horror short story collections worth owning
for when a full novel feels like too much commitment. every story here actually earns its place, not just the one that gets anthologized
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1
The October Country - Ray Bradbury
the crowd and the jar are the ones people quote, but skeleton is the one that actually got under my skin
2
Her Body and Other Parties - Carmen Maria Machado
husband stitch alone justifies owning this one. won the shirley jackson award for a reason
3
North American Lake Monsters - Nathan Ballingrud
monsters as metaphor for the actual people in these stories, mostly parents. won a shirley jackson award, this guy just keeps winning those
4
Full Throttle - Joe Hill
5
Get in Trouble - Kelly Link
not pure horror, more uncanny, but two eyes and the summer people will unsettle you the same way
6
When Things Get Dark: Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson (ed. Ellen Datlow)
my go-to when i can't decide what i'm in the mood for. tremblay and machado both contribute, wildly different tones side by side
7
The Grownup - Gillian Flynn
technically a single long story not a collection but it's short enough to read in one sitting and mean enough to count
8
Skin Folk - Nalo Hopkinson
caribbean folklore horror, this is the non obvious one that took me longest to track down a copy of
9
Bliss Montage - Ling Ma
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