It Came from the Floodwaters by Seann Barbour

"So you're like a vampire? All we have to do is survive until morning?"

Silence settled over the apartment as everyone processed this. The Elder "You won't."

Tam is alone in their Savannah apartment when a hurricane blows in. Rain falls, streets flood. When water comes pouring into the building's lobby, it brings with it an old pine box. Inside that box is something ancient, something evil. It arises, and it begins its feast.

Now, as people are dying, the survivors gather together in one small apartment, desperate to live through the storm and live through the night. But the evil lurks right outside their door. It's hungry, it's patient, and it has all night long to kill every last one of them.

 

A diverse cast of characters with nothing in common except for the apartment building they reside in are brought together with one common goal... to survive the night.

Two life-threatening situations are occurring at once. The flood waters are rising, and so are the dead. Or should I say the undead? The hurricane is only one danger the residents will face. As the water rises, trapping them in the building with no way to escape and no way to call for help, it carries with it a coffin that has something hungry inside. 

Storms are one of my favorite horror tropes. Nothing grabs my interest quicker than a dark and stormy night. When a supernatural element is thrown in, with no means of escape, it's an extra added bonus. This was a quick and intense read that takes place over the course of a single evening in the lives of people who probably would not normally have bothered with each other. The fast pace and clash of personalities drew me in right away. This "Elder" that has come out of the coffin seems to have a connection to one of the characters. I wish that had been explored in more depth, but otherwise I would not change a thing.

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Seann Barbour for the paperback copy

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Tales From Halloween Land by Kevin J. Kennedy

 

Tales From Halloween Land: Two brand new short stories and a novelette

Enter Halloween Land, a carnival where nightmares come to life. Three never-before-released stories. Sinister, surreal, and darkly twisted, these tales will test courage, morality, and what it truly means to survive… if you dare step inside.

Three teens enter the eerie carnival Halloween Land and become trapped in a sinister tent. There, a living clown jack-in-the-box named Koko McKillington III forces them into a deadly game: one will leave, one will stay, and one will die. Facing horrifying choices and grotesque horrors behind mysterious doors, the boys quickly realize survival comes at a horrifying cost, testing their courage—and their humanity.

Melissa, a teenage girl, who was killed and resurrected by the sinister, otherworldly carnival Halloween Land—transformed into a powerful yet unstable clown. Bound to the carnival and gifted with superhuman abilities, she cannot escape, but her mind remains her own, mostly. As she navigates the ever-shifting, grotesque, and surreal landscape of Halloween Land, Melissa struggles to retain fragments of her humanity while embracing her newfound chaos. Trapped in a place she hates, she becomes a rogue force, turning her supernatural skills and unpredictable mind against the carnival itself. (Takes place directly after the events of The Clown novella.)

Frank and Anna’s quiet, happy life with their son Billy is shattered when he vanishes at a traveling carnival—along with his friends and their parents—leaving no trace and no answers. Grief drives them apart, their lives descending into despair, until a mysterious, otherworldly clown suddenly appears in their home. Beautiful, unnerving, and disturbingly aware of her own fragmented identity, she hints at the dark, supernatural forces behind Billy’s disappearance—and that their nightmare has only just begun.

This was my first visit to Halloween Land.  Not having read the previous books, I still feel like I have a decent grasp of the goings on in this creepy carnival from these stand-alone tales.

The carnival itself is a mysterious living entity. It pops up wherever it pleases and disappears when it gets what it came for, luring in unsuspecting patrons so it can feed on their souls. Those who are not chosen will be allowed to leave, but have very little memory of having attended, or of the strange looking carnies who work the rides and concessions.

In the first story, three teenagers who have never visited any carnival before are mesmerized by the sights and sounds at Halloween Land. There are so many games and rides, not to mention the smell of all that delicious food. If only they had not noticed a beautiful woman at a partially obscured tent, they might have had a night to remember fondly instead of a night to regret.

In the next story, we meet Melissa, or what used to be Melissa before the carnival murdered her friends and tried to bend her to its will. She is something different now, trapped by the carnival in a life she can't escape, but never under its full control. 

In the final story, a happy family is destroyed when the parents let their only son go to the carnival with friends. Their dread turns to panic and then despair the longer they are left waiting for him to come home. This was my favorite of the three tales. I found it to be more suspenseful and emotionally charged than the first two, and I enjoyed the way it tied together with a previous character.

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to the author for the e-ARC

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Hotel Macabre Vol.2: Tales of Horror

 Welcome back to the Hotel Macabre—where nightmares check in, but they never check out.

Step inside for another unforgettable stay in Hotel Macabre Vol. 2, a groundbreaking horror anthology where short stories, novellas, poetry, flash fiction, a dramatic reading, and even comics collide to create a dark literary experience like no other.

Featuring some of horror’s most celebrated voices—Graham Masterton, Nick Roberts, Ramsey Campbell, Gwendolyn Kiste, Jasper Bark, John Durgin, Viggy Parr Hampton, Gage Greenwood, Kyle Toucher, Tom Deady, Robert Ford, Alison Littlewood, John Ward, Jamal Hodge, Leigh Kenny, Jay Bechtol, Karolina Mogielska, Jonathan Gensler, S. C. Fisher, Larry Hinkle, Ben Eads, Matthew Mercier, and Mike Deady—this collection blurs the boundaries between traditional and experimental horror. Includes an introduction by the Bram Stoker Award-winning editor/publisher Joe Mynhardt.

Whether you crave psychological unease, supernatural horror, or raw, visceral nightmares, Hotel Macabre Vol. 2 delivers a room full of voices you’ll never forget.

And remember… You can check out, but you can never truly leave the Hotel Macabre. Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Where Stories Come Alive!

Having enjoyed my first stay at Hotel Macabre, I was excited to visit volume 2.

I've had a creepy good time, and though they say you can check out but never leave, I would not have minded a longer stay. Some of my favorite authors are there serving up 5 star stories. 

The first tale, Don't Cry For The Dead by Graham Masterton and Karolina Mogielska sets the bar high with a harrowing folk horror story of a mother's insurmountable grief. The next story, Hammered Halloween by Jonathan Gensler, made me cringe, and I am glad my face didn't freeze with the grimace that must have been plastered to it the entire time I was reading it. I am one who has to look away in horror movies when someone is chopping veggies and I know they're about to chop their fingers off or purposely slice their palm for the blood required for a ritual. This story brought images that were much more vivid, and when I say "YUCK," I mean it as a compliment.

I did wonder what they meant in the description of this volume about the inclusion of a dramatic reading. Well, not to be overly dramatic myself, but when I found out, my hand flew to my mouth in the fashion I usually laugh at when someone in a movie expresses their shock this way. There is a link in the book that takes you to a private video in which Robert Ford reads his story Racing The Milk to you himself! And it's amazing! It's a story of love, loss, ghosts and heartbreak. I think I'm spoiled now and will judge all future books by whether or not the author invites me into their home to read to me. 

Gene of the Obscene by Nick Roberts finds a boy wondering if being a serial killer is a hereditary trait.  Last Day Free by Viggy Parr Hampton is a stroll through a run-down amusement park that is about to close down permanently, while a man reminisces about the good old days. Late Night Cigarettes by Gage Greenwood is an unsettling story that anyone with anxiety can relate to.

Ask Me About My Crypt Now For Sale Half Price! by Gwendolyn KisteIs a weird title which led me to expect some comedic relief but instead delivered a story of loneliness, betrayal and gave me a fear of late night tv.

Coulrophobia Kills by Leigh Kenny takes us on a trip to the circus where a man will try to overcome his fear of clowns. I have read several works by this author and loved them all but she really outdid herself here.

The Burial Shoe by Alison Littlewood is a poem about the real Cinderella. A warning to anyone who thinks someday your prince will bring you a happily ever after.

Death's Door by Ben Eads brings us to tag along with a children's author struggling with her own grief who tries to bring comfort to kids with cancer. This will be her last visit to a sick child.

I'm just going to stop here before I start gushing over every single story and say that I can already tell you this book will land in my best horror of 2026 list.

5 out of 5 stars.

My thanks to Crystal Lake Publishing for the e-ARC.

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Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians, Stephen Graham Jones, comes a slasher story where a teen prank goes very wrong and all hell breaks loose in a small town. Winner of both the 2020 Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson Awards!

We thought we'd play a fun prank on her, and now most of us are dead.

One last laugh for the summer as it winds down. One last prank just to scare a friend. Bringing a mannequin into a theater is just some harmless fun, right? Until it wakes up. Until it starts killing.

Luckily, Sawyer has a plan. He’ll be a hero. He'll save everyone to the best of his ability. He'll do whatever he needs to so he can save the day.

That's the thing about heroes—sometimes you have to become a monster first.

 After a group of teens are tossed out of the theater where one of them works, for having snuck in without tickets, they come up with what was meant to be a harmless prank. They're coming back, but not alone. This time, they are bringing in a mannequin, and won't it be funny when the manager finds out that it has a ticket to watch the show? Well, it would have been. I would have laughed. Except it doesn't work out that way at all. Their carefully planned prank was a flop. And where has Manny the mannequin disappeared to?

What felt like it was gearing up to be a light-hearted coming of age takes a drastic turn when a horrific accident takes the life of one of these friends. Sawyer knows it is the mannequin seeking revenge. It's out to get them all for making it take part in this prank, using it as a joke. How can he stop it from wiping out everyone who gets in its way?

This was a suspenseful read with fast-paced action that I flew through in a single day. It was not at all what I was expecting from the title and description. I love the way it took me by surprise. If you like small-town horror with close-knit friends struggling with desperate choices, this is for you.

4 out of 5 stars

My thanks to Tor Nightfire for the gifted paperback.

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