Publisher – Unsung Stories

Published – 16/9

Price – £9.99 paperback via publisher £4.99 kindle eBook

Out of the Darkness, in collaboration with mental health charity Together for Mental Wellbeing, challenges some of the most exciting voices in horror and dark fantasy to bring their worst fears out into the light. From the black dog of depression to acute anxiety and schizophrenia, these stories prove what fans of horror fiction have long known – that we must understand our demons to overcome them. 

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, what began as a mental health crisis has rapidly become an unprecedented tsunami. The Centre for Mental Health has estimated that 10 million people will need mental health support in the UK as a direct consequence of Covid-19, with a staggering 1.5 million of those being under eighteen.

Edited by Dan Coxon (This Dreaming Isle) and featuring exclusive stories by Alison Moore, Jenn Ashworth, Tim Major and Aliya Whiteley, this collection harnesses the power of fiction to explore and explain the darkest moments in our lives. Horror isn’t just about the chills – it’s also about the healing that comes after.

All royalties and editor’s fees from this collection are being donated to the mental health charity Together for Mental Wellbeing.

Profits from this book support the charity Together For Mental Wellbeing

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Tell ‘normal’ people you like horror stories and you do occasionally get a look. What kind of person likes all that nasty stuff? But horror is about exploring the darker side of humanity and can be a very therapeutic way of processing those issues. Many of the horror authors I’ve encountered are some of the nicest people you’ll meet too. Last year with lockdowns and grief everywhere many of us had to deal with real horrors and in the excellent anthology Out of the Darkness edited by Dan Coxon a wonderful selection of horror authors have create a rich group of stories examining in many ways mental health and horror that impressively also give us a sense of hope.

Among the stories I enjoyed were

Nocturia by Nicholas Royle – this haunting and eerie tale is of someone seeing patterns of two of everything as they walk through the small nowhere town of Macclesfield. The eerieness is created by that that sense of dislocation the words create and yet we see the power that a simple act of seeking help can do to lift us out of an endless cycle of anxiety.

The Note by Jenn Ashworth – a wet illegible note is left on Amanda’s car, and this releases a growing tidal wave of anxiety and fears. Here the horror is the innocuous pulling someone out of control wrecking their homelife. It’s an emotional tale getting to you to see experience Amanda’s rising and constant fears and putting us in her shoes is a sobering experience for next time you’re tempted to tell someone its not the end of the world.

Lonely Souls in Quiet Houses by Laura Mauro – One of my favourite stories in the collection. Lissa’s life has fallen apart – she’s left her wife Claudia and their daughter Audrey. She now minds a decrepit old house in Georgia but starts to hear strange noises and see scratch marks on the floor. This tale explores someone whose mental illness has reached a terrifying level of anxiety and Mauro makes us see all aspect of Lissa’s life from falling in love to falling apart. Despite giving us a classic tale of a scary creepy house in the dark this tale is also about coming at peace with yourself and starting to recover. It’s a brilliant piece of storytelling.

Seabound by Alison Moore – This short but smartly constructed tale of a woman haunted by a man made of water is fundamentally about grief and re-living your life. Moore makes use see a woman’s entire life and a reminder we can all be touched by such issues in our lives.

Goodbye, Jonathan Tumbledown by Tim Major – a son visits his father and their new lover after the breakdown of a marriage thanks to the father’s many affairs. But he seems unusually not himself and it appears an anonymous benefactor if buying the man’s life experiences. This is a tale of how we need our darker memories and guilts to make us the person we actually are. It’s a unusual unjudgmental tale of memories and how trying to completely ignore your past may make you not yourself for all the wrong reasons.

The Chorus by Aliya Whiteley – a very short tale of a man whose lover is the only person in the world who doesn’t hear the Chorus in the Head. A weird yet beautiful tale of love with someone who doesn’t see the world the way many others do. A tale of hope that I really liked.

Meet On The Edge by Gareth E Rees – a B&Q car park is not the usual place for a horror story but a woman who feels overwhelmed by the world finds a stranger happy to listen and she feels strangely lifted. A reminder that there are so many lonely cutoff people in the world that perhaps something will stalk them if no one else will talk. A clever and yet disturbing story.

Still She Visits by Eugen Bacon – another of my favourite stories in the collection. Segomotsi now lives in Australia and has just lost her older sister Mokgosi in Botswana. This tale is of raw grief, guilt and anger as Segomotsi finds herself haunted by the decaying ghost of her sister but it is also a tale of therapy and talking about your experiences to process that fear. Through therapy sessions with the smartly titled Dr Bland we see what made Segomotsi who she is and what has made this death touch her so greatly. Another powerful story to enjoy.

Flotsam and Jetsam by Malcolm Devlin – an eerie tale of loneliness as we meet Ruth a woman who lives on her own, has distant family connections and very few other social ones either at work or in her street. An accident that hits an elderly neighbour through a strange powerful storm sets in motion a presence that also seeks Ruth. I loved the way this tale tackles that moment enjoying your own solitude can cross into being completely isolated and what kind of creature may try to feed on that impulse.

The Residential by Gary Budden – This fascinating story may remind us of the life prior tot the pandemic and where we had got to. One man making the commute from London after work something so many do. A tale of the lack of joy people experiences in that commute, our inability to help others and the frailty and perhaps pointlessness of being in that daily grind. The main character suddenly pushed out onto to the streets of London thanks to a broken down underground has to walk the streets just slightly hints how everything can change at a moment’s notice. A fascinating look at how life can get stagnant and also as we now know change in a moment.

The Hungry Dark by Simon Bestwick – Another fine tale explores the power of depression and also medication. Tom is placed on a new anti-depressant as his symptoms has worsened and he strangely starts seeing creatures around him and others. This tale is full of atmosphere and creates the sense of how people are constantly fighting their personal battles and often many do this alone. There is no massive battle of good and evil but the final scenes are extremely effective and a great metaphor for speaking up.

This is a great thoughtful collection exploring difficult subjects sensitively and eloquently while also delivering chills and shivers where required. A great thoughtful anthology I immensely enjoyed and helps a great cause. Strongly recommended that you get this as the dark nights approach and a reminder there is always a dawn.