This was such a great anthology! I mean mixing queer characters and horror is always a winning combo for me.
I'm a big fan of short stories, I love how they can convey so many things and so few pages. All the stories were so well written, with suspense and twists in just 10 to 20 pages.
I particularly loved One-Lane Bridge (I love angry women who reclaim their anger), Petrified, and The Ghost on the Shore.
And let's take a moment to also appreciate the cover art by Evangeline Gallagher, it's so pretty!

Overall I enjoyed these! Some stories were better then others, but I was in the mood for some horror, and that's exactly what this gave me. The Tallest Poppy was my favourite :)

This was so much fun. Perfect anthology of scary stories that I wasn’t able to put down. Each one was so refreshingly different than the last. Loved the diverse characters and settings.

A delightfully spooky anthology! I'm a big fan of folk horror (CHILDREN OF THE CORN is one of my all-time favorite short stories), so I was super excited to receive this ARC. It's hard to rate anthologies since I had very different feelings toward each story, but my favorites were STAY by Erika Waters and THE BURNING ONE by Shakira Toussaint.

CWs for gore/body horror and child SA.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, Page Street Kids, for allowing me to read The Gathering Dark early!

This anthology was IT. All the stories were so beautiful and frightening, I simply devoured it. Best among all: Aden Polydoros (for me, obviously).

Thank you to NetGalley for the eArc! This was easily another favourite for the year. I loved almost all of these stories, each delightfully spooky in their own original way! Saft’s short in particular stuck out to me, as the writing, execution, and concept were all on point. Chadha’s story felt a little weaker in terms of prose than all the rest, but overall I enjoyed every. bit of this book and can’t wait to recommend it to customers!

This one was hit and miss for me. Some stories were okay, there was only one I really liked, and the rest were kind of meh. I was so excited for this one (I love folk horror AND anthologies) but I was kind of disappointed? I will for sure still be purchasing this one for my teen collection, but it just wasn't it for me.

Honestly chose the best short story to start this Anatholgy because that opening had me on edge and scared right away! The short stories have many authors I love, and they did a good job, ranging from 3 stars to 5 stars. However, it doesn't say anything wrong because sometimes short stories are complex, and particular unnerving horror is needed at different times.

Stay - 4.5 stars

The Tallest Poppy - 3 Stars

Loved by all, Save one -3.5 stars

One-Lane Bridge - 5 stars
I loved this one the most for the rage and creature control!

The Ghost on the Shore -4.5 stars

Petrified - 4 stars

Third Burn -4 stars

It Stays with you - 3.5 stars
Trigger warnings needed for Child SA

Truth or Dare -2.5 stars

The Burning One - 2 stars

This had some hits and some misses, but overall I think most of these stories would have worked better as fully fleshed out novels than as short stories - that is probably more personal preference than anything though.

I picked up The Gathering Dark because I was in the mood for some spooky stories. Unfortunately, this missed the mark for me. I wanted scary and instead got cheesy stories told around a campfire.

I rated all the stories 3 stars with a few exceptions.
- The Tallest Poppy: 3.5 ⭐ (The story as a whole was mediocre but the ending got me)
- Truth or Dare: 4 ⭐ (Hands down the best story in the collection)
- The Burning One: 2 ⭐ (DNF due to awkward writing style)

Notes:
One-Lane Bridge is the only story I would like an extended version of
It Stays with You needs trigger warnings

The Gathering Dark is an Anthology of folk inspired horror that succeeds in inducing both terror and unease.
Stories range from absolute spine tingling to extreme unease. Each story has a unique voice and yet they all marry together in a thoughtful and curated way. This makes it a successful and enjoyable compilation that will be an incredible spooky season read!

Thank you Netgalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I'm not a huge fan of anthologies, so I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. The stories are varied, though many center around death in some aspect, some dealing with folktales, or hauntings, or even undefined creatures. The mundane nature (it's all kids doing things that kids do or unwittingly getting involved) of the stories mixed with a supernatural element worked really well for me, it was sufficiently creepy without being too scary, and the open ended nature of most of them leaves you guessing what really happened. The stories themselves are pretty short and engaging, so I got through the book pretty quickly. If you're not much of a horror fan, give this book a shot.

The Gathering Dark is an excellent collection of Folk Horror short stories. Mixing the emotions of the teen years with rural legends this collection is a perfect mix of angst and scares. The perfect anthology for teens and adults who grew up loving scary stories to tell in the dark.

Anthologies are not really my thing, but I had a few authors I like on this one so I requested it. It was expected, I liked some better than others. I'm just not a fan of short stories. My favorites were by Chloe Gong and Tori Bovalino. I'll continue to read their books and maybe check out some of the other authors as well. I'd recommend if you see several authors you like and are okay with horror.

I’m not much of a horror reader but I loved this! The authors did absolutely amazing. They were creepy, a little horrifying, and even freaked me out at times.

My favorite story was The Ghost on the Shore by Allison Saft, which was a beautiful depiction of grief and not wanting to let go. My other favorite story was The Tallest Poppy by Chloe Gong, which had my favorite ending because it terrified me. (When creepy shit starts happening in the allegedly cursed house, I am out.)

If you're just starting to read horror, I think this is a great book to start out with. It’s short and has a wide variety of stories with ghosts, witches, monsters, small town folklore, and even classic games we played as children like Bloody Mary and truth or dare.

Overall, I loved and you should absolutely add it to your tbr!

TW: blood, dismemberment (off-page), death, murder, SA (off-page, described), pedophilia, physical and emotional abuse (off-page, described), car crash, bones, suicidal ideation, cancer, arson, drowning (mentioned, described), grief, depictions of slavery

A perfectly creepy and shadow-tinged exploration of the horrors in small towns, wide open fields, and shaded forests. Standouts include stories from Erica Waters, Hannah Whitten, and Shakira Toussaint.

Some of these were good, some not so good. Overall this did not give me the fall vibes I was looking for, but it was still an enjoyable read.

Spooky season is my favourite season however, it feels ever-so-far away as Winter refuses to rescind it's snowy grip to Spring. When I saw this anthology pop up I figured this would be a fun way to get a dose of fall vibes to tide me over.

Stay:★★
The Tallest Poppy:★★
Loved by All, Save One:★★★★
One Lane Bridge:★★★
Ghost on the Shore:★★
Petrified:★★★
Third Burn:★★
Stays with You:★★
Truth or Dare:★★★★
Burning One:★★★★
Average Rating: 2.8 ★'s

As I actually started reading I realized that they're not really autumnal at all. It had me reminiscing of the stories you'd tell at slumber parties as a kid or around a camp fire more so then anything Fall or Halloween related.

A lot of the stories were immemorable. Many of them were trying to do too many things at once (Chloe Gong's The Tallest Poppy was probably the worst for it, but that's also a criticism I have of These Violent Delight's duology) which took away from any impact the ending's could have had. Other's took on classic folk/urban myth's but added nothing to the overall story.

The three that I rated 4 ★'s, however, were incredible. They gave me goosebumps and lingered in my mind long after I moved on to the next story. All of them have a strong air of originality which could be why I preferred them over the retellings. I'd have to say Loved by All, Save one, was the best just because it really captured the heebie-jeebies you get when home alone or being separated from friends.

My overall enjoyment of the anthology was fairy low. Most of the stories being mediocre at best but it was worth reading through them to get to the few that sent shivers up my spine. I feel like if you enjoyed Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark or Haunted Canada: True Ghost Stories as a kid you'll like what's going on in The Gathering Dark.

Love the creepiness of this anthology and I was invested in each story. However, the annoying thing about short stories is that they can’t always be fleshed out to what they could be, so I sometimes feel l like there’s a missing piece in the story.

The Gathering Dark is a collection of short horror stories by authors who know exactly how to scare you. Each story was entirely unique. I’ve read works by more than half of the authors included in this anthology and now I’m planning to read the rest! I would advise you to do the same. Each story is a preview of what the author brings to their own works. It’s a testament to their skill that they were all able to pack such a punch in each story. I was spooked, horrified, scared, jittery, shaking like a leaf, you name a synonym for scared and I was IT. If you love atmospheric horror, you need to pick up a copy of The Gathering Dark!