Spooky Ambiguous: ghost stories and poetry, fangs and fairy tales

by Michael Bartlett, Amaris Chase, Holly Crawford

Ghosts and vampires, zombies and werewolves. A mirror with danger at its heart. A child is delighted to discover she is a witch, and a village disappears under a fairy curse. Then a selkie finds her way back to the waves, before a blood moon rises, bringing its own secrets ...

Full of the spooky and the gothic, fairy tales and poetry, this is a brilliant and intriguing collection where nothing and no one is as they seem.

Bringing together authors from across the UK: featuring Penny Ayers, Michael Bartlett, Patrick Booth, Amaris Chase, Holly Anne Crawford, Ivor Daniel, Amanda Jane Davies, Daphne Denley, J. J. Drover, Harriet Hitchen, Rebecca McDowall, Jane Phillips, Angela Reddaway, Joe Robson, Margaret Royall, with illustrations by Lorna Gray

An exclusive UK retailer edition available through UK booksellers and online bookshops. Amazon edition is POD

Genres: Horror

134 pages, Paperback

Published September 15, 2022

Reviews

[Emma book blogger Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spooky Ambiguous is short stories and poems of Gothic fairy tales about vampires, ghosts, zombies and werewolves. If you love spooky and gothic you will love this book. The poems snd short stories are by different authors. My favourite was Blood moon , mirror mirror, who haunting who and a few more. I loved how there was gothic pictures through the book as well. Each story was easy to get into . This would definitely be great read for October. I love the title and the front cover . I hope all the authors do another book together of there selection of gothic stories it really works.
Thank you crumps barn studio for letting me read this book .

[Rhi M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spooky Ambigious is a remarkable collection of ghost stories and poetry, with fangs and fairy tales.

With the nights drawning in, it is a perfect read for unsettling, creepy and modern gothic tales. I particularly loved the illustrations throughout and the Strange Tale of Hobnail Boots, which played to my love of folklore and superstition. This collection is certainly one to keep returning to over the dark months of the year.

Thanks to Crumps Barn Books for providing me with a copy.

[Wendy(Wendyreadsbooks) Robey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little collection of spooky and gothic tales perfect for this time of year. Each tale / poem is cleverly set into the collection and adds it’s own atmospheric feeling. I especially loved the tale of the hobnail boots and the one about the stamp collector and the mirror - little snapshots of ghostly stories that made up a clever collection.

[Miriam Smith (A Mother’s Musings) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“SPOOKY AMBIGUOUS” - ghost stories and poetry, fangs and fairy tales, perfect for a Halloween fan….

“Ghosts and vampires, zombies and werewolves.
A mirror with danger at its heart.
A child is delighted to discover she is a witch and a village disappears under a fairy curse.
A selfie finds her way back to the waves, before a blood moon rises bringing with it, its own secrets………”

Spooky Ambiguous is a collation of superb tales and poems perfectly selected for the approach of Autumn or if like me, you just love ghostly stories anytime of the year. This is THE collection to have on your book shelves, it looks good, reads wells and slowly instils that cold gothic chill of fear down your spine.

Incorporating a huge amount of variety - poems, short and long stories, this book guarantees something for everyone and I’d probably say for all ages too. My particular favourite was tale of “The Flooding”, realistic and really caught my breath but there truly wasn’t one I didn’t like, as I found them all enjoyable.

If I’m honest I’m not really a poem person, I sometimes struggle with the rhythm of them but the ones included here are scholarly, well thought out and just perfectly sinister.

Lorna Brookes of Crumps Barn Studio has selected some definite unique voices, all drawing upon emotion, whether it be life and loss or love and laughter, creating magic, romance, danger and much much more.

Written by too many individual authors to acknowledge and spookily illustrated by Lorna Gray with charcoal drawings throughout, this is the perfect gift or for a nice little treat to settle down with, as the evenings draw in.

#SpookyAmbiguous - 4 stars

Thank you to Crumps Barn Studio for my copy of the book in return for an honest review.

[Kayleigh | Welsh Book Fairy · Rating 4 out of 5]

— 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 —

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Spooky Ambiguous
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: N/A
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Various Authors, Edited by Lorna Brookes
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Horror/Fantasy
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 15th September 2022
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 4/5

With contributions from:
—Penny Ayers
—Michael Barrett
—Patrick Booth
—Amaris Chase
—Holly Crawford
—Ivor Daniel
—Amanda Jane Davies
—Daphne Denley
—J. J. Drover
—Harriet Hitchen
—Rebecca McDowall
—Jane Phillips
—Angela Reddaway
—Joe Robson
—Margaret Royall

Each of these wonderful spooky writers either has a short story or a poem ready to make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck and goosebumps to form on your arms.

Absolutely perfect to get any reader in the mood for Halloween. My favourite was ’The Flooding’ because it’s the one that really took me by surprise. However, I enjoyed all of them. The poems were unbelievably beautiful also and broke up the short stories nicely.

I’m glad that I read this in time for spooky season.

🧚🏻‍♀️

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[Linda Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now, I don’t ‘do’ Halloween, feeling like Leslie in Michael Bartlett’s Mirror Mirror that it’s ‘American-inspired rubbish’ and I rarely read anything spooky because I don’t like being scared, so really Spooky Ambiguous should be a book for me to avoid. Hmm. I really enjoyed it!

Filled with slightly intangible, ethereal and hugely atmospheric illustrations from Lorna Gray that add to the mystery of the book and enhance the writing, Spooky Ambiguous has something for every reader. There’s a Gothic rather than overtly horror genre feel to the collection (although that’s represented too, particularly in Joe Robson’s Penance) with both poems and short stories from such a wide range of writers that this eclectic volume really is greater than the sum of its parts.

There are elements one might expect with a collection under the title Spooky Ambiguous with werewolves, selkies, ghosts and so on, but there’s historical and geographical detail, literary allusion and some wonderful writing too, particularly with regard to vivid or disturbing descriptions so Spooky Ambiguous has depth and quality. I especially appreciated the sense of place that is created in so many entries whether that’s a crypt, a closed road or a newly renovated house.

The different entries entertain brilliantly and of course, some will appeal to some readers more than others, but what works so well here is the exploration of themes. There’s identity and appearance, stereotypical attitudes and feminism, control and deception as well as death, relationships and science. However, the most affecting element of the collection, as the title might suggest, is the ambiguity between the corporeal and other worlds. Here there is a blurring of lines so well represented by the illustrations as well as the writing so that there is a murkiness, and not every story is completely resolved, further enhancing the reader’s disquiet and thoughts.

I thoroughly enjoyed Spooky Ambiguous. I appreciated having both poems and prose, first and third person perspectives and a collection that can be dipped into or read in the order presented as I did. If like me, you view the concept of trick or treat anathema, I think you’ll be missing a trick if you don’t treat yourself to this eclectic collection instead. Embrace the otherworldliness and, like me, you might be surprised, but if you’re a reader hoping for a cure for diabetes – watch out!

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great little collection of spooky stories and poems! I have so enjoyed dipping in and out of this throughout October, it’s the perfect read to pick up during those haunting winter nights.

As is always the way with short story anthologies some are better than others, but I particularly liked The Flooding by Amaris Chase. It’s only short but it’s perfectly tied up and packs a good punch in just a few pages. In fact I really liked the last section of the book and enjoyed all of the stories towards the end, so stick with it if you don’t like the earlier ones as much. Hexed by Margaret Royall is a beautifully written poem, and Penance by Joe Robson is a wonderfully vivid tale to end on.

All in all I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys short stories and being creeped out! Thank you to Crumps Barn Studio for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Hayley (Shelflyfe) · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬.
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Thank you to Lorna Brookes at Crumps Barn Studio for sending me a copy of 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐘 𝐀𝐌𝐁𝐈𝐆𝐔𝐎𝐔𝐒: a gorgeously gothic collection of short stories and poetry that is just PERFECT for this time of year.
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𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫,
𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫: 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.
𝐀𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐬.
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It's always hard to choose a favourite story from a collection, especially when the collection is as varied and interesting as Spooky Ambiguous, but I especially loved 𝘈 𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳 by Holly Crawford, 𝘜𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘺 by Amanda Jane Davies, 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 by Harriet Hitchen, and 𝘚𝘩𝘦 by Holly Crawford.
I always love stories about witches, kindly ghosts and folklore, so these in particular were right up my street, but I really do think there is something for everyone in this collection, especially as there are poems as well as short stories, which you don't find together very often.
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𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐬, 𝐬𝐡𝐞
𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞:
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐞-𝐰𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭
𝐎𝐟 𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭
𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲
𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐬
𝐓𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐬
𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫
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The collection portrays an interesting juxtaposition between things that are seemingly harmless and innocent, and those that are deadly and seductive.
𝘚𝘩𝘦, in particular, is such a rich poem, conjuring memories of childhoods by the seaside, and the comfort of warmth and light. However, within the same poem you are reminded of the deadliness and cruelty of the elements.
This setting perfectly parallels the unknown 'She', who seemingly fits the childhood depiction of virtue that we find in fairytales, with her 'pale blue eyes and Spun gold hair', yet we all know fairytales are never what they seem.
The poem also captures how it feels to be a girl and a woman; receiving conflicting messages your whole life about whether you are welcome in society or judged harshly by it, and how being an outsider and having autonomy can lead to rumours and tales told about you to scare little children.
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𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧, 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬
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I always love how short stories can evoke emotion, and feel as though you are simply glimpsing into a character's life for a moment, while they continue to live off the page, just out of sight.
𝘜𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘛𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘺 was a beautiful, uplifting short story, that was an absolute joy to read. If only we could all have a visit from Uncle Tommy during our worst times, I've no doubt he would make us all feel better no matter what we were going through.
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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐲 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐫𝐲 𝐮𝐩 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐠𝐠𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐲.
𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭.
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𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨, for me, is everything I want in a short story, especially at this time of year.
The main character, Ruth, wanders through the marshy woods, reflecting on the differences between her and her husband, who can't understand what draws her to this pool of water in these boggy woods. Unlike her, he cannot 'hear the faint whisper of a trickle calling to the senses'.
I can't decide whether Ruth inadvertently or purposely calls out to the deity she meets, as she 'subconsciously' drops her wedding ring at the edge of the pool. But Ruth is smart, and she knows the importance of names when dealing with otherwordly beings, and the power that they hold.
Ruth knows her folklore, and refuses to enter into any shifty and shadowy bargains, where trades are often hidden between the lines. But the story also reinforces the power of names in the mortal world, and the bargains we strike when sharing or swapping names. After all, a wedding ring is just a circle, but it can also be a promise, or a snare.
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𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐲---"
𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐲𝐞. "--- 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡."
"𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐲?"
"𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬," 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.
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𝘈 𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳 was a wonderful story of a young girl named Alice, who visits Alvina (the witch in the woods).
In some ways, the story is about being brave, and how bravery often results in rewards, whether we expect them or not. But more than that, it is about being true to yourself and your own heart, not judging people based on others' opinions, and standing your ground for what you think is right.
Alice herself is already seen as something 'other' as she is bold and she doesn't quite fit in with the children she interacts with. But she is more special than she realises, especially as the societies and environments we grow up in often squash boldness and confidence out of young girls.
I could envision a grown up Alice being just like Alvina, and I left the story with the hope that Alice retains her stubborn confidence into the future.
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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐲 𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐡𝐢𝐦. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.
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I really enjoyed learning some interesting things about stamps in Michael Bartlett's 𝘔𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳, which again plays on the contrast of something appearing both innocent and yet deadly. I also really enjoyed 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘊𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 by Penny Ayers, which really played on the idea of hungry ghosts. The history of soul cakes in itself is pretty interesting, and I will definitely be whipping up a batch soon.
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𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐨𝐧,
𝐒𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐫, 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐬, 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 - 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐧
𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞.
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I would recommend Spooky Ambiguous to all readers. While it's definitely a collection of 'spooky' stories and poems, there is nothing truly scary or gory contained in the collection, and so it can appeal to readers of all ages.
I will definitely be keeping my copy and reading it again.

[Cat Strawberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh wow what a brilliant set of short stories and poetry, all with a spooky theme. A woman takes a date home for the night but there’s something strange about him; a couple have bought their dream cottage but they are haunted by strange sounds in the night; a young girl trick or treating meets a woman rumoured to be a witch. These are just three of the many stories in this great collection which I just couldn’t put down!

The book begins with a brief introduction by the publisher before the first short story called ‘Blood Moon’ which is accompanied with an illustration. I love this first tale which has that classic spooky horror feel. There’s a mix of short stories of various lengths, though none too long, and poetry along with an occasional one page illustrations which accompany some of the poems and stories. There is a real mix of different tales, some about supernatural things while others are about creepy occurances in the night or strange encounters with people. Each story and poem has a spooky undertone and I love how there is a mix of different poetry too including ones that rhyme and don’t.

The poetry in the book is really good and I would recommend even those who shy away from poetry to give this book a go. Each poem is easy to read and some are very atmospheric including ‘She’ which I especially enjoyed. Some of the stories I really liked too include ‘Mirror, Mirror’ a great story about a man who sees some spooky image in the mirror on the wall in the place he’s staying, ‘Diabetes X’ which was so weird and creepy but made me laugh a little too when I found out the details of what was happening, and my absolute favourite ‘Prohibido el Paso’ which was so unbelievably creepy I feel chills after reading it and still feel creeped out when I think of that man and woman in the story!

Some pages have a lovely one page illustration which are all in black, white and grey and which add to the spooky gothic atmosphere of many of the tales and poems. I especially love the illustrations with the barn owls and the one with the two dogs. Overall this is such a great collection of spooky stories and poems and a great read for this time of year, or any time of year if you always love to read creepy things. It’s not a long book at a little over 130 pages and it’s a great mix of tales. Some of the stories have a simpler ending, while others are compete twists, but they all have some really great and creepy things going on, and I will definitely be checking out the authors of these stories and poems to see more of their work.
-Thanks to Crumps Barn Studio for a free copy

[Jaffareadstoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do like to have a book set aside for Halloween. There's something about settling down in a cosy corner, with a cup of hot chocolate and a few creepy stories to set the mood for the time when ghosties, ghouls and witches make their annual appearance.

This lovely collection helps to set the mood and with a nice blend of short stories and expressive poetry the book can be comfortably read in one sitting or read in snatched moments when you just need to escape the world. The fifteen short stories and poems caught my attention and the whole collection is brought to life with eleven eerie illustrations which help to create a sombre mood. The writers who have contributed to this set of stories vary in style but collectively they all work really well. I won't single any out for particular praise as that would be unfair but suffice to say I found much to enjoy in this creepy set of Gothic stories and poems.

[Tracey- Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought of the two volumes this would be the one that would be my favourite. Though it's an interesting read , it wasnt as spooky as I'd thought it would be.
I did enjoy the short stories and poetry and I have a few that were my favourite whilst reading this book that I'd borrowed from my friend Cat!
I loved the illustrations , very atmospheric .
I liked reading the poetry - Another Form of fear by Ivor Daniel , Soul Cakes by Penny Ayers , Hexed by Margaret Royall were the ones that impressed . . I enjoyed the poetry more than the short stories , though the short stories were good .
For me the poetry was more atmospheric and hauntingly gothic.

[Mehsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another novella I just had to get for Halloween. While there were stories and maybe one or so poem that I liked.. I don't know something just didn't work for me. Maybe the accents or how at times it felt really old-fashioned? I mean, my English is good, but I do struggle when it just get different English, let's just call it that. XD My favourite stories (or poem) would be the guys hiking, the flooded house, the people doing dumb things and being stalked by the dead, oh and the zombie story was interesting too, but I just felt that missed just something extra.

[Frankie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spookily fabulous!
There is so much I love about this book, from the atmospheric cover to the wide and varied collection of stories and poems. It's a great quick read, perfect to jump into whenever you have five minutes with a wonderful selection of short stories and poetry, there is something for everyone. Plus, the illustrations within are gorgeous, haunting and eerie!
A wonderful little book which will suit every reader!

[Shamal Crowther-Yates · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great set of spooky/gothic stories to add some suspense to the dark nights! The cover and inside art work is fantastic and adds a sense of eeriness as you're reading.
My favourite was blood moon - a classic horror tale with a twist that left you wanting the next installment.