The Crossroads at Midnight is a collection of five creepy short stories written and illustrated by Abby Howard. It is a good introduction for an older YA audience looking for horror graphic novels, who are ready for some gore, but not too much.

The Girl in the Fields

A queer teen is outed when her private online correspondence is read by her conservative parents. They threaten that their pastor will cure her, and living out in the country, Frankie has nowhere to escape to. But she seems to strike up a friendship with a neighboring girl who she can’t see because of the tall fence. Determined to meet in person, she climbs over but can’t find her, but unfortunately runs across a farmer who is a religious zealot and who plans to kill her with his tractor. This was a heavy story to start off with, but it had an interesting blend of reality with the unexpected.

Mattress, Used

Christina, a frazzled college student who is crashing in a friend’s apartment snags a used mattress from a city street. Her roommate is rightfully disgusted, as stains are evident. But Christina’s nights become filled with nightmares with a large creature says he wants her flesh. Upon waking she is exhausted, feverish and develops a bad rash. After a horrific long hospital stay in which she loses a lot of skin, she is visited by the creature once she returns home. Is she doomed to lose the rest of her skin? The last panel shows the mattress out on the road again- who’s next???

The Boy From The Sea

Two sisters vacation with their father at a beach, when a strange boy befriends the younger sister. The older sister clues in that the boy means her harm and is on guard to keep her sister safe. But the older sister needs to make a heartbreaking decision when he comes to drag her sister into the ocean. Thirty years pass and another agonizing scene occurs with no recourse.

Our Lake Monster

The naivete of youth! A young teen reminisces about the days in which her family traveled with a lake creature, before a tragedy occurred, putting an end to their side-show income. She believes the lake monster is still kind as it was when it was young and much smaller, and waxes poetic to her little brother about it. She then makes a decision that has terrible consequences for the entire family.

Kindred Spirits

This melancholy story was strangely sweet, although it was the only story that did not include a young character. An older woman Norah who has never married or had children lives out in the country, which is adjacent to a bog. A bog woman mysteriously shows up at her doorstep and believe it or not, the two women strike up a friendship of sorts. Two other voiceless bog women join them, and Norah researches who they might have been in the past and the circumstances of their death. Later, after rejection after rejection by the townspeople during her time of need, she makes a decision that brings her peace.

Howard’s black and white art was powerful. Her crosshatching of shadows and effective use of white vs black gutters to hint at the changing tone was spot-on. Her art reminded me of Junito Ito’s work- both in style and substance. Body horror was forefront in most of the narratives, and you need to have a strong suspension of disbelief. These bittersweet tales are a perfect slice-of-life horror.

Thanks to NetGalley for an early online copy. As a teen librarian, I will definitely be buying a copy for my library’s collection!

It was a nice compilation of stories and I liked the illustrations a lot, I do think it's very good one for new readers looking for horror genre, a very good starting point.

Now being read this genre since my childhood, I would have wanted maybe a little more depth or development but I know sometimes it is a little harder since this ones are drawn.

I like that it made a point of cautionary tale in some ways too, since it shows you so many bad decisions being made but actually we as humans do tend to do this terrible decisions often, so good work of depicting human nature at the fullest.

It was a nice read, you can go by super fast and still enjoy it.

This was a fabulous collection of short horror stories. I liked every single one of them. And each had some different kind of vibe, that there is something for everyone. The art was also pretty good and I liked that it was blacked and white, it really added to the mood.

Omg, I loved it! I knew just by looking at the cover that it’s going to be awesome, but it surpassed my expectations by a mile! This is a graphic novel anthology of horror short stories, very original and with a dark edge to them, definitely unsettling and kinda sad! But the best part is the graphics, they’re super awesome and adds so much to the stories.

Normally I’m on the fence with black and white illustrations, but this was amazing, the graphics and the conversation bubbles do not get jumbled up at all, and I did not have to pop my eyes out trying to tell them apart, as is mostly the case with monotonous GNs. That said, the graphics aren’t simple at all, I literally kept staring at how fab they are, the attention to details is amazing, I could see the exact intended emotions on characters’ faces, the creepy expressions especially (nothing says horror like creepy kids! lol) is just perfect, and them half-rotten corpses with their teeth hanging out, oml! Very much recommended!

This collection of horror stories was extremely well done!
I wanted more lore from some because the stories were just so interesting and a few I had to back away from the screen from because I overthought the monsters (making it worse for myself, haha)
Creative, great design and original stories in this book it's a must recommendation.

'The Crossroads at Midnight' with story and art by Abby Howard is a graphic novel with five gruesome stories, and some really great art.

A girl meets a strange neighbor next door where the stranger farmer lives. A poor student finds a mattress on the street and encounters a creature who wants to collect something. The five stories in this collection are all about encounters with strange beings, but the similarities end there. Each one has it's own emotional tone.

I liked the stories in this collection. I liked the varied stories and the creepy nature of all of them. The art is black and white and I loved it! The line work is really intricate and just so good. I loved Abby Howard's work on The Last Halloween and it continues to shine here.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Iron Circus Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

“The Crossroads Of Midnight” is a YA horror graphic novel. A somber collection of five stories, each one has characters dealing with real life circumstances that are layered with death and horror.

Each story was written with creepy plot twists and disturbing images that would satisfy any horror lover. The art added to the creepiness and suspense of the stories but I would have preferred if it was in color.

Each story is self contained and does not relate to the others but each one does feature a monster but the way each one terrorizes is different. The one theme that resonated with me throughout the book was that humans need companionship. I really loved all five stories.

Wow! This collection of stories is fantastic! The five stories are billed as "slice of life horror" and I love that description. Basically each story has characters and circumstances that are very realistic and it deals with them in a very authentic way, while also adding in a heavy layer of dread and/or outright terror. It's real world issues mixed with otherworldly horrors, and I'm so down for it. Below is a brief rundown of each story (kept very short as to hide spoilers).

"The Girl in the Fields" - Frankie is growing up on a farm and her parents don't understand her lesbianism. She meets a girl on the other side of the fence, but we only see her eye through a hole in the board (it's crazy how much emotion can be drawn from a single eye). She ends up climbing the fence, and what happens next completely shocked me. No spoilers, but if you're familiar with the boneless haint from the series Harrow County there is a bit of that here.

"Mattress, Used" - Christina, stressing with college and life, finds a mattress on the side of the road. Despite her roommate's warnings she brings it home, and some gross, freaky body horror ensues. Again, surprising stuff and left me feeling a bit sick to my stomach.

"The Boy From the Sea" - A young girl named Nia is playing on the beach when she meets a young boy named Gregory. He shows her how to do magic with the water, but Nia's older sister doesn't approve of him. The perspective then switches to that of the older sister as she tries in vain to reconnect with and protect her younger sibling. The ending is dark, cold, and left me hurting.

"Our Lake Monster" - A family has a monster living in the lake out back that years ago brought them fame and fortune, but has now grown too big and dangerous. The daughter feels like she still has a connection with the beast, and one night she takes her little brother out in a boat to meet it up. The next scene had me gasping in horror, and the second half of the story goes real brutal real quick.

"Kindred Spirits" - An old woman lives alone in a remote area and is visited one night by a voiceless bog woman (i.e. someone who died out in the bog). She befriends the creature and the next night more bog women show up to her house. It's a very bittersweet story, wit the old woman realizing she's afraid of dying alone and, because no one wants to be with her, finds solace in the company of these strange figures.

Each story in the collection was a five star read for me! They all got under my skin and creeped me out in different ways, and they all ended with a punch to the gut (usually an emotional one at that). I don't even think I can pick a favorite. And I really liked the black and white art style. It's somewhat like Junji Ito, but less bizarre and with more heart and humanity. This is the first time I've read anything by Abby Howard, and now I want to read everything she's done!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Iron Circus Comics for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was not my first Abby Howard graphic novel, and I can promise it won't be my last! I loved the first of hers that I read (The Last Halloween), and I adored this just as much; at this point, I'm basically going to read everything Abbey Howard ever writes!

This is a teen horror graphic novel very much in the same style as the last; it is thoroughly gruesome, disturbing, and terrifying! And I loved it! While this is a collection of short stories, so naturally I enjoyed some more than others, I can honestly say I don't think there's a bad one in this bunch. Some were disturbing some haunting some are just downright weird... but I love them all.

Once again the art style shines here too. The back and white graphics suit the tone of these stories perfectly and evoke such a gothic horror mood. If you're looking for a fun and creepy read then I highly recommend you give this a go.

5 eerie stars

A gorgeously drawn and enormously creepy short story collection that truly disturbed me in the same vein as "Through the Woods" by Emily Carroll. Truly a must read.

This was a collection of short graphic horror stories. Each story was creepy and horrifying in its own right. The artwork was beautifully and spine-chilling. Although this is listed as a young adult graphic novel, I believe that many adults will find it terrifying as well.

I think this one is great for younger audiences--middle school to early high school. Those who are new to the horror genre. The stories are very interesting and creative. Abby Howard's art style is eye-catching and easy to follow. My only complaint is that I wish this collection either had one less story or was longer. It felt like each of them was missing just a little bit of development to take them from good to great. A little more time with each of the stories could have done some good. But either way, this was a fun, quick read. A good introduction to the horror graphic novel genre.

Creepy in a middle school way, but I feel like there was a still a lot missing in the sense of backstory for some of these creepy tales. It just felt like there was something missing from a couple of them.

"The Crossroads at Midnight" is an intense graphic novel. There is a lot to unpack with this one. Great, chilling, story and I love the art style.

I have never read a horror graphic novel before, so I thought I would check it out. This was an anthology of sorts, with 5 stories about different “horrors”. There is one about a lonely lady that finds some “Undead”, a girl who meets a strange new friend at the beach, another girl is lonely and feeling misunderstood and makes a new friend through the fence, and more! I thought they were really cool, and I liked the anthology set up. I hadn’t read a graphic novel in this format before.

The art was really cool as well. I liked the black and white vibe, I thought it really fit the genre well. Some of the stories were really creepy too, which was awesome! This is not something I normally read, and I am so glad I did! I really enjoyed it.

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own

I was intrigued by the idea of a YA horror graphic novel, and #TheCrossroadsAtMidnight completely delivered. #AbbyHoward tells five stories set in the real world with supernatural and horror angles. The stories themselves are definitely creepy, balancing words and images to create suspense. The artwork complements the plot so well with the black and white sketch style and use of shading and space, but also the use of irregular panels and extra long panels, which only further intensify the suspense and horror of the story itself. This is an excellent addition to any school library collection. Many thanks to #NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC. I look forward to sharing it with our students!