Cafe Macabre: A Collection of Horror Short Stories and Art by Women

by Leah McNaughton Lederman (editor), Kari McElroy, Kasey Pierce

This collection of twelve stories and artwork by women is truly a collection of the macabre. Make a reservation for terror and get ready to delve into the deepest, darkest fears of some of the best writers and artists in the fiction game. Leah McNaughton Lederman has collected an anthology of the truly strange... a tome of the weird. Take a seat and order a cup, you're dining at Café Macabre!

Genres: Horror

360 pages, Paperback

Published October 31, 2019

Reviews

[Medea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of horror stories, written by women, is truly unique because it places an entirely human face on terror. It is not stereotypical horror that is filled with “gotcha” moments, gratuitous violence and “jump scares.” The elements of surprise are attributed to truly human fears that are chilling. These are things that could actually happen. The stories have an atmospheric quality that is dark, thick as smoke and difficult to dispel; the sensory experiences created are marvelous and NEW. I read a lot within this genre, but this book is special. It offers fresh perspectives to which both men and women can relate. Invaluable editing guidelines are even included in the end! The graphics are excellent. This is one that will retain a prominent position on your shelf and nightstand. Buy this...Now! Spread the word. This is a cafe in which you will linger savoring cups of dark coffee or wine. What are you still doing here? Snatch this up if you dare.

[Matthew Barron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy anthologies and especially horror anthologies. You can almost always guarantee there will be one gem, even if not all the stories are your cup of tea. I enjoyed every story in Café Macabre. The horror elements in most of the stories were subtle and creepy rather than violent or gory. My favorite story was Steps by Kari McElroy, a creepy, original story involving sleepwalking and a step counter. I won’t say any more than that. As a bonus for writers and aspiring writers, editor Leah McNaughton Lederman includes an extremely useful and comprehensive list of hints for self-editing at the end of the book.

[Ash.O · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of horror stories and art from women was an interesting read. Although they were all in the horror genre, some stories almost had an uplifting or happy ending. It was an interesting dichotomy. And, of course, there were some stories that maintained the horror theme throughout and left you unsettled with the endings as they were intended to do. A great collection of stories from talented writers.

[Holly Westendorf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually stumbled across a signed copy of this book at a bookstore. I didn’t even realize it was signed till I opened it. I was even more surprised at how good, unique, and horrifying most of the stories are. This isn’t like your typical horror story that relies on supernatural and gore for scares. While there are supernatural elements, the monsters tend to be human. Instead these stories use the ugliness of humanity and the mundane to build up horror in these stories.

[SBReading · Rating 3 out of 5]

I discovered Cafe Macabre on TikTok from an independent bookstore account. I was instantly intrigued by the cover and finding that it was a collection of horror stories and art by women. I have previously read a limited amount of horror, mostly Junji Ito manga, but wanted to branch out. I actually thought these were graphic novels when I bought them. Oops.

I feel this book needs a lot of content warnings. It's horror so some content warnings are probably expected, but I wasn't expecting quite so many. There's domestic violence, emotional and psychological abuse, murder, loss of a child (implied), rape, suicidal ideation, death of a pet, death of a parent, mental illness and institutionalization, etc. I don't say that to put people off of this book, just to prepare them if they need to be in a headspace to handle dark and heavy content.

With that said, there are so many kinds of horror and with multiple authors comes multiple writing styles. Some stories were GREAT even if disturbing. Others were meh or just too disjointed for my taste. But that’s the cool thing about anthologies, there’s variety.

[Denyse · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only really liked two stories- Queen of the Waves and Repossessed. I kinda liked Hardly a Scratch.

But Lover of the Unknown had me almost completely stop reading the book entirely.

The story ends with “I used to crave adventure and try new things. I was a lover of the unknown... but now I am a slave to love.”

No, you’ve been sex trafficked!

[Michael Samulak · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of wonderful works by some fabulous ladies.
Highly recommend, especially for those who love scary, horror, and a bit of mystery.

Michael Samulak, Children's book author and public speaker
www.michaelsamulak.com

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories, dark short stories. I loved them all. A little spooky, some scarier than others. Highly recommend it.