When Things Get Dark Audiobook By Ellen Datlow - editor cover art

When Things Get Dark

Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson

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When Things Get Dark

By: Ellen Datlow - editor
Narrated by: Nicol Zanzarella, Cassandra Campbell, Erin Moon, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Bernadette Dunne, Kate Mulligan, Feodor Chin, John Lescault
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A chilling anthology in tribute to the genius of Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson is a seminal writer of horror and mystery fiction, whose legacy resonates globally today. Chilling, human, poignant, and strange, her stories have inspired a generation of writers and listeners.

This anthology, edited by legendary horror editor Ellen Datlow, brings together today’s leading horror writers to offer their own personal tribute to the work of Shirley Jackson.

Featuring Joyce Carol Oates, Josh Malerman, Carmen Maria Machado, Paul Tremblay, Richard Kadrey, Stephen Graham Jones, Elizabeth Hand, Kelly Link, Cassandra Khaw, Karen Heuler, Benjamin Percy, John Langan, Laird Barron, Jeffrey Ford, M. Rickert, Seanan McGuire, Gemma Files, and Genevieve Valentine.

©2021 Ellen Datlow (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing Anthologies Anthologies & Short Stories Fiction Horror Scary Short Story
Standout Stories • Psychological Horror • Top Notch Performances • Powerful Unease • Meaningful Storytelling
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While I don’t think there was a bad story in the bunch, “Tiptoe,” by Laird Barron, deserves a special mention as the best of the best.

Barron’s ability to describe tension becoming terror, against a background of nostalgia, is incredible.

I didn’t want the story to end, and I’d have happily listened to a novel based on this theme. That’s not to say that the writing feels spare. Barron uses exactly as many words as needed to deliver this gut punch of a story - which is exactly what Shirley Jackson did so perfectly, in story after story.

Wonderful collection, inspired by one of the most insightful and incisive writers of the last century. Well worth the credit if you enjoy short fiction, or stories from just outside the border of what we usually call “reality.”

Excellent collection

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Overall I found it quite bland but there were a couple of stand out stories. If I was reading a paper copy, I probably wouldn't have finished it. As an audiobook it's an ok listen.

The last story is the best one.

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Good stories written in Shirley Jackson style...some better than others.

The narration is ok...some of it is wooden and dry.

The Stories Are Good

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It feels like these stories are less about the fantastic unknown , than more about the weirdness that can up & envelope us, unbidden, at any time.

Weird, lovely, odd, stories

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Well-crafted pastiche of Shirley Jackson. Unsettling perceptions go beyond the border of consensual reality. Action is submerged in atmosphere, as atmosphere intensifies.

Yet Ultimately, Why Not the Kitchen Door?

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Most stories are decent or above average. Some were incredibly good! I was genuinely surprised by the quality

Exceeded expectations

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I'm always impressed by Ellen Datlow's edited anthologies. Every single story was just so good. Narration was also great. Some of the stories linger longer than others; for me, it was "For Sale By Owner" and "Skinder's Veil."

So good...

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TipToe by Laird Barron ★★★★★
That sent shivers all the way up my spine and down again for more. I listened to the end three times.

Take Me, I Am Free by Joyce Carol Oates ★★★★½
That story was so short yet so painful. A little girl is put out with the trash by a mother with severe postpartum depression. Not everyone was meant to be a mother but that’s a bell you can’t unring.

Hag by Benjamin Percy ★★★★☆
Oooh, that took its time but had payoff! Every family needs a little mother-daughter vs monster bonding time.

A Trip to Paris by Richard Kadrey ★★★★☆
Whether it was the ghosts of her murdered family, toxic mold, or guilt, a family annihilator eats her own pie.

In the Deep Woods; The Light is Different There by Seanan McGuire ★★★★☆
Gorgeous little story about a recently divorced woman who moves into her deceased father’s lake house and befriends her fey neighborhoods. Woodfolk take care of their own and fey repay their favors with violent interest.

Funeral Birds by M. Rickert ★★★½☆
A home health care worker with a murderous secret is haunted by her last client.

Something Like Living Creatures by John Langan ★★★½☆
You can’t stop there! I want to know everything about these spooky pagan girls living in Maine. What did the organs say?!?!?

Refinery Road by Stephen Graham Jones ★★★½☆
Jones has this sturdy way of writing ghost stories - they are meaty and meaningful. It’s unique.

Skinder’s Veil by Kelly Link ★★★½☆
A doctoral student housesit’s for Death. There were several stories-within-the-story. The extra half star is for Turtle story, which was not the worst story she had ever heard about marriage. Man that made me laugh!

For Sale By Owner by Elizabeth Hand ★★★☆☆
Older snoopy ladies decide to slumber squat in a fancy house abandoned in the woods. Things get a little spooky.

The Door in the Fence by Jeffrey Ford ★★★☆☆
A boy’s memory of the odd widow next door who became “her own kind of woman.” This was quite odd but entertaining.

Pear of Anguish by Gemma Files ★★★☆☆
Ouch those preteen years are tough, for me they were harder than all of high school. Not everyone makes it, I remember the funeral. It’s best not to pick at those scars.

Special Meal by Josh Malerman ★★★☆☆
More of a tribute to Kurt Vonnegut’s Harrison Bergeron than anything I have read or heard of from Shirley Jackson.

The Party by Paul Tremblay ★★½☆☆
With shades of The Masque of the Red Death we enter a party with dislikable characters. But by the end you are just at some awkward office party - lame.

Quiet Dead Things by Cassandra Khaw ★★½☆☆
This is about a town with ugly secrets I know not where or when. It was entertaining but it did not go anywhere.

Money of the Dead by Karen Heuler ★★½☆☆
No, bringing back the dead is never a good idea. This was sad and boring.

Sooner of Later, Your Wife Will Drive Home by Genevieve Valentine ★★☆☆☆
Not sure what this was meant to be other than depressing.

A Hundred Miles and a Mile by Carmen Maria Machado ★☆☆☆☆
As usual with this author, I wonder why I wasted my time.

I finished all 18 stories for a total of 3.2 stars.

TipToe was my favorite offering!

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Some of the stories hit the mark. A few I struggled with in making a connection to Shirley Jackson. Still this was an enjoyable listen.

Great for a Shirley Jackson fan!

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As usual for anthologies, the individual stories can be hit or miss. Fortunately for this one, they skew towards the enjoyable side of the scale more often than not - there are no especially bad ones, and the good ones are often very good. Several of them even left me wanting more, a slightly wistful compliment that's a praise for this type of collection. Definitely worth checking out.

A bit uneven, but a lot of good material

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