The Departed by Clive Barker

The Departed was the least horrifying story in this collection. Now I have actually not read anything by Clive Barker before, yes I'm just as shocked as you are, but I expected this story to be really dark and horrifying since this is the Clive Barker. I mean even though I haven't read anything by the man do I know how big his name is in horror. But this story felt actually kind of nice, a mother's longing to say goodbye to her son. (3 stars)

The New War by Lisa Morton

Like the Clive Baker story was this not that terrifying either, but I was curious to what the black creature was it just the old man's fantasy or what? The ending was really good. But not a horrifying story, just a short story about death. (3 stars)

Sammy Comes Home by Ray Garton

In my opinion the best story in this collection. Felt like reading an homage to Alien. I hate reading about animals suffering, but I think that made this story just a little bit better because I was really uncomfortable with Sammy and the other pets returning home with their...passengers... (4 stars)

The Brasher Girl by Ed Gorman

This one was interesting, but also a bit frustrating to read because I had so many questions toward the end. What was her friend after? Did the friend just want the people he connected to kill and for what? Did he get off on it? Did he live on other people killing? Too many questions, not enough answers. But a good ending by the way. (3 stars)

Creature Feature by Heather Graham
Interesting story, but it seems that the characters in this short story are from one of her book series and personally I just don't like that much reading short stories when the characters are from a series without having read the series first. I could just feel that Aidan Mahoney and Maureen Deauville had a lot of history together and here in this short story we got some glimpse of that. But the short story was not bad and I would like to read more about the Krewe of Hunters. But it also felt a little bit like the odd story out since the rest as far as I know did not base their stories on old characters. (3 stars)

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for a blog tour at TLC Book Tours. ( )

Dark Screams 4

I received and ARC copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have read each of these story collection as they came out and have enjoyed most of them. The fourth installment is very strong and makes me look forward to new volumes.

The Departed by Clive Barker
A story from the more tender side of Clive Barker. A supernatural love story about motherly love in which a mother (the departed) seeks to reunite, in whatever way that she can, with her children, and learns some hard lessons. Bittersweet and masterful. 5 stars.

The New War by Lisa Morton
A tense story of a terrified man in a nursing home stalked by the black and shadowy figure of death. Similar to the Barker story in that I felt that it was quite literary in treatment and subtle. Similar also in that Morton masterfully drafts her protagonist to generate sympathy even as the tension rises. I felt very deeply concerned for this man, a brave veteran WWII veteran struggling for his life and his sanity. This story was my favorite in the bunch. Lisa Morton is a very talented writer. 5 stars.

Sammy Comes Home by Ray Garton
Classic monster romp involving absolutely disgusting parasitic monsters. You know that this is just the beginning of the story and that it is all going to go downhill fast for humanity. I think it might be continued in or a spinoff of his novel ‘Nids, which I also recommend if you like this type of classic horror story. Garton knows how to write campy monster stories that are fun yet still make them scary. 4 stars.

The Brasher Girl by Ed Gorman
I don’t want to give too much away but I found this long story to be an interesting take on the possession concept. I was enjoying it in a “3 to 3 ½” sort of way until the ending, which I thought was very well done and chilling. 4 stars.

Creature Feature by Heather Graham
As the name suggests, this is pure Saturday morning horror movie fare and a bit too Scooby-Doo for me. Tastes may differ, though. 3 stars.
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This is the best volume of Dark Screams yet! With some heavy hitting authors within, I thought this collection was pretty damn good.

The Departed by Clive Barker-A very sad story to read around Mother's Day. 4*

The New War by Lisa Morton-Another sad story about a WWII veteran. 4*

Sammy Comes Home by Ray Garton- A creature feature that really hit home for me. This was my favorite of the bunch. 5*

The Brasher Girl by Ed Gorman-A story where I thought I knew where it was going, but I was very wrong. 4*

Creature Feature by Heather Graham-This was my least favorite of the bunch. It seemed to be all over the place-not knowing what kind of story it wanted to be? Or maybe it was just me-because I thought the initial concept was good then it morphed into something else. 3*

Overall, I thought this was an above average collection and I recommend it highly!

*I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. This is it! Thanks Net Galley!* ( )

I received a free ARC from Net Galley

Overall, I feel this is the best of the Dark Screams series so far. Three of these stories I thought were great, and the other two were still pretty good. I enjoyed reading all of them.

The Departed - a sentimental ghost story. Interesting, but didn't seem like anything special to me. I was hoping for more scares from Clive Barker.

Creature Feature - I thought this was an interesting premise. I really liked the setting, in a horror convention after closing time. I would worry about the creatures coming to life too. The shifting point of views was a little distracting though.

The New War - this was a tense story. Is the black thing real or imagination? And will it get Mike? I enjoyed this one.

Sammy Comes Home - My favorite story in the book. Although it didn't really explain why things were happening to the pets, it was still a pretty creepy story. The visuals at the end of the story of the other animals returning home was great.

The Brasher Girl - This felt more like a novel than a short story. I think it could easily be fleshed out into something longer. Cindy's special "friend" was a surprise, and not what I expected. I was thinking about this one long after I finished it. ( )

Dark Screams: Volume Four by Clive Barker, Ed Gorman & Heather Graham is a creepy anthology. Some of the stories actually made me cringe. I gave it five stars because it was horrifying & a fast read.

It included:

The Departed by Clive Barker where a loving young mother yearns to touch her son just one more time.

Creature Feature by Heather Graham where the Jack the Ripper mannequin comes to life. A totally unnerving reading experience.

The New War by Lisa Morton left me confused.

Sammy Comes Home by Ray Gorton reminded me of Stephen King's Pet Cemetery meets Alien. It's another goose bump inducing tale.

The Brasher Girl by Ed Gorman where things are not what they seem. Cindy has a friend who helps her come up with entertaining ideas.

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