Dark Screams Volume 5 contains 5 short horror stories
First up in this collection is the very enjoyable Everything You’ve Always Wanted by Mick Garris. This is the story of the guest of honor at "Monsterthon", a convention of horror fans and horror has beens revisiting their glory days. When he meets a fan who has a movie of her own for him to view, what he sees leads to a horrifying yet some what comedic turn of events in which he learns it may be best not to get everything he ever wanted, because in the end happiness is fleeting while the cost is permanent.
Next up is The Land of Sunshine By Kealan Patrick Burke
Most of us have been in a relationship where we have been betrayed, or we lost that lovin’ feeling, Maybe our partner lost that feeling. But is it really just a feeling or is it something more tangible that has been lost. Can it ever be found?
The third entry Mechanical Gratitude by Del James is
sort of a love story with a twilight zone vibe to it, and it was my favorite of the bunch.
Next is The one and only by J kenner
A broken hearted college student heads off to New Orleans with friends after a break up and finds out for himself whether or not Voodoo is real or just for tourists.
Last but by all means not least is The Playhouse by Bentley Little
A real Estate agent’s ordinary work day is anything but, as she discovers in the playhouse of the untended backyard of her new listing.. This story actually gave me chills.
All in all this collection is well worth a read.





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I was given an ARC copy of this book by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have read the other 4 in this series and have really enjoyed 4 out of 5. This is one of the good ones. Over all rating: 4 stars

Everything You’ve Always Wanted by Mick Garris
Horror has its share of cautionary tales. The Monkey’s Paw comes immediately to mind. Not very many reach this level of cringeworthiness, however. Actually I found it so over the top to be amusing and I doubt that it is to be taken seriously. 3 1/2 stars.

The One and Only by J. Kenner
Classic ghost story format that was predictable for me from the outset. 3 stars.

The Land of Sunshine by Kealan Patrick Burke
Ok, now we are talking. KPB is a literary horror writer. Other than the Hammerish “Master of the Moors” you won’t find the usual horror suspects romping around in his stories, tearing up the scenery. The focus of his stories and novels is the human heart and the monsters often wear our faces. The Land of Sunshine is atmospheric and lush, full of symbolism and each word and scene is thought out and deliberately selected. A story to enjoy once for the language, then to read again to admire what is going on below the surface. 5 stars.

Mechanical Gratitude by Del James
Another story in the classic style. I can picture this one in Creepy or Eerie magazine. I mean that as a compliment. The story felt familiar to me in a good way, and didn’t veer of into unpredictable plot lines, but I still enjoyed it as a classic story done well. 4 stars

The Playhouse by Bentley Little
I had high hopes for this story because I am a big fan, like tons of other people, of Bentley Little. I wasn’t disappointed. I loved this story. Warped reality and time shifting converge but in the end it is the delightful characters that make this story special. Made the “Twilight Zone” portion of my brain very happy indeed. I would love to see an anthology composed of twilight zone type stories by famous modern authors and I would not be surprised if this one wasn’t one of the best of the bunch. 5 stars.
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3.5 stars!

Yet another collection is coming out via the Dark Screams format, which combines authors both known and unknown, perhaps in an effort to get those unknowns some exposure. In my experience, most of the Dark Screams volumes have been good and this one was no exception. I'll do a quick rundown of each story here:


Everything You’ve Always Wanted by Mick Garris. I thought this one started off well enough, but then something went awry. This tale had a Clive Barker vibe to it, and probably would have made a great Twilight Zone episode. From what I understand, Mick Garris used to produce the show Masters of Horror. This story would've worked well there too. 3*


The Land of Sunshine by Kealan Patrick Burke. I love Kealan Patrick Burke. Lurve. Him. But I'm sad to say this tale didn't quite work for me. It was dense and dark, and I usually love that, but in this case, I felt like I was plodding through. A KPB tale that doesn't quite work for me still rates 3.5*, so it's all good.

Mechanical Gratitude by Del James. I'm an American Muscle Car loving gal, so when a story comes my way about a BADASS 68 Camaro SS with a 396 under the hood? I'm IN. The car was great but I found the story to be unoriginal. 3*

The One and Only by J. Kenner. I'd not heard of this author before reading this story but I looked her up when I was done. It seems that this type of ghost/horror/voodoo story is not really her thing, but I think she should make it so, because this story ROCKED. 4*

The Playhouse by Bentley Little. I haven't read any Bentley Little stories in a while and this one makes me think I need to return to his catalog and knock a few more of his books off my TBR. This story is about a playhouse. A cool little playhouse with an Easy Bake Oven and fresh mud. But something weird is going on in there...perhaps you should pop on in and bake a mudpie? 5*

So, my math combines these ratings and comes out with a 3.7-so 3.5 stars it is. These Dark Screams volumes are always so interesting, even if all the stories don't work for the reader. You can discover new authors and rediscover old ones, and that's always a good thing in my book.

Recommended for fans of short story collections!

*A free e-ARC of this book was provided to me by the publisher, via Net Galley, in exchange for an honest review. This is it.*
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I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley

Everything You've Always Wanted - wonderful writing and a compelling story. I loved it. The subject of a horror film maker who peaked in his 20's was fascinating. 5/5

The Land of Sunshine - Moody, atmospheric and confusing. 3/5

Mechanical Gratitude - not scary, not exciting, just meh. 3/5

The One and Only - I liked the tone of the story. It was creepy. I am not sure why she picked William. Did he have a past connection with her? 4/5

The Playhouse - This was a great story. Really interesting concept and well written. 4/5 ( )

Dark Screams: Volume Five, from Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar with Mick Garris, J. Kenner, Kealan Patrick Burke, Del James, and Bentley Little bring horror to life. This is a five star anthology of stories that kept my attention.

Included in this frightening volume:

Everything You've Always Wanted by Mick Garris was a truly horrible story. He's being feted for the anniversary of the one film he made. He's in a hotel suite in Indianapolis. He showers & looks in the mirror at his naked body. "That stomach: How & when did it grow like this? It was like some kind of flesh luggage."

Later he meets the former star of a different older movie. "This creature was obviously female, as she had enormous round breasts climbing out of a scanty silk-and-sequin peekaboo gown that revealed more than anyone would want to see of her. Her arms crinkled like crepe-paper gift wrap when they bent, at odds with the smooth immobile skin of her face & breasts....She was quite monstrously sexualized in her presentation, but about as desirable as a camel in a skirt."

The One & Only by J. Kenner was a haunting tale that took place in New Orleans, a voodoo capital. "But when he looked at her--when he got lost in the hot ice of her eyes--he knew that she was right. That she was his future, his past, his present."

The Land of Sunshine by Kealan Patrick Burke had a mute wife & a troubled husband tortured by her silence. ..."though it had never bothered him before, her muteness now more than ever seemed like an infirmity destined to compound the inevitability of their dissolution."

Mechanical Gratitude by Del James will do anything to protect his '68 Camaro & does just that. "It took corners like a shark cruising on asphalt."

The Playhouse by Bentley Little was a haunting little tale about a real estate agent who makes life changes by visiting a playhouse on a property she's listing. "Wait a minute, she thought. Mud? Lois frowned. The property had been foreclosed on close to two months ago. It was summer. The mixture of dirt & water should have long since dried out."

I would like to thank Random House Publishing Group - Hydra & NetGalley for a complimentary kindle copy of this book. It did not change my opinion for this review. ( )