If you go into the woods, be sure to go in disguise. There be monsters in this anthology!
It Calls From The Forest contains 24 horror short stories on the theme of dark things lurking among the trees. I found this to be a very solid anthology, with stories of a high standard. As with any themed anthology, there were some stories that covered similar ground, and stories that I liked more, and liked less, but all together I enjoyed every story in this anthology, which is rare.
My favorite story is tied between Getting Away From It All by Greg Hunter, and Forestman by Holley Cornetto.
Hunter’s story is so original and creepy that I don’t want to say too much about it for fear of spoiling it. It was a strong stand out for me.
Cornetto’s story is more familiar, concerning a group of children who find something strange in a cave in the woods, but it’s told well, with just the right mix of mystery versus exposition, and enough about the characters to make you care for them.
Other stories I particularly liked were Lazarus’ Respite by Michael Subjack, where a group of bullies in the woods find a dead body, and Fairies in the Forest by Jason Holden, which describes nicely the nasty little fairy idea – think Hellboy type fairies.
I commend Knotwork Hill by C.W. Blackwell for taking a popular theme – witchcraft in the woods – and giving it a satisfying noir feel.
I’ll also give a shout out to Tim Mendees’ two stories, which were both well written and had great atmospheres. I particularly liked a character in Rouse Them Not shouting “cooey” from her bicycle at two killer trees. It’s a blend of horror and humor that appeals to me.
I award It Calls From The Forest…
It Calls From The Forest is available for $2.83 ebook and $13.99 print book on Amazon.
I received an ARC of this book from BookSirens in exchange for an honest review.
Iseult Murphy 
Sounds like a good collection, worth reading, thanks.
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It is. Thank you.
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Anthologies are hard, for the reasons you said. Not every reader is going to like every author’s style/subject. So hey, a four star anthology is pretty good! Thanks for sharing your review. I’m about to read Arterial Bloom. It’s a horror anthology that came out earlier this month.
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Yes, usually in an anthology I like one or two stories and dislike a few stories and then the rest are ok. This was pretty solid. I’d love to hear what you think of Arterial Bloom. It’s on my TBR.
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I finished Arterial Bloom. It was stuffed full of quality writing. A lot of the stories had unreliable narrators or ambiguous endings, which was fun, and all of them had a literary feel. I liked it. There were a couple of stories where a feminist or political message overwhelmed the story (for me, that takes away the escapist enjoyment), but other than that, I enjoyed the anthology!
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Thanks for the update, Priscilla. It sounds well worth reading. I also dislike when a message overwhelms a story. 😊
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Whenever I go to the woods I wear a red cape and eat porridge at the bears house. Do you think my disguise suffices?
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Very clever, Joe. If anyone sees you, they’ll be looking for a little girl with a grandma and blonde hair. Tell more more about this porridge.
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Thanks Joe, I thought it was smart. Sometimes the porridge is too hot, sometimes it’s too cold, but every once in a while it’s it’s just right.
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Sounds hit and miss. Glad they get it right occasionally.
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Yeah. I won’t even get into their chairs.
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Sounds like a complete nightmare. Imagine if they provided beds too!
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Tell me about it!
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It’s a great title.
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It’s very evocative, isn’t it.
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Thanks for the info if the book 🙂
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You’re welcome. Thanks for stopping by. 😊
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