All short stories in this collection are side stories to the main events and this makes vol 5 standalone - you can skip it or you can read it, it wont make much of a difference for the main story line.

The Pickens County Horror is what you might call homage to Color from Space, standard body-snatcher horror where mysterious mist raises dead from their graves. It would be pretty oh-yeah-zombies-again-yaaay story if these same dead bodies weren't put in said graves by vampires. Interesting story, old school horror.

Transformation is very short but again it seems to be homage to Lovecraft and his favorite twist: everybody going crazy when in touch with the forbidden dark knowledge. Lots of hints, lots of wait for it .... and then pfffttttt.

Final arc is about BPRD group investigating strange house in Chicago. Here, contact with the mysterious sword will transfer one of the team members to ages past. Again homage to Lovecraft's circle, memories stored in things, in our genetic memories and people living through these strange times while looking comatose to everyone in their actual timeline (Jack Carter of Mars style, if you understand me).

Interesting collection, stories on their own are variations of what you might call already familiar horror stories with the twist. Only thing that sets them apart is the fact that main protagonists are your standard BPRD agents, and this means you are never sure who will survive the story.

Interesting stories, recommended. ( )

Loved these stories about non-"elite" agents of the Bureau. They flesh out the world and give it verisimilitude and are generally just great. Especially Agent Strode 8) ( )