1. The Valley of Headless Men ★★★★✩
2. Thorns ★★★★✩
3. What I Saw In My Room Still Haunts Me ★★★★✩
4. Bells Canyon ★★★✩✩
5. The Kandahar Giant ★★★✩✩

I still remember when I found Mr. Ballen's channel about a year ago and became engrossed in his videos. I couldn't stop until I had binged them all, and I've been watching every Sunday since then, eagerly anticipating each new upload. That's why I was so thrilled to receive this arc. The storytelling translated well into this format, and the illustrations were absolutely stunning. The only downside is that the arc is missing four stories out of the nine total. However, I thoroughly enjoyed each of the five included stories and look forward to reading the rest once the book is officially released!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

These stories are some of the most popular MrBallen cult classics, and for good reason. They are captivating, interesting, and brought to life here in a stunning graphic novel format that is easy to finish in one sitting, or broken up into several short reading sessions. (Four stories were not shared in the ARC I received, but I'm sure they're great too.) The writing is slightly different than the video versions that MrBallen has on his channel, but even though they were rewritten by John Allen's sister, Evan Allen, and her team, they still manage to capture the essence of John's narrative style. Because they're slightly different, they're fresh, and even if you watch the story immediately beforehand (like I tried with one story) it doesn't feel repetitive.

The artwork is stunning, both on the cover and in the stories. Well done artwork by Rob Prior and Andrea Mutti, respectively. The graphic novel format really brings these tales to life in a new way, even if, like me, you've already listened to them multiple times on MrBallen's YouTube and Podcast.

Any fans of MrBallen, or of the strange, dark, and mysterious told in story format will enjoy this hauntingly beautiful book. I will be picking up a hardcopy of this once it releases later this year. I can't wait to read the other four stories!

Thank you to MrBallen, Ten Speed Press, Ol' Seagull Lung, (Not you Like Button), Ballen Studios, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I am honoured to have been chosen as one of the ARC readers after listening to MrBallen for years.

Lastly, to all those who shared their stories and experiences within this book, and with MrBallen over the past few years, I hope you find peace.

(Please note that this review will not be shared publicly until the week of publication, as per the publishers request.)
This review was written on May 25, 2024
This review will be shared on NetGalley, Goodreads, & Tiktok.

This is full of fun stories and the art is done really well. I enjoy that they went for a Tales from the Crypt style for the set up here, brought me a lot of nostalgia from being a horror loving kid. Not a huge fan of this man's podcast but I definitely left this book feeling happy with it.

LOVED the mood of this story collection! It felt very dynamic and atmospheric, the stories were quite engaging and I love that there are additional information sources linked for those who'd like to know more. I would say it was quite refreshing to read scary stories based on real events!
P.S. Can't believe the chapter I was looking forward to reading the most according to the location's description is redacted :( Will have to wait for the official release, haha!

My husband is a huge fan of MrBallen's podcast and YouTube channel. When MrBallen announced an upcoming graphic novel, I knew we had to have it. The artwork was brilliant and beautiful and it raised MrBallen's stories to a whole to level... parts were especially more creepy than in the initial podcasdt/video, thanks to the artwork. I can't wait to purchase a copy to read the 5 excluded chapters.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Awesome graphic novel with such captivating, true stories. I've watched Mr Ballen on YouTube for years and was so happy to be able to read this early! Will definitely be recommending to friends.

Beautiful art! A wonderful set of stories with a surprise coming out when the book releases. I would love a hardcover version of this.

I'm not gonna lie its really hard for me to leave a review without having all the chapters so this is a for now review (probably not gonna change though cause I love Mr. Ballen)
I have been following Mr. Ballen for quite awhile now and like most of his followers I was pumped to hear about this graphic novel. I was most excited for the new stories but also getting to see some visuals for my favorite stories. I'm definitely not alone in saying Bells Canyon is my favorite story and I was over the moon to see it in this book. The visuals for it were absolutely perfect. The art was creepy and story telling obviously had Mr. Ballen's usual flare. All the stories did actually.
I will say in some places the art seemed very rough but it seems like a very purposeful decision. Now for me thats not an art style I usually care for but I see why it works for these stories and Mr. Ballen's vibe. As a whole this is a solid graphic novel and I know the new stories we'll get when the book releases will be just as great!
Basically what I'm saying is "if you like the strange dark and mysterious delivered in graphic novel format you've come to the right place."

Wow, what a fun time this graphic novel was!

This is an easy to follow read, focusing on a myriad of horror tales from around the world. The flow of the stories go well together, easily leading into each other (which makes me excited to read the stories that were not included in this edition that are being saved for the day-of release!). There are just enough details in the stories to let your imagination do a lot of work, and when paired with the stunning artwork, this makes for a very fun and spooky read.

I'd say that this is honestly more tame than the likes of "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" with their original artwork, so I know that this would be an easy read for almost any age who wants to get in some spooky tales. I honestly am really excited to get my hands on a physical copy of this one, since I had such a good time with the digital edition! I'd love to listen to the audiobook eventually, only to further put myself into these stories!