Dark Screams Volume 8 is an anthology of six literary horror stories from Hydra - Random House. The volumes come out every quarter. I very much enjoyed Volume 7 that released in July 2017....so I happily curled up on the couch with a fresh cup of coffee and a blanket to enjoy this newest edition.

Stories in Volume 8 are:

Walpuski's Typewriter - Frank Darabont. Howard Walpuski takes his IBM typewriter to the repair shop of the damned, discovering too late it's never wise to hire a demon as a ghost writer. Great story! Nice opener for this anthology.

The Boy - Bentley Little. Christine and her husband just bought the perfect house in the suburbs. Their neighbors are all perfect, too....well except for that one boy. Holy crap....this story....oh my. It isn't really scary....just incredi-disturbing. Nicely done!

Tumor - Benjamin Percy. He might have survived brain cancer, but his tumor is still hanging around. Um....this story has an ewwww factor of like 9000. Not scary....just gross. lol. Definitely had a creepy effect on me....or was that nausea?

Twisted and Gnarled - Billie Sue Mosiman. He's a killer, and a genius (or at least he believes he is). Nobody suspects he is the killer leaving dead bodies, bloody and posed, all up and down the coast. Except one woman....the mother of one of his victims. But he knows he is smarter than she is. Hmmm...this one was suspenseful and very darkly demented. When I finished, I had to sit for a moment and collect my thoughts to decide how I felt about this story. Disturbing. Definitely disturbing.

The Palaver - Kealen Patrick Burke. A barber is ready to retire. But then a stranger walks into his shop one night and tells him a tale that gives him a new, and dark, reason to continue. Very creepy story! I loved the stranger's story......yikes! It doesn't pay to dis the new barber in town. Not at all.

India Blue - Glen Hirschberg. Cricket isn't a sport that most Americans follow, but America's Rockin' Cricket game will never be forgotten. To be honest, I didn't finish this story...it just wasn't enjoyable for me. I guess I'm one of those Americans that doesn't understand, or want to read about, Cricket.....even a match with supernatural ramifications. But...just because I didn't like it doesn't mean other readers won't love it. To each their own.

All in all, a nice mix of stories -- quite creepy, disturbing and dark. Only one I didn't care for out of the bunch...I call that a success. I enjoy these strange and disturbing story anthologies. The stories vary in style and theme. Most are weird and different....not just resurrected horror tropes.

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Hydra (Random House). Opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

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3.5/5 stars!

Another entry in the, (overall), excellent DARK SCREAMS series is here, this time with a few surprising authors. I've listed what I thought were the standout tales below.

My favorite story in this volume has to be WALPUSKI’S TYPEWRITER from Frank Darabont. Known for his work directing movies like The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption, I had no idea the man wrote stories. This one was dedicated to Stephen King and it even has that SK vibe to it-reminding me a lot of King's early story THE MANGLER . In this case, the machine gone-wild is a typewriter and Darabont doesn't hold back. I LOVED this tale!

Coming in a close second for me though, was Kealan Patrick Burke's THE PALAVER. Those of you who have read Kealan's work in the past may already be familiar with the town of Milestone and be as happy as I was to return. There is something about human hair that creeps me out and Kealan takes that creep factor and amps it up to eleven. Just thinking about it makes me shiver!

I enjoyed THE TUMOR by Benjamin Percy as well. I believe this is the first story I've read from this author and I'm going to have to track down some more.

DARK SCREAMS 8 delivers the goods once again. Not all the stories resonated with me, but that's not unusual. The ones that did resonated deeply and that's what keeps me coming back to this series again and again.

Recommended!

Available on Halloween! Pre-order yours here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N18W7W0/chashorcor-20

*An e-ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review. This is it.*

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This is a great collection of horror stories. Of the six stories here, I loved five. The final story, India Blue, was my least favorite. That story went on too long, tried to make cricket sound exciting to Americans, and had very little horror in it. This volume would have been perfect if that story was omitted.

WALPUSKI’S TYPEWRITER by Frank Darabont
This got a little predictable towards the end, but still a gripping story.

THE BOY by Bentley Little
I was actually shocked by the ending. A story of suburban horror.

TUMOR by Benjamin Percy
Very interesting story that had some dark humor.

TWISTED AND GNARLED by Billie Sue Mosiman
Great serial killer story with a look into the mind of a killer.

THE PALAVER by Kealan Patrick Burke
I loved the story within a story. When the old man finished telling his tale, I was genuinely shocked to find I was back to the original story. It was that compelling.

INDIA BLUE by Glen Hirshberg
Ugh. So boring and did not feel like it belonged in this collection.

This is my favorite of the Dark Screams series so far. I highly recommend it.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. ( )

Walpuski's Typewriter (Frank Darabont)
Actually, Howard Walpuski just wanted his IBM typewriter repaired, but what he got was much more. A bargain that soon turns weird - and bloody. My favorite story in the collection, it was creepy but also funny. *****

The Boy (Bentley Little)
I think this was a very mean story. ****

Tumor (Benjamin Percy)
Weird thing with a ending that makes your imagination run wild. Perfect implementation of the short story concept. ***

Twisted and Gnarled (Billie Sue Mosiman)
Suspenseful cat-and-mouse thriller. ***

The Palaver (Kealan Patrick Burke)
This is the first story of one of my favorite authors I didn't immediately warm
to. Great writing as expected, but the subject didn't really catch my interest. **

India Blue (Glen Hirshberg)
My least favorite story in the collection. I'm not familiar with that sport so didn't understand most of it. The ending was equally confusing and made me feel like I missed something vital. *

Summary: Reading the stories from top to bottom turned out to be unexpectedly anticlimactic - I so wished I would have read them in reverse order to save the best for last. However, the eighth volume in the Dark Screams series still manages to deliver some fine horror stories, and I'm glad to see the series will still go on.

(Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of the book, all opinions are my own) ( )

Dark Screams is the eighth book in the Dark Screams series written by different authors.

These short stories include:

WALPUSKI’S TYPEWRITER by Frank Darabont: ****

THE BOY by Bentley Little: ****

TUMOR by Benjamin Percy: ***

TWISTED AND GNARLED by Billie Sue Mosiman: ****

THE PALAVER by Kealan Patrick Burke: ***

INDIA BLUE by Glen Hirshberg: **

This is a collection of bizarre stories that I found interesting. Each author has a unique style which added to my enjoyment. I found this collection to be a quick and fun read.

I received a copy from Hydra through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )