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This Sublime Darkness: And Other Dark Stories
Includes the Bram Stoker Award-nominated tale, "The Book of Last Words"*This Sublime Darkness contains seven dark stories of grief, madness and nightmares, from Bram Stoker Award-nominated author Greg Chapman. In this collection, a small-town secret unearths itself, a stone drives a madman onto the streets of Whitechapel, a man takes a new wife - and the ghost of her mother, a photo album sends a grieving man into a spiral of nightmares, a creature collects the last words of death-row inmates, an insomniac fights nocturnal evils, unaware of the evil within, and a widow has one final embrace with his long lost love...
*2019, Superior Achievement in Short Fiction, Horror Writers Association
~
"Greg's imagination is akin to a living, breathing haunted house attraction.
Every time he opens a door for his readers, whether in his art or his writing,
there's no telling what terror will spring out" - James Chambers
~
Greg Chapman is an Australian author and artist. He's been involved with the Australasian Horror Writers Association for a number of years and is currently president. He's also active in the Horror Writers Association.
*2019, Superior Achievement in Short Fiction, Horror Writers Association
~
"Greg's imagination is akin to a living, breathing haunted house attraction.
Every time he opens a door for his readers, whether in his art or his writing,
there's no telling what terror will spring out" - James Chambers
~
Greg Chapman is an Australian author and artist. He's been involved with the Australasian Horror Writers Association for a number of years and is currently president. He's also active in the Horror Writers Association.
- GenresHorror
109 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 14, 2019
About the author
Greg Chapman
114 books116 followersMy latest books:
ART OF DARKNESS https://www.lulu.com/shop/greg-chapma...
THE FEAR CENTRE AND OTHER NIGHTMARES https://www.lulu.com/shop/greg-chapma...
HOLLOW HOUSE - TENTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION https://www.lulu.com/shop/greg-chapma...
Australian Shadows Award-winner***, two-time Bram Stoker Award nominee** and Ditmar Awards nominee*, Greg Chapman is a horror author and artist based in Queensland Australia.
Greg is the author of the novels Hollow House, The Noctuary: Pandemonium and Netherkind and the collections, Vaudeville and Other Nightmares, This Sublime Darkness and Other Dark Stories, Bleak Precision, Midnight Masquerade and Black Days and Bloody Nights. His short fiction has also appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines.
His artistic endeavours include designing book covers for various publishers in Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. He has been creating book covers and artwork for IFWG Publishing since 2013. The first graphic novel he illustrated, Witch Hunts: A Graphic History of the Burning Times, written by Rocky Wood and Lisa Morton, won the Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel category at the Bram Stoker Awards® in 2013.
Greg was also the President of the Australasian Horror Writers Association from 2017-2020.
*** Best Collected Work, for Midnight Masquerade 2023 Australian Shadows Awards
** Superior Achievement in a First Novel for Hollow House (2016) and
Superior Achievement in Short Fiction, for “The Book of Last Words” (2019)
* Best Artwork (internal illustrations in “Polyphemus”) 2024
ART OF DARKNESS https://www.lulu.com/shop/greg-chapma...
THE FEAR CENTRE AND OTHER NIGHTMARES https://www.lulu.com/shop/greg-chapma...
HOLLOW HOUSE - TENTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION https://www.lulu.com/shop/greg-chapma...
Australian Shadows Award-winner***, two-time Bram Stoker Award nominee** and Ditmar Awards nominee*, Greg Chapman is a horror author and artist based in Queensland Australia.
Greg is the author of the novels Hollow House, The Noctuary: Pandemonium and Netherkind and the collections, Vaudeville and Other Nightmares, This Sublime Darkness and Other Dark Stories, Bleak Precision, Midnight Masquerade and Black Days and Bloody Nights. His short fiction has also appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines.
His artistic endeavours include designing book covers for various publishers in Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. He has been creating book covers and artwork for IFWG Publishing since 2013. The first graphic novel he illustrated, Witch Hunts: A Graphic History of the Burning Times, written by Rocky Wood and Lisa Morton, won the Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel category at the Bram Stoker Awards® in 2013.
Greg was also the President of the Australasian Horror Writers Association from 2017-2020.
*** Best Collected Work, for Midnight Masquerade 2023 Australian Shadows Awards
** Superior Achievement in a First Novel for Hollow House (2016) and
Superior Achievement in Short Fiction, for “The Book of Last Words” (2019)
* Best Artwork (internal illustrations in “Polyphemus”) 2024
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 2, 2020
Greg Chapman offers us quality over quantity in this short collection that invites the reader into his dark dreamscape of horror ranging from the féerique to the uncomfortably plausible. He holds our trembling hands and guides us through Victorian morgues, present-day country towns, and onto death row to show us his exhibition of dysfunctional families, disgruntled ghosts, insatiable succubi, painful memories, and doomed futures. My pick: The Book of Last Words is the most original and memorable, and the characters are vivid to the point of being cinematic.
October 21, 2019
** Edited as review is now live on Kendall Reviews! **
After recently reading ‘Netherkind’ by Greg Chapman, I found myself floored when he reached out and asked if I’d be interested in reviewing his newest short story collection. ‘Netherkind’ will easily be in my top 10 books of the year and having previously enjoyed everything else I’ve read from Chapman, this was an easy choice.
‘The Sublime Darkness’ clocks in with 7 short stories, broken up with some outstanding artwork that Chapman also did. Really loved the included pieces and I found it added to the overall tone of the collection.
We start off with a bang with ‘The Bedlam Stones.’ This was a super creepy, gothic tale set in the 1880’s. We follow a mortician/doctor who is hired to dissect some recently donated cadavers. While working on one dead body, he spots something and from there Chapman sprints to the finish line. Really great opening piece.
Greg follows that up with the double bill of ‘Exhumation of a Small Town’ and ‘This Sublime Darkness.’ I really enjoyed both stories and it showed even more of Chapman’s versatility. And really, anytime a story starts with a grave shaped hole appearing in someone’s backyard, you can’t go wrong.
‘The Droste Effect’ was up next and the fourth story in this collection really wormed its way into my head. A story about a family dealing with death really changed the tone in the flow, but in a really solid way.
‘The Book of Last Words’ was my favourite story in this collection. A prison guard who is escorting inmates to their execution happens to spot an odd man in the gallery each time. This story really worked well on several levels and I hope Greg revisits this world down the line.
‘The Dream Demons Daughter’ really delivered some fantastic imagery. I loved the incubi and succubus storyline and enjoyed the descriptions of each being.
Lastly, Greg wraps the book up with a great closer. ‘Love/Death’ was an emotional piece to close with and I really liked how quickly I found attached to the characters.
Chapman once again proves just how diverse he is as an artist – from the cover image and the artwork within to the variations on different themes of each story. I can’t say enough good things about his work, and this collection is another high water mark for him. Following up ‘Netherkind’ for some would seem a daunting task, but Greg tackled this collection head-on.
I think this will make for a great Halloween read for many.
After recently reading ‘Netherkind’ by Greg Chapman, I found myself floored when he reached out and asked if I’d be interested in reviewing his newest short story collection. ‘Netherkind’ will easily be in my top 10 books of the year and having previously enjoyed everything else I’ve read from Chapman, this was an easy choice.
‘The Sublime Darkness’ clocks in with 7 short stories, broken up with some outstanding artwork that Chapman also did. Really loved the included pieces and I found it added to the overall tone of the collection.
We start off with a bang with ‘The Bedlam Stones.’ This was a super creepy, gothic tale set in the 1880’s. We follow a mortician/doctor who is hired to dissect some recently donated cadavers. While working on one dead body, he spots something and from there Chapman sprints to the finish line. Really great opening piece.
Greg follows that up with the double bill of ‘Exhumation of a Small Town’ and ‘This Sublime Darkness.’ I really enjoyed both stories and it showed even more of Chapman’s versatility. And really, anytime a story starts with a grave shaped hole appearing in someone’s backyard, you can’t go wrong.
‘The Droste Effect’ was up next and the fourth story in this collection really wormed its way into my head. A story about a family dealing with death really changed the tone in the flow, but in a really solid way.
‘The Book of Last Words’ was my favourite story in this collection. A prison guard who is escorting inmates to their execution happens to spot an odd man in the gallery each time. This story really worked well on several levels and I hope Greg revisits this world down the line.
‘The Dream Demons Daughter’ really delivered some fantastic imagery. I loved the incubi and succubus storyline and enjoyed the descriptions of each being.
Lastly, Greg wraps the book up with a great closer. ‘Love/Death’ was an emotional piece to close with and I really liked how quickly I found attached to the characters.
Chapman once again proves just how diverse he is as an artist – from the cover image and the artwork within to the variations on different themes of each story. I can’t say enough good things about his work, and this collection is another high water mark for him. Following up ‘Netherkind’ for some would seem a daunting task, but Greg tackled this collection head-on.
I think this will make for a great Halloween read for many.
October 11, 2019
The Sublime Darkness and Other Dark Tales
By Greg Chapman
Genre - Fiction
Subgenre - Short Stories/Horror/Psychological Fiction
Pages - 109
Publication Information - Independently Published, October 14, 2019, ASIN: B07YNH8DVW
Format - Digital (ARC)
Reviewed by William C. Bitner, Jr. (https://booksinmylibraryblog.wordpres...)
Rating - 📙📙📙📙📙
From the London streets of 1887 to the underground tomb of a dead man and his last thoughts of a lost love, Greg Chapman takes his readers on a global and psychologically tormented pilgrimage through times past, present and unknown. “The Sublime Darkness and Other Dark Stories” is a collection of seven very different and, some intensely disturbing short stories. Gothic horror and psychological horror, two of my favorite genre in the vast horror genre, are aplenty in the pages of this brilliantly composed collection of short stories. You will soon find yourself immersed in, and
becoming a part of each story. Not only are we entertained with some very disturbing, haunting and masterfully structured tales, we are also privy to some incredible illustrations at the end of each chapter courtesy of Greg Chapman. I’ve had the privilege of reading a few of Greg’s other works and I must say each time I read a new one I come away amazed at the fact that this guy gets better with each new publication. I know when I pick up one of his short stories or novels that I’m in for an experience that I will soon not forget. Always look forward to his next adventure. Highly entertaining and thought provoking horror to be had here folks!
“This Sublime Darkness and Other Dark Stories” by Greg Chapman, Illustrated by Greg Chapman with an Introduction from James Chambers is now available for pre-order. Release date is set for October 14, 2019
From the back cover: This Sublime Darkness contains seven dark stories of grief, madness and nightmares, from Bram Stoker Award-nominated author Greg Chapman. In this collection, a small-town secret unearths itself, a stone drives a madman onto the streets of Whitechapel, a man takes a new wife – and the ghost of her mother, a photo album sends a grieving man into a spiral of nightmares, a creature collects the last words of death-row inmates, an insomniac fights nocturnal evils, unaware of the evil within, and a widow has one final embrace with his long lost love…
About the Author: Greg Chapman is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated and Australian Shadows Award-nominated author of Hollow House and the author of five novellas: Torment (2011 and 2016), The Noctuary (2011), Vaudeville (2012), The Last Night of October (2013 and 2016) and The Eschatologist (2016), and The Noctuary: Pandemonium, published by Bloodshot Books in December 2017. His debut collection, Vaudeville and Other Nightmares, was published in 2014.
His short stories have appeared in numerous publications, including Dark Eclipse, DevolutionZ, SQ Mag, Midnight Echo, and several anthologies. His short story, The Bone Maiden, was an Australian Shadows Award finalist in 2015, as was his novella, The Eschatologist in 2016.
He is also a horror artist and his first graphic novel Witch Hunts: A Graphic History of the Burning Times, written by authors Rocky Wood and Lisa Morton, won the Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel category at the Bram Stoker Awards® in 2013.
He also illustrated the comic series Allure of the Ancients for Midnight Echo Magazine and the one-shot comic, Bullet Ballerina, written by Tom Piccirilli.
By Greg Chapman
Genre - Fiction
Subgenre - Short Stories/Horror/Psychological Fiction
Pages - 109
Publication Information - Independently Published, October 14, 2019, ASIN: B07YNH8DVW
Format - Digital (ARC)
Reviewed by William C. Bitner, Jr. (https://booksinmylibraryblog.wordpres...)
Rating - 📙📙📙📙📙
From the London streets of 1887 to the underground tomb of a dead man and his last thoughts of a lost love, Greg Chapman takes his readers on a global and psychologically tormented pilgrimage through times past, present and unknown. “The Sublime Darkness and Other Dark Stories” is a collection of seven very different and, some intensely disturbing short stories. Gothic horror and psychological horror, two of my favorite genre in the vast horror genre, are aplenty in the pages of this brilliantly composed collection of short stories. You will soon find yourself immersed in, and
becoming a part of each story. Not only are we entertained with some very disturbing, haunting and masterfully structured tales, we are also privy to some incredible illustrations at the end of each chapter courtesy of Greg Chapman. I’ve had the privilege of reading a few of Greg’s other works and I must say each time I read a new one I come away amazed at the fact that this guy gets better with each new publication. I know when I pick up one of his short stories or novels that I’m in for an experience that I will soon not forget. Always look forward to his next adventure. Highly entertaining and thought provoking horror to be had here folks!
“This Sublime Darkness and Other Dark Stories” by Greg Chapman, Illustrated by Greg Chapman with an Introduction from James Chambers is now available for pre-order. Release date is set for October 14, 2019
From the back cover: This Sublime Darkness contains seven dark stories of grief, madness and nightmares, from Bram Stoker Award-nominated author Greg Chapman. In this collection, a small-town secret unearths itself, a stone drives a madman onto the streets of Whitechapel, a man takes a new wife – and the ghost of her mother, a photo album sends a grieving man into a spiral of nightmares, a creature collects the last words of death-row inmates, an insomniac fights nocturnal evils, unaware of the evil within, and a widow has one final embrace with his long lost love…
About the Author: Greg Chapman is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated and Australian Shadows Award-nominated author of Hollow House and the author of five novellas: Torment (2011 and 2016), The Noctuary (2011), Vaudeville (2012), The Last Night of October (2013 and 2016) and The Eschatologist (2016), and The Noctuary: Pandemonium, published by Bloodshot Books in December 2017. His debut collection, Vaudeville and Other Nightmares, was published in 2014.
His short stories have appeared in numerous publications, including Dark Eclipse, DevolutionZ, SQ Mag, Midnight Echo, and several anthologies. His short story, The Bone Maiden, was an Australian Shadows Award finalist in 2015, as was his novella, The Eschatologist in 2016.
He is also a horror artist and his first graphic novel Witch Hunts: A Graphic History of the Burning Times, written by authors Rocky Wood and Lisa Morton, won the Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel category at the Bram Stoker Awards® in 2013.
He also illustrated the comic series Allure of the Ancients for Midnight Echo Magazine and the one-shot comic, Bullet Ballerina, written by Tom Piccirilli.
September 6, 2025
I chose this book as my first entry for Short Story September 2025. This is a new author for me, but I really enjoyed this little book of short stories.
The first story is 'The Bedlam Stones'. This tale, set in the 1880s was a nice nod to an infamous killer of that time. The story revolves around a doctor mortician who is hired by a local insane asylum to do autopsies on recently deceased patients. A perfect opening, gothic tale.
The second story is 'The Exhumation of a Small Town'. This story is about a small town and the secrets within it. The secrets that start to be uncovered when one of the members of the town wakes to find a grave dug in his backyard.
The third story is 'The Sublime Darkness'. In this story a woman is set to get married when her mother dies on her wedding day. What happens next is creepy and sad.
The fourth story is 'The Droste Effect' is about a man who has lost his wife and son and how he deals with their death.
The fifth story is 'The Book of Last Words'. The story centers on an ex-military now prison guard whose job it is to escort prisons to execution. Every time he is at an execution he sees a strange man in the corner holding a book. Eventually they speak and its nothing short of tear jerking.
The sixth story is 'The Dream Demons Daughter'. An interesting take on the succubus/incubi dynamic.
The seventh and last story is 'Love/Death'. A really great ending to a great collection of stories.
Overall, this is a really nice, quick read of short stories. I look forward to looking for more from this author.
The first story is 'The Bedlam Stones'. This tale, set in the 1880s was a nice nod to an infamous killer of that time. The story revolves around a doctor mortician who is hired by a local insane asylum to do autopsies on recently deceased patients. A perfect opening, gothic tale.
The second story is 'The Exhumation of a Small Town'. This story is about a small town and the secrets within it. The secrets that start to be uncovered when one of the members of the town wakes to find a grave dug in his backyard.
The third story is 'The Sublime Darkness'. In this story a woman is set to get married when her mother dies on her wedding day. What happens next is creepy and sad.
The fourth story is 'The Droste Effect' is about a man who has lost his wife and son and how he deals with their death.
The fifth story is 'The Book of Last Words'. The story centers on an ex-military now prison guard whose job it is to escort prisons to execution. Every time he is at an execution he sees a strange man in the corner holding a book. Eventually they speak and its nothing short of tear jerking.
The sixth story is 'The Dream Demons Daughter'. An interesting take on the succubus/incubi dynamic.
The seventh and last story is 'Love/Death'. A really great ending to a great collection of stories.
Overall, this is a really nice, quick read of short stories. I look forward to looking for more from this author.
March 28, 2020
The stories are interesting (The Drost Effect), most readable, but not being able to navigate easily ruins the potential.
This is an anthology, yet none of the stories are titled in such a way that the reader can access them from the contents listing. The purpose of an anthology is to pick a title, go to that story, and read. Can't do that without proper formatting, ie use of heading styles or an active list of contents. eBooks don't need page numbers. They do need active links to the author sites/pages. That's three stars lost for lazy eBook formatting.
The pictures, however, are fantastic.
This is an anthology, yet none of the stories are titled in such a way that the reader can access them from the contents listing. The purpose of an anthology is to pick a title, go to that story, and read. Can't do that without proper formatting, ie use of heading styles or an active list of contents. eBooks don't need page numbers. They do need active links to the author sites/pages. That's three stars lost for lazy eBook formatting.
The pictures, however, are fantastic.
March 13, 2020
Great collection of the strange and macabre. I enjoyed all the stories and The Bedlam Stones really stood out above the rest. If your looking for some fun, classic horror then this collection is for you.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews