Dark Screams: Volume Eight by Kealan Patrick Burke; Frank Darabont; Bentley Little.
WALPUSKI’S TYPEWRITER by Frank Darabont
They say that genius is ten percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration. For Howard Walpuski, it’s an IBM Selectric II typewriter, a nefarious secret, and a whole lot of blood.

THE BOY by Bentley Little
Christine has found the perfect neighborhood to raise her family: a quaint, quiet, friendly place where everyone gets along. Everyone, that is, except for the boy.

TUMOR by Benjamin Percy
He dodged death in the nick of time when the golf ball-sized tumor was surgically removed from his head. But the tumor isn’t done with him.

TWISTED AND GNARLED by Billie Sue Mosiman
He’s smart. Smarter than anyone knows. No one has linked him to the string of bodies he’s left up and down the California coast. Only one woman has ever come close—and she’s no match for his intellect.

THE PALAVER by Kealan Patrick Burke
It’s time for Oscar Dennihy to close his failing barber shop and retire—until a mysterious customer tells him a truly hair-raising tale . . . and gives Oscar a wonderful and terrible new purpose.

INDIA BLUE by Glen Hirshberg
Like most Americans, Enrico never gave much thought to the sport of cricket. Not until America’s Rockin’ Professional Cricket game—a spectacle that will live forever in his most horrible nightmares.
A good read. 4*.

Quite probably the strongest set of stories in this anthology series so far. They have really captured a nice set of stories, not a stinker in the bunch. My favorite was definitely Frank Darabont's Walpulski's Typewriter. Highly recommended.

These are amazing little books, with a great taste test for the authors involved. I love horror so much and I really love this publisher. These are guaranteed to keep you awake all night. Heart pounding horror.

The stories in this book are not for the faint of heart and they will definitely make you scream. I enjoyed reading these stories so much I have recommended this book to all of my favorite horror fans!

2.5 rounded to 3

Probably my least favorite Dark Screams compilation to date. Half of the stories weren’t horrific or creepy in any way, and most were forgotten almost as soon as they were read. Half of these stories were easy to predict and didn’t really bring anything new. However, this is being bumped to a 3 from a 2 specifically because of the other half of the collection, the three stories that stood out to me. Twisted and Gnarled by Billie Sue Mosiman is about a serial killer and I’ll leave it at that. I really do enjoy reading from the POV of a serial killer. Palaver by Kealan Patrick Burke actually did bring something new to the genre and I was pleasantly surprised. Who knew hair could be dangerous? And finally, The Boy by Bentley Little. When a woman new to the neighborhood is tired of an ill smelling boy that walks by her house each day. And intends to do something about it.

I can’t really say I would recommend this collection due to there only being 6 stories in the first, and only half of which I enjoyed, but if you can find it the library or borrow it from a friend, then it might pass the time for a few break periods at work.

Received via Netgalley. All reviews and opinions are expressly my own

A mixed bag of tricks. The Dark Screams anthologies are books I always look forward to reading. Thanks to Netgalley for a read, and very short review!

WALPUSKI’S TYPEWRITER by Frank Darabont
What a man might sacrifice in order to be a successful writer. Pretty chilling.

THE BOY by Bentley Little
This one stuck with me. The judgement of suburbia and humans as the true fiends.

TUMOR by Benjamin Percy
A man has his tumour removed but he doesn't want it gone. It's thirsty. It wants blood.
Pretty gruesome.

TWISTED AND GNARLED by Billie Sue Mosiman
A man, a genius, begins killing. Killing with the stick known as a goblin cane.
A woman loses her daughter and she is getting revenge. Begins hunting.
Very tense.

THE PALAVER by Kealan Patrick Burke
A barber, preparing to shut his business, cuts the hair of a salesman. One selling 'hope'.
He tells an old story of a town where The Barber arrives offering haircuts.
You really should take the offer.
This one is really visually horrific when it comes to deaths. Also really enjoyed this one.

INDIA BLUE by Glen Hirshberg
A story about American Cricket. Didn't really grab me at first but got monstery towards the end.

(An ARC from NetGalley)

The Dark Screams series has become the premiere short fiction series for horror and dark fiction. Every volume has been filled with fiction that has thrilled and terrified and always left me wanting for more. Richard T. Chizmar and Brian James Freeman pull out all the stops in these short anthologies to provide stories by established authors as well as newcomers and those not widely known outside the genre. Volume 8 promised the same thrills and I was eager to dive back into the murky waters of the series.



First up was Frank Darabont's "Walpuski's Typewriter." Howard Walpuski had never been more than a small-time writer struggling to pay the bills every month. When he takes it to a strange shop to be fixed, he is given the opportunity of a lifetime. The proprietor puts a demon in the typewriter that is guaranteed to bring Walpuski fame and fortune for a price. He gladly accepts and soon reaps the rewards of the demon's work but is soon to find that the cost of fame may be too much to bear. Darabont does a good job of ramping up the tension in this story so that there is never a dull moment. Even though it is easy to see the direction the story is moving, it never feels dull for a moment. Darabont is at the top of his game in this short thriller of a horror story that kicks off the anthology on a five-star note.



Bentley Little is a name well known to horror fans and he checks in next with "The Boy." Christine thought that she had found the idyllic place for her family. Everything seemed perfect. Everyone was friendly and neighborly. Everyone, that is, except the boy. That one strange boy that could spell doom for Christine's dreams of a perfect life. It only takes on little boy, though, to poison the world with evil. Little's fans will thrill to this story as he handles the story with a deft hand while ramping up the terror throughout. As I expected, this story is creepy and full of the suspense that I would expect from a Little story. I do not want to say much more about this one so as to keep its secrets hidden but the reader is in for a four-star treat.



"Tumor" by Benjamin Percy was up next and this is a strange little story. At first, the diagnosis of a brain tumor seemed like a death sentence. The tumor was able to be removed with minimal damage to the tissue around it and he seemed to get a new lease on life. Unfortunately, that was just the beginning. The tumor is not done with him and it wants more than just his life. This story is equal parts disgusting and bizarre but not what I would really term scary. It made me sit back and really think about what the author was trying to say and that is proof enough that this was an interesting read. This story is sure to make the reader's skin crawl and is a strong four-star addition to the collection.



Billie Sue Mosiman is up next with the very dark "Twisted and Gnarled." The man thought that he was beyond the law. He had left a string of mutilated bodies in his wake and no one had been able to follow the trail to him. He was correct that the police had no idea who he was. What he did not account for was the love of a desperate mother hellbent on avenging the death of her daughter. While I am not a big fan of serial killer stories, they are entertaining when they are done right. This story was definitely done right. The story is very dark and brooding along with a strong dash of terror mixed in as well. While this is not the best story in the collection, it was dark and compelling enough to be a solid three-star read.



Kealan Patrick Burke was up next with "The Palaver." Oscar Dennihy had been a barber in the small town for along time. It was time, however, for him to face the facts and admit that the times had passed his small shop by. He had kept it open in a kind of homage to the good old days and had been losing money for some time. Retirement was a certainty until the stranger wandered in that day in search of nothing more than conversation. Conversation may not pay the bills but it just may give Oscar a new purpose in life. I have always found Burke's stories to be a mixed bag. I enjoyed some while others just did not work for me. This one did, though, and is a very creepy read. It fits in very well with the other stories in the collection to this point and that may have made it even better for me. A strong three-star rating for this one.



The sixth and final story in the collection was a strange tale by Glen Hirshberg entitled "India Blue." Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the world but has never caught the American public's attention. One man is trying to change that but to do so he had to make a deal with a disgraced player who was once the best in the world. A second deal was struck as well. This deal was much darker and puts much more at stake than just the fleeting opportunity to put a sport on the radar of American sport's fans. This story just really did not work for me. There is a lot of quick action in the story but it never really seems to come together. Maybe the point of the story is that, much like the game of cricket to an uneducated viewer, the story was little more than incomprehensible bits of action strung together with little rhyme or reason. Whatever the point of this story, I missed it and the story was little more than a two-star anecdote to close out the collection.



Even with the last story not living up to expectations, Dark Screams: Volume 8 is still a very strong anthology that is well worth taking the time to read. The series continues to impress overall as it continues on with no signs of stopping. Fans of dark fiction can only hope that Chizmar and Freeman keep this series going for a long-time as it promises to have a bright, or maybe that should be a dark, future.



I would like to thank Random House Hydra and NetGalley for this review copy. Dark Screams: Volume 8 is available now.

Enjoyed this book, the stories were diverse and interesting. I would let friends and family know it is worth a read.

Another great anthology in the Dark Screams series. Review for Monster Librarian forthcoming.

Fabulously unsettling! An anthology of 8 stories, Dark Screams Volume 8 was one of my favourite in the series. Wapulski's Typewriter simply blew my mind, what a way to kick things off. It had all the characteristics of a damn good horror story; gore, character empathy, holy cow moments, this has now become one of my favourite short stories in the horror genre.

Unfortunately, as with most anthologies, not all stories resonated equally with me, but The Boy by Bentley Little and The Palaver by Kealan Patrick Burke came close seconds to Wapulski's Typewriter in terms of sheer weirdness and the creep factor. Burke's tale, in particular, had a hint of The Ring about it in terms of the hair scene. Yuck!

Overall this is a great anthology, expertly curated by the guys at Cemetery Dance who yet again live up to their amazing reputation for selection great horror.

All of the short stories in this collection are well worth reading. The first story, "Walpuski's Typewriter," is a treat, both funny and horrific. However, "The Palaver" is the one that I'm still thinking about. It has a longer-lasting sort of unsettling quality, at least for me. The last story was sort of amusing, too, like the first, although I know nothing at all about cricket. Another great collection!

Walpuski's Typewriter (Frank Darabont)
Actually, Howard Walpuski just wanted his IBM typewriter repaired, but what he got was much more. A bargain that soon turns weird - and bloody. My favorite story in the collection, it was creepy but also funny. *****

The Boy (Bentley Little)
I think this was a very mean story. ****

Tumor (Benjamin Percy)
Weird thing with a ending that makes your imagination run wild. Perfect implementation of the short story concept. ***

Twisted and Gnarled (Billie Sue Mosiman)
Suspenseful cat-and-mouse thriller. ***

The Palaver (Kealan Patrick Burke)
This is the first story of one of my favorite authors I didn't immediately warm
to. Great writing as expected, but the subject didn't really catch my interest. **

India Blue (Glen Hirshberg)
My least favorite story in the collection. I'm not familiar with that sport so didn't understand most of it. The ending was equally confusing and made me feel like I missed something vital. *

Summary: Reading the stories from top to bottom turned out to be unexpectedly anticlimactic - I so wished I would have read them in reverse order to save the best for last. However, the eighth volume in the Dark Screams series still manages to deliver some fine horror stories, and I'm glad to see the series will still go on.

Lovely collection of short stories. I am a huge fan of this series. I recommend this series to anyone that like horror, sci-fi, etc. Another winner!!! Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

Dark Screams is a quarterly horror publication of short fiction. All the pieces here are quite readable and include barbers, serial killers, psychics, and more. But the reason to open this volume is Frank Darabont’s “Walpuski’s Typewriter,” which is a twist on selling your soul to the devil. Forget writer’s block! If your typewriter is possessed by a demon, you can crank out bestsellers in no time at all! Told with a vivid sense of humor, it is truly a fun read.

Now this is what I call a creepfest. These were all superb stories. Lots of creative talent that the pages flew by. The first tale hooked me in and sorta stuck with me. I thought it was clever and creepy, and it may never get out of my head. These stories take on a life of their own. Horror fans will enjoy these. In writing short horror stories, it's not easy to create a lasting impression, but these authors manage to do it.

I have to admit I was let down by this book. The short stories contained within were just not that interesting. They were not fleshed out. Some ended abruptly. The last story in particular, India Blue, was really not an interesting or well put together short, I'm sorry to say. I feel like 3 stars is generous. Also disappointing because Bentley Little has a short in here and I love him.
Walpuski's Typewriter - Frank Darabont - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Boy - Bentley Little - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tumor - Benjamin Percy - ⭐️⭐️
Twisted and Gnarled - Billie Sue Mosiman - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Palaver - Kealan Patrick Burke - ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
India Blue - Glen Hirshberg ⭐️

Okay four stars based on "Typewriter", this makes the volume a victory!!! Then on the other hand "India Blue" I'm kind of going whaaaaat????

Typewriter, more of that!!!

This Dark scream 8 est good but the novels have a very different quality. I like a lot the novel of Billie Sue Mosiman. I didn't know this author. Now I want read more books from her.

Frank Darabont starts the collection off with “Walpuski’s Typewriter,” one of the two longer stories in the collection. When failing writer Howard Walpuski’s IBM Selectric II typewriter breaks down, he heads to a little repair shop, hoping for a cheap repair job so he can bang out another fast buck. What he ends up with is more than he bargained for, when the repairman summons up a demonic helper to “improve” Walpuski’s writing. A humorous horror story, its twists are bloody but not unexpected. It’s an enjoyable start to the collection, one I thought was good but not ground-shaking. It’s a reprint from a 2005 Cemetery Dance publication.

Bentley Little has earned a reputation as the master of suburban horror, and “The Boy” is a great example of how well-earned that reputation is. Christine has just moved to the perfect neighborhood to raise her growing family, a charming place full of friendly neighbors. Except for the boy. The middle-eastern tween, surrounded by a peculiar stench that disgusts the other mothers. How can someone that smells so vile not be a health hazard to their children? As usual in a Little story, things take a horrific and violent turn. A sharp little story that I found quite effective as a metaphor for “the other,” where those that deviate from the norm in cookie-cutter suburbia become both villain and victim… and made more relevant with the rise of hate crimes in the last few years. One of my favorites in this collection.

“Tumor” by Benjamin Percy features a strange character describing, in loving detail, a golf-ball-sized tumor surgically removed from his head, now kept for memory’s sake. But while he’s survived it once already, the tumor isn’t finished with him yet. It’s a dark, disturbing, and bloody tale, but it is either a bit too short or a bit too rushed—or both. There’s a rather abrupt shift in tone about halfway through the tale, then the story speeds along to a not-quite-satisfying conclusion. I’m intrigued enough to read more by Percy, but this was one of the weaker stories in the collection. It is also less scary and far more gross, so readers who get nauseous easily be warned.

Billie Sue Mosiman’s “Twisted and Gnarled” is another dark and disturbing tale. The protagonist is a “genius” serial killer, a Stanford psych professor who preys on “nondescript” women as a kind of vengeful Oedipus complex. After getting away with several murders, he slips up and one of the victims’ mothers realizes his identity–through the help of some psychic powers—and the hunter becomes the hunted. Another well-written story, though the open-ended conclusion took some of the wind out of the sails as it were. This is one story that you need to stop and ponder, after reading it; it grew on me to the point where I’d rank it as one of my faves in the collection, but I can’t say that will be true for everyone.

Kealan Patrick Burke’s “The Palavar” is about barber Oscar Dennihy and his failing shop; as he sweeps an already clean floor and contemplates retirement, a mysterious customer arrives. And that customer’s hair-raising tale—of a long-forgotten barber riding into town in the 1800s—explains the secret history and purpose of barbers, giving Oscar a terrible new purpose in life. Now that I look back at it, “barbers hiding a terrible secret” sounds kinda dumb, but don’t let my inability to summarize it put you off. It’s a solid story from a capable writer, and it’s both dead serious and effective.

Glen Hirshberg finishes off the collection with “India Blue,” the other longer story in the collection. Cricket isn’t a sport that most Americans know anything about, but an Indian developer wearing a bright blue shirt hopes to bring America’s Rockin’ Professional Cricket league to a minor-league baseball stadium in San Bernadino. The protagonist is the announcer at the stadium, retelling this glorious game of cricket and its unfortunate end, as the stuff of nightmares descends on the stadium. “India Blue” is yet another case of “I enjoyed the story, but…” The story is focused far too much on the sports over the horror; the horror elements don’t appear until the conclusion, and their origin and cause was so intentionally vague as to frustrate me. I’m not asking for answers here, I just want the horror to not originate from a barely-mentioned character I forgot even existed. Well written and spooky, but somewhat flawed

Frank Darabont starts the collection off with "Walpuski's Typewriter," one of the two longer stories in the collection. When failing writer Howard Walpuski's IBM Selectric II typewriter breaks down, he heads to a little repair shop, hoping for a cheap repair job so he can bang out another fast buck. What he ends up with is more than he bargained for, when the repairman summons up a demonic helper to "improve" Walpuski's writing. A humorous horror story, its twists are bloody but not unexpected. It's an enjoyable start to the collection, one I thought was good but not ground-shaking. It's a reprint from a 2005 Cemetery Dance publication.

Bentley Little has earned a reputation as the master of suburban horror, and "The Boy" is a great example of how well-earned that reputation is. Christine has just moved to the perfect neighborhood to raise her growing family, a charming place full of friendly neighbors. Except for the boy. The middle-eastern tween, surrounded by a peculiar stench that disgusts the other mothers. How can someone that smells so vile not be a health hazard to their children? As usual in a Little story, things take a horrific and violent turn. A sharp little story that I found quite effective as a metaphor for "the other," where those that deviate from the norm in cookie-cutter suburbia become both villain and victim... and made more relevant with the rise of hate crimes in the last few years. One of my favorites in this collection.

"Tumor" by Benjamin Percy features a strange character describing, in loving detail, a golf-ball-sized tumor surgically removed from his head, now kept for memory's sake. But while he's survived it once already, the tumor isn't finished with him yet. It's a dark, disturbing, and bloody tale, but it is either a bit too short or a bit too rushed---or both. There's a rather abrupt shift in tone about halfway through the tale, then the story speeds along to a not-quite-satisfying conclusion. I'm intrigued enough to read more by Percy, but this was one of the weaker stories in the collection. It is also less scary and far more gross, so readers who get nauseous easily be warned.

Billie Sue Mosiman's "Twisted and Gnarled" is another dark and disturbing tale. The protagonist is a "genius" serial killer, a Stanford psych professor who preys on "nondescript" women as a kind of vengeful Oedipus complex. After getting away with several murders, he slips up and one of the victims' mothers realizes his identity--through the help of some psychic powers---and the hunter becomes the hunted. Another well-written story, though the open-ended conclusion took some of the wind out of the sails as it were. This is one story that you need to stop and ponder, after reading it; it grew on me to the point where I'd rank it as one of my faves in the collection, but I can't say that will be true for everyone.

Kealan Patrick Burke's "The Palavar" is about barber Oscar Dennihy and his failing shop; as he sweeps an already clean floor and contemplates retirement, a mysterious customer arrives. And that customer's hair-raising tale---of a long-forgotten barber riding into town in the 1800s---explains the secret history and purpose of barbers, giving Oscar a terrible new purpose in life. Now that I look back at it, "barbers hiding a terrible secret" sounds kinda dumb, but don't let my inability to summarize it put you off. It's a solid story from a capable writer, and it's both dead serious and effective.

Glen Hirshberg finishes off the collection with "India Blue," the other longer story in the collection. Cricket isn't a sport that most Americans know anything about, but an Indian developer wearing a bright blue shirt hopes to bring America’s Rockin’ Professional Cricket league to a minor-league baseball stadium in San Bernadino. The protagonist is the announcer at the stadium, retelling this glorious game of cricket and its unfortunate end, as the stuff of nightmares descends on the stadium. "India Blue" is yet another case of "I enjoyed the story, but..." The story is focused far too much on the sports over the horror; the horror elements don't appear until the conclusion, and their origin and cause was so intentionally vague as to frustrate me. I'm not asking for answers here, I just want the horror to not originate from a barely-mentioned character I forgot even existed. Well written and spooky, but somewhat flawed

Dark Screams Volume 8 is another solid entry in the series; it's not bad by any means, though it's a little below average compared to how strong some of the other volumes have been. I most enjoyed the Mosiman, Little, and Burke stories, though Darabont's was a close fourth; the other two were worth reading, but were less than perfect. Considering the one of the series' main selling point is its impulse-buy bargain pricing ($2.99), it's hard to go wrong. I'm glad that the series in continuing past its original 5-volume run, because bite-sized collections of (mostly original) horror stories are apparently one of my weaknesses. I'll keep snagging these as long as they keep making them.