This was obviously going to be a must-read for me: short stories, Jordan Peele, African American writers, and horror. Done!

I wanted to read something spooky for Halloween, and this anthology of short stories matched the vibe I was going for perfectly. There were a few stories that actually even left me feeling downright scared (which is hard to do, especially with this form of writing). I loved this slate of writers that the master filmmaker/writer Peele has assembled here. These writers are at the top of their game, so it was exciting to see their work all gathered in one place.

There’s a wide breadth of horror subjects here – everything from zombies and aliens to ghosts and monsters. But the aspect that makes this collection unique is that many of the stories contain elements of African American culture that aren’t often represented (including things like voodoo or ancient magic). I loved how the trope of the black person getting killed first in horror movies is completely flipped in these stories. I never knew quite where each story was headed, and this off-balance tone created a creepiness that truly lends itself to the horror genre.

Of course with any short story collection, there are going to be a few stories that just don’t hit. There weren’t many in this book, but there were a couple that didn’t land with me personally (which is probably the only thing preventing me from giving this five stars). Plus, I’m excited to check out several of these authors other works in the future.

My favorite stories included “Reckless Eyeballing” by N.K. Jemisin, “Eye and Tooth” by Rebecca Roanhorse, “The Rider” by Tananrive Due, “Pressure” by Ezra Claytan Daniels, “Flicker” by L.D. Lewis, and “Your Happy Place,” by Terence Taylor.

I can’t explain how happy I would be if Peele edited another anthology like this every Halloween!

4.5 stars

*Free ARC provided by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*