I would like to thank Flame Tree Press for a copy of this collection in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher - Flame Tree Press

Published - Out Now

Price - £5.99 Kindle eBook £9.95 paperback

Close to Midnight is the third volume in an annual, non-themed horror series of entirely original stories, showcasing the very best short fiction that the genre has to offer, and edited by Mark Morris. This new anthology contains 20 original horror stories, 16 of which have been commissioned from some of the top names in the genre, and 4 of which have been selected from the 100s of stories sent to Flame Tree during a 2-week open submissions window.

Winter is a perfect time for horror stories; the nights are longer, colder and there is always a feeling that world is just a little thin, tired and if we are unlucky something nasty could come through. Halloween season is of course great but sometimes the end of the year also encourages a good tale to spook you and Mark Morris in their latest anthology Close to Midnight has assembled a great collection of tales from many of horror’s finest authors to entertain and of course unsettle you.

Among the stories I enjoyed were

Best Safe Life For You by Muriel Gray - a couple in an unsafe neighbourhood are desperate to protect heir home and their desperation leads to a security system all the way from Tibet. Its a story that manages to be sad, funny and by the end incredibly creepy

Souvenirs by Sharon Gosling - an elderly man who was a constant adventurer now faces moving into a retirement home at the age of eighty. Gosling captures regrets; wistfulness and makes this an emotional tale of lost independence and you start to wonder exactly when the horror will be revealed and its delivered perfectly to unsettle you.

In The Wabe by Alison Littlewood - A mothe rlost her daughter in New York by a statue of Alice in Wonderland. Littlewood creates a facinating mystery as we se this area has many strange tales around it. Playing with the tale of Alice we get a darker and more sinister tale of things changing back and forth. It is a disturbing tale and the final scenes are chilling too as you realise the price being paid. A favourite

I Promise by Conrad Wlliams - a young man wakes every day to see the face of his father floating above him. Its a tale of haunting, grief and just possibly love. Another favourite as it tells a tale of a relationship over decades in just a few pages.

The Forbidden Sandwich by Carl Tait - A frustrated artist hears from one of care home residents if a sandwich that has immense power if you can work out the recipe. Darkly funny until it goes incredibly arghh!

Remains by Charlie Hughes - a fascinating ghost story told by a murder victim who haunts a London railway station. It stands out in our narrator’s view of the afterlife - more wistful, curious and also thinking about those left behind both in her life and at the station. Now many years later her murderer attempts to move her bones. A really impressive ghost story with a difference.

The Floor Is Lava by Brian Keene - an elderly man afraid of going the Doctor finds his bathroom floor now turned to lava. A cautionary tale with a fine last bite awaiting the reader.

The Spaceman’s Memory Box by Laura Mauro - a great tale of lost childhood, lost lives and memories all wrapped alongside the casual cruelty of children’s games. It is a tale of growing up and realising that the world is a crueller and stranger place than you’ll ever expect as you enter a stranger’s home. Brilliantly told.

Rise Up Together by Adam L G Nevill - a tale of a middle aged man visiting his old friend who now works in a seaside retirement village. A disturbing tale poking fun at the lives of the eternally old who just want their lives to run on clockwork. A chintz cage that captures the feeling of these places and makes it incredibly suffocating and also menacing.

A fine anthology of creepy tales perfect for you to get comfortable with until you realise that your house is now very quiet, you appear to be all alone and yet you feel watched. Definitely recommended!

Merry Christmas!