"Close to Midnight" is the third volume in a horror anthology series edited by Mark Morris. This annual series features original horror stories, showcasing some of the best short fiction in the genre. The anthology contains 20 original horror stories, including 16 commissioned from renowned authors in the genre and 4 selected from open submissions.

Mark Morris's series of horror anthologies has another winner in this volume. Collecting tales form some of the genre's strongest voices, this book is the perfect way to introduce horror fans to new authors. These bite-sized nightmares run the gamut of the horror genre in a perfect example of how an un-themed anthology can be a celebration of the variety that horror has to offer.

I've really enjoyed each of Morris's collections that I've read before, and this one was the same. While it's not particularly memorable by the end, it's a solid collection of stories that will keep you entertained for the Halloween season.

So the spooky season is upon us, which means it's time for a new collection of short stories from Flame Tree Press. This is their third year so far, and I've devoured them all.

Like the previous collections, close to Midnight has a great range of stories from dystopian realities, and demonic entities to the downright creepy.

There are twenty stories in the collection, some from familiar names to authors that I don't know, but I will be keeping an eye out for future work.

My standout stories were:

Remains by Charlie Hughes. This one is my absolute favorite of the collection. A woman is stuck in a sort of purgatory-like state watching the commuters at a train station, her body undiscovered just beyond the platform.

The nine of diamonds by Carole Johnstone. This gripping story came in a close second. A woman's life is falling down around her when she lands a job interview at a mysterious agency that specializes in 'cursing' people.

Best Safe Life For You by Muriel Gray. A brilliantly creepy story about a couple whose neighborhood is being terrorized by a gang of youths, so they contact a mysterious company to provide them with security.

The Forbidden Sandwich by Carl Tait. A unique tale about a care assistant is told about a sandwich by one of his patients that will induce brilliance for a short time. He tries it out regardless of the consequences.

Going Home by Evelyn Teng. An almost fairytale-like story about a young boy who returns home, but his parents are not acting the way they used to.

Rise Up Together by Adam LG Nevill. A mind-bending story about a man who goes to visit his friend in a weird town with some very unnerving residents.

Honestly, if you love short and sometimes shocking horror stories, you can't go wrong with this collection! I will be looking forward to next year's collection.

Great collection here. I got it because of Philip Fracassi and Jonathan Janz but there were other greats as well. A couple duds, for me, as well. But that does happen with a short story collection.

After the critical success of After Sundown and Beyond the Veil, editor Mark Morris returns with Close to Midnight, a third horror anthology for Flame Tree Press, which brings together works commissioned from established writers of horror and speculative fiction (such as Ramsey Campbell, Alison Moore and Alison Littlewood) and tales chosen from entries to an open submission. The advantage of a non-themed collection is that it allows for a great variety of writing which shows what a rich genre horror is – ranging from the scary to the unsettling, from body horror to Aickmanesque weird, from realism to fable and fantasy. And there’s high literary quality in these pages – suffice it to say that Jen Ashworth’s Flat 19 was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award 2022.

More often lately I find myself reaching for more short stories. Specifically after a long day where I can’t devote a ton of time for reading.

This book is packed with several amazing authors with vastly different writing styles. There is a delicious mix of stories to satisfy your creep factor in a short amount of time.

Definitely a great “nightstand” book to tuck you in at night (or keep you up).

I go into anthologies and short story collections a little hesitant. More than not I have not enjoyed collections I have read. I think I sometimes expect too much out of a short story, and am disappointed in the end. This collection was ok for me. I really did mostly enjoy my time with it. I have enjoyed collections Mark Morris has edited in the past also. If you are looking for a good time with different authors you should check this one out. I do love anthologies when I find new to me authors to look into reading from.

My initial excitement when I saw the list of authors who wrote for this collection was palpable—Ramsey Campbell, Brian Keene, Seanan McGuire, and Adam L.G. Nevill, amongst many others, are, arguably, titans in the twenty-first century horror literature arena. They, along with several authors I didn’t recognize, created and submitted stories to this collection, which, according to the description for the book, is ‘the third volume in an annual, non-themed horror series of entirely original stories, showcasing the very best short fiction that the genre has to offer.’ I mean, this sounds amazing for a horror literature fan, right? No theme, which means the authors can write about anything and everything they want, with the stories jumping all over the place and the variety allowed bringing a well-rounded set of ideas to the overall collection—what could go wrong?

For me, at least, virtually everything.

I just did not connect with almost any of the stories in this collection, including most of those by the authors I listed above, all of which I was looking forward to reading. The lack of theme, and subsequent mish-mash of subjects and ideas amongst the stories, might’ve had something to do with it. I felt like I had whiplash reading some of the stories—a few of them were based in realistic scenarios (‘Souvenirs’ by Sharon Gosling, which focuses on an elderly man moving into a nursing home with a horrific secret; ‘In the Wabe’ by Alison Littlewood, a story dwelling on a child disappearance that at least starts out realistic before going into other dimensions), but the rest were either so far out there (‘The Forbidden Sandwich’ by Carl Tait, which examines a kind of sandwich that, when eaten with certain unsavory ingredients, causes its maker to go mad) or just middling genre fare (‘Wolves’ by Rio Youers, tells the story of a small village beset by werewolves) that I just struggled to focus when reading through a lot of them. Some of the same stories, such as Tait’s and Littlewood’s, became almost incomprehensible, with their ideas so abstract or out there that I found myself completely removed from the stories, which, for a horror collection, is a little baffling, as your belief in reality is already a little suspended in order to follow the action of the story.

It could’ve had something to do with the editing too. Some of the stories stretched on for far too long (‘The Forbidden Sandwich,’ I’m looking at you again), while others, like Keene’s ‘The Floor is Lava,’ are so brief that they don’t allow a fully formed picture to emerge of either their worlds or characters. The unevenness of the quality of the stories as well left me struggling to finish the collection as a whole, and I found myself reading one story a night and then coming back after a few days to continue, choosing to read something more coherent and cogent to get my reading mind back on track in the meantime.

But, the whole collection wasn’t bad—there are some diamonds in the rough here, even if they have a few flaws here and there as well. ‘Best Safe Life for You’ by Muriel Gray focuses on a unique kind of security system installed by one house’s owners, and, when they sell it and tell the new owners to keep paying for the subscription fee, the new owners realize, too late of course, the consequences of not doing so. The idea is so original that I found myself captivated with the plotline throughout most of it, but the inclusion of Tibetan monks for part of its explanation early on could be offensive to some readers. Nevill’s ‘Rise Up Together,’ the closing story of the collection, contains a very intriguing idea about a dark seaside town that kept me reading until the end of it, and it belongs in the realm of ‘creepy small town’ horror. The ending becomes so convoluted though that it left a slightly sour taste in my mouth, and a little bit of tight editing could’ve helped shape the explanation better. And, Gosling’s aforementioned ‘Souvenirs’ is the best of the whole collection—it’s a simple story about an elderly man’s grown-up child moving him into a nursing home and the man’s unhappiness with this major life change on the way to the nursing home, but it ends with a killer twist that left me chilled. It’s not a long story either, and I wish the anthology’s editor, Mark Morris, would’ve started the collection with this one instead, drawing readers in with a good hook and leaving them wanting more once it was finished.

Overall, this was not a collection that connected with me, but I’m sure it would with horror lovers that like more convoluted, literary-esque horror. Just don’t come into this thinking that you’re going to be taken to new and astounding worlds or read about groundbreaking new ideas—you will find several common horror-based themes throughout the collection, and more than one or two might be just original enough to pique your interest.

Thanks to NetGalley, Flame Tree Press, and editor Mark Morris for the digital ARC of 'Close to Midnight’ in exchange for an honest review.

Hello, unfortunately I could not read this book fully before it expired. Based on the first 3 short stories I read, I found the book very promising and would have loved to read the other ones. I am rating this at 3.5 rounded off to 4 stars. If possible to renew the license, I would want to read and review this book at length.

Winter is a perfect time for horror stories; the nights are longer, colder and there is always a feeling that world is just a little thin, tired and if we are unlucky something nasty could come through. Halloween season is of course great but sometimes the end of the year also encourages a good tale to spook you and Mark Morris in their latest anthology Close to Midnight has assembled a great collection of tales from many of horror’s finest authors to entertain and of course unsettle you.

Among the stories I enjoyed were

Best Safe Life For You by Muriel Gray - a couple in an unsafe neighbourhood are desperate to protect heir home and their desperation leads to a security system all the way from Tibet. Its a story that manages to be sad, funny and by the end incredibly creepy

Souvenirs by Sharon Gosling - an elderly man who was a constant adventurer now faces moving into a retirement home at the age of eighty. Gosling captures regrets; wistfulness and makes this an emotional tale of lost independence and you start to wonder exactly when the horror will be revealed and its delivered perfectly to unsettle you.

In The Wabe by Alison Littlewood - A mothe rlost her daughter in New York by a statue of Alice in Wonderland. Littlewood creates a facinating mystery as we se this area has many strange tales around it. Playing with the tale of Alice we get a darker and more sinister tale of things changing back and forth. It is a disturbing tale and the final scenes are chilling too as you realise the price being paid. A favourite

I Promise by Conrad Wlliams - a young man wakes every day to see the face of his father floating above him. Its a tale of haunting, grief and just possibly love. Another favourite as it tells a tale of a relationship over decades in just a few pages.

The Forbidden Sandwich by Carl Tait - A frustrated artist hears from one of care home residents if a sandwich that has immense power if you can work out the recipe. Darkly funny until it goes incredibly arghh!

Remains by Charlie Hughes - a fascinating ghost story told by a murder victim who haunts a London railway station. It stands out in our narrator’s view of the afterlife - more wistful, curious and also thinking about those left behind both in her life and at the station. Now many years later her murderer attempts to move her bones. A really impressive ghost story with a difference.

The Floor Is Lava by Brian Keene - an elderly man afraid of going the Doctor finds his bathroom floor now turned to lava. A cautionary tale with a fine last bite awaiting the reader.

The Spaceman’s Memory Box by Laura Mauro - a great tale of lost childhood, lost lives and memories all wrapped alongside the casual cruelty of children’s games. It is a tale of growing up and realising that the world is a crueller and stranger place than you’ll ever expect as you enter a stranger’s home. Brilliantly told.

Rise Up Together by Adam L G Nevil - a tale of a middle aged man visiting his old friend who now works in a seaside retirement village. A disturbing tale poking fun at the lives of the eternally old who just want their lives to run on clockwork. A chintz cage that captures the feeling of these places and makes it incredibly suffocating and also menacing.

A fine anthology of creepy tales perfect for you to get comfortable with until you realise that your house is now very quiet, you appear to be all alone and yet you feel watched. Definitely recommended!

Merry Christmas!

dnf on page 83

trigger warning
<spoiler> death penalty, mental illness, trauma, grief, body horror, medical horror, cancer</spoiler>

The sheriff of a secluded commune starts seeing giant creatures, and a man who is deathly ill is told they can make him better seconds. These and other tales can be found in this anthology.

While the first story was simply fine, the quality seemingly took a deep dip afterwards and I was wondering why. It felt like these writers are just setting out and have to learn a bit when it comes to hooking your audience, and the conclusions were pointless.
I was getting more annoyed with each story, and let's be real: I will neither have fun with that nor will anybody be able to take anything useful out of my review, so I put the book aside and went to other things.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

A good antohology of short horror stories, it features some author I love (Ramsey Campbell,Seanan McGuire) and some new to me.
There's a sort of fil rouge which is the sense of loss but any story is original and well done.
i discovered some new author and thoroughly enjoyed the other stories.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Thank you to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for a copy of this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Close to Midnight is an anthology of short horror stories. It contains an array of different topics, perspectives and styles. I found some stories pulling me in deep, others piqued my curiousity, while some just were not for me. While the overall quality of stories was good, and I was intrigued by the uniqueness of some stories, I have found that a few days on, none of the stories stuck with me in the way that a great short story can.

I think it would be fair to say that there is something for all types of horror fans in this collection.

Creepy.................
Close To Midnight by Mark Morris is an anthology series which features some critically acclaimed authors. Some of the stories are really creepy enough to scare you out. The climax of all the stories are really very different. Horror fans are definitely going to like it. But, I would not say that it was the best one as some stories disappointed me. I was expecting more from them.

So, I would like to give the book 3 stars. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me an opportunity to read and review the book.

Perhaps not quite as strong overall as the earlier anthologies, this is still a solid collection of new stories, with some great authors included. There was one story I couldn't finish reading. I could see what was going to happen and couldn't bear it. I skipped through enough to know, yep, I can't do that one.

This was a great collection of horror stories that has something for everyone. It's a mixed bag of styles of writing and types of horror stories. I obviously loved some more than others. My favourite stories were the nine of diamonds and room for the night. It was great reading all the different styles. One book was extremely gorey and a couple were very weird. I had to laugh at a couple of the stories names especially the floor is lava if you have kids then just reading this story or review you might probably find yourself picking your feet of the ground. The book was edited in a great way which made it follow well from story to story. At the end there was a section about each book the author and editor. I felt like this information would of been better suited to an intro into each story. It might of made me understand better some of the weirder stories. I wouldn't say that these stories were overly scary as they varied so much but some were creepy. I recommend this book to all those who love short stories and also those looking to find there perfect type of horror book or author. 

So much praise goes out to the authors, editor and publishers for creating this very interesting collection of short stories. I will certainly be looking out for books just like this one.

The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog yesterday https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/close-to-midnight-edited-by-mark-morris-flame-tree-press-4-stars either under my name or mostly under ladyreading365

This is the first time I have had a chance to sit down and read since before we moved to our new home. I'm so glad I picked this anthology to start with. I'm going to keep this short and sweet because we are still getting settled in here.

This book contains stories by some of my favorite writers as well as some authors I was not familiar with. There are tales of the strange and spooky, darkly humorous stories, a bit of body horror, and even a thriller about revenge thrown in for good measure.
You will read about an easy cure for whatever ails you, A woman who just wants a break from her heavy load of responsibilities, A son caring for his father as the end of his life quickly approaches, bizarre neighbors, a remarkably affordable and effective home security system, and more. A few of the endings were more vague than I'd like but that is my only complaint.
Close to Midnight is an entertaining read for anyone who enjoys short horror stories.

A great book prepping for Halloween - with all the different types of stories, there is bound to be at least one you love.

I was particularly drawn to three of the stories:
'Best Safe Life for You' by Muriel Gray - about protecting the family home against threats. It felt so realistic, although extreme, and the ending was a nice touch

'In the Wabe' by Alison Littlewood - about a missing daughter and a strange bronze statue. Eerie and heartbreaking with great imagery

'Autumn Sugar' by Philip Fracassi - about a young boy trying to find his dog and an earlier incident with his father. Great differing points of view about an event seen from both the adult and child, and it has the most chilling ending

Of course there were lots of other stories I enjoyed, but those were just my stand outs.

Overall, a nice collection of chilling tales that you probably don't want to be reading at night.

*I received a complimentary copy of the e-book from RandomThingsTours and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Close to Midnight
Edited by Mike Morris
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I love this time of the year - all the spooky book features!
You MUST add this book for spooks and chills! Great anthology of enticing stories.
20 horror stories - crafted to freak you out and move onto the next! Authors include Jonathan Janz - whom I totally addicted to reading; Ramsey Campbell; Evelyn Teng!
#closetomidnight #horror #horroranthology #horrormustread #horrorshortstories #spookybooks #mustread