Hunger Pangs by Scott J. Moses

"Thinking is like life, some insatiable hunger you'll never quite satisfy."

1959: A grieving lawman bargains with darkness to reunite his family.
1960: A traveling exorcist takes a case where the traditional means of expelling evil have failed.
1969: A haunted widower picks up a hitchhiking hippie.
1985: Siblings flee their horrid past, and the curse in their blood.
2020: An immortal longs for her life in the sun.

In his debut collection, Scott J. Moses presents thirteen tales of supernatural horror and everyday woe.





The aptly titled Hunger Pangs is a collection of tales filled with hunger. Hunger for what might have been, hunger for what can never be, hunger for human flesh, and in the title story a hunger for blood. Most are filled with themes of loss, and the horror of grieving that loss.
All were well written  and quite original although not necessarily as scary as I had hoped. I would recommend it for fans of dark fiction but perhaps not for hard core horror fans.
4 out of 5 stars I received an advance copy for review

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About the author
Scott J. Moses is a Baltimorean writer of horror and dark fiction. His short fiction has appeared in STORGY, The Cabinet of Heed, Coffin Bell, & elsewhere. His debut collection Hunger Pangs was published in 2020.

Don't Look for Me by Wendy Walker

One night, Molly Clarke walked away from her life.

She doesn't want to be found.

Or at least, that's the story.

The car abandoned miles from home.

The note found at a nearby hotel.

The shattered family that couldn’t be put back together.

They called it a “walk away.”
It happens all the time.

Women disappear, desperate to leave their lives behind and start over.

But is that what really happened to Molly Clarke?


 Molly Clarke is living her life buried under the constant pain of her grief, and I felt it. Her days are endless guilt and torment. Knowing that her husband doesn't love her anymore but still loving him anyway. Believing that her children would be better off without her, and they certainly act as if they wish she were gone. It is on one such night, in the height of a storm, when she considers the possibility of walking away from her life. That is the question, should she stay or should she go? But that choice is taken from her, it is not she who decides whether she will return home on this night. I loved probably the first half of this book. I believed in Molly and her pain was real to me. The twists and turns took my breath away, but as we reached the final reveal the reasoning behind what happened to Molly felt foolish and senseless, and largely disappointing.
3 out of 5 stars
I received an advance copy for review.

About the author
Wendy Walker is the author of psychological suspense. Her novels have been translated into 23 foreign languages and have topped bestseller lists both nationally and abroad. They have been featured on The Today Show, The Reese Witherspoon Book Club, and The Book of the Month Club and have been optioned for television and film.

Don’t Turn Out the Lights: A Tribute to Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Featuring stories from R.L. Stine and Madeleine Roux, this middle grade horror anthology, curated by New York Times bestselling author and master of macabre Jonathan Maberry, is a chilling tribute to Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

Flesh-hungry ogres? Brains full of spiders? Haunted houses you can’t escape? This collection of 35 terrifying stories from the Horror Writers Association has it all, including ghastly illustrations from Iris Compiet that will absolutely chill readers to the bone.

So turn off your lamps, click on your flashlights, and prepare—if you dare—to be utterly spooked!

The complete list of writers: Linda D. Addison, Courtney Alameda, Jonathan Auxier, Gary A. Braunbeck, Z Brewer, Aric Cushing, John Dixon, Tananarive Due, Jamie Ford, Kami Garcia, Christopher Golden, Tonya Hurley, Catherine Jordan, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Alethea Kontis, N.R. Lambert, Laurent Linn, Amy Lukavics, Barry Lyga, D.J. MacHale, Josh Malerman, James A. Moore, Michael Northrop, Micol Ostow, Joanna Parypinksi, Brendan Reichs, Madeleine Roux, R.L. Stine, Margaret Stohl, Gaby Triana, Luis Alberto Urrea, Rosario Urrea, Kim Ventrella, Sheri White, T.J. Wooldridge, Brenna Yovanoff


"He reaches for me and I'm sure he plans to pull out my intestines and wear them like a scarf, but instead he pats my head."

When my son was in middle school I bought him the set of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. After he read them I did too. Don't Turn Out The Lights is exactly the kind of story collection that I would have bought for him when he was younger and that he would still keep on his book case now that he is grown. Whether you have kids or are a kid at heart these stories are a spooky journey into otherworldly realms, sometimes with a moral to the story, such as being careful what you wish for in Jingle Jangle. One of my absolute favorites was "The Neighbor" when a lonely boy finds a playmate but all is not as it seems. Some reveal some hidden dangers in social media or text messages from strangers such as in The House On The Hill or the even more terrifying "Tag You're It" where a boy has a creepy social media stalker from which there is no escape. I also loved that each story has a spine tingling illustration. This was such a fun read and for me it was like a trip down memory lane and something brand new all rolled in to one.

4 out of 5 stars
I received an advance copy for review.

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Last Case at a Baggage Auction by Eric J. Guignard

1963 Detroit is a hotbed of gambling, and the weekly baggage auctions keep a busy trade. Charlie Stewart and Joey Third are skilled in the art of successful bidding, but when Joey lands a mysterious suitcase, the thrill of winning turns to terror once they realize they’ve opened something sinister.

Inside the suitcase is an antique gramophone, and the music it plays is unlike anything they’ve heard before. A chanting voice speaks to them in strange words, evoking visions of a dark, frozen land. It’s a voice that makes them sick with addiction, and it continues chanting in their heads even when the record stops playing.

Charlie sets out to solve the mystery of the unholy music and how to turn it off forever. But the urge to listen grows stronger, and the more it plays, the more the aural virus spreads, until people begin to vanish . . . feeding an apparition that seeks immortality.


This was a short and spooky read. I had actually heard of these auctions before. I think I saw it on some reality show my husband may have been watching. People bid on abandoned or unclaimed property, forgotten or left behind by their owners or sometimes just lost by baggage handlers. You never know what is inside or what you've won until you open it later. Charlie and Joey are pals who live in the same run down apartment building and attend these auctions together. Occasionally they make some money off their finds, but more often than not the suitcases and their contents just pile up in their messy apartments. After one such auction, they open an antique gramophone and some strange looking homemade records. The music is horrible and the chanting is quite unnerving, but the more they listen, the more they feel compelled to keep listening. Charlie takes a record to someone who may be able to decipher what the chanting is saying, but Joey stays holed up in his apartment with the gramophone and other records, and the more he listens the more he begins to change. Even though Charlie is a good person with a big heart, he does have a habit of being late and a bit absent minded so I'm not sure I would want to count on him in a situation where time is of the essence. Just ask his girlfriend who has often been left waiting for him, or the neighbors in his building who can hear the chanting coming from Joey's apartment and are now compelled to keep listening. 
As a reader who loves both horror and historical fiction I found this ominous tale to be right up my alley.
4 out of 5 stars
I received a complimentary copy for review.

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About the author
ERIC J. GUIGNARD is a writer and editor of dark and speculative fiction, operating from the shadowy outskirts of Los Angeles, where he also runs the small press, Dark Moon Books. He’s twice won the Bram Stoker Award (the highest literary award of horror fiction), been a finalist for the International Thriller Writers Award, and a multi-nominee of the Pushcart Prize.

He has over one hundred stories and non-fiction author credits appearing in publications around the world. As editor, Eric’s published multiple fiction anthologies, including his most recent, Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror , and A World of Horror , a showcase of international horror short fiction.

He currently publishes the acclaimed series of author primers created to champion modern masters of the dark and macabre, Exploring Dark Short Fiction ( Vol. I: Steve Rasnic Tem ; Vol. II: Kaaron Warren ; Vol. III: Nisi Shawl ; Vol. IV: Jeffrey Ford ; Vol. V: Han Song ; Vol. VI: Ramsey Campbell).

Also through SourceBooks he curates the new series, The Horror Writers Association Presents: Haunted Library of Horror Classics with co-editor Leslie S. Klinger.

His latest books are his novel, Doorways to the Deadeye and short story collection, That Which Grows Wild through Cemetery Dance.

Outside the glamorous and jet-setting world of indie fiction, Eric’s a technical writer and college professor, and he stumbles home each day to a wife, children, dogs, and a terrarium filled with mischievous beetles. Visit Eric at: www.ericjguignard.com, his blog: ericjguignard.blogspot.com, or Twitter: @ericjguignard.