloped in the format of flash fiction. FF should be just a snapshot, a single scene: the less world building and information you need the better imho. But there were a bunch of stories in here that for me didn't land because they just needed more time to shine properly. Fun ideas but not well executed.
c) highly predictable or not very unique/ interesting to begin with and with that not very engaging stories. Often the titles told me right away what would happen (for example in "The Resident" we have a woman cleaning up the crawl space under her house. What do you think will be her discovery considering the title?). Some of these read a bit like writers' first attempts at writing Horror stories. These stories really slowed my reading down.
Thematically this covers a wide range from realistic Horrors of Home Invasion and Backwoods Psychopaths over Apocalypse scenarios to a wide range of different supernatural spooks and creatures. As described above, some worked well for me, others not so much. Considering how varied the topics are in here I am even more surprised why Coates seems to be so stuck on the Haunted House trope in her novels, I wouldn't mind reading more by her (after also really enjoying her novel "Hunted") but I am not interested in that cozy Horror boat she is riding so intensely. And this collection is while fine enough (not sure how often I can mention how solidly fine it is), it doesn't exactly motivate me to go out of my way to track down one of the few non House novels of hers...
My top 12:
1) Skin House (the most unique idea of the whole book, really loved it. Also: disgusting!)
2) Death Follows
3) Flotsam
4) Underhouse
5) 99 Messages
6) Doll
7) The Cleaners
8) In the Space above the Wardrobe
9) Diagen
10) House for Sale
11) Hazard Lights
12) Those Who Live in the Woods
We are dealing with flash Horror fiction which is something that I usually enjoy quite a bit. 50 stories might have been a bit much though, it was obvious there would be rejects among the selection, so yes, it could have helped the book to focus on the stronger ones (though who knows maybe an editor would have taken out the ones that I personally liked?). To me these stories could be fairly equally divide into 3 groups:
a) stories I actually liked. With cool concept, well executed for its length (something that should not be underestimated), maybe a bit of a surprise element or some well planted atmospheric burst. There is some good stuff in here.
b) stories where I thought the concept was actually fun but underdeveloped in the format of flash fiction. FF should be just a snapshot, a single scene: the less world building and information you need the better imho. But there were a bunch of stories in here that for me didn't land because they just needed more time to shine properly. Fun ideas but not well executed.
c) highly predictable or not very unique/ interesting to begin with and with that not very engaging stories. Often the titles told me right away what would happen (for example in "The Resident" we have a woman cleaning up the crawl space under her house. What do you think will be her discovery considering the title?). Some of these read a bit like writers' first attempts at writing Horror stories. These stories really slowed my reading down.
Thematically this covers a wide range from realistic Horrors of Home Invasion and Backwoods Psychopaths over Apocalypse scenarios to a wide range of different supernatural spooks and creatures. As described above, some worked well for me, others not so much. Considering how varied the topics are in here I am even more surprised why Coates seems to be so stuck on the Haunted House trope in her novels, I wouldn't mind reading more by her (after also really enjoying her novel "Hunted") but I am not interested in that cozy Horror boat she is riding so intensely. And this collection is while fine enough (not sure how often I can mention how solidly fine it is), it doesn't exactly motivate me to go out of my way to track down one of the few non House novels of hers...
My top 12:
1) Skin House (the most unique idea of the whole book, really loved it. Also: disgusting!)
2) Death Follows
3) Flotsam
4) Underhouse
5) 99 Messages
6) Doll
7) The Cleaners
8) In the Space above the Wardrobe
9) Diagen
10) House for Sale
11) Hazard Lights
12) Those Who Live in the Woods
May 14, 2022
There's that saying, "Quantity has a quality all its own." I don't think it was originally made in reference to this book, but it feels fitting here anyway.
I think horror as a genre lends itself to shorter stories and maybe this is confirmation bias but I tend to see more short story collections for this genre than others. But fifty stories? I was skeptical until a brief skim through the pages confirmed that no, they really were all crammed in there.
Some (okay, most) of them were fairly formulaic, but that's hardly a fair criticism when they're all written by the same author. If anything, I got so used to expecting the same order of events - person is minding their own business doing something normal, notices something strange, oops! they're dead! - that whenever there was a deviation I paid closer attention. And none of them were outright bad, but there was a comfort in knowing that if I wasn't vibing with a given story it would be over in literally two or three pages.
As a whole it felt more like a collection of writing exercises than a coherent polished product, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. In retrospect, I would have gotten more enjoyment out of it had I read maybe one story a day and give it time to settle in my mind; trying to rapid-fire my way through these stories felt like leaving a car radio on scan mode. I could totally see this collection being repackaged as like a "spook-a-day" microfiction calendar or something.
I think horror as a genre lends itself to shorter stories and maybe this is confirmation bias but I tend to see more short story collections for this genre than others. But fifty stories? I was skeptical until a brief skim through the pages confirmed that no, they really were all crammed in there.
Some (okay, most) of them were fairly formulaic, but that's hardly a fair criticism when they're all written by the same author. If anything, I got so used to expecting the same order of events - person is minding their own business doing something normal, notices something strange, oops! they're dead! - that whenever there was a deviation I paid closer attention. And none of them were outright bad, but there was a comfort in knowing that if I wasn't vibing with a given story it would be over in literally two or three pages.
As a whole it felt more like a collection of writing exercises than a coherent polished product, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. In retrospect, I would have gotten more enjoyment out of it had I read maybe one story a day and give it time to settle in my mind; trying to rapid-fire my way through these stories felt like leaving a car radio on scan mode. I could totally see this collection being repackaged as like a "spook-a-day" microfiction calendar or something.
June 2, 2022
There's a lot that I could say about the collection. Maybe the one-star review is a little harsh, but honestly, my good will was exhausted about midway through. Some of the stories aren't bad. I'd even say some are good. But the bad ones bring down the entire collection, the worst offender being "Angel of Mercy". "The Angel of Mercy" alone warrants the final score.
The typos don't bother me as much as the story in which the author keeps changing their mind about what the protagonist's name actually is, but the typos are still plentiful. I mostly finished this out of spite and I doubt I'll remember any of the stories.
The typos don't bother me as much as the story in which the author keeps changing their mind about what the protagonist's name actually is, but the typos are still plentiful. I mostly finished this out of spite and I doubt I'll remember any of the stories.
April 28, 2024
Small Horrors that I wish were longer.
Really good, i enjoyed most of the fifty.
A lot of the time, I found myself disappointed because the stories ended too soon. I would have given this a five-star, except for there were some editing issues, and a few of the stories weren’t up to oar with the rest.
I still would recommend this as some of the stories were proper worthy of the title.
I would read these again if I had nothing to read. They left chills down my spine.
Really good, i enjoyed most of the fifty.
A lot of the time, I found myself disappointed because the stories ended too soon. I would have given this a five-star, except for there were some editing issues, and a few of the stories weren’t up to oar with the rest.
I still would recommend this as some of the stories were proper worthy of the title.
I would read these again if I had nothing to read. They left chills down my spine.
January 30, 2026
Darcy Coates has a built a following for her horror novels, so when I had a chance to grab a collection of her short stories, I did so with this book. These are super-short stories, which also works for readers who may not have a long attention span or who may just want to take a chance on the spooky genre with baby steps. There are some fifty stories to get through in this nightlight-on-at-midnight foray.
Many of the stories go quickly by and I didn’t remember all of them, but some definitely stood out for me.
Have you ever sat at a transit stop, waiting for the late night bus and hoping you haven’t missed it? The LAST BUS uses that anxiety for a little masterpiece of a tale about double-checking the next bus that pulls up in front of you. Check the driver for long yellow fingernails and if that driver offers you a free ticket, you may just want to walk home instead. Or run in another direction.
Or maybe you’ve been travelling by automobile and you’re tired and just want to find overnight accommodation in the next town you see. You see people and there’s obvious civilization, but you drive a little further to the end of town where you see a room-for-let sign. That’s perfect, you think, as you get off the road for the night and relax in a quaint cottage. Especially when the owner is such a sweet woman. ROOM FOR RENT exploits those feelings of security and adventure. Beware.
Or you’re an estate agent trying to sell a house that has been the site of a horrific murder. You finally have the property on the market, and a nice young couple is excited and want to purchase. After all, there are so many renovations they can undertake on the fixer upper. Do you really want to show them the basement? Oh well, the key isn’t on your keyring. No matter, they love the place. Sold! But as you leave the estate with a sigh of relief, do you see something amiss? Uh-oh. HOUSE FOR SALE should not be read before any real estate transactions.
I saved this book for my nighttime reading as usual, not the smartest thing to do when it comes to supernatural and horror stories. Thankfully, the tales were very brief, so my nightmares didn’t last too long either. The book served as a good introduction to the author’s works, so I will look for another Darcy Coates volume in the future.
Book Season = Autumn (extinguished lives)
Many of the stories go quickly by and I didn’t remember all of them, but some definitely stood out for me.
Have you ever sat at a transit stop, waiting for the late night bus and hoping you haven’t missed it? The LAST BUS uses that anxiety for a little masterpiece of a tale about double-checking the next bus that pulls up in front of you. Check the driver for long yellow fingernails and if that driver offers you a free ticket, you may just want to walk home instead. Or run in another direction.
Or maybe you’ve been travelling by automobile and you’re tired and just want to find overnight accommodation in the next town you see. You see people and there’s obvious civilization, but you drive a little further to the end of town where you see a room-for-let sign. That’s perfect, you think, as you get off the road for the night and relax in a quaint cottage. Especially when the owner is such a sweet woman. ROOM FOR RENT exploits those feelings of security and adventure. Beware.
Or you’re an estate agent trying to sell a house that has been the site of a horrific murder. You finally have the property on the market, and a nice young couple is excited and want to purchase. After all, there are so many renovations they can undertake on the fixer upper. Do you really want to show them the basement? Oh well, the key isn’t on your keyring. No matter, they love the place. Sold! But as you leave the estate with a sigh of relief, do you see something amiss? Uh-oh. HOUSE FOR SALE should not be read before any real estate transactions.
I saved this book for my nighttime reading as usual, not the smartest thing to do when it comes to supernatural and horror stories. Thankfully, the tales were very brief, so my nightmares didn’t last too long either. The book served as a good introduction to the author’s works, so I will look for another Darcy Coates volume in the future.
Book Season = Autumn (extinguished lives)
October 30, 2025
This was an excellent collection of short fiction by a very talented author and I've enjoyed for a while now. I've read a few Darcy Coates novels, but this was my first foray into her short fiction and boy did it not disappoint!
The stories included in this collection covered a huge range of topics: from spooky specters, monsters (both human and otherworldly), ghosts, and all kinds of scary things. I honestly loved every story in this collection and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the macabre or dark.
The stories included in this collection covered a huge range of topics: from spooky specters, monsters (both human and otherworldly), ghosts, and all kinds of scary things. I honestly loved every story in this collection and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the macabre or dark.
January 14, 2024
Fun, creepy little stories. It does seem like some stories were plot summaries from movies but overall a good book.
December 30, 2024
Gotta re-read some of the stories again 😱 spooky
June 24, 2025
Scary but fun to read.
August 23, 2025
I really liked that there were so many stories, some of which were really good that I wanted more. I wouldn't sat they were scary, maybe a few were. Others were pointless.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 387 reviews