I recieved an ARC copy on NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The second in the series continues the high quality. Read it in one sitting.

Overall Rating 4 stars.

The Deep End by Robert McCammon

I don’t like swimming in my pool at night with the light off. Yes, it is my pool and I know every inch of it. Maybe if I hadn’t read so many horror stories over the years, my imagination wouldn’t conjure up things in the dark water. I just find myself waiting for the touch of something on my leg from down below. This story is just like that. Creepy. Old School. It plays on fears of what is in the dark, or maybe just something we can’t see. Something that is nasty and old and “other.” 5 stars.

Interval by Norman Prentiss Very modern story that took several directions that I did not see coming in what, to all appearances, is a very realistic horror of a downed airplane and the hell that waits for the families waiting for news. Then it becomes about something else entirely. 4 stars.

If These Walls Could Talk by Shawntelle Madison My first story by this author and I enjoyed it very much. Can’t say much about this story that wouldn’t ruin it. I guess the best way to describe it is that when you are in a haunted house, sometimes the ghosts are the least of your worries. 4 stars.

The Night Hider by Graham Masterton Interesting story by one of the best ever. Think of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Now what if it wasn’t Narnia on the other side and what if instead of you going into another world, things from another world come into yours? A Masterton style ending too, which may not be expected. 4 stars.

Whatever by Richard Matheson I lived through the times described in this stream of consciousness rock music montage, so I feel that I caught most of the references. While I found the story interesting, I really don’t have a clue what was going on here. I did enjoy it for what it was though. 3 stars. ( )

You can skip reading this one. It has the appearance of being a bunch of sub-par, overlong tales that couldn't be published anywhere else. The book's longest story isn't even a horror story....

THE DEEP END by Robert McCammon ***
Effecitve story about a father convinced there is "something" in the swimming pool where his son (and many others) have drowned. Goes on a bit too long, but still pretty good.

INTERVAL by Norman Prentiss **
Good idea, about a demon who thrives on the anticipated dread of humans, but poorly executed.

IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK by Shawntelle Madison ZERO stars
Truly awful. The type of story that gives horror a bad name. Just as exercise in sickness and sadism, with no redeeming value.

THE NIGHT HIDER by Graham Masterton **
Overlong and with a grisly ending, this isn't up to Masterton's best. There are so many unanswered things at the end, such as what the witness will say....this all just seems poorly thought out.

WHATEVER by Richard Christian Matheson **
Matheson is certainly the best writer of the bunch. This tale of a doomed rock band has some nice scenes, but is burdened down by its dated focus on how bad the 1970s were. The band doesn't really come off as believable--and, oh yes, IT ISN'T A HORROR STORY, SO WHAT IS IT DOING HERE?

The narrator of the audiobook does a good job with various tones and dialects. ( )

When this book came up for review at Net Galley I jumped on it, because I enjoyed the first volume so much. Unfortunately, I didn't find this volume to be as good as the first.

My favorite story of the bunch is BY FAR, The Deep End by Robert McCammon. Not just because he's one of my favorite authors, but because the story ROCKED. 5*

Unfortunately, most of the rest of the stories just didn't resonate with me.

Interval by Norman Prentiss should have made an impression on me, considering what's gone on in the world over the last 6 months, but sadly, it did not. 3*

If These Walls Could Talk by Shawntelle Madison. I did enjoy this story, it's probably my second favorite. The way in which the story was told was a little bit scattered, but I enjoyed the way it developed. 4*

The Night Hider by Graham Masterton. I would have been fine with it still hiding. 2*

Whatever by Richard Christian Matheson. I kind of liked this one, but it was told in such a disjointed manner that I got confused and then I was just like...whatever. 3*

Find this review and others like it at HorrorAfterDark.com.

*I received a free e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This is it.* ( )

The Deep End - A good story about a monster lurking in a public swimming pool. The monster had some pretty creepy skills and the story had a good flow to it.

Interval - A little boring. The big reveal wasn't really that surprising or scary.

If These Walls Could Talk - a haunted house story with a twist of Poe. Well written, and it stayed in my thoughts after I finished it.

The Night Hider - a truly creepy premise. I liked how it tied into C.S. Lewis' Narnia stories.

Whatever - confusing and non-linear story telling. This was my least favorite story in this book.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. ( )

When I reviewed the first volume of the Dark Screams anthology series, I concluded that, thought uneven, the five-story collection was certainly worth its $2.99 price tag. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for Volume Two. The first three stories - "The Deep End," by Robert R. McCammon; "Interval," by Norman Prentiss; and "If These Walls Could Talk," by Shawntelle Madison - were very good, with "The Deep End" earning 4 stars and "Interval" scoring a perfect 5. I particularly loved "Interval"'s opening line: "It hadn't seemed possible that Michelle could hate her job more than she did yesterday." The Madison story was fairly predictable but included a surprising twist on the villain's motivation, raising it to 3.5 stars. However, the collection collapsed with the last two stories.

"The Night Hider," by Graham Masterton, is not a bad story. The problem here was that the copyright page had led me to expect a previously unpublished story because "The Deep End" and Richard Christian Matheson's "Whatever" were expressly identified as reprints, yet I immediately recognized "The Night Hider." I quickly determined that this story appeared originally in Matheson's single-author anthology Figures of Fear, published by Severn House in the United States on March 1, 2015, only to be reprinted two days later by Hydra, an imprint of Random House, in this collection. I don't know whether the Dark Screams editors were aware of the earlier publication, but I felt cheated, a feeling which the last story, "Whatever," solidified.

"Whatever" begins with a fictional (I hope) interoffice memo between two Rolling Stone editors, in which one of them describes the manuscript as "unpublishable." I couldn't agree more and would give "Whatever" 0 stars if I could. "Whatever" is referred to as a "manuscript" rather than a story because there is no story; like the Rolling Stone editor, I was "[f]rankly puzzled" by the "scrapbook"-like nature of Matheson's contribution, which amounts to a random assortment of author notes and interviews about the eponymous band. There was nothing dark or horrific here; "whatever," is right.

Most short stories on Amazon.com are priced at $0.99; by this standard, the first three stories justify a $2.99 price. However, I expect better from Cemetery Dance veteran editors Richard Chizmar and Brian James Freeman.

I received a free copy of Dark Screams: Volume Two through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )