When it comes to compilations of epic horror stories, Crystal Lake Publishing has been setting the standard. With an impressive cast of writers, the latest collection that makes up Tales from The Lake Vol 4: The Horror Anthology continues the publisher’s strong contribution to the genre. Unlike the dark folklore theme that weighed heavy in the previous three volumes, this collection has more of a classic horror feel that should appeal to hardcore fanbase.
Edited by Ben Eads (whose short story A Grand Perversion appeared Vol 2), includes a robust 25 tales filling almost 400 pages of horror. Taking a page from the more emotionally driven elements of horror, these stories examine the choices that we make when facing evil and just how malevolent many of our worst nightmares can become.
Take for example The Folding Man by Joe R. Lansdale (who also has a Weird West book coming out soon that I hope to review) where the simplest prank can turn into a frightening unexpected journey. Or Weighing In by Cynthia Ward (another voice familiar to Amazing Stories followers) which looks at the darker side of self-doubt and the old adage to be careful what you wish for. It’s not every day you stumble on a slew of character driven horror stories, but this book is chock full of them.
So, be prepared to sit back and lose yourself in the dark recesses of the mind with some of the most talented writers of the creepy macabre.
The Tales from The Lake Vol 4 includes:
When the Dead Come Home by Jennifer Loring
The Folding Man by Joe R. Lansdale
Go Warily After Dark by Kealan Patrick Burke
To the Hills by T. E. Grau
Everything Hurts, Until it Doesn’t by Damien Angelica Walters
Drowning in Sorrow by Sheldon Higdon
Whenever You Exhale, I Inhale by Max Booth III
The Withering by Bruce Golden
Grave Secrets by JG Faherty
End of the Hall by Hunter Liguore
Snowmen by David Dunwoody
Pieces of Me by Timothy G. Arsenault
Neighborhood Watchers by Maria Alexander
The Story of Jessie and Me by Timothy Johnson
I will be the Reflection Until the End by Michael Bailey
The Honeymoon’s Over by E.E. King
Song in a Sundress by Darren Speegle
Weighing In by Cynthia Ward
Reliving the Past by Michael Haynes –
The Long Haul by Leigh M. Lane
Dust Devils by Mark Cassell
Liminality by Del Howison
The Gardener by Gene O’ Neill
Condo by the Lake by Jeff Cercone
This is NOT a collection of Scooby-Doo moments. Tales from The Lake Vol 4: The Horror Anthology is a solid collection of nightmares from Crystal Lake Publishing that is a blast to read…well, maybe with at least one light on.
