A great book for those who love horror and looking for short stories to read, vs a long time consuming tale. The various authors clearly have skill in bringing out ones greatest fears in horror. Each story is a very different flavor and worth this lovely taste. ( )

And interesting collection of stories, but nothing that jumped out at me. ( )

This anthology is great because not only did it introduce me to a bunch of new authors, but it introduced me to the HOWL Society (the "Horror-Obsessed Writing and Literature" society) which I'm very excited to learn more about - and maybe join one day??

Man, what a fun collection of stories! There is so much variety presented here (body horror, sci-fi horror, folklore, occult/cults, cosmic horror, hilarious horror, demons, monsters, evil twins, etc). Seriously, there's definitely something for everyone here - and luckily for me almost all of it worked! It just seemed like everyone involved had a great time writing these twisted tales, and their enthusiasm and creativity spills from the pages.

And speaking of the writers, it was awesome getting to meet a huge cast of new (to me) authors! Lots of talent here for sure. Oh, and several of the authors also provide illustrations for the stories which were so cool! Like I said, lots of talent.

I really did enjoy most of these stories, but some stand out ones for me were:

"Manufactured Gods" by P.L. McMillan - an epic blend of sci-fi horror, tech horror, and Egyptian mythology where a group of scientists go to explore the ruins of Earth and find a truly unsettling monster deep below ground.

"Red Punch Buggy" by B.O.B. Jenkin - at first read I found it to be a funny and disturbing little tale, but it has since burrowed into my brain and I can't stop thinking about it. Much like Scott Cole's Crazytimes, it uses humor mixed with shocking violence to wonderful effect.

"A Fistful of Murder" by Lindsey Ragsdale - a story about a man who finds a dollar bill with the word KILL written on it, and every time he looks at it he is forced to do just that. It's a simple idea but structured and played out beautifully.

"Suspended in Light" by Alex Wolfgang - another one that got under my skin and I can't stop thinking about. Creepy story of a women reviewing old film reels and unleashing a haunting force. I didn't fully understand the ending, but I enjoyed the ride. ( )

The HOWL Society's first anthology is, without exaggeration, the best unthemed anthology I've yet read, and among the top horror anthologies I've read right alongside the HOWL Society's more recent anthology, Howls from the Dark Ages. Howls from Hell is itself a carnival ride of talented new horror voices, with stories that are so unique and memorable that each one reads as a world in and of itself.

But let me back up. To hear about HOWL Society and its anthologies, one might not expect much--because, really, it sounds too fantastical the way all this came together. A bunch of horror lovers met on Reddit, and spearheaded by a few, began a horror book club together on discord. Among the horror readers and lovers were a number of talented, mostly unknown writers, and as the book club quickly grew into being the most active online horror book club, those writers connected and began learning from each other just as quickly. And when the talent in the circle became clear, the idea of an anthology was born. (Now, they're working on anthology #3...)

From hearing all that, you might expect the anthologies to be somewhat slapshod or unprofessional, but even this first anthology is anything but. The stories are powerful, smart stories that are well-written and polished. The writing is itself gripping and impactful, from story to story. And what's more, the stories are fresh--I was never once tempted to put down the anthology in favor of something else rather than continuing right on to the next story. And as with the other HOWL anthology, I have my favorites, but most of these stories (if not all of them) are strong enough for me to feel like some reader out there will list them as a favorite.

If you're a horror lover, and especially if you care for horror short stories, you should be picking up the HOWL anthologies as soon as they come out. Just like the follow-up, this first anthology was a fantastic read.

Absolutely recommended. ( )

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/14FblMmmy7Q

Enjoy! ( )