Interesting collection but not the easier to read. All very gothic with some leaving the answers for you to think about.

Some great reads in this anthology, I think this would make a great gift for someone who really digs folk horror. My personal favourite was Morag-of-the-Cave, which is a story I had not previously even heard of, but I know I'll remember it. That's actually a point for most of these stories - most of them I had never encountered before. +1 star expressly for the illustrations - I did a little reverse search and saw that they are available as prints! If they weren't shipping from the UK I would consider a couple for my rotating gallery wall.

One thing that is likely just a personal issue, I much prefer anthologies where the stories are all relatively comparable in length. This book had stories as long as 50 pages and as short as 6. Most of the stories also blended together a bit - I would have preferred a more varied approach for the regions they came from (seemed pretty heavy on Celtic folk) as well as the time period - a good chunk felt very dated in their writing style, which is fine for one or two stories, but any more feels tedious.

A lovely anthology. They’re a great way to feel out authors or stories that you aren’t sure you’re going to like. This one definitely did not disappoint. This is in the top 3 anthologies that I’ve read. I definitely recommend it!

A really interesting collection of old stories, all sharing the subject of folk horror, which is a topic I had rarely found before but am extremely passioned about. The illustrations coming with them are amazing, and give them an additional depth that made me enjoy them even more.
Some were a little slow for my taste, but overall it was a great read!

This anthology offers the perfect transition into the Halloween season, blending twisted and atmospheric folk horror with the charm of a dark storybook. Spanning the course of the past 150 years, it provides a comprehensive overview of folk horror, showcasing how these eerie tales have evolved over time. The chronological layout gives readers a clear view of the genre's progression across decades.

As with any anthology, some stories stand out more than others, but I continue to be captivated by the complexity of folk tales and the deeper truths that lie within. While the repetitive plot points and themes in some of the earlier stories may feel monotonous to certain readers, the overlapping motifs of disbelief and the uncanny give the collection a haunting unity. Despite its occasional slow moments, this anthology is a fascinating exploration of folk horror’s rich and eerie legacy.

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Tales Accursed: A Folk Horror Anthology is a collection of 16 tales told in chronological order, from Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's "The White Cat of Drumgunniol," published in 1870, to Shirley Jackson's "The Man in the Woods," published in 2014, 49 years after the author's death.  Each tale is accompanied by wonderful lino-print illustrations by editor Richard Wells.  

This anthology is a good overview of the course of folk horror tales over the past 150 years or so, and the layout from earliest to latest really allows the reader to see how these stories have progressed over the decades.  But I would caution that this is probably a collection only for the true fan of this particular sub genre, as the dryness and often uniformly repetitive plot points and themes of some of the stories, especially the earlier tales, may make this collection a bore for some readers.  Those that really love their traditional folk horror tales, however, will find it worthwhile.  I personally prefer more contemporary folk horror, and some of these stories were already familiar to me.

While none of the stories in this collection were quite five stars for me, a few elevated themselves among the rest, including "Ancient Lights," by Algernon Blackwood, "Morag-of-the-Cave," by Margery Lawrence, and, of course, "The Man in the Woods," by Shirley Jackson.

My thanks to NetGalley and Unbound for a digital advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.  Tales Accursed: A Folk Horror Anthology will be released on October 3, 2024.  I would also note that a lot of these stories are set in October, so folk horror fans may enjoy this as a spooky season read.

An ideal book for heading into Hallowe'en with stories reaching back to the early 19th century, and almost comforting to think of generations of people sitting round their fires terrifying each other with their tales. As an anthology, there are some atories i preferred to others, but I'm always amazed at just how complex folk tales can be and often hint at deeper truths.
Thank you to netgalley and unbound for an advance copy of this book

A collection of folk horror short stories. Includes sea-witches and ghostly cats. The first story was published in 1870. I love the writing style of the time. Very descriptive, painting beautiful scenes. A classic to be read on cold, stormy nights by a fire.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Unbound for the ARC.

This collection is impressive! It includes several works I've neither read nor encountered before, which is quite exciting.

My thanks to Netgalley and Mr Wells' publishing team for the chance to read this

A collection of the best folk horror stories you'll ever read, by the masters of the genre. To rate it will be a shame and I am pleased that I got approved to read this ARC!

Richard Well’s collection of historical horror short stories, “Tales Accursed,” is an excellent collection for those curious about exploring the genre. I particularly enjoyed “The Country-Side” by Elinor Mordaunt, less a horror tale than the tale of a lonely woman’s descent into depression, and Shirley Jackson’s haunting “The Man in the Woods.” Wells’s illustrations, each depicting one of the sixteen stories included, also set the tone for each and are simple yet menacing and mysterious.

As with most anthologies, some I liked more than others. The imagery was quite atmospheric, so I can see why they were chosen.

Overall, a fitting collection of folk stories, but not my all-time favourite.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is an anthology of previously written stories put into this nice collection.

This anthology contains 16 stories. Each story is preceded by a lino print that helps to set the tone. Nature, and the supernatural lore associated with it, (most notably the wooded countryside and the craggy seashore) are the unifying themes. As such, these tales are quite similar to each other. This helps to set the tone for the reader, but also makes the experience a bit repetitive at times. While this collection is touted as folk horror I would say "spooky/eerie" is a more apt description.

In my opinion, most of these tales are a 3 star read. My absolute favorite is No-Mans Land. It felt like it could belong in a darker/more sinister Emily Wilde story (of course I would think so; I adore the Emily Wilde series immensely). Another enjoyable tale was Morag-of-the-Cave. Both of these were quite close to 5 stars!

Overall, this was a fun read to kick off the autumn months (even if it is still 90+ degrees outside...). I read this ARC digitally (thank you NetGalley), so I have a hunch that the lino print art in the bound, physical version would work much better than it did in pdf format on my phone.

If I can impart any wisdom learned it is this: if you come across a hill side with a circle composed of large, carved stones; a deserted forest with flashing, twinkling lights; a rocky beach with a green colored tide; or a strange woman with unearthly eyes perhaps you should turn and walk the other way.

This is a collection of classic horror, starting with a 1870 tale by Sheridan Le Fanu and ending in 1975 with L.T.C. Rolt. (There’s also a Shirley Jackson story published in in The New Yorker in 2014, forty years after her death.) The stories are a little old-school in style for my taste, but perfect for connoisseurs of the traditional genre.
Because each story is accompanied by a new illustration by the editor, it is probably best purchased in hard copy rather than ebook. A nice gift for the literary horror fan.

With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.
At publication, I will post my review plus the blurb on my blog.

This is a good enough anthology but as with all anthologies from this period there is a certain treacle-like quality to the prose and expanding of the story.

Nothing to get excited about but probably worth a read if you like this form of writing.

This is a nice collection of folk tales generally from the UK, organized in chronological order. Overall I liked this collection, and as is typical of an anthology, enjoyed some stories more than others. It was interesting to see the way writing changed over time- things like the lengths of the short stories, the amount of dialogue, and the focus of the stories. This would be a great Autumn read!

This is definitely a bookshelf type of book. It’s difficult to judge an anthology because you always have some stories that are stronger than others, but these were all enjoyable enough. This feels like the type of anthology that’s meant to be leather bound and displayed on a shelf as much as it’s meant to be read, and I’m considering doing just that when it comes out.

It doesn't actually feel like fall as I write this on the last day of August on a crisp 92-degree day, but Starbucks insists it's pumpkin spice season, and this book definitely offers some autumn/Halloween atmosphere.

Let me say first that the nature of anthologies makes it hard to assign a rating. This one contains 16 short stories, and naturally some are better than others. The selection by Richard Wells worked very nicely for me and I his decision to arrange them roughly chronologically added to the enjoyment. It's a bit of a trip through folk fantasy/horror writing history from 1896-1975, and the evolution is interesting.

Wells' own illustrations are excellent and fit the atmosphere perfectly.

As for the stories, none of them are duds. There is a lot of variety. Many have a Celtic setting or feel in common, but that's not a bad thing. The style and language in the older ones may be a bit difficult for some, but those who enjoy that sort of thing (like me) will be very happy. If I personally were to rank the stories, the first ("The Dark Nameless One" by Fiona Macleod) and the last ("The Man in the Woods" by Shirley Jackson) would be right at the top. You can never go wrong with Shirley Jackson.

Finally, and this may be the bets compliment I can give an anthology: most of the authors were new to me, but I now plan to seek out more of their work.

Thank you to Richard Wells, Unbound and NetGalley for providing an advanced reading copy.

This is an excellent collection of spooky stories for the spooky season. Half of the stories are more than 100 years old and the other half are more recent than that, but still not modern. I love that about the book. Some of the authors were already known to me and some weren't, but I'd not read any of the stories before. The book has an overall Celtic feel and the terrific foreword was written by Sinead Gleeson, herself an editor of a few short story collections. Each story is preceded by an artwork by Richard Wells and they complement the stories quite well. Although the subtitle references 'horror' this is not a gory, blood and guts kind of collection. I'd say it's more spooky and creepy, which is another thing I liked about it. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it. It's a perfect companion to a dark autumn night.