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    Howls From the Dark Ages: An Anthology of Medieval Horror
    Howls From the Dark Ages: An Anthology of Medieval Horror
    Howls From the Dark Ages: An Anthology of Medieval Horror
    Audiobook9 hours

    Howls From the Dark Ages: An Anthology of Medieval Horror

    Written by Christopher Buehlman, Brian Evenson, Bridget D. Brave and

    Narrated by Don LaFollette, Sonja Lademacher, James Takahashi and

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    About this audiobook

    Uncover the secret annals of untold history in these eighteen medieval manuscripts. Each tortured scribe will bring you face to face with ancient horrors lurking in cursed castles, wild woodlands, haunted hamlets, and mysterious monasteries. 

    Including a lineup of authors both established and emerging, HOWL Society Press presents the first-ever anthology of historical horror from the medieval period, fittingly introduced by the writer who arguably started it all: Christopher Buehlman, author of the medieval horror epic Between Two Fires.

    Cast of Narrators:

    Pandora Beatrix

    • "Palette" by J.L. Kiefer
    • "In Every Drop" by Lindsey Ragsdale
    • "The Forgotten Valley" by C.B. Jones
    • "White Owl" by Stevie Edwards
    • "The Lai of the Danse Macabre" by Jessica Peter

    Kyle Royall-West

    • "Brother Cornelius" by Peter Ong Cook
    • "The Final Book of Sainte Foy's Miracles" by M.E. Bronstein
    • "The Mouth of Hell" by Cody Goodfellow
    • "The King of Youth vs. The Knight of Death" by Patrick Barb
    • Opening/Closing Credits

    Joshua Davos

    • "In Thrall to This Good Earth" by Hailey Piper
    • "Schizzare" by Bridget D. Brave

    Matthew Byrne

    • "Angelus" by Philippa Evans
    • "A Dark Quadrivium" by David Worn

    Lance Lovegood

    • "The Lady of Leer Castle" by Christopher O'Halloran
    • "The Fourth Scene" by Brian Evenson

    James Takahashi

    • "Deus Vult" by Ethan Yoder

    Theodore T. Truman

    • "A Dowry for Your Hand" by Michelle Tang

    Sonja Lademacher

    • "The Crowing" by Caleb Stephens

    Don LaFollette

    • Foreword by Christopher Buehlman
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHOWL Society Press
    Release dateMay 12, 2022
    ISBN9781736780060
    Author

    Christopher Buehlman

    CHRISTOPHER BUEHLMAN (he/him) is an author, comedian, and screenwriter from St. Petersburg, Florida, whose books include The Blacktongue Thief, The Daughters' War, and Between Two Fires. He spent his youth touring renaissance festivals in the US, performing his cult-favorite comedy act, Christophe the Insultor. As of this writing he lives in Ohio with his aerialist wife, Jennifer, an ancient rescue dog named Duck, and two cats who just showed up, as they do.

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    Reviews for Howls From the Dark Ages

    4/5

    43 ratings5 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Most of the stories in this collection were very good and did well in keeping me immersed in the time period. But a handful of them were a bit lacking. And there was one narrator who read the text like William Shatner after a stroke.
      I would still highly recommend it though.
    • 5/5
      Quite entertaining! I can say most if not all of the authors wrote from a place of honesty, and even for those whose worldview I may not share, we agree on a gold standard of fiction writing: Tell the truth. I’d love if there was a sequel anthology to this! -Mr. Macabre
    • 4/5
      It is always a bit tricky to review an anthology, especially one by different authors. Some stories will inevitably work better than others, and of course our own personal preferences will influence how that works.
      In this case, I'm basing my star score on the best stories, and trying not to let what I see as the worst stories influence me.
      Taken as a whole, the anthology is an interesting idea. It collects stories from a seemingly arbitrary "Medieval" period in the dark fantasy/horror genres, which is a great idea both despite and because of the undefined nature of that period. Predictably, most of these are set in a vaguely "Medieval" Europe. I say "vaguely" because, for example, the first story--"The Crowing" by Caleb Stephens--is a dark fairy-tale-like set in a Europe that had been covered by literal fog for 1,000 years. That itself sends the whole concept of timelines and history out the window.

      There is also an admirable, if somewhat strained, attempt to move beyond the Western milieu with three stories set outside Europe. Two, "In Every Drop" by Lindsey Ragsdale and "The Forgotten Valley" by C.B. Jones, are set in the pre-modern Americas and "A Dowry for Your Hand" by Michelle Tang is set in China. The best of these is, by far, the last, primarily because it is just a good, creepy ghost story, while also engaging in the actual horror of the setting.

      This is where this concept--horror set in pre-modern times--gets really great. They layer supernatural horrors over natural ones, and the medieval age had plenty of those. "Deus Vult" by Ethan Yoder is a prime example. In it, a knight returning from the Crusades brings the terrible sin of that time back, to find that there is no solace in returning home. "Palette" by J.L. Kiefer engages with the grotesque demands of feminine beauty, which went so far as to demand women literally poison themselves for beauty. The aforementioned "A Dowry for Your Hand" uses the form of traditional Chinese ghost stories (which are a genre in themselves throughout east Asia) to examine the pressures placed on women in that time and place, and the price of placing family honor over love.

      Some other stories tended to just be "creepy stuff in a monastery." Some of those were a lot of fun, while others were kind of tedious.

      But, overall, the best of these stories were very good, and the worst were not terrible, so the anthology is well worth a read!

      Disclosure: this review was based on a free NetGalley copy.
    • 5/5
      Anthologies are often hit or miss for me. So often, I find the themes or short stories become repetitive--fast--or showcase only a few standouts among a host of stories that clearly don't live up to the standards set by those few among the many. As a result, I'm often reluctant to pick them up, and that might have been especially true here, where I knew a number of the authors and feared what I'd say if I didn't at least enjoy the collection as a whole. And yet...I loved it. In fact, page for page, this is probably the best horror anthology--no, the best short story anthology, if not anthology period--that I've ever come across. (This is fudging things only slightly because there is one gorgeous poem in the collection.) On top of being full of original stories that carry the reader back to the middle ages to experience a wide brand of horrors, the writing in the anthology is unquestionably impressive. From story to story, page to page and image to image and character to character, the talent here shines forth from every story, whether coming from a well-known name or one with only a few publications on their resume. Knowing how heavy such a setting as the dark ages can become, I wondered if the book would become too heavy, or too one-note. Simply put, I was wrong. There's such variety in this anthology that I feel sure there's something for everyone, and although I've got my favorites (because of course I do), I feel confident in believing that every story/poem here is deserving of being some reader's favorite, and I'm not sure when I've been able to say that for any anthology I've come across. There's also no doubt that this is a collection of horror--you won't find any quiet, shifty stories that don't quite fit the darkness you're hoping for. In fact, some may well leave you without an appetite or wondering if you'll ever sleep again.But isn't that the lovely thing about horror collections? So, drink some coffee or some whiskey to keep you awake, and pull open this collection. Be ready to mark down some new horror names you'll want to follow, as well.Absolutely recommended.
    • 4/5
      New tales of old times. A really nice collection of stories set in the middle ages, with good variety in the tales told. And it's not just knights gallivanting around (although there is a knight or two doing his thing). Monks, witches, royalty, and villagers all get turns in the spotlight. I was intrigued by the idea of an anthology of medieval horror, and it was certainly worth the read.