American Midnight: Tales of the Dark

by Laird Hunt (Editor), Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne

A masquerade ball cut short by a mysterious plague; a strange nocturnal ritual in the woods; a black bobcat howling in the night: these ten tales are some of the most strange and unsettling in all of American literature, filled with unforgettable imagery and simmering with tension. From Edgar Allan Poe to Shirley Jackson, Nathaniel Hawthorne to Zora Neale Hurston, the authors of these classics of supernatural suspense have inspired generations of writers to explore the dark heart of the land of the free.

The stories in this collection have been selected and introduced by Laird Hunt, an author of seven acclaimed novels which explore the shadowy corners of American history.

Contains:

‘The Masque of the Red Death’, Edgar Allan Poe
‘Young Goodman Brown’, Nathaniel Hawthorne
‘The Eyes’, Edith Wharton
‘The Mask’, Robert Chambers
“Home”, Shirley Jackson
‘A Ghost Story’, Mark Twain
‘Spunk’, Zora Neale Hurston
‘The Yellow Wallpaper’, Charlotte Perkins Gilman
‘An Itinerant House’, Emma Frances Dawson

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Classics, Gothic, Anthologies, Short Story Collection

220 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 2019

About the author

Laird Hunt is an American writer, translator and academic.

Hunt grew up in Singapore, San Francisco, The Hague, and London before moving to his grandmother's farm in rural Indiana, where he attended Clinton Central High School. He earned a B.A. from Indiana University and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University. He also studied French literature at the Sorbonne. Hunt worked in the press office at the United Nations while writing his first novel. He is currently a professor in the Creative Writing program at University of Denver. Hunt lives with his wife, the poet Eleni Sikelianos, in Boulder, Colorado.

Reviews

[Paromjit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laird Hunt has collated a selection of dark short stories, some of which I was already familiar and for which he provides an introduction. The stories in this collection are as follows:

‘The Masque of the Red Death’, Edgar Allan Poe
‘Young Goodman Brown’, Nathaniel Hawthorne
‘The Eyes’, Edith Wharton
‘The Mask’, Robert Chambers
“Home”, Shirley Jackson
‘A Ghost Story’, Mark Twain
‘Spunk’, Zora Neale Hurston
‘The Yellow Wallpaper’, Charlotte Perkins Gilman
‘An Itinerant House’, Emma Frances Dawson

As you might expect with a short story collection, it proves to be the usual expected mixed bag, I loved some more than others. In Poe's tale, amidst a deadly plague, the Red Death, Prince Prospero throws a masquerade ball at which an unexpected guest turns up. Hawthorne's offering has Goodman Brown leave his wife, Faith, for a meeting that will colour his future. Wharton's contribution is set after a dinner and the ghostly storytelling of the haunting eyes. Chambers tells of the bonds of love, dreams and insanity between Boris, Genevieve and Alec, whilst Jackson relates the tale of Ethel Sloane not being put off by the fears and concerns the locals have of her travelling along a particular road. Twain's ghost story has a touch of humour, with a blanket being insistently tugged away, along with noises, stealthy footsteps, clanking and muttered sentences. Neale Hurston's speaks of a husband, Joe Kanty, his wife, Lena, blatantly going with another man in public, and Gilman writes of insanity, a marriage, and a horrid, disturbing and strange yellow wallpaper. Dawson finishes the collection with a story of a tragic house and disturbing the dead.

My favourites were the Shirley Jackson, Mark Twain and Zora Neale Hurston's stories. With autumn not too far way, this is a perfect collection that will appeal to those who enjoy the dark side of life, I think most readers will find some stories here that they will enjoy, and might even be driven to follow the authors other works! Many thanks to Pushkin Press for an ARC.

[Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Physically, this 2019 anthology from Pushkin Press is a slight one (it has 220 pages, but they're small pages), with just nine short stories. But they're well-chosen stories, making for a good, quick reading experience (I finished it in just four days, though my quick completion was speeded by the fact that I'd already read four of the stories). Editor and Goodreads author Laird Hunt was previously unknown to me, but he's identified here as the author of seven novels (and judging from his Goodreads profile, has possibly written more by now). His five and 1/2 page Introduction (better read, as I did, as an afterword) starts with a reference to a paranormal experience he had one night around midnight, as a six or seven-year-old child, while sleeping at his grandmother's Indiana farm. He implies that this may have given him a lifelong fascination with the "dark" or spooky, and makes comments on the chosen stories relating them to that experience/theme. But he suggests that "scary stories" have a fascination for us all. A scare factor, or at least a sense of the darkly unsettling. is the intended common element here, though it may arise from either supernatural or natural causes.

All nine of the authors represented here, as the collection title suggests, were American. The stories aren't dated, but the only one of the writers born in the 20th century was Shirley Jackson (d. 1965); the rest preceded her. So these are all older stories, dating from the 19th or early 20th centuries. Most of the authors are well known, in American letters generally or at least in the weird fiction field; Hunt doesn't supply any information about them, but it's generally not needed.

Although Hunt found Mark Twain's "A Ghost Story" scary, it's ultimately humorous (although it's the only one here that is). That story was one of those I'd read previously, the other three being Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" (which perhaps gains an added frisson in the shadow of the recent pandemic!), Hawthorn's "Young Goodman Brown,' and "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. I've commented on all of these in reviews of other collections. None of the other tales are as well known, though most of the authors are. Edith Wharton is represented by "The Eyes;" that one is hard to discuss without a spoiler, except to say that it shows the influence of Henry James in the way that a character intuits things. "Spunk" by Zora Neale Hurston is set in a rural black community in the South and reflects the author's interest in realistically portraying the lifeways and sociology of that culture, not in relation to whites but as an independent entity created by black people. (Of course, not everything is necessarily harmonious in that world, and it may at times play host to supernatural realities they don't teach about in university anthropology classes....) Jackson's "Home" shows her aptitude at both the traditional ghost story and at deft characterization.

Though I'd of course heard of Robert W. Chambers, "The Mask" was my first introduction to his work. All I'll say about it is that it's greatly whetted my eagerness to read The King in Yellow and Other Horrors: The Best Weird Fiction & Ghost Stories of Robert W. Chambers (which was on my to-read shelf already)! Emma Frances Dawson (1839-1926) was the only writer here I'd never heard of before. Her "An Itinerant House," like most of her fiction, is set in San Francisco, where she lived most of her life (she was a protege' of Ambrose Bierce). That story made me aware that in late 19th-century San Francisco, physical moving of buildings from one location to another was apparently actually a not particularly uncommon thing. (But if a given building has a Romany curse attached to it, moving it may not be a good idea.)

All in all, this is a solid collection with uniformly good stories (some of them great stories). Most short story fans, especially those who like fiction on the macabre side, would probably like it.

[Latasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover for this book drew me in. THEN i saw the TOC. My heart was filled with such happiness! I've read a few of these stories before and love them very much. The Yellow Wallpaper, Young Goodman Brown AND The Masque of the Red Death?! YES! I enjoyed these classics and the ones that were new to me as well.

[Flybyreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

More often than not, I get little or no satisfaction from reading tense, nerve-shredding tales such as these, especially at night. However, so engrossing were these stories that I did not even realize I came to the end. What a delight!
The stories that find a place in this collection of dark tales are all from canonical writers ranging from Poe to Edith Wharton, Shirley Jackson to Mark Twain. I did not even know that some of these authors had produced works in this genre. Horror, mystery, suspense and thrill; all intertwined in this potpourri of rare stories by remarkable writers.I read this book three nights in a row in a candlelit room with a buddy, which without a doubt tripled the effect. My personal favorites from the collection are The Eyes by Edith Wharton; Home by Shirley Jackson, The Mask by Robert W. Chambers and Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. (I must say, the fact that the book started with a plague story gave me the creeps)
I absolutely treasured the content and until the final story by Emma Frances Dawson everything was phenomenal but that finale was such a bore that made me want to throw the book out the window.
However, all in all a great reading experience of the genre and definitely recommended!

(I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

[Vonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A creepy and enjoyable collection of the old scary classics such as Edgar Alan Poe, Edith Wharton, Mark Twain and many others. All in all this is a very solid book from some of the best writers in history.

[Ends of the Word · Rating 4 out of 5]

The “Pushkin Collection” by Pushkin Press is growing into a veritable library of attractive volumes of great literature. It is particularly strong on world fiction, featuring several Continental and Eastern authors in new translations. In this respect, American Midnight: Tales of the Dark, one of the latest publications to join its fold, is somewhat atypical – an anthology of classic horror stories by US authors, selected and introduced by Laird Hunt (himself a purveyor of contemporary speculative fiction of the “literary” sort).

Although this book will certainly appeal to lovers of horror, it seems to be directed at a more “mainstream” readership. The nine featured stories, in fact, include some very well-known works, alongside others which were new to me. Except for the somewhat surprising omission of Ambrose Bierce and H.P. Lovecraft, the usual suspects all make an appearance. The anthology starts with Edgar Allan Poe, the great American master of the macabre, specifically his The Masque of the Red Death, which feels particularly chilling when read at a time of a deadly pandemic. Robert Chambers’ cult short story collection “The King in Yellow” is represented by The Mask, the second story of the cycle. There’s the widely anthologized, yet always welcome, The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s classic feminist tale of psychological horror. Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne manages to be both profoundly Gothic and quintessentially American in its exploration of the themes of sin and collective guilt in the context of Puritan New England.

Other stories are less familiar. Mark Twain provides an example of comic Gothic in A Ghost Story, inspired by the “Cardiff Giant”, one of the most famous hoaxes in American history. The “petrified giant” was created by atheist George Hull in a dig at fundamentalist Christians and their literal interpretation of Genesis (and its reference to “giants” roaming the Earth). The hoax gave rise to a famous lawsuit, after P.T.Barnum made a copy of the giant and branded the original giant as fake. Twain imagines a late-night meeting with the ghost of the “Cardiff Giant” who, duped by Barnum’s ‘copy’, ends up haunting the “fake” fake.

First published in “The New Negro” in 1925, Spunk was the third short story written by Zora Neale Hurston. In its portrayal of a love triangle in a community of the Deep South, it combines an earthy “realist” approach with supernatural elements. I was less impressed by An Itinerant House, by poet Emma Frances Dawson. Ambrose Bierce, himself a master of horror fiction, was a keen supporter of Dawson’s work and particularly her atmospheric descriptions of San Francisco: “a city of wraiths and things forbidden to the senses”. Her story is based on the most original premise in the volume –a “cursed” house which seems to travel from place to place, plaguing the protagonists of the tale. Unfortunately, this striking concept, with its interesting combination of the supernatural and early sci-fi, is buried in pages of intellectual discourse and cultural references which rob it of its immediacy.

Laird Hunt’s choices underline the vital contribution made by female writers to the classic horror genre. Indeed, my two favourite stories in the volume are written by women. Edith Wharton’s The Eyes falls within tradition of the classic ‘English’ ghost story, including its “tale-by-the-fireside” framing device. The narrator is invited to a dinner given by a friend of his, one Andrew Culwin, an aged “confirmed bachelor”. As is wont to happen, the talk turns to ghosts, and at the insistence of his latest protégé, Culwin gives an account of a mysterious apparition of a pair of eyes which plagued him in his youth. This apparently ‘trivial’ story reveals much about the psychological make-up of Culwin. Enigmatic and charged with sexual tension, this story gives no easy ‘solutions’ to the enigma of the eyes, leaving it up to readers to reach their own conclusions.

As in Wharton’s case, there’s more than a nod to the classic ghost story in Shirley Jackson’s Home. But just as Jackson reclaims for herself the haunted house genre in The Haunting of Hill House, here she gives her own spin to the tale of a naïve city dweller who moves to a country house with ghosts attached. Scary and dark, but with a wicked humour which is Jackson’s own, this is the perfect example of how classic horror can be reinvented to great effect.

https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/20...

[Paloma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review in English | Reseña en Español (pendiente)

Thank you NetGalley and Pushkin Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love horror, dark stories –either on films or books, once I hear “ghost story” I am signed up.

Therefore, American Midnight: Tales of the Dark, immediately drew my attention, not only because of the title but also for the authors that were selected for this anthology. I had heard some of the names –Poe, Hawthorne, Wharton, Jackson– but some others were entirely new, so I thought this was an excellent opportunity to revisit some known stories and discover new ones.

Though I enjoyed the book, I felt that 50% of it was great, while the other 50% was so, so.
Unfortunately, there were a couple of short stories that I did not enjoy and were even difficult to go through, as I did not find them creepy or scary at all. One could argue that as a modern reader, stories written on the 19th century might not have the same effect in someone that has seen quite gruesome content in the horror genre, mainly on film. However, the thing is, some of the stories included in this collection were dark indeed and outstanding to me, and were written in the same period.

For this, my enjoyment was torn in half, as part of this selection was great while the other was ok and not memorable.

The stories I enjoyed the most were:
- The Eyes by Edith Wharton. This story was superb –it is a ghost story, but it also explores our own personal ghosts. The build-up is extraordinary: one night, a group of friends is on a gathering and, after dinner, they recount their own ghost stories. The host of this gathering, an older man who never talks much, reveals that in his youth he was haunted twice, by a pair of angry eyes, when he decided on two things that could have changed his life and the life of others. It is up for the reader to decide if this apparition was indeed a ghost… or guilt.

- The Mask Robert Chambers. I had never heard of this author and I think this is the story I enjoyed the most, though it is not scary in the strict sense of the word. However, I found it beautifully written and I was transported to its setting –Paris, potentially end of the 19th century. Three close friends, two men and a women, artists, living in Europe without conventions and exploring art and life. I could literally hear Debussy playing on a warm afternoon, surrounded by sculptures and paintings, and experiencing the pain of an unrequited love. The loss, the dead, the loneliness… and then the uncertainty of finding love once more, but unsure of its form. And that can be indeed, one of the scariest parts.

This story was extraordinary and made me interested in Chambers’ works.

- Home by Shirley Jackson. I felt this one was the most traditional ‘ghost’ story of all the ones included in the book. A couple arrives in a new town, and is working on having their house ready. The woman, Ethel, is in charge of all the repairs needed and she tries to be chatty with locals. One rainy day, people warn her about not taking a certain road, and naturally, she ignores them, takes that road and sees a woman and a child standing, on the pouring rain. She offers to take them home. The woman tells Ethel her house… is where she currently lives. When she gets there, and she looks back, the passengers are gone…This was really scary! I guess this is one of the urban legends –in Mexico, the US or anywhere in the world- that though we hear time after time, does not stop giving the chills. Jackson’s narrative is direct and therefore, results in a great impact for the reader.

- The Yellow Wallpaper Charlotte Perkins Gilman. I had been wanting to read this story for ages, and this collection gave me this opportunity. The plot might be familiar –a young woman is suffering from depression, but in the 19th century, this was simply labeled as female hysteria. Her husband decided the best cure is isolation, and he takes her to a lonely house, for the summer, where she spends her days alone. There, she is starts developing an obsession with the old, rotten, colorless wallpaper of her bedroom, where she begins seeing figures and making up stories. As many have put it, the story explores a woman’s descend into madness –which implies fighting one’s own ghosts –but that ending. Though it obviously it is a consequence of mental health issues, it was also extremely scary… that fainting and that creeping.

The stories that were ok for me were The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe; the Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne; and, A Ghost Story, Mark Twain. And I know, these are one of the greatest names of U.S. and English literature, and I feel a bit guilty for not liking them but, honestly, their stories just did not work for me. This might be a very unpopular opinion but Poe is not my favorite, and has never been. But I get it –I think his work will be part of any collection of scary or ghost stories around the world. However, the stories selected form Hawthorne and Twain were just… a bit boring to me. I think there is an irony on both and one can read between the lines but I did not find the plots creepy or interesting enough.

And finally, the stories that I definitely disliked were Spunk by Zora Neale Hurston and An Itinerant House by Emma Frances Dawson. I have no idea what ‘Spunk’ was about and could not understand half of it (I am not a native English speaker, but this was written with a bit of slang? So it was hard for me to follow through). However, there was nothing interesting on the plot for me –a love revenge maybe and an awful death caused by supernatural forces? As said, maybe it was just the fact that the style was difficult for me to go through, but I did not get it. In the case of Emma Frances Dawson, she is another author I’d never heard of, but the story was a bit… boring? The premise was good –it explores curses, the energy places maintain and the negative vibes that affect people, all things I believe can happen. But the execution was just all over the place –more than a ghost story it felt like an essay on art, opera, literature, the importance of artists, and sort of showing the author’s knowledge on all of the above and I found myself bored. This was the story that for me was the most difficult to push through and, unfortunately, it is the last one from the collection.

Though some of the stories did not work, fortunately there were a couple of them that I will definitely keep checking out when fall approaches and enjoy revisiting on a chilly October night.

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a brilliantly chilling little collection, some of which I was familiar with some new to me, all wrapped up in a gorgeous little book worth having on any collectors shelf.

From Poe to Twain there is something here for any lover of literature, shame faced I realised this was my first foray into the words of Shirley Jackson – my favourite was the compelling little narrative that made up Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” – but every story here had it’s merits and a way of haunting your thinking.

Laird Hunt has put together a pitch perfect, eclectic and absorbing set of darkly delicious tales, making me seek out his own novels- I would highly recommend this ghostly ethereal selection, perfect for those winter nights huddled under duvets, where to paraphrase Edith Wharton you have been put in the mood for ghosts…

A great book.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

*thank you to Netgalley, Laird Hunt and Pushkin Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*


3 stars

The Masque of the Red Death', Edgar Allan Poe ⭐⭐⭐
'Young Goodman Brown', Nathaniel Hawthorne ⭐⭐⭐
'The Eyes', Edith Wharton ⭐⭐
'The Mask', Robert Chambers ⭐⭐⭐
'Home', Shirley Jackson ⭐⭐⭐
'A Ghost Story', Mark Twain ⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Spunk', Zora Neale Hurston ⭐⭐⭐
'The Yellow Wallpaper', Charlotte Perkins Gilman ⭐⭐⭐⭐
'An Itinerant House', Emma Frances Dawson ⭐⭐⭐


Ohh horror, how I love this genre. I've always been a horror fan so when I saw this I just had to read it. I can say that it wasn't as enjoyable as I'd hoped but it was still definitely a great read. The stories were well varied and went well together. I would recommend this. Plus, that cover a amazing.

[JacquiWine · Rating 4 out of 5]

American Midnight is a wonderfully chilling short story anthology released by Pushkin Press in 2019 (my thanks to the publishers for kindly providing a review copy). The collection comprises nine tales of the dark and supernatural, all penned by American authors and originally published in the 19th or 20th century. One of the best things about it is the diversity of styles across the range. From the gothic folk horror to the classic ghost story, there’s something for virtually everyone here.

I’ll start with The Eyes, a brilliantly unsettling story by the marvellous Edith Wharton. It’s a classic ghost story, one of those atmospheric tales by the fireside on a dark, chilly night. One evening, a group of friends are gathered together for a dinner hosted by Culwin, a somewhat reserved older man. At the end of the meal, the guests start to recount their own ghost stories, brushes with the spectral and the supernatural and suchlike. Finally, it is time for Culwin to reveal his tale, one that harks back to a time in his youth when his nights were haunted by the appearance of a terrifying pair of eyes.

I sat up and strained my eyes into the darkness. The room was pitch black, and at first I saw nothing; but gradually a vague glimmer at the foot of the bed turned into two eyes staring back at me. I couldn’t see the face attached to them – on account of the darkness, I imagined – but as I looked the eyes grew more and more distinct: they gave out a light of their own. (p. 63)

They were the very worst eyes Culwin had ever seen, and the cumulative effect of being observed by them soon became intolerable. The story reveals much about Culwin as a character, particularly as these visions occurred at significant times in his life – instances when he had been wrestling with his conscious over matters relating to others.

It’s an unnerving, multilayered tale, one that explores themes of guilt, conscience and complicity in a highly compelling way.

To read the rest of my review, please visit:

https://jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2020...

[Keith Chawgo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolute joy to read and with so many classic short stories found within its pages, this is a definite treasure trove. The short stories included stories from esteemed authors as Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mark Twain and a host of others, each one is a fantastic winner on what the best of horror shorts are.

The stories are basically all ghostly or hauntings though Poe’s short is slightly out of this realm. I am a big fan of Shirley Jackson and thought I have read everything she has written but I found Home in this collection which is a must for all Jackson fans and fans of ghostly visitations. Charlotte Perkin’s The Yellow Wallpaper is one of those classic novels that one hears about but seldom reads and it does live up to its reputation.

Overall, this is an excellent collection and one that I would not mind having as a hard copy on my shelf. Each and every story is pure gold and the different styles definitely complement each other. If one would like to really explore the masters who are at the top of their gain, this is a good place to start. Fantastic read all around.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun collection of classic horror/suspense stories and will be especially appealing to those like myself who prefer traditional horror/suspense to its more graphic modern counterpart.

The collection kicks off with a lovely intro by Laird Hunt and is populated by a number of stories that will be familiar to many and some that will be new reads, though most readers will recognize all of the authors featured.

As with all collections that include works by different authors, this one is a little hit or miss on quality from story to story, but overall it’s largely populated by fun, well-crafted examples of the genre.

Among the highlights of the collection:

Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death
Edith Wharton’s The Eyes
Shirley Jackson’s Home
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper

*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

[Jammin Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this collection of horror short stories from some of the most famous authors in that genre: Edgar Allen Poe's "The Masque of Red Death", Nathanial Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown", Shirley Jackson's "Home, and Edith Wharton's "The Eyes". Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" was probably one of my most favorite "new" stories - I could feel the madness of the woman develop as time went on. I want to thank the author, the publisher, and Edelweiss Books for giving me an e-copy of this book, in return for an honest review.

[Lobstergirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

A cute little edition from Pushkin Press with a nice scratchboard cover illustration. However, French flaps (annoying). What I can't figure is with seven of the nine stories in the public domain, why does this tiny paperback cost $18 ?

Two or three of these are classics (Poe, Hawthorne, Gilman). "The Eyes", featuring a confirmed bachelor who surrounds himself with pretty but untalented male acolytes, is Edith Wharton at her most Jamesian. Half of the stories are instantly forgettable.

[Prin · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A chilling collection of classic weird and supernatural tales from the dark heart of American literature."


I was really excited to sign up for these classic horror tales--from Edgar Allan Poe to Shirley Jackson, Nathaniel Hawthorne to Zora Neale Hurston and more. Though I appreciate the value of these stories' place in history, I must say that only a few of these really connected to me. My favorites are 'Home' by Shirley Jackson and 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (previously read from another collection). Runners up: 'Spunk' by Zora Neale Hurston and The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe.

I failed to fully engage with the rest, perhaps they are too archaic, and a lot was lost in translation. Still, I would recommend this for anyone looking for short, atmospheric reads that you can binge on any day, or night.


Big thanks to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

~ I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ~

This creepy collection offers the opportunity to explore the realms of horror in small, enjoyable portions. Among these classics are a few personal favourites; The Yellow Wallpaper will always hold a special place in my heart, with its cripplingly haunting tale about being imprisoned within one’s own home, driven to madness and hysteria.

Unfortunately, whilst some stories enthralled me, others left me unsettled…and not in a good way. Classics often prove to be far too complicated, baffling me with complex language, or are just overly convoluted. This often disconnected me from the story, and therefore the horror, leaving me somewhat confused rather than scared. Modern simplified horror seems to pack more of a punch; whilst classics are fascinating to delve into analytically speaking, this doesn’t make for overly relaxed, leisurely reading.

Although some stories failed to impress, I still recommend this anthology as it encompasses a true variety, presenting a range of ghastly tales suited for everyone who appreciates a good spook.

[Lizz (literary_lizard) · Rating 4 out of 5]

As soon as I saw the description for American Midnight: Tales of the Dark, I knew I had to read it. This collection of short stories is edited by Laird Hunt, and contains eerie stories all by American authors. Some were classic titles I instantly recognized, and others were new to me, but all of them gave me chills and kept me up at night.

I appreciated the diversity in authors, and enjoyed the mix of sub-genres. Throughout the book we see ghosts, witches, haunted houses, plagues, and more. It was a great mix, and some stories definitely stood out to me more than others.

The most chilling for me was Edith Wharton’s “The Eyes.” I’d never read this story before, and think it’s fine if I never read it again. After finishing it, I fought the urge to check the end of my bed for paranormal apparitions, but was torn between wanting to make sure nothing was there, and the sheer horror of what I would feel if something did appear.

“The Yellow Wallpaper” was also exceptional. I’ve read this story before—once in high school, and again for an undergrad class—but it had been almost eight years since I’d last read it. Reading it again as an almost 30 year old woman was a totally different experience, and I found myself relating to the narrator in a whole new way.

I was also surprised by how much I enjoyed “A Ghost Story” by Mark Twain. Usually, I am utterly terrified of ghost stories, but this one made me sad. By the end of it, all I wanted to do was give the ghost a hug. It showed me that not all ghosts are necessarily scary or evil, and you shouldn’t always be afraid of them.

There were a couple stories that I didn’t particularly enjoy, but overall, this collection was fantastic. The forward was also wonderful to read, wherein the editor shared his own personal ghostly encounter.

Thank you to the publisher (Pushkin Press) for an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley. American Midnight: Tales of the Dark will be available on August 25, 2020 (in Canada), and can be pre-ordered or purchased wherever books are sold.

Full review: https://literarylizard.com/2020/05/20...

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of the most haunted stories ever written. I had an amazing time reading about the paranormal accounts that each story had to offered. The atmospheric phrasing and a creepy narration is down right bone chilling. The book begins with an introduction that described an incident which spent chills down my spine. The collection starts with The masque of the red death written by Edgar Allen Poe, the iconic author whose writing introduced me to Gothic literature. My favorite was The yellow wallpaper, the ending was that story was just unforeseeneable. All I can say about this book is the author chose these tales carefully. Each story has this unusual twist and turns that made them unpredictably spooky. I think this is what makes American Midnight: Tales of the Dark different from any other anthologies. I would definitely recommend this!


Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Krystelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-selected handful of short tales of the supernatural, this book gives some light scares from classic American authors. Poe and Wharton were standouts as usual, and it was nice to see the perennial ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ pop up yet again. Hawthorne is, by far, the weakest, lending little in terms of scares. Zora Neale Hurston and Shirley Jackson were also pleasantly eerie- it was nice to come across a couple of stories I’d not read! While a strong collection, it didn’t really have enough compiled, and there could have been some other scarier pieces included, and perhaps more modern ones too. A solid little set but would just benefit from a bit more meat on its bones.

Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC!

[Kerry Britnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having studied American literature as part of my degree I found this collection delightful.. Very creepy and thought provoking, these short stories all embody the traditional gothic horror narrative but twist in in their own unique was.
Highly recommended for any fan of suspenseful gothic horror.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well thought out collection of well-loved classics in the genre of American horror. This would be a great introductory book for people interested in the development of horror or as a reader for a horror survey class

[minas_elessar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely little collection I was happy to add to my library this book haul 💜 my favorite stories included are “Home” by Shirley Jackson and of course “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice collection of creepy classics perfect for an autumn's day read. Personal favorites were The Masque of the Red Death (Poe), Young Goodman Brown (Hawthorne), Home (Jackson), & Spunk (Neale Hurston).

[Danielle Kemp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recently, I received a digital ARC of American Midnight, edited by Laird Hunt, which is a book of short stories written by American authors that showcase the shadowy corners of US history. There are nine creepy stories, and each have their own spin on the horror genre, with some incorporating a supernatural element, while others are more focussed on the innate evil of human nature. There were two stories that I found particularly terrifying, which were "The Eyes" by Edith Wharton, and "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gillman.


Wharton's story had a fantastic supernatural element that sent chills down my spine, and left me feeling very unsettled.


I had previously read "The Yellow Wallpaper" as a young high school student, but it had been so long that I forgot the unnerving effect that this story can have on its reader. The story also hits home hard for me, as the narrator in the story is a woman dealing with her own mental health, who becomes obsessed that there is a figure hiding behind the wallpaper in her room.


Overall, I would give this compilation of short stories a 3/5 rating. I enjoyed each story for its uniqueness, but only connected with a select few. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is looking to check out some short and unique horror stories, without having to commit to a full novel.

[❀ Rose ❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

🔹 Overall thoughts and feelings:
〰 This anthology is absolutely great. I highly recommend it since I genuinely believe that everyone will enjoy it. The stories in here are all so different that you’re bound to find at least one to your liking. Each story explores different themes and topics and although I didn’t love all of them, I highly enjoyed most of them. My absolute favorite would have to be “The Yellow Wallpaper” because I just found the story to be amazing and exceedingly well written. That being said, all stories in here were enjoyable and you’ll be able to see which ones were my favorites down below since I gave an individual rating to each one.

The masque of the red death by Edgard Allen Poe
〰 I think out of all of them I was most excited to read this one for some reason. I don’t know why, maybe it’s because I love Poe and the premise sounded interesting but I was disappointed. The writing is beautiful but the story itself wasn’t that gripping.
Rating: 3 stars

“No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its seal— the redness and the horror of blood”
——————————-
Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne
〰 This was an entertaining story. The writing was good and the premise was interesting but it wasn’t anything amazing by any means.
Rating: 3 stars

“There was a scream, drowned immediately in a louder murmur of voices, fading into far-off laughter, as the dark cloud swept away, leaving the clear and silent sky above Goodman Brown.”
———————————
The eyes by Edith Wharton
〰 Hands down one of my favorites in this anthology. The writing is amazing, the premise is unique and the story is riveting. And just to encourage you to read this even more, I’m sharing two quotes instead of one (just go read this).
Rating: 5 stars

“We had been put in the mood for ghosts, that evening,”
“The effect of the eyes seemed to be cumulative, and the thought of seeing them again grew intolerable.”
———————————
The mask by Robert W. Chambers
〰 Veryy entertaining and intriguing story. At first I didn’t think I was going to like it much but then it took a different turn than what I was expecting which surprised me and made me more invested in the story than ever. Another one of my favorites in this anthology for sure.
Rating: 5 stars

“Never in word or deed or thought while with them had I betrayed my sorrow even to myself.”
———————————
Home by Shirley Jackson
〰 Another great one! Very eery and atmospheric. The writing makes it very easy to get into the story and once I started reading this, I couldn’t put my phone down until I finished it. The only reason I’m not giving it a full five stars is because the story itself is not the most original (but it still fits perfectly with the whole theme going on in this anthology).
Rating: 4 stars

“Ethel Sloane could hear only the child’s horrible laughter as the car turned and skidded toward the high waters of the creek.”
———————————
A ghost story by Mark Twain
〰 I think if I had to use one word to describe this story it would be “entertaining”. It’s one of the shorter ones in this anthology and it’s a bit lighter (in the horror aspect I mean). Still, I didn’t find it amazing but it was definitely worth the read.
Rating: 3 stars

“In the ashes on the hearth, side by side with my own bare footprint, was another, so vast that in comparison mine was but an infant’s”.
———————————
Spunk by Zora Neale Hurston
〰 Interesting story. It had a lot of potential but I think it fell flat at the end since the execution lacked a little something. So although this definitely could have been better, it also could have been worse.
Rating: 3 stars

“One could actually see the pain he was suffering, his eyes, his face, his hands and even the dejected slump of his shoulders.”
———————————
Yellow wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
〰 Oh.My.God.
I most certainly did NOT expect to love this as much as I did. It's definitely my favorite one in this whole anthology. It was absolutely amazing. It’s an epistolary short story following a woman who is very obviously going through depression (most likely postpartum depression), and who becomes fascinated with this yellow wallpaper in her room. The portrayal of mental health is amazing in here (especially for something that was written in 1892), and it was so heartbreaking seeing how such illnesses were misunderstood and never taken seriously at the time. The author handles it very well and does a fantastic job of helping you understand what the narrator is going through. I’m not going to go into much detail but I HIGHLY recommend you read this short story (whether you buy this anthology or not). SO GOOD.
Rating: 5 stars.

“Nobody would believe what an effort it is to do what little I am able—to dress and entertain and order things”
———————————
An itinerant house by Emma Frances Dawson
〰 Another absolutely great one. The concept is very interesting and the story itself was well executed. Amazing writing style as well. So, in all, this was very enjoyable and very weird (in a good way!). I did find myself a bit confused at times which is why I’m taking off a star here but nonetheless, this was great.
Rating: 4 stars

“These very walls shall remember—here, where I have been so tortured no one shall have peace!”
———————————
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall an interesting read. My favourite stories were ‘The Eyes’ by Edith Wharton (5 stars), ‘Home’ by Shirley Jackson, ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and ‘The Masque of The Red Death’ by Edgar Allan Poe.

I didn’t enjoy ‘Young Goodman Brown’ by Nathaniel Hawthorne but that was just my personal preference.

If you enjoy literature and spooky stories/ psychological thrillers, this is a good book to explore.

[Juli Rahel]

I love a good and scary short story collection, especially when it contains stories I have not read before. As such, I delighted in American Midnight, even if I'm not sure on the selection of stories. Thanks to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My sincere apologies for the delay.

The collection features nine stories which I greatly enjoyed. "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe is sumptuous, if brief, and remains a lovely indictment of the rich. "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne was new to me and once I was used to the old-school writing, I was intrigued at its discussion of good and evil, hypocrisy, and religion. I also hadn't read "The Eyes" by Edith Wharton before. It is a lot calmer, in a way, than the preceding story, as it starts in the traditional "let's gather round the fire and tell ghost tales"-atmosphere, but it is also a little more psychological. "The Mask" by Robert Chambers is a story I didn't really get to begin with. I'm still not sure I fully see what its doing, but it was sumptuous and delightfully dramatic. Meanwhile, Shirley Jackson was a genius and "Home" is a perfect example of why she is still so acclaimed. Featuring the horror of being new in a close-knit community, the horror of ghosts, and the horror of being slightly annoying, I enjoyed it very much. "A Ghost Story" by Mark Twain, meanwhile, has everything one might enjoy about a poltergeist and yet is also absurdly funny. Zora Neale Hurston's "Spunk" is a story of paranormal revenge, of getting what's due, and I enjoyed it very much. "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a classic for a reason and its ending continues to haunt me. It is also the most psychologically direct story in the collection and its inclusion intrigues me. The final story, "An Itinerant House" by Emma Frances Dawson absolutely gripped me in the beginning and I love its concept. It lost me a little in the middle, but its structure had me right back on the edge of my seat by the end.

I am intrigued by this collection's centering of the dark, both in the title and its tagline above. On the one hand I believe they were curated because of their authors' places in American literature. Many of these authors are institutions in and of themselves and the stories selected here among their best. But it is midnight and darkness which echo through them all. Some engage with a Christian sense of darkness, i.e., the Devil and the opposite of all things good and pure, while others centre on a more personal sense of darkness. The latter intrigue me most, how these stories engage with personal and moral failings, with the fears we hide. Overall, the stories are curated in such a way that they build on one another nicely, creating a sense of ever-changing and moveable dread.

As with every collection, not every story will resonate with every reader, but for anyone intrigued by the dark at the heart of American literature, this is the right place to start!

URL: https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/...

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very welcome and entertaining collection of stories for Hallowe'en – or indeed any evening when this kind of fiction might appeal. We start with 'The Masque of the Red Death', which is more or less Poe at his best – packing a lot into what will be to some a surprisingly short little tale. Next, Nathaniel Hawthorne – a writer I've rarely if ever read – gives more than a sense of the O Henry to his legend of a Salem-set meeting with the Devil. Edith Wharton's story is a little too wordy in set-up, but in mysteriously plaguing a young man, only that night affianced, by a pair of spectral, red eyes at the foot of his bed, does make the hairs rise. Hardly a ghost story, but 'The Mask' by Robert W Chambers turns on ideas from Pygmalion, Romeo and Juliet and any number of stories featuring stereotypes of young artists – but the end result is surprisingly effective. It seems to be a favourite of Pushkin the publishers, though, as it's not the first time they've released a book with it in.


Shirley Jackson has some modern yokels saying 'ooh you don't want to be driving up that road in weather like this', and the recipient of that dread news taking it as a badge of honour, as she's a new resident in town. The piece is snappy and fun. Mark Twain might have been both those, but while he showed that you can have copious ghosts in a story and still get away with it, they didn't really suit the humour he finishes with. I've not come across the vernacular of Zora Neale Hurston before, but it was fairly easy to engage with the dialogue of the po' black men witnessing a cuckolded husband from the safety of their logging town's general store windows. Best here, as it is with pretty much anything it's published alongside, is 'The Yellow Wallpaper', a classic that is not strictly a genre piece, but is all the better for being whatever it is. Unfortunately we close with a dud, the piece 'An Itinerant House', which (a) relies on its audience, well over a century past its being written, knowing about a certain kind of mobile home, and (b) floods its tale of ill-wrought revenge with about two thousand literary quotes, spurts of poetry, flutters of music nobody will recognise, and more cultural references that make a right porridge of it all.

On the whole though, this book definitely stands as a fine collection. No longer will we all deem it necessary to go back to the Old World for our chills – this really does highlight the American canonical craft in and out of the genre labelled 'horror'. A strong four stars.

[Donna TalentedReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection of stories! Laird Hunt did a fantastic job of selecting the weird, supernatural and eerie stories from classic authors. A few of these I have read before but enjoyed reading again and a few were new reads from favorite authors.

'The Masque of the Red Death', Edgar Allan Poe - 5 Stars
I mean it's Poe, how can you go wrong?!

'Young Goodman Brown', Nathaniel Hawthorne - 3 Stars
Obviously quite different than The Scarlet Letter but it just didn't do much for me.

'The Eyes', Edith Wharton - 4 Stars
This is my first read by Edith Wharton and I would love to check more of her work out; this story gave off such an unsettling feeling. I can't imagine waking up to find a pair of ghost eyes staring at me!

'The Mask', Robert Chambers - 3 Stars
I did love the Chemistry setting of the book.

'Home', Shirley Jackson - 5 Stars
Got to love Shirley Jackson! She has such a craft for writing horror. My favorite is still The Haunting of Hill House but this is a close second.

'A Ghost Story', Mark Twain - 4 Stars
I've read this previously as A Ghosts Tale but it looks to be the same story. An unsettling conversation between a waking man and a ghost.

'Spunk', Zora Neale Hurston - 3 Stars
Not my favorite love triangle.

'The Yellow Wallpaper', Charlotte Perkins Gilman - 5 Stars
I love the journal entries and something sinister boiling just beneath them. This evoked such a feeling of paranoia.

'An Itinerant House', Emma Frances Dawson - 3 Stars
This was my least favorite in the collection, good concept but weirdly executed.

I read this as an ARC but I will be picking up a final copy for myself, I would love to have this in my final collection.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Heather Daughrity · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of classic American horror stories, with an introduction by Laird Hunt (an amazing writer himself).
.
The stories are mostly well known, though the Shirley Jackson and Zora Neale Hurston ones were new to me.
.
🖤‘The Masque of the Red Death’ by Edgar Allan Poe
🖤‘Young Goodman Brown’ by Nathaniel Hawthorne
🖤‘The Eyes’ by Edith Wharton
🖤‘The Mask’ by Robert Chambers
🖤'Home' by Shirley Jackson
🖤‘A Ghost Story’ by Mark Twain
🖤‘Spunk’ by Zora Neale Hurston
🖤‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
🖤‘An Itinerant House’ by Emma Frances Dawson
.
Well known or not, these stories are writing perfection. There is just something about the older stories, the beautiful writing, the lonely settings, the atmosphere that breathes off the page. The old writers knew how to scare you without blood and guts and gore and I love them for it. Even though I already knew most of the stories, I read them again and was practically giddy with horrified delight. These stories are like old friends that welcome you home at the end of a long modern day.
.
This book came out in the UK last year (on Halloween) but won't release here in the US until August of 2021. I'm sure if you desperately want a copy, you can order from some UK site.
.
I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.