Title: The Witchery
Edited by: Tori Bovalino
Type: Fiction
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Publisher:Page Street Kids
Date published: September 6, 2022
A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by Canadian Manda Group in exchange for an honest review.
A cemetery full of the restless dead. A town so wicked it has already burned twice, with the breath of the third fire looming. A rural, isolated bridge with a terrifying monster waiting for the completion of its summoning ritual. A lake that allows the drowned to return, though they have been changed by the claws of death. These are the shadowed, liminal spaces where the curses and monsters lurk, refusing to be forgotten.
Hauntings, and a variety of horrifying secrets, lurk in the places we once called home. Written by New York Times bestselling, and other critically acclaimed, authors these stories shed a harsh light on the scariest tales we grew up with.
Stay / Erica Waters
The tallest poppy / Chloe Gong
Loved by all, save one / Tori Bovalino
One-lane bridge / Hannah Whitten
Ghost on the shore / Allison Saft
Petrified / Olivia Chadha
Third burn / Courtney Gould
It stays with you / Aden Polydoros
Truth or dare / Alex Brown
The burning one / Shakira Toussaint
⤖ My Review ⬻
I really enjoyed the collection of YA folk horror short stories in The Gathering Dark edited by Tori Bovalino. There were stories by authors I’d read before, heard of before, and also authors I’d never read or heard of before, and I was excited to explore all of their writing for this specific niche.
I don’t read a lot of short stories, and I’m making it one of my 2023 goals to read more anthologies—especially after enjoying The Gathering Dark as much as I did! I enjoyed some stories more than others, which is fairly typical for me when reading anthologies.
Some stories were spookier than others, but they all had at least a little bit of spookiness to them which made me happy. I also wanted to mejton that I read The Gathering Dark while visiting my grandma in Transylvania, which definitely made things a little more interesting.
I almost felt nostalgic for places that were being described in The Gathering Dark while surrounded by a landscape that sparked so many other folk tales of its own, including the classic Dracula. Overall, I really enjoyed The Gathering Dark and am in the mood for more folk horror now!
⤖ Places to Purchase the Book ⬻
⤖ Let's Chat ⬻
Thank you for reading my review! Have you read this book? What did you think? And if you haven’t read it yet, do you plan to? Let me know in the comments!
I don’t usually read anthologies either but you may just check this one out! love the vibe!
Oh yay! I’m so glad 🙂 I hope you enjoy it as much as I did 😀