No two stories are alike, even when they share a theme or a setting (such as Victorian spiritualism, which is the focus of both 'Host' by Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Jess Kid's 'Ada Lark': two very different perspectives). Some feel very much in the classic understated mode; others are nightmarish Gothic horrors. And the authors' voices are distinctive, each with its own flavour. 'Host' has tempted me to read Hargrave's longer fiction; 'The Salt Miracles' confirms my crush on Pulley's prose; 'Jenkin', by Catriona Ward, is as chilling as any of her novels. Those are probably my favourites right now, but there isn't a weak story in the collection. Perhaps unfortunately, this ends up meaning that the story written by the sole male contributor, Andrew Michael Hurley, is miles ahead of any of the others, because it’s the only one that a) opts for anything other than a Victorian (or thereabouts) setting, and b) does anything truly surprising. I enjoyed the contributions from Elizabeth Macneal, Natasha Pulley, Laura Purcell and Bridget Collins too, but I’d expected a lot more variation in terms of settings and styles. This is not an easy story to read. Also set in the Victorian era, this story is very unsettling and disturbing. I had guessed the twist in this too. I did like the author's note at the end as it gives a better explanation of the events. I was in love with the atmosphere and the writing. Until the end. Someone might call it an open ending. I call it a WTH did just happened? I listened to the last ten minute a second time, thinking maybe my english is not good enough, but no, it's really impossible to guess what happened. Not my taste, so sorry!

thwaite’s tenant – this was the first point at which i was like, oh, wow, there has been no thought on the part of these authors going into the material they’re working with (Victorian Woman Disease like completely sincerely) or the discursive terrain that their setting envelops. boring attempt at so-called ‘feminism’ (isn’t it so hard to be a bourgeois victorian woman?) and a gross, thoughtless deployment of sex work. really set the tone for the rest of the anthology so maybe i’ll redact my comment about this selection having no structure to it whatsoever. also just poorly executed, as ever. Here is a collection of Christmas stories with a twist, solidly in the holiday ghost story tradition. And what a fabulous collection it is! Usually in any short story collection there is at least one story that I am not that thrilled about. Not so here. Each story was wonderful in its own chilling way. These are not holly jolly Christmas stories, There is a sense of menace and creepiness to all of them. One story was like Bluebeard with a twist and another reminded me in a vague way of The Lottery. Settings range from old country houses to remote island villas to a small house next to a church in a seaside village and more. The writing is superb. In her story, The Gargoyle, Bridget Collins describes 'window boxes foaming with lobelia.' What a perfect description! All the stories take place at Advent, Christmas, or New Year's Eve. This is my first time reading most of these authors, but I would happily read more of their work based on this collection. I was a little sorry when I got to the end--glad to have had the reading experience, but bummed that it was over. Definitely 5 stars! My library system didn’t have the audio version for this, although Audible does have it. The clip sounded good, but as this was a fairly short book, I decided to read the print version, and enjoy that glorious new book smell.

I can’t resist a ghost story anthology, and The Haunting Season looked set to be a sterling addition to the genre. Inspired by the tradition of telling spooky tales in wintertime, it features contributions from eight well-known authors, promising to ‘bring this time-honoured tradition to vivid life in a spellbinding collection of new and original haunted tales’. The Master of the House by Stuart Turton: I've only read one of Stuart's books - The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - and so I didn't have a thorough understanding of his writing style, but that was enough to tell me has a great grasp of the complex and the mystery. While it does have an element of horror about it, I found this one to be enormously moving and caused a tear or two whilst reading it, which I wasn't expecting at all.

Similar to the titular houses in The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, the central Hell House in the Richard Matheson book is a sinister supernatural entity in and of itself. The majority of people who enter the house die before they can leave because the house digs into their deepest, darkest desires and uses them to make them question their sanity and turn them against one another. Like most Mike Flanagan TV and movie adaptations, Hell House's overarching narrative blends the supernatural with elements of mystery by walking readers through the investigations and findings of the main characters in the haunted house.

I didn't understand it. Ok, that's normal. I love the author but if I cannot understand his novels how did I ever expect to understand short stories??? I will give it another go in the end. Kidd’s take on the ghost story is quite unique, and works incredibly well. It’s all done with her added humour. She is always a pleasure to read. 5/5

Elizabeth Macneal’s cleverly titled ‘Monster’ is yet another Victorian story, but a creative one, and ends the book on a high note. Having been a high achiever as a child, Victor’s adult life has been a disappointment. On a trip to a seaside town with his wife, he’s convinced he can turn things around by discovering a ‘monster’, a new fossil. Macneal paints a fantastic picture of her unpleasant protagonist, and it’s deliciously enjoyable to watch his dreams gradually turn sour. Sunday Times bestselling author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street | Laura Purcell Award-winning author of The Silent Companions This was bad. I mean really bad. It is definitely my least favorite story in the collection. I had a feeling that Victor was being punished for something but I couldn't figure out what for? I thought they would reveal Mabel to be a selkie but was never done. Also, if anyone needed to be punished, it was Mabel. That end was so disappointing. The Chillingham Chair - 4 stars. A haunted wheelchair and a family with lots of secrets. Immediately creepy, the characters are all highly entertaining and the plot is fast paced and intriguing. It ends pretty abruptly however, and it's all a bit obvious but so far this is the saving grace of this anthology. Laura Purcell really thrives on making inanimate objects terrifying.

It's Christmas time so this time around it is especially difficult for Mori since he is a clairvoyant and he longs to go somewhere quiet. So, Thaniel, Mori, and Six decide to take a trip to a town a few hours away from London where it is perfectly quiet for Mori. Thaniel does not like the town or its people who stare at Mori unflinchingly and hum at the same time. The longer they stay there, the more Thaniel hates the town. Would they be able to get away from whatever lurks there?

This was another cryptic story. It is a story within a story that always chills me and delights me. I had guessed the twist early on. The only thing I didn't like was the ending. I think the ending could have been more developed as Ed never did anything with the information he found out. Confinement'. I was reading this story in a hospital and the story mentions blood endlessly, - it influenced my aversion to it. But also it's about a really cruel and ugly witch - obviously, I am not a fan of this kind of misrepresentation. (It surprised me in a book I would otherwise call pro-woman). Again, the 'good' woman is treated here in a cruelly restrictive manner, which was painful to read about - not at all an enjoyable read for me.

L’idea di base era funzionale e interessante, ma man mano che procedevo con la lettura ero perlopiù annoiata dall’ossessione del protagonista verso Lily. La governante però… lei sì che era un personaggio di tutto rispetto. A genuine treat of a short story collection, filled with spooky wintery tales, from some utterly brilliant writers. A garment fashioned by a seemingly innocent individual shall turn heads but for all the wrong reasons…