I love short horror stories and although I have not read all 11 volumes of The Best Horror Of The Year, Volume 11 stands out as my favorite among the few that I have read. There are stories that are quite disturbing (Thumbsucker by Robert Shearman and The Donner Party by Dale Bailey for example) and stories that are frightening (Milkteeth by Kristi DeMeester) But my absolute favorites were those that featured people away from their homes facing strange customs such as in "White Mare" by Thana Niveau When a father and daughter claim an inheritance and get caught up in a tradition far different than the Halloween festivities they are used to at home, and Golden Sun where a family on vacation will be forever changed.

There is something for every horror fan in these pages whether you are looking for thrills, scares or scifi.

I received an advance copy for review. ( )

Fall is my favorite season and Halloween is my favorite holiday. Every year as summer turns to autumn, I start reading all the horror novels and short stories I can get my hands on. I sit out on my porch on cool fall evenings reading whatever chilling, spooky bit of fiction (or even non-fiction) has come to hand. This year, my horror season started early as I discovered story anthologies edited by Ellen Datlow. OMG....how did I miss these?? Datlow has been editing fantasy, sci-fi and horror anthologies for 25 years. I am SO glad that I received a review copy of this book because my TBR pile has grown exponentially in my three favorite genres!

The Best Horror of the Year Volume 11 gathers 25 stories Some of the authors were familar favorites (like Joe Hill for example) and others were new to me (Carly Holmes, Laird Barron). This is a varied, outstanding collection of horror fiction! There wasn't a single story I didn't like. Some were more to my taste than others....but the joy of a story anthology is that it's a collection of differing writing styles and flavors. I read this story collection slowly, giving myself time to enjoy it. One or two stories a night...took time to read up on the authors....and smiled as my TBR list got a lot larger. I added several books and stories by the featured authors to my must-read list, as well as every anthology edited by Ellen Datlow. :) I will be kept in horror, fantasy and sci-fi bliss for the foreseeable future!

At the back of the book there is also an "honorable mention'' list for stories that almost made the cut for this anthology....I'm going to find those stories or other works by those authors and read those as well!

My library has several of the back volumes of this series as audio books! I'm so excited! I can have some outstanding horror read to me! Woot! :)

Great book! Full stars from me!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Skyhorse Publishing. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** ( )

The Best Horror of The Year: Volume Eleven
Edited by Ellen Datlow
due 9-1-2019
Night Shade Books
5.0 / 5.0

#netgalley. #TheBestHorrorOfTheYear

This is one of the best horror collections I've read. Features some of the most terrifying short stories and novellas by a wide variety of authors, from different horror genres. Every single story was good, the 2 most creepy to me were 'Thumbsucker' by Robert Shearman and 'The Donner Party' by Dale Bailey.
Others I also really liked were:
'I Remember Nothing' by Anne Billson
'You Know How The Story Goes' by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
'Girl Without Their Faces On' by Laird Barron
'You Are Released' by Joe Hill

I highly recommend this....just in time for Halloween!
Thanks to #netgalley and the publisher for sending this requested e-book ARC for review. ( )