This new anthology from FLAME TREE PRESS is a significant addition to the horror genre, showcasing a collection of 20 original horror stories. With 16 commissioned pieces from some of the top names in horror fiction and 4 selected from hundreds of submissions, this anthology promises to be a diverse and compelling read for horror enthusiasts.

An excellent first anthology from Flame Tree Press. Its a non themed anthology, but they have a nice variation of authors in this colletion. Overall quality on the stories are 5 stars reads. Something for everyone to be found here!
Personal favourites are: Butterfly Island by C.J. Tudor. Swanskin by Alison Littlewood. Wherever You Look. by Ramsey Campbell. It Doesn't Feel Right by Michael Marshall Smith.

A well-constructed and varied short stories, some new authors to add to my reading list and some old favourites that still know how to grab you by the collar and drag you along for a scary ride.

I loved this anthology! The stories are diverse and it introduced me to many new authors! I highly recommend to everyone and anyone who loved a good scary story!

I finished this ages ago but some of the stories keep sticking to my ribs. I cannot wait for the next one.

In this horror anthology, collected by Mark Morris, the stories range from ok to great!

Some of the standouts were:

THE IMPORTANCE OF ORAL HYGIENE
RESEARCH
&
GAVE

I would read a full length novel of RESEARCH and thought the other two were perfectly constructed as short stories.

There were more than a few letdowns including BUTTERFLY ISLAND, which I expected more of and I didn’t really care for a lot of the sci fi blends.

Overall, a great collection to add to your shelf. Enough for everyone to go around.

Thanks to Netgalley and Flame Tree Press for this advanced copy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I think like any anthology, there are going to be hit and miss stories for every reader. "Bokeh" and "Swanskin" were the real standout gems for me, and made the reading experience worth it, but I intensely disliked one or two stories, "Butterfly Island" and "it doesn't feel right" coming immediately to mind.

While I expect not every story to hit right for everyone, though, sometimes it was hard to believe all the stories had been picked by the same editor.

Despite this, there were many more stories that were worth the read, compared to ones I might not have finished if I wasn't reviewing the book.

Altogether, I would pick up another anthology from flame tree - but I might hope for a little more consistency in the quality of stories next time.

A story for everyone is this fantastic collection. Faves included CJ Tudor, Grady Hendrix and the only man to truly keep on scaring me, Stephen Volk.
Perfect for spooky season.

As with any anthology there were stories I liked more than others. This is a good horror anthology.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for the advanced e-reader copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Short stories are not my jam. Why do I keep picking them up? Your guess is as good as mine. There's no time to really get into a story or get to know the characters. HOWEVER, I think of all the genres out there, horror shorts are the short stories for me. I enjoy the slight confusion of what is going on and love an abrupt ending. This anthology had a good mix of stories. I took my time with this one, picked it up here and there when I was in the mood for something I could read in one sitting. There's something for everyone here. I enjoyed the majority of these and even had a few 5 star reads.

This is a great, really interesting compendium of stories from the horror genre.

There are literally all different kinds of stories here - long, short, scary, creepy, gory, gothic, you name it and it's in here. Some of the authors I had heard of and read previously, some I hadn't. It really is such an eclectic mixture of all different aspects of the genre. It would be a great introduction for someone who is just starting to explore horror, and also a great way to try something different or find new authors.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes horror or just has an interest in reading something different. You are sure to find something new and interesting in this collection.

After Sundown is a horror anthology, a collection of short stories bound up in one volume.

There's not any one terrible story but most of them were mediocre. All the writing is technically well done, but some horror stories make me roll my eye, some are fun but unforgettable and a few stick with me, haunt me for a lack of a better term. The stories come at you from odd angles, and the tropes are used more playfully, and the overall experience comes off as a weird, unique, eerie one.

Three of these stories were fantastic in that sense but all the rest fall in the middle middle category. The stories run from darkly whimsical to the very disturbing. I will say I'm happy to be introduced to this handful of authors.

Butterfly island ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Research ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Swanskin ⭐⭐⭐⭐
That's the spirit ⭐⭐⭐
Gave⭐⭐
Wherever you look look ⭐⭐
Same time next year ⭐⭐
Mine seven ⭐⭐
It doesn't feel right ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Creeping ivy⭐⭐⭐
Last rites for the fourth world ⭐⭐
We all come home ⭐⭐⭐
The importance of oral hygiene ⭐
Bokeh ⭐⭐⭐
Murder board ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Alice's rebellion ⭐
The mirror house ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The naughty step ⭐⭐⭐
A hotel in Germany ⭐
Branch line ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really liked a handful of the stories in the collection and there didn't seem to be many horror type stories in this collection as i Would have liked.

When I first heard about After Sundown I saw that one of my favourite authors, Laura Purcell had written one of the twenty short stories and I knew straight away that I had to read it.

This was the first story that I chose to read and 'Creeping Ivy' had the same gothic, creepy atmosphere that you would expect from Laura Purcell's other novels. The story focused on one main character and the setting and the events that took place gave it a claustrophobic feel, making it more uncomfortable to read.

Another story I would like to highlight is 'Murder Board' by Grady Hendrix. This was a really fun but dark tale which starts with an innocent game on a Ouija Board and quickly spirals out of control. What was so entertaining about this story was that every time something happened, it would trigger another event and so on, until there was no going back.

The last story I would like to mention is 'Butterfly Island' by C J Tudor and this was actually my favourite of the selection. C J Tudor is an author I only discovered last year but I have really enjoyed all of her books so far. This particular story is very different to her other work - set in a kind of post-apocalyptic world, some sort of disaster has taken place and a group of people decide to go over to Butterfly Island and investigate. We are pretty much told that this is a bad decision right from the start and most of the group do regret their choice to go along. Of all of the stories, this is the one that I was most disappointed when it ended, I could quite happily have carried on reading a full length novel based on this idea.

This is a collection of short stories, and because of this, I can't say too much about the storylines without just giving away the plots. What I can say is that it's a fantastic choice for horror fans and a really interesting mix of ideas and themes. I picked After Sundown up because I am a big fan of one of the authors. After reading it, I have now added a handful of new authors to my TBR, and will definitely be looking into their other work so it's been a great opportunity to discover new writers in a genre I love to read.

DNF
I read the first five stories and didn't like them. They weren't really what I would consider "horror". I don't want to read the rest of the stories.

☆☆☆☆REVIEW   
Thank you @FlameTreePress for a complimentary copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions are my own.  
  
I have become a fan of anthologies and collections, and After Sundown is among my favorites. Although I do not read horror all the time, I like to dip into the genre occasionally. I am glad I read After Sundown because it would have been a travesty to miss this unique collection. As with any anthology, I like some stories more than others, but each has something to offer.  
  
These stories are compelling, entertaining and hauntingly creepy with a good balance of darker themes and lighter tales from a mosaic of well known and new authors. As a whole, the collection is well curated, perfectly paced and packs a punch. Whether frightening or just a bit scary, you will find a favorite. After Sundown is an amazing group of short stories. I hope Flame Tree publishes a new anthology yearly.  

🎃

CONTENTS
 
BUTTERFLY ISLAND, C.J. Tudor 
RESEARCH, Tim Lebbon 
SWANSKIN, Alison Littlewood 
THAT’S THE SPIRIT, Sarah Lotz 
GAVE, Michael Bailey 
WHEREVER YOU LOOK, Ramsey Campbell 
SAME TIME NEXT YEAR, Angela Slatter 
MINE SEVEN, Elana Gomel 
IT DOESN’T FEEL RIGHT, Michael Marshall Smith 
CREEPING IVY, Laura Purcell 
LAST RITES FOR THE FOURTH WORLD, Rick Cross 
WE ALL COME HOME, Simon Bestwick 
THE IMPORTANCE OF ORAL HYGIENE, Robert Shearman 
BOKEH, Thana Niveau 
MURDER BOARD, Grady Hendrix 
ALICE’S REBELLION, John Langan 
THE MIRROR HOUSE, Jonathan Robbins Leon 
THE NAUGHTY STEP, Stephen Volk 
A HOTEL IN GERMANY, Catriona Ward 
BRANCH LINE, Paul Finch

Fantastic editing to put together some of the best current horror stories available today! Highly recommended. Very good

I was not able to access the arc. It would just show a black screen on the Netgalley app and the Kindle app but everything else would open on those two apps.

For me one of the joys of horror and something I’ve enjoyed more and more on the blog is the variety of tales we now have designed to scare and unsettle us. The horror anthology is a brilliant way to demonstrate the range of the genre and introduce us to tales from authors old and new to me. In the new collection After Sundown edited by Mark Morris, we get a wonderful variety of new tales.

Amongst the stories I enjoyed were

Butterfly Island by CJ Tudor – despite the charming title a grim tale where the human race faces extinction. A small group of survivors try to flee to safety and nothing sale is left. Very much a tale where whatever can go wrong will go wrong. Dark humour and grimness combined!

Research by Tim Lebbon – An author finds himself kidnapped by neighbours who want to test his reactions. A cold tale of revenge/madness which the reader is forced to watch but its grippign to see if escape is an option.

Swanskin by Alison Littlewood – This is a wonderful folk horror tale focusing on a woman who may have once been a swan living in a cruel village. The tale is both tragic and vengeful and its been really well told.

That’s The Spirit by Sarah Lotz – A tale of a fake psychic and his elderly accomplice who suddenly find themselves actually getting messages that appear to be from the spirit world. It feels light and funny but there a darker tale lurking underneath. Very smart horror and one of my favourites.

Gave by Michael Bailey - An elderly man giving blood doesn’t feel horrific but this slice of SF horror shows us a world where the human race is over a few decades dying out. We watch a man’s life in reverse and all the tragedies and triumphs in his life. Devastatingly good

Wherever You Look by Ramsay Campbell – An author gets asked about a character in his book he has no memory of. This sends him down a rabbit hole of research and revelations that Campbell slowly sets to ensnare both the character and also the reader. A fascinating conclusion!

Same Time Next Year by Angela Slatter – One of my favourites in the collection is this tale of Cindy sitting in a graveyard as she does once a year. But we soon find she’s dead – it’s a dark tale of violence and a cycle that never ends. Manages to be both sad and horrific at the same time.

Mine Seven by Elana Gomel - A really unique tale of a town in the Arctic circle where the lights go out. Mixes the horror of climate change with ancient folk tales. Open-ended and full of a few surprises with lots of bad things happening.

Creeping Ivy by Laura Purcell – A relived widower in a stately home celebrates his wife’s demise but her garden has other ideas. A tale putting us in the main character’s head to see his hopes and then growing revelation that his nightmare is very real.

Last Rites for the Fourth World by Rick Cross – This is probably my absolute pick of the stories. We go across the globe and see a variety of famous myths meet their doom in strange circumstances. This feel a fin de circle tale and we both feel loos of our old favourites of horror and the supernatural but a growing dread of what is around the corner. The future is scary. Totally unique and well worth a look.

We All Come Home by Simon Bestwick – A man returns to a strange ground that he can’t quite remember why he is afraid of it. A touch of childhood nostalgia and a dash of Stranger Things. Beware what works in the shadows.

The Naughty Step by Stephen Volk – one of the darkest stories, as a child is found at a crime scene and needs a support worker to assist. The child refuses to leave the step and this story goes darker and darker – a touch of Henry James awaits the reader.

A Hotel in Germany by Catriona Ward – A story of a demanding film star and their assistant changes into something weirder and nastier where we see an entire horrible world that uses people. Surprising and unsettling.

It’s a very smart collection and I think lots of horror fans will find across the wider collection something that appeals but I look forward to this becoming an annual trick or treat.

After Sundown was the perfect Halloween read. This fantastic collection of horror covers all bases for any fan. From classic hauntings to niche folklore and tales of all monsters from spider to sasquatch. Even mundane human fears such as dentistry and bad parenting turned to stomach curdling stories.

Butterfly Island.
Not so much a short story as an opening to an unfinished story. Whilst I've enjoyed C J Tudor's novels, this piece didn't really have much of an impact on me. But wait! From here on it gets far better.

Research
Tim Lebbon never let's me down. I love this guy! Humans are the worst of all monsters, meet the neighbours from hell on this gobsmacking torture tale.

Alison Littlewood -Swanskin
Beautiful and heart-wrenchingly cruel, the underlying social commentary makes this one a real heavy hitter.

Sarah Lotz- That's The Spirit
A wonderfully quirky tale of clairvoyance versus non believers. Worth noting- Sarah also writes weird horror as a twosome under S.L.Grey.

'Gave' felt long and draining (haha). The entire plot consists of an elderly man desperate to donate blood. Not such a fan, far too much statistics and equations, it felt more like a math class.

Ramsey Campbell - Wherever You Look
Someone else needs to read this one and explain it to me. Perhaps I was just brain tired but I feel like I missed something?

Angela Slatter-Same Time Next Year
I loved the atmosphere of this fleeting moment from a ghosts perspective.

Mine Seven
I always enjoy new folklore, in this case a siberian creature. I'll be looking out for more from this author.

A Hotel In Germany
Perhaps my favourite of After Sundown. Catriona Ward spins an entirely unique story of Cara, an enslaved vampire.


I shan't cover them all as the discovery is as much fun as the atmosphere , but I HIGHLY recommend this anthology. Another incredible publication by Flame Tree Press!
Thankyou to Anne Cater at RandomThings for my copy.