This is an enjoyable collection of short horror stories. I really enjoyed the title novella and most of the other stories in here kept me gripped and not being able to turn the pages fast enough my least favourite was a box full of tapes because it didn't grip me and hold my attention like the rest of them. I do highly recommend this collection and ill definitely be picking up more of this authors work.

4.5 rounded up to 5

Darcy Coates has to be one of my favourite writers so I was really intrigued to see how she tackled this short story anthology. I was pleasantly surprised. Coate’s iconic style flows through each story, as we delve deeper and deeper into a world of horror and fright. All the stories were unique and equally terrifying and enjoyable. I just wish that there was more of a connection in theme between them all which would have rounded off the collection nicely.

This book was a collection of short stories and like all collections, some stories were better than others.
The main story, Ghost Camera, was one of the best. While Jenine was at a wedding she discovered an abandoned Polaroid camera. Little does she know that when she takes a photo, they capture the ghosts surrounding her, but it also draws the attention of them to Jenine. The the ghosts start making contact and become more aggressive. Will a ghost hunter be able to help?
It was fast paced, creepily captivating and I wanted more. However, I did feel the dialogue between Jenine and Bree didn’t sit right and thought it was a little awkward (when they are supposed to be best friends).
Some of the other stories I felt were slow to begin with and once I started to get into them, they were over.
My other favourite was the final story, a Box of Tapes. When Tess moves into a new house, she discovers a box of tapes with a note saying ‘Do Not Watch. You will regret it.’ Clearly, red flags did not appear to Tess but she was curious. After watching, strange things begin to occur - haunting a, dead animals and then her daughter goes missing. The descriptions of what was on the videotapes was haunting and sent chills down my spine. I couldn’t get enough of it. I liked how the story unfolded, the atmosphere it provided and thinking how brave Tess was because I would have been sh**ting myself.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers to read this book in advance.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and Darcy Coates for the ARC. Unfortunately, I had to DNF this book. The writing felt archaic and the plot just went all over the place. The prologue in the beginning really turned me off too. 5 stars because I had to DNF.

I completely missed where this said it was a book of short stories then looked and realised that it does say this! I have never read a book of short stories so personally this wasn’t for me but I think if you do like these sorts of books then this would definitely be one for you.

Ghost camera is a short story collection, the first of which being the titular story (the longest and my favourite of the bunch). The stories vary in length, but all share supernatural horror elements. My favourites were Ghost Camera, Death Birds, and A Box of Tapes as these were the most evocative (though they all were) and had the most tension. Whilst the stories were somewhat predictable, they were enjoyable. I think they would each serve as good entry horror reads. The collection was cohesive but not too samey, and was an enjoyable easy read. Thank you to netgalley for the arc.

I will preface this by saying I am not the biggest fan of short stories, it takes something really special to hook me in, usually I get bored and my mind wanders.

NOT THIS TIME.

There were some stories that will live with me for a long long time. Obviously the main story, that the book is named after is a cracker, and very spooky, but there were two particular other stories that had me obsessed. The plane crash. The shoebox. Wow!

Please read this.

Thank you to @netgalley and @sourcebooks for the e-arc.

✩✩✩✩✩

Unfortunately this book was not for me, while I loved the premise, I didn't find the writing to my taste, I have felt this way about previous Darcy Coates books and so I feel that if you are a fan of her writing and style this would be a hit for you.

The title story is more of an extended short story & takes up around a third of the book, with 8 other short stories afterwards.

1. Ghost Camera - Jenine finds an old polaroid camera & takes a few photos but there is something strange about them. The photos seem to show ghosts in the background & with every photo taken, the ghosts are more aware of Jenine & more angry. 3.5*

2. Payment for the Dead - resurrectionists exhume the body of a boy but this one is different to the rest. 3*

3. Death Birds - creepy story about harbingers of death that looks like giant birds. They gather at the site of soon-to-happen deaths & this time it happens to be a hospital. 3*

4. The House on Boxwood Lane - a group of kids decide to explore a creepy house that has just appeared in a vacant lot. 3.5*

5. The Run to Broken Ridge Lighthouse - two couples race to the lighthouse but something unexpected joins the run. 3*

6. Remains - 'til death do us part' or maybe not even then. 3*

7. Untamed Things - a plane crashes killing almost everyone onboard. The two survivors are stalked by something evil. 3.5*

8. Cathedral - a couple on holiday come across a cathedral built out in the middle of nowhere. 3*

9. A Box of Tapes - a single mother moves into a new house & finds a box of VHS tapes with a warning "Do Not Watch. You'll Regret It." 3.5*

This was a mixed bag of stories with Ghost Camera, Untamed Things, & A Box of Tapes being the standouts. There are some really good ideas here & I enjoyed reading them more than I usually enjoy short story collections. 3.5 stars (rounded up)

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Sourcebooks UK/Poisoned Pen Press, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Thank you Netgalley, Sourcebooks UK | Poisoned Pen Press and Darcy Coates for the eArc of Ghost Camera.

Ghost Camera is a selection of creepy, atmospheric stories that have a lot of spooky/horror/mystery elements. Most of the stories are fast paced and still have some great character building in most of them. The stories aren't really linked so can be read in any order ( If you fancied ) or in order of contents. I really enjoyed all of these stories, in particular Ghost Camera and VHS. These provoked some physical responses from me including the hairs rising across my neck and even freaked myself out reading VHS in bed one night! From someone who reads a lot of Horror/Supernatural and Splatter punk, that surprised me!

There was a few I didn't really bond with and that's ok too. I feel that possibly there were a little too short. It's interesting to read the forward from Darcy and the reason why this is been re published. Having read a few of her standalone books in the past via audio, this would definitely make a creepy audiobook or a mini series.

4 stars

DNF

I loved the premise of this one and the story would have had me really invested but I couldn't push through anymore of the cringe dialect between Bree and Jenine

I always love reading anything by Darcy Coates as I know I will be instantly captivated, there were so many creepy and unsettling moments in this book that I just couldn't stop reading it.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of Ghost Camera via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Back in May I read The Haunting of Ashburn House by Darcy Coates and really enjoyed it, so when I read the blurb for Ghost Camera I knew I had to give it a read.

Ghost Camera is a collection of short ghostly and ghoulish stories, each one chilling in their own way.

As this is a collection of stories, there were, of course, some standouts:

The main story, Ghost Camera, had me utterly invested from beginning to end. While I've read something similar before, a camera that captures ghosts, I think the author made it her own.

Then there was Death Birds. A young man is working in the emergency room when the death birds gather in mass, a sure sign of disaster, but nobody knows when or what it will be. Such a captivating story with a unique 'monster' and had me gripped.

Then there was The Run to Broken Ridge Lighthouse. There's an urban legend that a murdered woman haunts the lighthouse, but you should never let her catch you. This one was short, sharp and shocking.

While the stories were creepy and nightmarish, they weren't overly gruesome, which is always a plus for me.

I will definitely pick up more books from Darcy Coates in the future!

Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC!

Going in, I knew only the title of this book and the author. I've learned that with Darcy Coates, I don't need to know going in what the book is about - it's going to be an enjoyable ride. And this book was just the same!

I find short stories to be hit or miss, but this was a solid hit. The title story was in truth mu favorite of the collection, but the others were fabulous as well. Darcy doesn't shy away from subverting the Scooby Doo of it all - sometimes, it _is_ a ghost, and I love it!

Thank you for the free arc in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately I was unable to finish this novel as, between the RL Stine style plot and the childlike speech between Jenine and Bree, it was difficult to enjoy what came across as a young adult-at best-novel. -

I am not usually a short story fan, but these stories kept me riveted. They had just enough details left unresolved to stay with me after I'd finished them. They're different enough to not be considered formulaic. They're full of choices that feel so naturally human that the scenarios almost seem plausible. The sense of unease I got from these stories seeped into the edges of my reality. I definitely now consider myself to be a fan of this author.

I really enjoyed the stories in Ghost Camera, I don’t usually read compilations and I didn’t initially realise it was, but I was pleasantly surprised.
All of the stories were entertaining to read, especially the title story, I would recommend it.

Usually short story collections are very hit and miss for me, but this newly packaged collection from Darcy Coates was impeccable. This was actually my first taste of Coates writing and let me tell you-I'll be back, with bells on. There were some stories that were definite favourites and some that weren't as enjoyable, but all brought something that allowed me to see what Coates was made of, just what her writing was all about.

Ghost Camera was a great opener and brought the creep-factor. A haunted item that allowed the user to see ghosts. But as with all cursed objects, the camera is dangerous to the user. The more you use it, the more the ghosts can see you and will hunt you down, and to the previous owners, kill them.

A woman is involved in a plane crash as the sole survivor. This was my second favourite story. The descriptions of the crash, the dead passengers and the ominous force watching her from the forest shows that Coates has a wide range of skill to bring in the genre. My eyes were peeled to the pages, the only thing more intense was the gasps coming from my mouth at the ending.

My favourite story was the last. A woman and her daughter move into their new home, ready for a fresh start. When she discovers a box of six old VHS videotapes sealed in a box, she finds that her inquisitive nature gets the better of her. She sits down to watch the first tape, ignoring the warning that says If you watch the tapes you will regret it. I mean, why do people ignore that kind of warning? I don't get it. The visceral nature of what is contained on those tapes mean that Coates has a forever fan in me.

I was very kindly sent Ghost Camera (with bonus stories) via Netgalley for review.

In Ghost Camera we join Jenine who comes across a camera which has the ability to capture ghosts in photos. However this comes with some seriously ghostly and dangerous side effects.

It started off really quite interesting and I was really getting into it and then all of a sudden it was over. The ending was just too quick for me.

There were quite a few bonus stories - some were really quite good, others not so much as they didn't match the level of spookiness. However I did enjoy reading Ghost Camera and the other stories. I liked the writing style, level of detail. I would read more from this author.

Just what u would expect from Darcy Coates. A wonderfully written creepy story about a girl who finds an old Poloroid Camera. The camera appears to capture images of people who are not there, but with each click of the lens these ghosts are becoming more integrated with the living world.
Darcy Coates is the queen of creepy horror.