Calendark: The Infernal Almanac

by David Shakes (Editor), Stephanie Ellis (Editor), Tim Youster (Illustrator)

A year passes, its history carved on a calendar imposed by man on the world around him—as if he had any say in the changing of the seasons, the rise and fall of the sun; a relentless cycle. Yet some days are worth remarking. They are times of celebration and harvest, sacrifice and remembrance—times when the natural order is subverted by Lords of Misrule, neon hearts glow in the darkness of winter, ghosts walk and murder is committed in my honour. There are revels and laughter alongside heartbreak and deception and their stories are told in these pages.

Do you hear the swords being sharpened? Do you see the stranger approaching? Little man, this calendar, this CalenDark, is mine …

The creative team behind the #1 bestselling anthology 'The Infernal Clock' return with another anthology showcasing some of the best short story writers in the genre. Basing this anthology on the turning of the seasons and the special days marked therein, you'll get sixteen stories to chill you to the bone, even on the warmest of days. Dare you study the CalenDark?

PRAISE FOR 'THE INFERNAL CLOCK'

"If you are a fan of horror writing at all, you need to buy this book." Susan Omand, Dreamcage Media Group

"I did not know what to expect, but as a lover of horror and from page one I knew I had made a good choice." Yvonne Davies, Terror-Tree

241 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 28, 2017

Reviews

[Alyson Rhodes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the a second 'time' themed anthology of stories from the publishing/editing team of David Shakes and Stephanie Ellis- the first being The Infernal Clock. Calendark (a neat pun on the word calendar) contains within its dark portals 16 horror stories (with some overlap of writers from the first book), this time being inspired by the significant dates within a calendar year- from the more famous ones of 14 February aka St Valentine's Day and May Day to the more obscure and ancient festivals (now long forgotten) of Mabon ( drawn from the Wiccan calendar) and St John's Day in June. This lends a folk horror element to some of the stories like Stephanie Ellis' 'The Dance'- which film- wise reminded me of The Wicker Man with its theme of outsiders in a small isolated community.
Each story is prefaced by a festival date/quote and explanation which nicely chapters the stories. The standard of the writing is as high as in the first anthology, and the book is well edited and presented- all again for a cheap price.
In the Lord of Misrule by Christine Dalcher- there is ghostly pay back for a professor at the Twelfth Night supper; in The Presentation in the Temple by Ewan Smith -the innocuous seeming setting of a primary school with the class teacher putting on a Year 2 Candlemas Assembly is swiftly subverted into something much more sinister and deadly; Marie McKay's Last Laugh (inspired by April Fool's day) has one of the most original methods of revenge and murder I've read in a while and a lead character I really felt for; Sal Page catchily titled Revels with the Devil is powerful,creepy and keeps you on a knife edge of doubt as to whether the Devil is present- the ending made me shiver. Great last line.
I enjoyed all the stories though, but can't write about all 16- but there is something for all horror readers here.