When Things Get Dark

Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson

By: Ellen Datlow - editor

Narrated by: Nicol Zanzarella, Cassandra Campbell, Erin Moon, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Bernadette Dunne, Kate Mulligan, Feodor Chin, John Lescault

Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

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

Excellent collection

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.”

The last story is the best one.

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 Stories Are Good

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

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

Weird, lovely, odd, stories

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.

Exceeded expectations

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

So good...

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."

Such a great collection!

There is not a single story in this collection that I didn’t love. The performances were top notch but the quality of the stories was so good!

A bit uneven, but a lot of good material

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 solid 3.75 stars! I need more than just 1-5.

So almost all of these stories pulled me in to keep my interest - some more than others, but that's inevitable with anthology collections.

BUT, outside of maybe 3 or 4 of the stories, none of them had an ending. Like, at all.
It's fully possible that I'm just not creative or insightful enough to be able to 'see' what the author was trying to impart, but my lowly mind just felt like we'd be around 80% through the story and then it would just end. Incredibly abruptly.

Regardless, they were entertaining, and maybe you're more discerning or have a better imagination than me and you'll be able to fully interpret the endings =)

TipToe was my favorite offering!

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.