’We’re all red on the inside. There’s no telling anybody apart now’

Acquired Taste is Clay McLeod Chapman’s latest horror anthology, featuring twenty-five stories ranging from viciously bloody, to horrifyingly chilling, to depressingly sad, to absolutely ridiculous. I can without a doubt in my mind say that there WILL be a story in here for every reader, no matter how you like your horror. Chapman once again shows his in-depth understanding of what makes the genre so special, partnered with a political undertone that I took a lot of satisfaction from.

Each story is between 10-25 pages (at a guesstimate), so I flew through this collection and had a wonderful time doing so. Each story is incredibly unique and utterly creative, with each one standing out from the last. The writing-style is just superb, and while I do wish some stories had been a little longer, to save from a few abrupt endings, for the most part I think they benefitted from being to the point.

So, to provide a properly thorough review of this collection, I would like to give my opinions on each individual story:

ೃ⁀➷Fireplace
After moving into a new house, a man becomes obsessed with his fireplace.
- Unsettling and effective - a great start to the collection.
- Wish it had been longer!
- 3.5/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key
A Pastor instructs his Boy Scout Troop to burn their ‘sinful’ comic books.
- The gore was well-written, but I wasn’t that taken with the overall story.
- Too short to properly develop the concept.
- 2.5/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷Who Brings a Baby?
A man at the cinema goes head-to-head with a crying baby.
- Certainly unique.
- Not even remotely scary, so not as enjoyable.
- Once again, too short.
- 2.5/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷The Spew of News
After his parents become indoctrinated by a right-wing news channel, their son visits them and discovers something horrifying.
- This is just a short extra from Chapman’s Wake Up and Open Your Eyes. While I LOVED that book, I’m not sure that this story added anything that wasn’t already in that book. In fact, it’s basically an alternate universe version of the opening of WUAOYE.
- Very gory, but obviously not unique.
- Not rating.

ೃ⁀➷Stowaway
On a road trip with her family, 14-year-old Sara meets a mysterious man by the side of a hotel pool.
- Eerie and incredibly uncomfortable.
- A little longer, which meant Sara’s character was fleshed out more.
- I loved this one!
- 4/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷Baby Carrots
A man is haunted by baby carrots.
- Silly, stupid, and a lot of fun.
- The ending was WILD.
- 3.5/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷Fairy Ring
A man visits his mother in hospital where she suffers from a strange fungal infection.
- Amazingly descriptive - majorly unsettling.
- Such an awesome and unique idea!
- I wish this one was longer.
- A confusing ending brought my rating down.
- 3.5/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷Room with a Boo
A woman discusses living with a ghost.
- Very mediocre - not scary nor entertaining.
- Oddly boring.
- My least favourite story in the collection.
- 2/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷Pump and Dump
A new father buys his wife a breast pump.
- I knew what was going to happen and I was still disgusted….
- Bizarre and GROSS.
- One of the strangest stories on here, I was truly horrified.
- Still brilliant.
- 4.5/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷Keep it Civil
A man guards a confederate monument against protestors.
- Quite boring.
- Too short.
- I enjoyed the minimal commentary on Southern American politics and discourse over confederate statues.
- 2.5/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷Battlefield Séances
Three clairvoyant sisters track down the bodies of Federal soldiers just after the end of the American Civil War.
- A super interesting concept which I would love to see turned into a full novel.
- Not scary per-se, but the focus on the horrors of war still meant it was atmospheric.
- 4/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷Pick of the Litter
A woman sits in a playground.
- A great end-twist, even if I saw it coming from a mile away.
- Unnerving, and unfortunately realistic.
- Short but effective.
- 3/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷Sisterhood of the Salamander
A convent of Nuns takes care of axolotls.
- Not my sort of horror - atmospheric but boring.
- Points for inspiring the wonderful book cover!
- 2/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷Knockoffs
A kids YouTube character named ‘Tubby Wubby’ causes havoc in a family home.
- Ridiculous in all the right ways.
- A kids toy being treated like an invasive parasite is such a fun concept.
- I love mascot horror!
- 3.5/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷Debridement
A woman suffering from necrosis has her leg removed.
- One of the craziest endings in this collection - awful stuff.
- Oddly sad and thoughtful.
- 3.5/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷Psychic Santa
A department store Santa can see ghosts.
- Extremely sad.
- Great length - well-developed main character.
- Bittersweet ending.
- 3.5/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷Posterboard
A protest goes horribly wrong.
- Interesting commentary on right-wing protests.
- Not scary, but had good gore.
- 3/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷Our Summer in the Pit
A group of kids find a crater over summer break.
- My favourite story in the collection - I would love a full-length book about this !
- A bizarre ending that left me wanting more.
- Unsettling and disturbing.
- I love me some cosmic horror.
- 5/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷Sweetmeat
A night of trick-or-treating comes to a horrible end.
- Creative and disgusting.
- Perfect length and brutally awesome ending.
- 3.5/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷Nail on the Head
A hammer appears in a families home.
- Predictable but fun.
- Not overly scary, but the short length made up for it.
- Nothing special.
- 2.5/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷The Nocturnal Gardener
A woman prefers to garden at night.
- A sad but strangely hopeful story about marriage and getting old.
- 2/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷Hermit
A boy’s pet hermit crab needs a new shell.
- Very creepy and terribly off-putting.
- I visibly shivered whilst reading this….
- It ruined crabs for me.
- 3/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷All Ears
A young boys father returns from the Vietnam War.
- Loved the commentary on PTSD and the awful actions of American soldiers in South Vietnam.
- Scary in a tragic sort of way.
- 3.5/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷Stay on the Line
After a woman’s husband dies in a hurricane, a phone booth becomes her only solace.
- A brilliantly written focus on grief and the lengths we will go to to hear from our loved ones one last time.
- Great length - worked to develop the horror of the tragedy that was the hurricane and its effects on a small town.
- 4/5 stars.

ೃ⁀➷Nathan Ballingrud’s Haunting Horror Recs
Two friends embark on a trip to meet their favourite horror author.
- Silly and entertaining.
- Abrupt and lacklustre ending - needed to be longer.
- 2.5/5 stars.

Overall, Acquired Taste gets 4/5 stars. A brilliantly creative collection of varied horror stories.

thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review! <3

Unfortunately not for me. Read the first 3 stories and found them quite crass and didn’t enjoy the style. Wasn’t creeped out or scared. This author is probably not for me

first off, thank you to netgalley, titan books, and clay mcleod chapman for the opportunity to read these short stories early in exchange for an honest review!

i went into this book wanting to be creeped out by these "chilling" short stories (perfect for almost spooky season, right?) but found the stories to be more bizarre and sometimes downright silly in nature. unfortunately this didn't live up to my expectations, but if you are a fan of clay's work i'm almost certain you'll enjoy these stories. (personally my favorite short story was "stay on the line".)

4.5 stars rounded up.

I enjoyed almost every story in this collection, which is rare. A strong mix of grim, horrifying and dread filled tales that kept me engaged.

Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this short story collection, but I wanted it to be scarier! Some of the stories were more silly than scary. However, Stay on the Line was AWESOME and I'll be thinking about it for a long time to come.

Thank you Clay McLeod Chapman, Titan Books, and NetGalley for the ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for an ARC of Acquired Taste in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

I absolutely love this book!

Clay McLeod Chapman has a unique way of writing stories that really get under your skin. However, I don't mind at all because they are incredibly smart, creepy, and amazing. Many of them are so strange, and that’s part of what I love about them.

I'm also glad it's a collection of stories because I find myself wanting to know the ending of each one right away.

They are delightfully gross in the way you hope they would be.

I don't think I’ll ever eat a baby carrot again!

This book is just so gross, and I love it!

Absolutely horrifying! Acquired Taste is a collection of short stories by Clay McLeod Chapman that are filled with dread. The stories highlight addictions and obsessions, parenthood, cultural and political division, and grief.

What an absolute treat to read this collection of short stories! From the very first story, the fireplace, I could tell these stories would be filled with uneasiness and dread, with a hint of humor. The humor was never overbearing and added to the stories to make them digestible. The horror was terrifying and I found myself getting goosebumps! Especially with the stories that centered on addictions and obsessions, like pump and dump and sweetmeat. I also enjoyed the body horror and gore in some of the stories, like debridement and posterboard.

My top 10 favorite stories:
1. the fireplace
2. who brings a baby?
3. baby carrots
4. sisterhood of the salamander
5. debridement
6. posterboard
7. sweetmeat
8. the nocturnal gardener
9. hermit
10. stay on the line

I loved this collection! I will definitely be checking out more of Clay McLeod Chapman’s work.

Thank you, NetGalley and Titan Books, for the ARC.

Short review: Mind blown! A brilliant collection.

Long review: 25 speculative horror stories of impressively wide range, from nuns, Vietnam vets, and tasty toys, to infested telephone booths, Civil War psychics, baby carrots, and even Nathan Ballingrud himself! Each story is indescribably rich and subtle, so I'm not even gonna try. Included in the collection are Chapman's chapbooks, the superb novella "Stay on the Line," and the short story on which Chapman's "Wake Up and Open Your Eyes" was based. I found it a bit creepy when the same names kept appearing ("Brian Pendleton," for example, a name used for different people), hopefully I'm not missing anything too important. The writing is deceptively simple and straightforward, though the imagery and the twists reveal a complex mind at work, the author obviously enjoying himself crossing genres and playing with the occasionally absurd endings. Several of the stories touch on loss, regret, and guilt, not keeping back at all when it comes to describing harsh realities in the raw.

There's no point picking favorites, "Acquired Taste" is first-rate from start to finish. If you haven't read Clay MacLeod Chapman's work before, this is the perfect introduction. Stunning imagination, wondrous premises, breath-taking endings! Highly recommended!

Anytime I am reading something by Clay McLeod Chapman I know I will not be disappointed, and “Acquired Taste” is no exception. This is a collection of short stories from what is (in my opinion) one of the best horror authors working today. While not every story in here was a home run for me, overall this is a great collection and contains some really creepy moments!!

There are stories in here that touch on parenthood, politics and grief. There are ghosts and body horror and even a story from the same universe as “Wake Up and Open Your Eyes”.

Some of my favorites were Stay on the Line, Knockoffs, Who Brings a Baby?, and Our Summer in the Pit.

Highly recommend checking this out!

Thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book was not a home run for me but let me explain (you might love it!).

I requested this book as an ARC (thank you so much for the advanced copy!) because I read Ghost Eaters by the same author and absolutely loved it. In that book, the writing it poetic in the creepiest, most haunting way. The book is beautifully done. I couldn’t put it down.

This one has the same beauty of writing- the same intrigue- but has significantly more body horror. I am not one who generally has to shy away from graphic content but some of these stories were gratuitous.

But here’s where my caveat comes in, some readers aren’t the least bit bothered by that and if that’s you, this collection of short stories is excellent. Some of these stories aren’t as graphic and I genuinely enjoyed them. Chapman has a way with words that makes things disturbing and chilling in the best way.

This is a buffet of grotesqueries that slide down razor sharp! Chapman transforms the banal into the baroque! Everyday life is refracted through a funhouse mirror into maddening aberration.

He turns the most innocuous of stimuli—baby carrots, a news feed, an axolotl—into psychological pestilence. It’s quite literally the perfect literary storm that pairs grotesque imagery with human frailty.

Imagine Chapman’s collection as a psychological experiment in horror consumption. Each story is a “mini-dream-state,” warping everyday symbols into something absurdly unsettling.

A few of my favorites :

🥕“baby carrots” almost died laughing over this one—I dare you to look at a baby carrot the same way again.
🍖“sweatmeat” will make you think twice before eating Halloween candy.
🎬“who brings a baby”, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I am not above punting a possessed kid down a hallway, or an aisle of a theater. Not today little Satan.
🍼“pump and dump” will cause you to second guess a whole lot of things; yard sales, breast pumps, the secret things people do and become obsessed with.
📺“the spew of news” was the cosmic media body horror story of my fevereddreams. You just need “the fax.” What’s left? Am I right?

It’s grotesque horror draped in humor and satire. If I had to rate purely on originality and tonal cohesion, it’s a five star Michelin meal. These stories show us that we live amid terrors already; that consumption, covid trauma, reproduction, technology, even snack food and candy is monstrous if we squint hard enough.

It’s not often, AT ALL, that I read a short story collection where I enjoy every damn story. Like what is this madness? Chapman has an uncanny gift for showing us how quickly the mundane becomes monstrous, and how much of that monstrosity we quietly accept. And I ate this up!

From salamander worshipping nuns to tragic nighttime gardening accidents, Acquired Taste is horror as satire and satire as horror. A collection best read with one hand clutching the armrest and the other trying not to reach for the baby carrots. 🙌🏻

An Acquired Taste by Clay McLeod Chapman
Published by Penguin Random House

I do not know from whence McLeod Chapman’s imagination comes but it is fruitful and multiplies faster than a Tubby Wubbie. He has put together a book of his short stories that runs the gamut of horror: body horror, psychological horror, and (my favorite as he does it so well) comedy horror, just to name a few. This book was a very fun ride from the first story to the last. I found myself marveling at how he can make the most mundane thing horrifying. Baby carrots, really?!

The stories are written well, always interesting, and they definitely gross one out. He has a way of putting us into the shoes of the character and making their journey ours as well - and this empathy works well for me, drawing me in deeper to the story. I know that I will go back and reread these stories, how can one not when the subject matter has been made so fascinating? I look forward to reading more of McLeod Chapman’s works in the future.

My thanks to Penguin Random House for allowing me to read this ARC.

I think this is my favorite thing so far that I’ve read by Chapman. A couple of the stories in this collection felt like they ended just as they were getting started. A few of them just flat out weren’t my thing. (The political horror was just too on the nose for me, personally.) But the good ones were great. There were many instances of characters putting disgusting or weird things in their mouths, so the title absolutely tracks.

You will be treated to a variety of scenarios here, including a wild story about baby carrots, a creepy tale about hotel pools, and a fungal body horror story about Dementia that is very sad but also disturbing.

There’s a fun one that I’m absolutely certain is based on Huggy Wuggy from “Poppy Playtime,” but Chapman’s version is named Tubby Wubby. And a great concept involving a department store Santa.

I want an entire book about the three young sisters who can talk to ghosts and make money for their dad by talking primarily to the dead Civil War soldiers that follow them around. Historical fiction is typically not my thing, especially when it’s themed around war. But this spooky story is now one of my all-time favorite pieces. It’s incredible.

I will say that a theme or two end up coming back to be re-used later, but I enjoyed the stories enough that this didn’t really bother me. I can see some people pointing out the recycling of ideas, though. Another thing I noticed is that he uses the name Pendleton a LOT. I double checked to make sure it wasn’t just a recurring character and that wasn’t the case. I guess he just likes that last name? It was in at least three different stories. I personally would have left out the final story that was nothing but fanboying over a fellow author because it felt very cringe to me, but this wasn’t my collection.

Overall, I do recommend it! Entertaining, gross and unsettling with a twist of sentimentality.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for the copy in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

Biggest TW: Animal death, Harm to children, Politics, Hate language, Chronic illness, Pedophilia, Drug use

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan for this ARC!

Clay is one of my favorite horror authors so I was so excited to read his short story collection. I had already read Stay on the Line when it was published by Shortwave and it’s still one of my favorites. I also enjoyed our summer in the pit, stowaway, knockoffs and sweetmeat.

All of these stories will definitely make your skin crawl and keep you from eating for the next 24 hours!

Clay McLeod Chapman's short fiction is perpetually vivid and unsettling; each tale a unique fever dream that leaves the reader floating in a pool of what-the-hell-just happened? The stories in this collection range from unhinged to poignant, hopscotching a million different points in between. Fans of first-person narratives will unabashedly devour this Acquired Taste.

Finally I have found a short story collection I really enjoyed! Out of the 25 short stories in this book there was only 3 I wasn’t so keen on which is a great ratio I think. There was a clear and satisfying ending to each of the stories and each were very unique. I enjoyed Clay’s writing style and will be keen to read some more of his work now!

The title says it all - Clay McLeod Chapman's books may not be for everyone, but his loyal fans will be sure to eat up this collection of odd and creepy stories. While some got firmly under my skin, others didn't really make an impact - Baby Carrots was just too absurd to be creepy!

Wtffffffff Clay. After reading this, I may not look at baby carrots the same way, but I kind of want to buy a bag of them because I find them really delicious. Maybe I’m the weird one…

Clay is such a lovely and awesome person. How can a sweet guy write such horrid stories? I love short horror stories! If I want something to creep me out, I’ll read a collection of them. This was the perfect balance between funny and scary!
The ones which really struck me were;

Who Brings A Baby? Hilarious and disturbing!! That opening sentence had me laughing.

The Spew of News. I loved Wake Up and Open Your Eyes so that was the opening of that novel.

Stowaway - creepy and weird, the ending at me like 👀

Baby Carrots - ok, do I really need to say anything else about this one?

Pump and Dump - I spent most time reading this one saying “what the f Clay”.

Knockoff - who doesn’t love a good knockoff.. this one really hit home, especially when you have children between the ages of 5-8. I refuse to buy anything to do with Rainbow Friends and Huggy Wuggy.

Psychic Santa - This was an emotional one for me.

Sweetmeat - I love anything to do with cannibalism right now.

Hermit - maybe we all need a little Hermit in our lives?

All Ears - Excellent.

Stay On The Line - I’ve had this one sat on my shelf since I bought it from Shortwave! A unique story.

I didn’t dislike one story and they were all brilliantly written. Thank you Titan Books for sending me an ARC.

These short stories were all so bizarre and crazy. Some were comical and some were creepy asf. I loved the baby carrots one, I thought that was hilarious!

Clay McLeod Chapman is truly one of horror's all-time greats.

I am a huge fan of short stories — there's something so awesome about how writers are able to scare you, unsettle you, gross you out, make you uncomfortable, make you laugh, make you cry, make you run the emotional gauntlet, surprise you, and more, all in such a short time. Clay did that here.

He hasn't missed yet with his novels - Clay is an excellent novelist — one of the best out there, period. I had no doubt his shorter work would also be amazing. Hell, some of the earlier works of his l'd read were his Short Wave chapbooks and those are BONKERS (a couple are featured in here).

So, with my love for short stories and Clay's work already, you can probably guess my excitement levels were very high when Clay and Titan Books announced Acquired Taste. This collection proved he kicks ass at short stories too and my anticipation was absolutely warranted. The opening sentence of every one of these stories is the ultimate fish hook. If you're not immediately intrigued, idk what to tell you.

I read through these 25 stories (we had already read 4 of them), and not a single one left us disappointed. Wanting more? Maybe for a few, but that's only because we know Clay could easily warp any of these into a full-on novel and it would be a work of art. Funny enough... one of these stories WAS turned into a novel: Wake Up And Open Your Eyes

All this to say, Acquired Taste is one of the best short story collections out there. Clay is a gem and I am honored to be around when he's writing new stuff for us every year... often more than once... twice...

Seriously, this collection is absolutely fantastic. It's very gnarly at times and definitely takes you on a roller coaster of chaos.

Overall, Acquired Taste is an easy 5/5 from me and I can't recommend it, and Clay, enough. It hits shelves everywhere September 9th. Get those pre-orders in yesterday and crack it open as soon as you get it. It won't be an Acquired Taste for long.