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.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of the ebook for review. I was really excited to read these short stories. Sadly, I found that these stories just weren’t my taste. Womp womp.

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.

This is an excellent collection of ten dark, chilling American short stories. I was already familiar with ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and enjoyed reading it again alongside an interesting mix of other gothic tales.

With an assortment of settings, characters and narrative styles, there’s sure to be stories that appeal to anyone who enjoys gothic literature. My favourites are ‘The Masque of the Red Death’ by Edgar Allen Poe and ‘An Iterant House’ by Emma Frances Dawson. I haven’t read many short stories since studying literature at university some years ago, but this collection has reminded me how enjoyable they can be and has prompted me to seek out more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for the opportunity to read and review this title.

An amazing anthology of outstanding short stories by some of the greatest American writers. Because of my English lit degree, I was already familiar with a few but decided to reread them for the full experience. The stories are gripping and even creepy - the grotesque and uncanny elements are crucial for a good gothic story.
It was a great read, definitely would recommend to all the fantasy lovers who like to be spooked.