Cover Image: Midnight in the Graveyard

Midnight in the Graveyard

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Member Reviews

An amazing collection of wonderful authors, it's a shame that the publisher had a meltdown, it's happening far to often. When these stories resurface from the Silver Shamrock rubble, I'll be honored to support.

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Perfect collection of stories for the Halloween season! I really enjoyed all the stories. These are some of the best in the best of indie horror authors all in one collection. My favorite stories were devils dip by Shannon Felton, tug o war by chad lutzke and holes in the fabric by todd keisling.
Devils dip gave me those “it follows” vibes and I just loved it! I’ll definitely be sharing this one with all my horror loving friends.

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i really enjoyed reading this, the stories were great and I really liked all the writing styles and stories

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Excellent anthology written by equally excellent authors. I enjoyed every story in this book which his unusual for a book of short stories. Very enjoyable.

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This is a GREAT collection! An excellent introduction to the authors included, the stories are both spooky and even emotional at times. A very nice mix! In a book with 25 stories included, there are bound to be a few that I liked less than others, but even those received at least 3 stars from me - nothing below that in the entire shebang.

Great cover, too!! Everything Silver Shamrock puts out is just gorgeous.

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It's so boring. I had such high expectations from it but it's not that good at all. I am a pure horror reader and this one is not a book I could read and/or love. I think I might leave this book midway because it has no horror element. I feel like this book is for second-grade readers. I am a high school reader, I have lived horror more than my life and this book is nowhere near a good horror novel. All the short stories are super boring. I am not going to read it any further.

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A lovingly compiled assemblage of ghost (and more) stories by a host of writers who we should certainly be hearing more of. This is not the place to pick favourites - you'll do that when you read it. But if you're one of those folk whose own peregrinations ake them through a graveyard or two, you may want to save reading this book until you get home, as opposed to before you go out.

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This is a collection of horror short stories. All of the stories are good. My favorite was Sawmill Road. Each story is different from the last one and a good read for a short time period.

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Great collection of ghost stories. Pretty spooky. Highly recommend for those who like thrillers and horror novels.

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Midnight in the Graveyard is quite a large anthology of horror stories. Clocking in at 408 pages for the paperback and 445 for the kindle version, this is one compilation of stories that will bust any boredom you may have. It almost reads like a whos-who of horror: Kealan Patrick Burke, Alan M. Clark, John Everson, Chad Lutzke, and Glenn Rolfe are just a few of the names gracing the cover. Among them is a bevy of horror newcomers with stories just as exceptional.


The stories inside this volume are sure to give even the harshest horror critic something to smile about. Ranging from despondency and despair to ghastly and grim, this work of spooky stories would indeed be perfect for midnight in the graveyard, if reading by the graves of the unquiet dead in the wee hours attracts you. Beckoning the wary reader into this collection of turbulent tales is a forward by Johnathan Janz warning us that "these ghosts are hungry" and boy, are they!


There were so many great stories, it was hard to choose favorites. The Glimmer Girls by Kenneth McKinley was a frightful tale to read, with a historical basis in the radium girls of the 1910s' who were told to tip their brushes with their lips to paint the dials of watches. (Perfectly safe.) Tug O War by Chad Lutzke, in which friends hold a deathbed vigil, was completely and unexpectedly dark. Ghost Blood by Kelli Owen was a surprise, telling of a very unique ability. Join My Club by Somer Canon was impassioned and creepy as stories with children can only be. As for "bad" reads, there were none, proving that this is an anthology that will be hard to top...but I hope Silver Shamrock tries.

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Minor spoilers

Sometimes spirits reveal themselves in strange, uncanny ways. They wait for us at the bottom of desolate, unmapped road, and persecute our existence when we desert their frightening accommodations. Maybe they are unwilling to cross to through to the other side, and petition their untimely demise through the ouija. They have a rebellious nature, and inflict harm upon us by infiltrating our plumbing fixtures, coercing our bodies with drugs, and if we’re lucky, they'll take cues from Amityville and possess our home. These are merely a few scares found in ‘Midnight in the Graveyard’, and they were all written with authenticating terror, but sadly, I must select a few favorites:

EUPHEMIA CHRISTIE-A college student, who happens to have a certain fixation with graveyards, exhumes more than she could ever bargain for when she stumbles upon a dark secret pertaining to her family and the English countryside.

THOSE WHO ARE TERRIFIED-It’s the 1960s and little sisters are exploring a cavernous basement, which unsurprisingly, once institutionalizatized patients.

RUSSIAN DOLLHOUSE-When you’re young and roguish on Halloween night, there’s no better place to hang than the dilapidated mansion at the end of the street where...coughs...other children have vanished.

RING OF TRUTH-Originally published in 1989, and more thought-provoking than scary. This ominous caricature of a Nicaraguan soldier made me laugh times, but upon completion it reminded me of the patriotic arrogance we have running amuck in America, particularly the mistreatment of veterans.

In closing, I believe that Silver Shamrock publishing deserves commendable praise-there is an outstanding roster of outstanding talent presented here, and ‘Midnight in the Graveyard’ easily could’ve resulted in two or three volumes (cash grabs), but SS has always been reasonable and fair with the average consumer.

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Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for a copy of this book to review !

Midnight in the Graveyard
by Robert McCammon

First let me say that I adore this author. Have read many of his books. Unfortunately this one just wasn't for me. The writing was good but I couldn't get into and not for lack of trying. I hate giving negative reviews so I will just say Robert McCammon fans, give it a try, maybe it just wasn't for me.

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This was a really huge book with a lot of good stories. The title fits really well sInce there are a lot of stories with graveyards. The best story in my opinion was Glimmer Girls. Historic horror that was reality based. Glimmer Girls is about these young girls that are working in a factory putting paint on watches. The paint is radium. If you know what radium is you know this is going to end badly. I researched a little on radium and not only is Glimmer Girls reality based, it is actually based on a true story! Great stuff. There are several really good stories in this book and with so many stories you are bound to find at least a few you will enjoy.

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Wow! This is a great anthology of short stories about graveyards and ghosts. What is even better was I met several new to me authors. I will be looking for their books to read. There was not one story that I didn’t enjoy. It’s a rare occurrence for me to enjoy every short story. I think that this is a must read for anyone who enjoys horror.

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This is a wonderfully spooky/creepy collection of short scary stories. Many of the authors were new to me, so I will have to check out their other work!

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Too long and too boring

Short stories have never been my preferred choice of reading material but I had good luck over the last year or so reading some exceptional anthologies. This wasn't one of them, sorry to say. This book is the main reason why I don't like anthologies, as a rule.

There are 25 stories by different authors in this book. The book was too long and almost all the stories I either didn't like or I found boring. There were about 5 stories that I truly enjoyed.

But if you like short stories, go for it. I'm in the minority not liking this book. Everybody's taste is different.

I received this book from Silver Shamrock Publishing through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

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I just made notes on the stories as I went along and here there are.

Justin's Favorite--several of these stories have been what I would call "traditional" stories. Sort of like the ones you would read in Creepy or Eerie or older anthologies. For me that is a good thing. I find myself skipping some stories in current anthologies because they are more disturbing (eg child abuse, etc.) than scary. Justin's Favorite is one of several that I have read so far that are what I will call traditional and are the type of stories that attracted me to the genre in the first place.

Holes in the Fabric--very original story. I found the concept to be both realistic (somebody has to clean up after horrifica events like mass suicides) and horrifying. One of my favorites.

Dog Days--hmmm. Not good. My dog is a Great Dane and is taller than me. He is my reading companion (he is never more than a foot away from me at any time) and was hanging out with me when I read this.
Bettor’s Edge by Tim Meyer: Many ghost stories involve angry and vengeful ghosts. Ghosts stick around for a reason, and apparently being majorly pissed off is a common one. Setting this story in a Las Vegas suite and the whole gambling angle gave a new setting to a classic type of story.

The Graveyard by Lee Mountford: I am liking that old school vibe of this whole collection and this story is no exception. A traditional ghost story that serves as a cautionary tale.

Join My Club by Somer Canon: Such a sad story. I wish that the story line was less common in real life.

The Cemetery Man by John Everson: John Everson is certainly original, I will give him that. I have been enjoying him ever since Covenant. It was so dark and twisted. Then came the sequel, Sacrifice, which was even MORE dark and twisted. Loved them. This story was also delightfully sick but in a much more humorous way. At least to me. Don’t judge me….

New Blood, Old Skin by Glenn Rolfe: I am sure every horror writer gets asked “where do your ideas come from?” This gives an unsettling answer to that question.

The Glimmer Girls by Kenneth McKinley: Absolutely loved this story. The time period was so well created that I just fell down that rabbit hole. It also reminded me of the best stories from the old EC Comics or early Creepy/Eerie.

Haunted World by Robert McCammon: Robert McCammon is one of my favorite authors and I would have bought any collection with him in it. He doesn’t disappoint. I don’t want to give away anything but to tease it a bit you can say that even when you live in a haunted world filled with ghosts, it can still get worse. Very unsettling story.

Ghost Blood by Kelli Owen: I have been reading Kelli Owen since she made me afraid of flies… This was a ghost story without an actual ghost, which made it even more surprising. A very original concept.

Last Call at the Sudden Death Saloon by Allan Leverone – Seriously, when will people ever stop wandering into creepy small towns? If they don’t at least have a Walmart or McDonalds, don’t stop! Some people just go around buying trouble.

The Ring of Truth by Thomas F. Monteleone: An unsettling story where the living monsters are worse than the dead. War is certainly hell or can buy one a ticket to get there. I wish the background story wasn’t a recurring actual reality during wartime.

The Gravedigger’s Story by Kathryn Meyer Griffith: A very traditional ghost story with a huge emotional impact. The principal character was so well drawn that it was easy to feel the gravedigger’s pain and be moved.
The Putpocket by Alan M. Clark: Not all ghosts mean us harm. Some reach out from the other side to help us. I fell down the rabbit hole on this one--great creation of the time and place for a sort of Dickensian story.

Swamp Vengeance by Brian Moreland: The swamps are created so well you will be swatting it imaginary mosquitoes.

Portrait by Kealan Patrick Burke: I have bee reading KPB since The Turtle Boy and have read practically everything along the way. There are a few horror writers that are first and foremost great writers and they just happen to write horror. KPB is one of those--and I think he is especially good at short stories and novellas. He almost never follows the standard tropes so you have no idea where the story is going. The closing scene is so horrific and dark (and so KPBish) it is perfect.

LOVED this collection and like some people have said, I usually don't go for short stories that much.

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This is a collection of Horror stories, many of them written by authors I've heard of and read before, including Robert McCammon, Kealan Patrick Burke, John Everson, Hunter Shea, William Meikle, Jason Parent, Kathryn Meyer Griffith, and Jonathan Janz.

To my surprise, a lot of the stories didn't really grab me, even some from known authors. Many of them spent way too much time on set up for a short story and I found myself skimming to see what the story was actually going to be about. There were also a lot of them set in a very backwoods town American setting that doesn't generally appeal to me.

Having said that, the good ones were excellent. Stand outs include; Tug O' War, Holes in the Fabric, The Cemetery Man, The Putpocket and despite its backwoods setting, Swamp Vengence. The last story, Portrait, was also well-written but pushed my triggers for child cruelty.

I have mixed feelings about the collection as a whole, but the good stories made it a worthwhile read.

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A great anthology of unique short stories. A number of them had the basis to be novels in their own right but they all concluded satisfactorily.

The central theme throughout the stories is graveyards and ghosts.

A good introduction to some authors I have not read before as well as welcome contributions from old favourites.

Highly recommended.

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This is an outstanding anthology by today's crème de la crème of horror authors. There is not one story that disappoints, and all contributions are high above average. The common theme here is ghosts, and we get a wide variety of them: traditional and modern, haunted and gory, human and animal, and everything else in between...

Selecting my favorite stories here is almost impossible, as all of them are more than worth their place in this book. However, if tortured to name my top stories, it would be: 'Those Who Are Terrified (Elizabeth Massie)' which is a rather sad story about a family's darkest secrets. 'Join My Club (Somer Canon)' which is another sad story about two lost little kids. 'New Blood, Old Skin (Glenn Rolfe)' which is both creepy and somehow cute. 'The Glimmer Girls (Kenneth McKinley)' which is the most shocking, especially as it is based on rather gruesome and unbelievable true events.

There's not enough praise to give to this anthology, and if you haven't read it yet: do so now - you definitely won't regret it. Highest recommendation!

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