I love a good and scary short story collection, especially when it contains stories I have not read before. As such, I delighted in American Midnight, even if I'm not sure on the selection of stories. Thanks to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My sincere apologies for the delay.

The collection features nine stories which I greatly enjoyed. "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe is sumptuous, if brief, and remains a lovely indictment of the rich. "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne was new to me and once I was used to the old-school writing, I was intrigued at its discussion of good and evil, hypocrisy, and religion. I also hadn't read "The Eyes" by Edith Wharton before. It is a lot calmer, in a way, than the preceding story, as it starts in the traditional "let's gather round the fire and tell ghost tales"-atmosphere, but it is also a little more psychological. "The Mask" by Robert Chambers is a story I didn't really get to begin with. I'm still not sure I fully see what its doing, but it was sumptuous and delightfully dramatic. Meanwhile, Shirley Jackson was a genius and "Home" is a perfect example of why she is still so acclaimed. Featuring the horror of being new in a close-knit community, the horror of ghosts, and the horror of being slightly annoying, I enjoyed it very much. "A Ghost Story" by Mark Twain, meanwhile, has everything one might enjoy about a poltergeist and yet is also absurdly funny. Zora Neale Hurston's "Spunk" is a story of paranormal revenge, of getting what's due, and I enjoyed it very much. "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a classic for a reason and its ending continues to haunt me. It is also the most psychologically direct story in the collection and its inclusion intrigues me. The final story, "An Itinerant House" by Emma Frances Dawson absolutely gripped me in the beginning and I love its concept. It lost me a little in the middle, but its structure had me right back on the edge of my seat by the end.

I am intrigued by this collection's centering of the dark, both in the title and its tagline above. On the one hand I believe they were curated because of their authors' places in American literature. Many of these authors are institutions in and of themselves and the stories selected here among their best. But it is midnight and darkness which echo through them all. Some engage with a Christian sense of darkness, i.e., the Devil and the opposite of all things good and pure, while others centre on a more personal sense of darkness. The latter intrigue me most, how these stories engage with personal and moral failings, with the fears we hide. Overall, the stories are curated in such a way that they build on one another nicely, creating a sense of ever-changing and moveable dread.

As with every collection, not every story will resonate with every reader, but for anyone intrigued by the dark at the heart of American literature, this is the right place to start!

American Midnight: Tales of the Dark is a mesmerizing anthology that delves into the eerie and unsettling corners of classic American literature. As an avid fan of dark fiction, I found this collection to be a captivating exploration of the macabre, featuring some of the most renowned names in the genre alongside lesser-known but equally gripping stories.

The book showcases a diverse array of tales, including Edgar Allan Poe’s haunting “The Masque of the Red Death,” Nathaniel Hawthorne’s unsettling “Young Goodman Brown,” and Edith Wharton’s chilling “The Eyes.” Mark Twain’s “A Ghost Story” provides a clever twist on the supernatural. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” stands out with its poignant exploration of mental health and societal constraints. Each story is a testament to the art of suspense and psychological depth, offering readers a rich tapestry of horror and intrigue.

Among the stories, I was particularly intrigued by those that were new to me. Zora Neale Hurston’s “Spunk” blends folklore with a dark narrative, adding a unique flavor to the collection, and Emma Frances Dawson’s “An Itinerant House” presents a fresh voice in the genre, leaving me eager to delve further into her work.

Overall, *American Midnight* is a superb anthology that celebrates the richness of American dark fiction. It combines classic favorites with hidden gems, making it a must-read for enthusiasts of the genre. The collection is thoughtfully curated, ensuring a thrilling and immersive experience from start to finish. Whether you’re well-versed in Gothic literature or just beginning to explore its dark realms, this book offers a compelling journey into the shadows.

I enjoyed this short collection of nine classic spooky stories - they were gently creepy as opposed to all out scary but very good!
From Mark Twain to Shirley Jackson, nine of the most famous American authors have contributed their stories of the strange to this satisfying collection. My favourite story was The Eyes by Edith Wharton - chilling!
3 stars on average.

This collection of classic weird and supernatural tales from American literature is a chilling and enthralling journey into the dark heart of storytelling. Featuring works from renowned authors like Edgar Allan Poe, Shirley Jackson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Zora Neale Hurston, the anthology brings together some of the most strange and unsettling tales that have shaped the landscape of American Gothic and horror literature. However, the tales published in the volume have already been published together in several anthologies.

I loved this collection of story short stories so much, it is a beautiful blending of creepy stories from American fiction and literature, and includes some of the most well-known authors and some of their classic tales. This would be a fantastic addition to any library or to a personal collection of someone who likes spooky tales or ghost stories and it would also be a great read for spooky season. I love the cover art and the simplicity yet the details of it, it has a very spooky feel as well.

A solid collection that does a great job offering a variety of types of American ghost stories written by a variety of different kinds of American writers from different periods of history and sometimes working in different styles (one really gets a sense of the cultural and metaphorical plasticity of the ghost from this collection).

The pieces by Chambers and Dawson might be a touch inaccessible out of context for a general reading audience; Chambers because "The Mask" makes more sense if one has read the rest of The King in Yellow, and Dawson because her prose is so weighed down by literary/cultural allusions to 19th century art and theater that might be perplexing for general readers without footnotes.

I stayed up many, many nights way too late reading story after story terrifying myself. Most of these stories I first read or really, I was likely read to by my dad when I was far too young to be reading these. There's no reason a 6 year old child should know about the Masque of Red Death but....I turned out fine, right?

Reading these stories again reminded me how amazing American horror literature is. This collection should be treasured.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A decent collection of stories. Though readers may be frustrated at having read most or all of them, as they are pretty popular stories. Good for a beginner. Nothing very creepy included, except for that toucan wallpaper in The Itinerant House.

What child among us has not listened to ghost stories around a campfire, or read them in fear, with our heads under the bedsheets as we tried to tune out the noises in our house, our hearts beating faster and faster until we thought we might die of the fright?

Laird Hunt has put together a collection of a wide variety of ghost/horror short stories, including classic tales as well as more contemporary tales. Some were written by authors well known to me, others I had not heard of before.

As with any collection of anything, some entries will be found more appealing than others. So it was with me and this book. While some stories I quite enjoyed, they were in the minority of the offerings. For other readers, I am sure that the balance could easily tilt the other way. That's the wonderful thing about reading - it's so subjective!!

My thanks to NetGallery and Pushkin Press for allowing me to review an ARC of this edition of the book which is scheduled for publication on 8/31/2021. All opionions expressed in this reveiw are my own.

<I> Thank You Netgalley, Laird Hunt and Pushkin Press for the advanced reader copy </i>

American Midnight: Tales of the Dark is a collection of classic horror / supernatural tales.

‘The Masque of the Red Death’- Edgar Allan Poe: 2 stars, interesting concept but was a lot of description instead of action in this short story
‘Young Goodman Brown’ - Nathaniel Hawthorne: 2 stars had a bit of trouble following the older English and probably missed a lot through it
‘The Eyes’ - Edith Wharton: 4 stars, really enjoyed this one
‘The Mask’ - Robert Chambers: 3 stars, Nice standard story, nice writing, just nothing special
“Home” - Shirley Jackson: 4.5 stars, really eerie, reminded me of supernatural episodes
‘A Ghost Story’ - Mark Twain: 3 stars, standard ghost story with a twist at te end
‘Spunk’ - Zora Neale Hurston: just didn't understand because of the writing
‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ - Charlotte Perkins Gilman: 4 stars, was so confused where it was going but so good
‘An Itinerant House’ - Emma Frances Dawson: 3 Stars, Did not really understand what was going on but did enjoy it

"A chilling collection of classic weird and supernatural tales from the dark heart of American literature.

A masquerade ball cut short by a mysterious plague; a strange nocturnal ritual in the woods; a black bobcat howling in the night: these ten tales are some of the most strange and unsettling in all of American literature, filled with unforgettable imagery and simmering with tension. From Edgar Allan Poe to Shirley Jackson, Nathaniel Hawthorne to Zora Neale Hurston, the authors of these classics of supernatural suspense have inspired generations of writers to explore the dark heart of the land of the free.

The stories in this collection have been selected and introduced by Laird Hunt, an author of seven acclaimed novels which explore the shadowy corners of American history.

Contains:

'The Masque of the Red Death', Edgar Allan Poe
'Young Goodman Brown', Nathaniel Hawthorne
'The Eyes', Edith Wharton
'The Mask', Robert Chambers
'Home', Shirley Jackson
'A Ghost Story', Mark Twain
'Spunk', Zora Neale Hurston
'The Yellow Wallpaper', Charlotte Perkins Gilman
'An Itinerant House', Emma Frances Dawson"

The inclusion of 'The Yellow Wallpaper' along makes this a must buy! All other (AMAZING) authors are icing on the cake!

An interesting mix of victorian/edwardian ghost stories from a range of well known and more unknown authors. I particularly enjoyed The Yellow Wallpaper!

Having studied American literature as part of my degree I found this collection delightful.. Very creepy and thought provoking, these short stories all embody the traditional gothic horror narrative but twist in in their own unique was.
Highly recommended for any fan of suspenseful gothic horror.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book full of classic stories that I really enjoyed. I recommend to any lover of a great short story especially horror fans

This is a fun collection of classic horror/suspense stories and will be especially appealing to those like myself who prefer traditional horror/suspense to its more graphic modern counterpart.

The collection kicks off with a lovely intro by Laird Hunt and is populated by a number of stories that will be familiar to many and some that will be new reads, though most readers will recognize all of the authors featured.

As with all collections that include works by different authors, this one is a little hit or miss on quality from story to story, but overall it’s largely populated by fun, well-crafted examples of the genre.

Among the highlights of the collection:

Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death
Edith Wharton’s The Eyes
Shirley Jackson’s Home
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper

I really enjoyed the variety within this collection! I had heard of many, if not most of the authors in this collection, however I have to admit that I hadn't read many of their works. Thanks to this collection I have certainly found some authors which I will be looking into, and buying some of their other works in the future.

~ I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ~

This creepy collection offers the opportunity to explore the realms of horror in small, enjoyable portions. Among these classics are a few personal favourites; The Yellow Wallpaper will always hold a special place in my heart, with its cripplingly haunting tale about being imprisoned within one’s own home, driven to madness and hysteria.

Unfortunately, whilst some stories enthralled me, others left me unsettled…and not in a good way. Classics often prove to be far too complicated, baffling me with complex language, or are just overly convoluted. This often disconnected me from the story, and therefore the horror, leaving me somewhat confused rather than scared. Modern simplified horror seems to pack more of a punch; whilst classics are fascinating to delve into analytically speaking, this doesn’t make for overly relaxed, leisurely reading.

Although some stories failed to impress, I still recommend this anthology as it encompasses a true variety, presenting a range of ghastly tales suited for everyone who appreciates a good spook.

This hair-raising little anthology serves to introduce modern readers to some of the most classic of American horror writers. As an early reader of horror, I was taken back to my teens as I read these stories again after many years. This is a decent selection of excellent stories that will appeal to horror fans.

I really enjoyed this collection of stories! Laird Hunt did a fantastic job of selecting the weird, supernatural and eerie stories from classic authors. A few of these I have read before but enjoyed reading again and a few were new reads from favorite authors.

'The Masque of the Red Death', Edgar Allan Poe - 5 Stars
I mean it's Poe, how can you go wrong?!

'Young Goodman Brown', Nathaniel Hawthorne - 3 Stars
Obviously quite different than The Scarlet Letter but it just didn't do much for me.

'The Eyes', Edith Wharton - 4 Stars
This is my first read by Edith Wharton and I would love to check more of her work out; this story gave off such an unsettling feeling. I can't imagine waking up to find a pair of ghost eyes staring at me!

'The Mask', Robert Chambers - 3 Stars
I did love the Chemistry setting of the book.

'Home', Shirley Jackson - 5 Stars
Got to love Shirley Jackson! She has such a craft for writing horror. My favorite is still The Haunting of Hill House but this is a close second.

'A Ghost Story', Mark Twain - 4 Stars
I've read this previously as A Ghosts Tale but it looks to be the same story. An unsettling conversation between a waking man and a ghost.

'Spunk', Zora Neale Hurston - 3 Stars
Not my favorite love triangle.

'The Yellow Wallpaper', Charlotte Perkins Gilman - 5 Stars
I love the journal entries and something sinister boiling just beneath them. This evoked such a feeling of paranoia.

'An Itinerant House', Emma Frances Dawson - 3 Stars
This was my least favorite in the collection, good concept but weirdly executed.

I read this as an ARC but I will be picking up a final copy for myself, I would love to have this in my final collection.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The last short story collection I have to share with you for Short Story September is American Midnight: Tales of the Dark. This is a cold classic American horror stories, with an introduction by Laird Hunt (an amazing writer himself).
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The stories are mostly well known, though the Shirley Jackson and Zora Neale Hurston ones were new to me.
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🖤‘The Masque of the Red Death’ by Edgar Allan Poe
🖤‘Young Goodman Brown’ by Nathaniel Hawthorne
🖤‘The Eyes’ by Edith Wharton
🖤‘The Mask’ by Robert Chambers
🖤'Home' by Shirley Jackson
🖤‘A Ghost Story’ by Mark Twain
🖤‘Spunk’ by Zora Neale Hurston
🖤‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
🖤‘An Itinerant House’ by Emma Frances Dawson
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Well known or not, these stories are writing perfection. There is just something about the older stories, the beautiful writing, the lonely settings, the atmosphere that breathes off the page. The old writers knew how to scare you without blood and guts and gore and I love them for it. Even though I already knew most of the stories, I read them again and was practically giddy with horrified delight. These stories are like old friends that welcome you home at the end of a long modern day.
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This book came out in the UK last year (on Halloween) and releases here in the US in August of 2021.
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I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.