The Darkest Night is a collection of winter-themed horror that offers something to satisfy almost any reader. While many of the stories are just above average in quality, there are very few that are below average. If you're in the mood for a return to the Christmas season, or you just want to read a few thoughtful, dark stories by good writers, this book is for you. Standouts include contributions by Clay McLeod Chapman, Nat Cassidy, Jeff Strand and Jamie Flanagan.

This was a bit of a mixed bag, as anthologies usually are. Here are my ratings for each story:

The Mouthless Body in the Lake - 5/5
Cold as Ice - 4/5
Children Aren’t the Only Ones Who Know Where the Presents are Hidden - 5/5
The Vermin Moon - 4.5/5
The Body of Leonora James - 3.5/5
Mr. Butler - 4.5/5
Feast of Gray - 3.5/5
I Hope This Finds You Well - 3.5/5
The Buried Child - 3/5
Father’s Last Christmas - 2.5/5
The Warmth of Snow - 2/5
Wintry Blue - 4.5/5
Carol of the Hells - 5/5
Nice - 4.5/5
Thaw - 5/5
Candy Cane - 4/5
Eggnog - 4/5
Threads of Epiphany - 3/5
The Ladies’ Society for the Dead - 2/5
Being Nice - 3.5/5
Ghosted - 3/5
Bruiser - 4/5

This comes out to an average of 4/5. The best stories were by Josh Malerman and Gwendolyn Kiste.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

Dark, eerie, ominous, and entertaining! This is a fantastic collection of short stories by an outstanding group of authors. I found this to be extremely well written, with a mix of first-, second-, and third-person pov. I loved the winter and holiday themes. Holifay horror is one of my favorite horror themes. While there were a few stories I didn't care for, I really liked the majority of them.

Lindy Ryan put together a delightful collection of ghost stories, horror stories and the peculiar. It is winter themed so I suggest saving this for the winter season. It's perfect for Christmastime as well. It's hard to find a winter/Christams collection that delivers the chills, and Lindy Ryan delivered. I think I disliked one story and it was by a lesser known author. Cuddle up with a cozy blanket, and a warm fire this winter and be ready to be chilled to the bone.

Fabulous collection of horror short stories for the darkest…. Coldest time of the year. So many amazing authors contributed making this a must read for those that love horror short stories

I was disappointed with many of the stories, having high hopes with such esteemed authors. And the kindle formatting was particularly annoying as there was no table of contents, just a beginning and an end, so if you didn’t like a story you couldn’t skip ahead.

I love Anthologies, particularly within the horror genre. This anthology is no exception and gets 5 stars from me.
I loved that I hadn't read any of the stories previously (which is rare for me since I read a lot of anthologies), and I was thrilled that it contained short stories from some incredibly well known authors including some of my favourite authors!
I wish I had read this in late November or December so I could've fully immersed myself in the "winter nights" vibe, instead of the bright, warm and sunny day I read it on. It'll be a perfect winter read to pick up again in the fall/ winter.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing me with and ARC to read and review.

An admirable collection of chilling stories perfect for reading on a winter night. Most of my favorite authors are featured here.

chipping away at this collection was good fun, and while all anthologies are going to struggle with quality balance, most of the stories here were strong. i appreciated that it was not just a "winter" theme but also leaned into holiday horror, which we don't get enough of in my opinion. this covered a lot of bases with the subgenres represented, and i was also very pleased to see a few horror-comedy pieces as well!

If you are anything like us, you tend to try and find new stories to read during each season to get into the mood and this particularly goes for the Christmas season. Enter The Darkest Night. From some of the biggest names in horror comes an Advent calendar of short holiday horror stories perfect for the darkest nights of the year.

The Darkest Night was edited by award-winning author and anthologist Lindy Ryan and with contributions from masters of horror like Josh Malerman, Christopher Golden, and Clay McLeod Chapman and more! While the entire anthology is worth a read, we wanted to focus on a few of our favorite stories from The Darkest Night.

New York Times bestselling author Josh Malerman's tale, "Children Aren’t the Only Ones Who Know Where the Presents Are Hidden," intertwines eerie visuals, familial strife, authentic Yuletide terror, and a remarkable conclusion, delivering a chilling take on a not-so-merry Christmas. Honestly, this one had our mouth gaping and a few tears in our eyes.

"Mr. Butler" by Clay McLeod Chapman stands out for its distinctive creativity - featuring eerie ideas, a chilling atmosphere, and remarkable finesse. Chapman had some out-of-the-box thinking on this tale crafting a tale of terror using a cardboard box. Clay succeeds in delivering an impressive story that keeps you engaged.

Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon, both celebrated New York Times bestselling authors, weave a gripping narrative in "Wintry Blue" that gives us two perspectives as a monster is being created. The story thrusts us into an eerie tale of a family, a woman and a bizarre and fearsome being. This story flawlessly captures the essence of its characters' journeys, embedding the narrative with a mix of suspense and action that had us chilled. Completely terrifying, "Wintry Blue" is a testament to the talent of these two writers.

Nat Cassidy's "Nice" masterfully dances between uproarious hilarity and spine-chilling darkness. The tale takes a normal child's tradition and morphs it into a tale of child terror that had us say cussing out loud. The story was terrifying and unexpected with a startlingly grim conclusion that we could not see coming. The balance of dark comedy and horror was perfect for this holiday anthology. A truly frightening experience.

Immerse yourself in a seasonally chilling anthology teeming with unforgettable stories, all chilling to the bone. This anthology is an essential pick for horror readers looking for a horrific read this winter. Though each tale boasts its unique individuality, the commonality lies in their compelling conclusions. An truly enthralling read for this winter (or any season), it stands as a testament amazing talent in horror storytelling we have at the moment.

The list of authors include Josh Malerman, Clay McLeod Chapman, Gwendolyn Kiste, Tim Waggoner, Hailey Piper, Stephanie M. Wytovich, Lindy Ryan and Christopher Brooks, Eric LaRocca, M. Rickert, Lee Murray, Cynthia Pelayo, Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon, Kelsea Yu, Nat Cassidy, Tommy Hutson, Rachel Harrison, Kristi DeMeester, Sara Tantlinger, Darcy Coates, Jeff Strand, Mercedes M. Yardley, and Jamie Flanagan.

Legendary writer George C. Romero, son of the late George A. Romero, gives a wonderful introduction.

My thanks to Lindy Ryan, Crooked Lane books and Netgalley.
This was not as terrific as I was hoping for.
Truth is that I nearly d.n.f.'d this thing. So many wonderful authors that I figured this would be pretty damned good. Oops! I'm not going to say who I thought stunk, but I will say that some of the stinkiest came from established authors.
I do often wonder if some established authors send in their crap to lesser known editors and publishers. If so, then it was on full display here.
It did take me up until the forth or fifth story to even find something that I liked. And that's usually too late.
There are most certainly some really decent shorties here. There's just enough bad ones though that makes me give this anthology a middle of the road rating.

A collection of short winter horror stories to bring a little fright to the holiday season.

I would recommend picking this up if you are missing winter already and just want to cozy up against a fire and read frightening stories by some very talented authors.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC.

I loved this little collection of scary stories. The only part I didn't like about reading this was that I read it in the Spring instead of during the holiday season, because this is perfect for those cold winter nights. I absolutely loved every single story in this collection, and found myself unable to put the book down. The stories are all a perfect length that both maintains a hold of your attention throughout and still gives you a satisfying amount of details and closure at the end. The stories are all so unique, unlike any I have read before, and I read a lot of horror story anthologies. They all fit perfectly within the theme of holiday or wintery frights, and some even have a potent dark humor and wit woven in. They were all perfectly bizzarre and disturbing.

With 22 stories, it is difficult to pick a favorite. However, the stories I enjoyed the most were "The Buried Child," "Father's Last Christmas," "Carol of the Hells," "Nice," and "Egg Nog." The authors all have well-deserved track records in the horror story world and the stories are all beautifully written.

This was a joy to read, and I'm considering purchasing a copy of this book once it is published. Thank you to Lindy Ryan, Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley for this ARC.

A horror-packed set of stories perfect for the dark and cold holiday season. I enjoyed a couple of the stories, but unfortunately a lot of them felt confusing and weird. I'm a staunch believer in less is more and I feel like there were too many very short stories crammed together instead of focusing on a smaller set of stories and making them longer. I think I personally would've enjoyed this anthology more if I had more time with each story. I still would recommend this to anyone who enjoys horror and is looking for something to pass the time during winter.

I’m all for new winter anthologies, especially featuring some of my favorite horror writers including Nat Cassidy, Clay McLeod Chapman, Darcy Coates, Rachel Harrison, and Josh Malerman. Most of these stories were fantastic and only a couple fell short. Surprisingly Jeff Strands story was hilarious and probably my favorite of the book.

I enjoyed this one. However I feel like I would have preffered to read this towards autumn/winter when the weathers more dark and gloomy, so it’s going into my reread pile! It’s definitely one for the dark nights!

DNF-ed on page 67.

none of the stories were really clicking with me and seemed quite haphazerdly thrown together. besides all being vaguely set in winter, and the occasional mention of snow, nothing really seemed to fit together or revolve around a central theme.

i feel like winter lends itself very well to horror as a season, but the stories really needed stronger elements to form a coherent book.

really should've stopped reading this one at 'cold as ice' because that one just felt like a hate crime.

I’m all for new winter anthologies, especially featuring some of my favorite horror writers including Nat Cassidy, Clay McLeod Chapman, Darcy Coates, Rachel Harrison, and Josh Malerman. Most of these stories were fantastic and only a couple fell short. Surprisingly Jeff Strands story was hilarious and probably my favorite of the book.

This book comes out in September, just in time for the holiday season! Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC.

Varying quality but it’s overall high, I actually think this would be a good seasonal read for horror fans. I love the incorporation of poetry that got me in a soft spot deep down.

Thank you for this ARC! This was a blast to read!

My favorite stories were by Josh Malerman, Darcy Coates, Gwendolyn Kiste, and Jamie Flanagan.

There are others I liked and some I found unnecessarily gross more than spooky, but that’s just something I’m not personally into. That’s what makes this book of short scary stories so brilliant, there’s a range of stories for everybody’s tastes!

Will definitely recommend this and probably buy a physical copy on release day because the cover art is strangely satisfying to look at!