5 horror stories to keep you up at night
dark, disturbing and sad.
Cursed trees, modern political workplace horror, islands with secret inhabitants, a supernatural hotel and a dangerously anonymous letter, i couldnt expect more from some of the best authors in horror!
the narrators bring the stories to life and pulls you in to the terror and sadness with the characters

I love short story collections and I love horror and I love some of these writers. I'd already read the print version of these stories before I got to listen to the audiobook, but I appreciate getting to listen to the stories because I was still thinking about them. They weren't necessarily scary but I thought they were original and creepy and the characters were relatable. There was a different narrator for each story, and they were all excellent.

Thank you Netgalley, Joe Hill ( and accompanying authors ) and Brilliance publishing for the audio Arc of The Shivers.
Narrated by Robert Fass; Kyla Garcia; Moniqua Plante; Mia Hutchinson-Shaw; Grover Gardner.

I have a kind of love hate relationship with anthologies. I love the idea of them, the shorter, more compact stories but miss the character building. The getting to know the characters and predicting directions. For me, The Shivers hot the spot. With great names of authors in the horror genre, these short stories pack a bit of a punch. Don't get me wrong, they are mostly plot driven but there is some great creepy, atmospheric writing that leaves you wanting more.. These are fast reads that pace fairly quickly and evenly. Whereas some anthologies finish before you warm up and begin, these stories keep you engaged.

I really enjoyed these and Im a great lover of all the authors that contributed to The Shivers.
The narrators also did a brilliant job of keeping these stories alive and creepy!

4 stars

Jack knife - It's a great forest-core horror tale. fantastic storytelling. I was captivated from the get-go.

The indigo room - Of all the books in this collection this was my least favourite. I didn't have me locked in, the story telling wasn't interesting enough and the narrator was just ok.

The Blanks -

The Blanks tells of a family getaway to the beloved Jeckle Island where many families come to stay however there are rules to abide by to ensure harmony is kept between the guests and the island's inhabitants, however when one child fails to keep to the rules one family will pay the price.

I enjoyed this tale, good pacing, and as with all Grady books, great storytelling. However, I didn't enjoy the narration for most of the story. Her sing-songy approach was so off-putting, but she changed it up towards the end.

The story reminded me of The Watchers and other similar folk horror stories, but overall, a good listen

Night and Day of misery-A Sorrowful tale of grief, filled with dread and a deep sadness.
Of all the stories, this was one of my favourite.

Letter slot - The blurb for this story sounded great - who doesn't love a deal with the devil?

Unfortunately for me, I just wasn't engaged in the storytelling, which is a shame as I really wanted to enjoy the book.

Thanks for the opportunity..

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for both an E-ARC and an ALC of this short story collection. The overall collection was 4 stars for me and I highly recommend it.

I found the narrators on all 5 stories to be excellent. The voices were clear. The inflection in their voices during times of tension was spot on and performed very well.

Jackknife by Joe Hill--5 Stars
This story was fantastic. The story opens with a 30-something professor who is in the process of a divorce. He’s justified his flirtatious texts with a female student one too many times and is on the outs with his wife. The university that he works for has him under review and he’s living in a pay-by-the week hotel. Life’s a mess for our main character. When he opts for a walk in the woods chaos breaks out.

The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones—1 Stars
A woman attends a meeting at her work and sees coworkers without their heads. This pulled me and and thereafter I was completely lost. I have no idea what was occurring in the story nor why her the character’s son was pulled into the story. I was simply confused.

The Blanks by Grady Hendrix—5 Stars
This story was incredibly creepy. I’m a bit worried that if I comment on various aspects of the story that I’ll spoil the overall plot. That said, a family heads up north to enjoy time by the ocean and to escape urban chaos. Instead, strange beings interrupt their family time and end the evening with a night of terror.

Night & Day In Misery by Catriona Ward—4.5 Stars
This story had both paranormal aspects but also pulled at my Mama heart strings. A grieving woman decides to head to a hotel to feel closer to her son. I found it to be creepy and unsettling but also very moving.

Letter Slot by Own King—3.5 Stars
If you could seek vengeance on others and right wrongs via a postal request; would you do it? This story explores what lengths we’re driven to when we want to extend the life and preservation of our loved ones.

This collection, as a whole, is a solid 4.75/5. All 5 stories were awesome and l'll go into a little detail on each below, but I highly recommend these stories if you haven't checked them out yet.

Jackknife by Joe Hill kicked things off with a man removing a knife from a mysterious tree. This story is super wacky and does some really cool, really dark stuff. I enjoyed the hell out of it. Solid 4.5/5 from me.

Stephen Graham Jones was next with The Indigo Room. This story was an excellent touch on paranoia. SGJ managed to make a mundane office setting quite terrifying. This one was a bit of a mind-fuck, but it's great, as all SGJ's work is. He doesn't miss, after all. 4.5/5.

Grady Hendrix followed with The Blanks. This was, hands down, the scariest of the 5 and my favorite as well. A family is on a beach trip when their son sees a "blank." There's some history here we barely scratch the surface of... a town knowing some mysteries... idk man I want a full novel of this though, it was fucking awesome. 5/5.

Catriona Ward's Night And Day In Misery was our penultimate story, and it was the saddest of the bunch.
An excellent little tale that had the creep factor, but was definitely the emotional punch of the bunch. I really enjoyed it. 4.5/5.

Last, but definitely not least, Owen KIng wrapped things up with Letter Slot. This story was wild and such an awesome concept. I feel like I can't say too much about this one without giving a lot away, but it rocked. 4.75/5.

Having new narrators for each story was a fantastic touch.

I reviewd other separatoey, the last book was one of the best

This series was a quiet surprise. At the heart of it is a child faced with a powerful decision—one that ends up saving both himself and his mother. But the real intrigue lies in the question it leaves behind: did it truly happen, or was it something imagined, hoped for, or dreamed? That uncertainty adds a haunting layer to the story. Subtle, emotional, and thought-provoking—it leaves you wondering long after it's over.

Jackknife. Joe's Hill

Ruined by scandal, Dennis Lange is hoping for a comeback. Selling the ge, and a unhealthy attraction to a student of his. And to make matters worse there was a giant tree that seemed to be stalking him. Strange but compelling tale from a master of the spooky stuff that makes you both scared and slightly uncomfortable

The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones
Don’t lose your head over office politics…The horrors of the modern workplace meet actual horror in a fiendishly entertaining short story from New York Times bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones.

I have to say, Graham Jones hit it out of the park with this one!
Great story, the visuals were awesome, I could see that conference room and knew just how that elevator felt as it moved.
I cared about the main character and I felt her growing fear for her son.
Well done Mr. Jones, well done.

The Blanks by Grady Hendrix
Residents have an unspoken pact with the island’s unnatural inhabitants: ignore them, live happily. But in New York Times bestselling author Grady Hendrix’s thrilling short story, one boy can’t look away—and pays the price.
True horror is the sadness and pain of a loss you know you can't avoid or stop.
Such a well written andnhard hitting story. Hendrix is a request artist with a pen.

Night and Day in Misery by Catriona Ward
In the gloom of her hotel, a mother readies to rejoin her past. Feverish nightmares meet the chilling light of day in this haunting short story from USA Today bestselling author Catriona Ward.

What's worse? The pain of loss or finding out the truth that led to that loss?
A hard hitting, intense story that moves you to tears. Not sure if the tears come from pity or the pain of her past. Maybe both. Probably both.
Catriona Ward wrote a tale I wont soon forget.

Letter Slot by Owen King
A helping hand, a fateful cost. In this ominous short story from New York Times bestselling author Owen King, the cost of living keeps rising—and it collects payment from the soul.
Interesting take on making a wish for better luck. Not sure if it falls under "be careful what you wish for" or not.
I found the ending a little u satisfactory though. Not only was the who of the good luck a bit unbelievable, the boys response didn't seem to be on track with the rest of the story. Overall not bad.

A series of short stories by today's new horror writers, The Shivers, punlished April 15, 2025.

Thanks to @netgalley and Brilliance Publishing and Amazon Original Stories for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Overall a fun collection of stories! I was so hyped to see Cat Ward among the list of authors, and am so happy her story did not disappoint. I hadn't heard of Owen King before but his story was among my favorites. I'm always thrilled when I find new authors to check out through story collections! Despite not all of them working for me, there were some hits so I'll definitely be recommending it.

Joe Hill's story was my least favorite. I found the main character insufferable!
Stephen Graham Jones' was just ok. It didn't make me feel anything and I disliked the ending.
Grady's was probably my favorite. Fun, interesting elements. Kinda bleak. Loved the setting.
Catriona Wards was great as well. Fantastic writing, heartbreakingly sad. Made me feel a lot in a very short amount of pages!
Owen King's was compelling and actually made me gasp at the end. Enjoyed it a lot!

Wow, this is easily the best Amazon Original short story collection yet. There was not one dud in the bunch. I mean, with the authors on this roster I expected magic, and I’m glad they all delivered. The biggest surprise for me was Owen King’s Letter Slot. Of all the authors, I am least familiar with his work so I was pleasantly surprised when his story tied with Kendrix’s The Blanks as my favorite. These were followed by Ward’s Night and Day in Misery, Jones’ The Indigo Room, and then Hill’s Jackknife. But honestly, like I said, all very good.

If you’re a supernatural horror fan, pick these up!

Thank you to Netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for ALC of the full collection!
Rounded up to 4 stars!

Part 1
Jackknife by Joe Hill

“Dennis didn’t need a picture to get the picture… [They] had gone into the woods to cut down the bad tree and had been cut down themselves. Maybe the tree of liberty needed to be watered by the blood of tyrants. But the ancient sycamore in the… woods maybe didn’t mind so much where the blood came from, as long as there was plenty of it. ”

Pretty strong start to the anthology with this one, but who expects less from this group? This is the first time I’ve really experienced Joe Hill’s writing. I’m familiar with his work, via the adaptation of NOS4A2, and this was a nice taste of what he has to offer as a writer. It’s a nice blend of the paranormal within the antagonist, even though the one we would consider the protagonist is a complete pos. To be quite frank, if we walked into a forest, would we know something is evil? Probably not. Also, don’t touch things explicitly labeled ‘Don’t Touch,’ I feel like this is self-explanatory. Don’t let those intrusive thoughts get the best of ya.


Part 2
The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones

“… she could always sense when someone came into her space. The air pressure would shift, just slightly. It’s what she was feeling right now, a subtle shift in the atmosphere. Except, it was more a murmuring. A nervousness.”

I, a SGJ stan, will never say a negative thing about him. That being said, take my opinion with a grain of salt, but after all this time, I feel like I can adequately say that he is an acquired taste that takes a bit of revelation to fully comprehend. This one is wild, and within the top three for me. At no point did I really understand what was going on here, and that has got to be the intended point. It’s giving the same energy as those “Two Sentence Horror Stories,” but in the obvious form of leaving us to interpret the ending on our own. Loved it. I am also frightened regarding our modern workplace, so thank you for this imagery that will play on loop every time I walk into a conference room.

“Ana’s headless body was either sitting there in her chair, or Jennifer was remembering it having been there. She let the heavy door’s cylinder shush it shut, and saw herself here after hours, bashing at the windows with a chair, to let the light in permanently. A thing she’d never do, of course, but a girl can dream. Especially when it’s that, or be stuck in a waking nightmare.”






Part 3
The Blanks by Riley Sager

“There are more of them than I’ve ever seen before. Their tall, still shadows stand out against the trees, their dead eyes reflect yellow in the house lights. All of them stare at this window. All of them stare at my son.”

Another hit by the one and only Riley Sager. What, you don’t think there are ‘others’ out there in a place like Martha’s Vineyard? Well, I do. The idea of The Blanks is honestly genius, giving to that ‘Other’ category very well. Factor in a mother’s love and need to protect her child against a ravenous force, and you may have quite the winner. There is a reason why this is the most garnered of the stories in this collection, the hype is deserved.

“But I know there’s nothing to do. Back in the 80s, they tried to do something about the Blanks. And all that happened was that a bunch of police from the mainland went missing… That was the last time anyone in an official capacity tried to do anything.”



Part 4
Night & Day in Misery by Catriona Ward

“There is only one reason a hotel changes its name that often: death.”

This one was a gut punch, fully and intentionally placed. Stella is overwhelmed with grief since her husband and son died. She is now venturing back to the place it all happened in the hope to be reunited with her son. Since these are short stories, I don’t want to say much more in order to *not* spoil the plot, but this one is horrific and absolutely terrifying in the most saddening way possible. Catriona Ward, you never cease to punch me in the stomach in order to rip my guts out. Thanks for that.

“It’s no stranger than coming to the place where your son died to end your own life, because you have convinced yourself that this might bring you back together somehow.”





Part 5
Letter Slot by Owen King

“His pal couldn't be real, that was given, wasn't it? If his pal was real, it meant there was more to everything, and that anything was possible... ”

I’ll be honest, there was a point where I was a little lost during this one, but had my attention caught on the hook with a quickness at the end. Owen King has a gift, and it is eerily similar to his father’s, where you haven’t exactly lost me – but you’ve confused me just enough to hit me over the head with a metaphorical baseball bat. All I have to say is never believe anything or anyone, even the ones you hold closest to you, because WTF?

“He absently wonders where the good luck will go, who will receive the bounty of his imminent affliction?”

Another great horror collection from all the best in Horror! I love these collections from Amazon – this one doesn’t disappoint

Update: Bumped this up to 4 stars after sleeping on it, in appreciation of the writing caliber and the talented voice performers.
As with many anthologies, I liked parts of this better than others. The overload of bad news these days is having an effect on my preferences. Some of these stories might introduce you to your next favorite author or increase your appreciation for authors you always want to read.

Joe Hill writes well, and I enjoyed his previous short story for Amazon, but this one wasn’t for me. I didn’t care about the heavy drinker who crashed his life by sexting with a student. The story has my biggest horror ick, and there were other turnoffs.

I was looking forward to my first experience with Catriona Ward’s writing. Unfortunately, I’m simply not up for alcoholism and domestic abuse (not a spoiler, it's right there in the beginning).

Stephen Graham Jones is one of my favorite new-to-me authors. Buffalo Hunter Hunter is a masterwork, and The Only Good Indian was a 5-star read for me, too.His story had good moments, but I didn't relate to any of the characters. There's suspense, the writing is smooth, and it has interesting effects and imagery, including body horror. Readers who like office settings and dynamics will probably find this more appealing than I did. I appreciate that he took on a mundane location and created chilling scenes.

Grady Hendrix - His contribution pulled me in immediately and kept me engaged. Creepy, classic horror with good pacing, well-intentioned characters, and a chilling premise that echoes vintage folk horror, yet with a new spin on it.

Owen King is new to me. I enjoyed his story and would have been content to stay with his fully-dimensional main character longer. I could relate to the challenges faced by the burdened teenaged boy, and the mysteries surrounding the different men added layers I’ll be thinking about for a while. This story had a moral depth to it and a fresh take on one of my favorite horror tropes. King deftly combined a realistic setting and contemporary issues with supernatural horror. The tale's memorable characters and psychological underpinnings gave this collection a powerful finish.

This high-quality audiobook features a different skilled narrator for each story and delivers a great sampler for horror readers. It's a short, easy listen that offers a chance to try out popular horror authors in short-form fiction. Each of the stories is also available as an audio single. 

My thanks to Amazon Original Stories for the ALC via NetGalley for consideration. These opinions are solely my own.

Thank you Net Galley for approving this audio-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall rating: 3.5 / 5 stars

The Shivers is a horror anthology collection designed to send a chill down your spine. Whilst I don’t think it delivers on the spine-chilling promises, I think it was an enjoyable collection of short horror stories. The authors all have their own unique styles of storytelling that made it easy to identify when a new story started but maybe didn’t juxtapose well with each other. Individual reviews as follows:

Jackknife by Joe Hill
The first of two stories in this collection written by the progeny of Stephen King and I have to say its a mixed bag for me. Jackknife is easily the creepiest story in this collection with its seemingly sentient, eldritch-esq horror tree, but I also felt no emotional buy in to this fear simply because the MC sucked. Yes, this was intentional character design, but I just thing someone more morally grey would have been better because then you could almost root for them before reminding yourself they were an asshole? Unless ofc Joe Hill thinks a lecherous academic is “morally grey” instead of “morally reprehensible” which having read some of his other works wouldn’t shock me… 3.5 / 5 stars because that tree was sinister!

The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones
Described as “the horrors of the modern workplace meet actual horror”, The Indigo Room was perhaps my biggest let down of this collection. SGJ is one of my fave horror authors but this story was less actual horror and more “oh capitalism, the horror!” which I don’t disagree with, I just wanted it to be more sinister or scary. I think the premise was interesting but the execution was too short for me to care about the characters and it felt like it was written for the audience to care about them more than to see something spooky. 2.5 / 5 stars.

The Blanks by Grady Hendrix
In a move I did not see coming, a story by Grady Hendix was easily my favourite in this collection. An idyllic beachfront community that hides - ignores - a haunting secret made for an excellent, spooky short story, and was the only entry to have my spine even thinking about tingling. I do think the ending flopped a bit and I found the parental reactions to be wildly inaccurate but alas, I guess that is what I should expect from this man who insists on continuing to write female MCs. That aside, this was really good and by far my fave story - 4 / 5 stars.

Night and Day in Misery by Catriona Ward
Haunting rather than chilling, this tale of grief and remorse was hard to read at times but in a good way that I now forever associate with Catriona Ward. A mother grieving the loss of her son to his drunk/abusive father contemplates her life as mysterious forces influence her. I think this was another story that lost something for me with how sympathetic/unsympathetic the MC was, along with my own personal mother issues lmao. I do love how Ward writes these complex characters who are compelling even when they are unlikeable, but I wanted more time with them than this story gave me and so things fell a bit short. 3 / 5 stars.

Letter Slot by Owen King
Rounding out this collection is Stephen King offspring #2 Owen with a delightful tale reminiscent of the Paul Jennings/Round the Twist stories of my childhood. The biggest critique I have for this story is the choice of narrator. The MC of this story is a younger teen desperate to support his struggling mother. The narrator sounded like he was easily in his 40’s which was incredibly jarring and took me so far out of the story that I never really found my way back. Outside of this, Letter Slot was curiously charming with an undercurrent of sinisterness that I really liked. I think I would have enjoyed this story more if it had been in print. 3.5 / 5 stars.

Overall this was a fun collection of short stories but I don’t know that I would recommend it to that many people. None of the stories were especially innovative or, most egregiously, scary, and I found myself constantly underwhelmed.

Note: this review will be posted to Goodreads and StoryGraph once the book has been added to the platforms.

Thank you Brilliance Publishing for my free ARC of The Shivers by these top-of-their-class horror authors — available Apr 15!

Personally, I enjoyed all five of these stories about equally. It's hard for me to pick a favorite, but equally hard to pick a least favorite? I think they all were successfully unsettling, and I 'd read extended/novella versions of each one. Definitely worth your time!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Five of todays most recognized horror / suspense authors.  This is an overall solid collection of short fiction. I really enjoyed all of them, some more than others. Joe Hill and Grady Hendrix  are top notch. The stories by Stephrn Graham Jones, Catriona Ward and Owen King are excellent as well. A haunted tree, office politics, a cursed beach, and more.

Thank you Brilliance Publishing for the ALC.

This collection was fantastic! As soon as I saw the authors involved, I knew I had to read these stories, and they didn’t disappoint.

To me, the standout stories were those by Catriona Ward and Owen King. Ward’s story completely shattered my heart and had a profound impact on me, far beyond what I could have expected from a short story in a horror collection. King’s story also had a strong emotional thread that made me genuinely care about the main character.

Joe Hill and Grady Hendrix also had really good contributions. They both delivered eerie and more traditional horror stories. Hendrix’s story particularly struck an emotional chord with me.

Stephen Graham Jones is an author I’ve read extensively over the past few years, and when his stories work for me, they REALLY work. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter is one of my all-time favorite books. However, I found his contribution to this collection to be the weakest. The lines between reality and illusion became so blurred that by the end of the story, I wondered if I had missed something. I left feeling a bit disoriented and confused, but still entertained. It wasn’t a bad story, but it wasn’t my favorite.

Overall, I would highly recommend “The Shivers” to any horror enthusiast!

The Shivers short story collection on audiobook was spectacular. Anything that Catriona Ward writes, I am reading. Night and Day in Misery is heartbreaking and deals with grief and the death of a child. The Blanks by Grady Hendrix is my favorite story and had me feeling all the feelings. Mail Slot by Owen King is also a strong contender for favorite because it feels like old-school horror. The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones took a classic fear and showed it in a new way. Jackknife by Joe Hill is the most uncomfortable story personally. Do not eat while listening to this one as there are graphic scenes. This is an excellent short story grab bag by some of the horror genre’s top authors. The narrators (Robert Fass, Kyla Garcia, Moniqua Plante, Mia Hutchinson-Shaw, Grover Gardner) are fantastic and kept me engaged. ALC was provided by Brilliance Publishing and Amazon Original Stories via NetGalley. I received an audiobook listening copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Shivers Collection
Overall, this was a fun sometimes heartbreaking collection of stories. I was already familiar with 4 out 5 of these authors (Owen Kings being the exception) and was pleasantly surprised by which stories I ended up favoring. This collection had an interesting mix of grief, old-school/traditional horror, paranormal elements, and strong familial themes. The narrators for each story did a great job at enriching the atmosphere and becoming the voice of the protagonists.

Jackknife by Joe Hill - 4 stars
I would classify Jackknife as paranormal, old-school horror. This story starts strong and within the first MINUTE establishes some great character development. Hill is obviously a master of his craft, because not many authors can establish the foundation of a character in under a minute. As the story progresses, more details about the character’s lives unfold and eventually lead into the horror portion of the story. A couple descriptions Hill uses in this had me laugh/choking on my on my drink. The ending didn’t feel as strong as the beginning and middle, but it was still a good story.

The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones - 3.75 stars
The Indigo Room had some paranormal horror sprinkled into an uncomfortable office atmosphere. I really enjoyed Jennifer’s inner dialogue and the coworker dynamics. The quirks of the different office personalities being overly familiar with one another, but still maintaining that professional distance made me want to squirm. Ending with Jennifer having to confront her inner thoughts was intriguing but truthfully fell a bit flat for me. I’m a huge Stephen Graham Jones fan, but this one didn’t make it into my favorites.

The Blanks by Grady Hendrix - 5 stars
The Blanks is suburban horror with some old-school elements mixed in. I typically have mixed feeling about Grady Hendrix’s books, but I LOVED this one! I wish this was a full-length novel. It was a dark, eerie, heartbreaking story set in a vacation home community. There is social commentary about superficial conformity and the appeal of the care-free, wealthy, suburban lifestyle. I don’t want to say too much about this story and give anything away. Great story!

Night and Day in Misery by Catriona Ward - 4.5 Stars
Whenever I come across something written by Catriona Ward, I already know that it's going to be emotional and that I’m going to love the ride. This was about a woman confronting her familial grief and trauma. As the details unfold, we learn more and more about her past experiences and how they affect her current situation and decisions. This was semi-straight forward story, where the reader figures out major details before the protagonist does.

Mail Slot by Owen King - 4.0 Stars
I haven’t read anything by Owen King before, so this was a nice introduction. This felt like some old-school, paranormal horror, with familial themes. I enjoyed the classic feel of the story, the escalation of events, and ever-changing perspective of the protagonist.

Thanks to Brilliance Publishing, Amazon Original Stories, and NetGalley for the ARC of The Shivers collection.

Every story in this collection is top notch, which is t surprising considering the authors, but I especially loved The Indigo Room by Stephen Graham Jones and Letter Slot by Owen King. Somehow Stephen Graham Jones has made an intense and perfect office based tragic horror story, and Owen King’s story is just fantastic from beginning to immensely sad but satisfying conclusion. This is a group of stories by authors at the height of their powers.