I enjoyed the majority of the stories in this collection and thought that they were well chosen, covering themes around family, love and monstrosity! As is the case with all Dark Screams anthologies, we have 5 short stories and one novella. Consequently, if you don't enjoy the novella, it can sour the whole experience. Luckily for me, I found Torn exciting, well written and thematically interesting...and who doesn't love a werewolf story? Invitation to the Game had a near future aesthetic that I enjoyed and I found the climax pretty creepy. The Dead Years, while ridiculous in many ways, dealt with young love in a tender fashion and again, the author took us to some dark psychological places. The Blackout was suitably sinister, although predictable and the tone of both Variations on a Theme and Summer of '77 were somewhat playful, before pulling the proverbial rug out. All in all, this has been my favourite Dark Screams collection.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

DARK SCREAMS: VOLUME NINE was a ton of fun! I was most especially impressed with the last entry TORN by Lee Thomas.

I'm not even going to get into what TORN was about because I think it should be related exactly as the author intended. I will say that even though this is a longer story than I usually care for in an anthology, it kept me riveted, it was original and I LOVED it!

THE DEAD YEARS by Taylor Grant was another original entry and this one had a science fiction bent to it that I enjoyed. I would love to see this idea expanded to a full length novel.

SUMMER OF 07 by Stewart O'Nan. A super short story that reminded me of Ted Bundy.

THE BLACKOUT by Jonathan Moore was an unsettling tale mostly set at the morgue.

INVITATION TO THE GAME by Kelly Armstrong. This was another tale that had a science fiction bent to it, in my view. It's about a corporation that controls, (or attempts to control?) all aspects of its employees lives. When they send you an invitation, it is unwise to decline.

Lastly, there was a story from Peter Straub: VARIATIONS ON A THEME FROM SEINFELD. I admit that the reason I requested an ARC of this book was due to Straub. I have such love for him and for Seinfeld, for that matter, but this story didn't do much for me.

Overall, I had fun with this volume, (most especially the story TORN!), and I recommend it to dark fiction and science fiction lovers everywhere!

*Thanks to NetGalley and to Hydra for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This is it!*

Hydra and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Dark Screams: Volume Nine. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Dark Screams: Volume Nine is one of my favorites in the series, as the offerings in this book are both scary and complement each other well. My favorite short story is Invitation to the Game, as it is about one woman's loss of control of her own life. I was also a big fan of The Blackout, for its elements of horror and surprise. Put the words morgue and missing body in a story and it is guaranteed to be scary.

Summer of '77 was my least favorite in Dark Screams: Volume Nine because the author did not take the idea far enough. It was too short and was the least scary of the book, although it did have the potential to provoke maximum horror. I was also not a fan of Variations on a theme from Seinfeld, as it was a story devoid of enough substance to peak my interest.

Finally, both The Dead Years and Torn were equally spooky and scary, with enough mystery and thrilling moments to keep me interested. I liked the unexpected aspects of both stories and thought they were good additions to the book. Readers who like horror short stories will like the Dark Screams series overall and Volume Nine in particular.

I love this series, another strong entry. There is somehing for everyone. My favorite: The Invitation. Awesome anthology of short stories. I look foward to the next installment. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

My favorite story is the book's closer, "Torn" by Lee Thomas. A hunt for a missing girl turns into all-out warfare then gets worse from there when the assailants learn the lore about them isn't true.

I also enjoyed "Invitation to the Game" by Kelley Armstrong about a company that won't take no for an answer when they offer a promotion, and "The Blackout" by Jonathan Moore that tells the tale of a missing body from the morgue that takes a supernatural turn.

I liked all the stories save "Variations on a Theme From Seinfeld" by Peter Straub. It wasn't horrible, but I didn't connect with it at all.

But it's rare to like all stories in an anthology , and Dark Screams: Volume Nine hits way more than it misses for me. Definitely check this one out if you like horror stories.

This is such a great collection of stories. I highly recommend

3.5/5 stars

Dark Screams: Volume Nine is an anthology with six horror stories. This is not a genre that I normally read. But Kelley Armstrong is one of my favorite authors. So I knew that I wanted to read her story included in this anthology.

The six stories in this horror anthology are:

1)INVITATION TO THE GAME by Kelley Armstrong
2)SUMMER OF ’77 by Stewart O’Nan
3)THE DEAD YEARS by Taylor Grant
4)THE BLACKOUT by Jonathan Moore
5)VARIATIONS ON A THEME FROM SEINFELD by Peter Straub
6)TORN by Lee Thomas

My reviews of each story:

INVITATION TO THE GAME by Kelley Armstrong:This was such a great story. It features Vivienne, who comes home from work and gets "the invitation". Vivienne's employer was so creepy and disturbing. They send an invitation to join their executive. The invitation is to the Game. But none of the employees know what the game is. This story was easy to follow, interesting, and I could not put it down. This story was very original and well written.

SUMMER OF ’77 by Stewart O’Nan: This story was very short. It was about a guy with a cast and what he did to some people. It was short, creepy, but not very easy to follow.

THE DEAD YEARS by Taylor Grant:This one was very easy to follow. His girlfriend Emma Grace disappeared 15 years ago. Now he sees a woman 15 years later who looks exactly like her. Is it her? This story started off very strong for me. I loved the beginning. However, I found the premise very disturbing. And I wanted more from the ending.

THE BLACKOUT by Jonathan Moore: This one was enjoyable. Detective Nakahara investigates a body that disappears from the morgue. This one was easy to follow. But the ending was too abrupt.

VARIATIONS ON A THEME FROM SEINFELD by Peter Straub:Since he was little Clyde has noticed that he could not see his reflection in the mirror. This story was very short. But I found it very confusing.

TORN by Lee Thomas:This story takes up the last half of the book. The story begins with a child, Maggie disappearing. Sheriff Cranston has to figure out who or what is involved. This story was easy to follow. But it was super long compared to all of the other stories in this anthology. This story was chilling and well written. But it definitely dragged for me in places. I loved the beginning. But then the story took a turn that I didn't like as much. Also this story was the goriest and had some crude language. The end was absolutely heart-breaking.


Overall, this anthology had some good stories. My favorites were The Invitation and The Blackout.

Provided by Net Galley for an honest review. This was a weaker addition to the series with only one story that really out shined them all for me and that was The Dead Years by Taylor Grant. I wish was longer than it was, it started off interesting and took a dark turn and then, got even darker. Great story, strong and tense throughout and nice surprises. The other one I had read previously, and that was Torn.

The longest of the additions to this volume and fairly predictable horror yarn with a "werewolf" theme. A Sheriff following leads on a child abduction comes face to face with a man like beast that is in the process of devouring one of his deputies. The story then goes awry from there. Some good thrills but the big payoff fell flat for me.

I hear ten is the final volume, I really think at this point the series could have been five excellent volumes, maybe six, the rest merely filler.

Another mixed bag of screams from Chizmar, Freeman and Hydra. Starting at the end:

Lee Thomas is the winner, winner and for my money is worth the cost of the book. There are so many layers to this story and not all is what it seems. It's a 5 star plus story.

Kelley Armstrong's story was strong and a fine read. Made me wonder...

Sandwiched between these two were a couple of fine stories by Grant and Moore. On the other hand, O'Nan's story was ok, and Straub's sucked.

I received my copy from the publisher. It was an excellent night's read.

Can appearances be deceiving? Can they be deadly? How? "That is the theme of the stories in this anthology.the short stories are written. They kept my attention even when someone was knocking at the door. They left, I kept reading. My favorite story was "Torn." I have enjoyed this series very much. I hope they continue this series.

A good collection of scary stories. Very entertaining collection that I enjoyed reading.

This is a collection of short stories by a variety of authors and I didn’t like it.

It felt like they were forced out of the authors and I just don’t like them. Normally I am a fan of dark stories, but these just don’t sit well with me.

Maybe if you LOVE dark horror stories, you might like this.

Invitation to the game was a good read and not exactly predictable. I could see the general direction it was going but I was still surprised. An overall fun read with a good twist. The summer of ’77 wasn’t good in any way. It didn’t work for me at all. Not the plot or the characters, not that there was much of a chance to know them. I’m glad it was very short. The Dead Years was a very good story, heartbreaking and horrifying in equal measure. I was completely engrossed in the story it was over too soon.. The Blackout was a cool story but wasn’t a smooth read for me. It seemed to jump from scene to scene. Variations on a Theme from Seinfeld was just too weird, I had a hard time following this one.

I liked them all.

Invitation to the game was my #1 with the evil corporation/government theme is my favorite.

The Torn was a total creep out and one of the longer pieces. It really twisted me.

Had a very hard time finishing this book. Stories were just not interesting at all.

Dark Screams: volume nine serves up another six slabs of horror goodness with stories from Kelley Armstrong, Stewart O’Nan, Taylor Grant, Jonathan Moore, Peter Straub and a novella from Lee Thomas.

As far as the series goes it's a bit of a mixed bag, with Grant's The Dead Years and Thomas' Torn the real highlights. Both are excellently crafted chillers that make this well worth a go. The first is a dark, twist-filled story of a man who meets a woman that looks identical to his childhood love that disappeared years ago, and the second a pacey Assault on Precinct 13 style action/horror with werewolves.

Unfortunately the others don't quite deliver the same goods but Armstrong's Invitation to the Game and Moore's The Blackout both warrant a look.

Never less, The Dark Screams series remains one of the best anthology series for short, sharp tales of the macabre at with a cover price of just $4.99 is well worth the investment.

Thank you so much for this reading. I love this novels especially the one who dit Peter Straub. It's difficult to talk about a book of short novels from different authors but I really enjoy my reading. Wonderful!

I love these collections of creepy, demented stories. Each volume seems to improve on the last. Volume 9 features six horror stories:

Invitation to the party - Kelly Armstrong. Vivienne comes home from work one day and finds an invitation waiting for her. Not just any invite.... The Invitation. An announcement from her employer that she is being promoted to an executive job. But first, she will have to play The Game. This story puts a new spin on the horrors of the corporate world. Great story!

Summer of '07 - Stewart Nan. A Bundy-like predator has fun at the beach. He won't hurt you. Really. A short, but very creepy tale.

The Dead Years - Taylor Grant. Emma Grace has been dead for 15 years. Until her former boyfriend meets her at an art auction. Could it be Emma? Or just her face? Chilling story of the horrors of finding a long lost love.

The Blackout - Jonathan Moore. The police are called to the hospital morgue. A body is missing, but evidence at the scene seems all wrong. Great story! My favorite in this collection!

Variations on a theme from Seinfeld - Peter Straub. Clyde knows when his reflection gets lost that all he needs to do is go through the mirror and fetch it. Sometimes finding his way back is a bit difficult. A bit trope-y, but a good story.

Torn - Lee Thomas. 11-year old Maggie Mayflower leaves her house to go to the park with a friend. She never comes home. Turns out, the person who kidnapped her really is a monster. Great scary story. A bit long....but so enjoyable that I didn't mind the length.

All in all, a varied, creepy and enjoyable horror collection. I can't wait til the next volume comes out! I'm never disappointed.

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Random House - Hydra via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Another great book of horror-filled stories to keep you awake as you listen to the night sounds and glance at dark shadowy corners of, DARK SCREAMS: VOLUME NINE.
Our first story titled, INVITATION TO THE GAME, by Kelley Armstrong, opens with an envelope on the kitchen table. Without opening it, Vivienne puts it in her laptop bag and continues on with her day, and doesn't think about it any more until later on that evening. Will she open it and find out who it is from and what it is for? Or will she burn it? This fast-paced suspense-filled story pulled me deeper in with every word on every page as I wondered what kind of game could be transpiring.

Suspense grabbed me as SUMMER OF '77 by Stewart O'Nan, For Paul Cody, began at the lake where swimming and a picnic with laughter was happening. Then these young people saw someone fooling around with a trailer hitch and went over to investigate. After the others left, two stayed around to help. Suddenly something went terribly wrong. Then just as suddenly a basement scene opened up with screaming and praying. Will someone be able to hear those screams, or will it be too late?

Our next story THE DEAD YEARS by Taylor Grant, opens with a shocking first sentence. "Emma Grace had been dead for more than fifteen years." But yet, he noticed her standing there, big as life, right before him. How could this be? She still looked the same. She hadn't changed at all. Were his eyes deceiving him? Then she spoke her name. Was it Emma, or someone who looked like her? How would he be able to find out? This story had me from the get go!! Great read!

THE BLACKOUT by Jonathan Moore, started out slow but suddenly, this unique suspense-filled horror took off with lightening speed, and I tried to keep pace with Detective Nakahara. The storm raged and he hurried along to try to get to the bottom of the problem as quick as he could before someone else got hurt or killed. Will he solve the crime, or get caught up in the thick of things? A dilemma that no one should have to face. Great title! Believable characters! Picturesque setting that was Scary indeed! Straight from nightmare city.

VARIATIONS ON A THEME FROM SEINFELD by Peter Straub, an amazing author, began with Clyde Mortar disappearing, or did he? How? Why? From his bathroom in his Georgetown row house, everything looked perfect from the bathroom mirror. But was it? Budgen Mortar, Clyde's father's older brother had decided to visit for a few weeks. During his visit, could he have been part of the disappearing problem? A deeply involved story with deeply involed characters.

This next tale that seemed to come right out of a horror movie is titled, TORN by Lee Thomas. And it will take you on a horror trip that will seem more like a living nightmare. This story is filled with secrets and lies that lead to betrayal and murder. A town full of people that will soon be afraid of every moving shadow. Especially when Maggie Louise Mayflower is kidnapped. But by who or what is the reason Sheriff Cranstion is called on the case. Will he get to Maggie in time, or will it be too late? A plot that just won't quit! Characters you can't forget! A setting so unnerving and filled with shadowy figures.

Another great iteration of the Dark Screams anthologies. This lot has a great mix of stories, and all were rather dark and disturbing. I loved it!

Kelley Armstrong's Invitation to the Game: Vivienne gets an invitation to play a game, and it's an offer she can not - and will not - refuse.

Summer of ‘77 by Stewart O’Nan is short, but effective. All I could think the whole time was that this was very Bundy-esque.

The Dead Years by Taylor Grant makes you rethink scientific breakthroughs - and wish the scientists would consider them as well. That story definitely did not end where I thought it would.

Jonathan Moore's The Blackout was also full of loads of twists and turns.

Torn by Lee Thomas was so very dark. Weird werewolf like creatures come to a small town...but why? It was good, but extremely bleak.

Variations on a Theme from Seinfeld by Peter Straub was the only one that I was just meh about. But I am not a big Straub fan either.

All in all, another great anthology from Freeman and Chizmar!