Fear is a strange thing. What you're afraid of, others might not be, and vice versa. So perhaps an anthology, with its varied topics, is a good way to approach the subject. This anthology, from Whiskey Creek Press, contains ten stories (and two poems) from the publisher's stable of authors, and it is indeed an interesting mix. Now, I'm going to ignore the poems, as I really have no time for modern horror poetry -- it has nothing to do with these specific examples, it's solely my preference. So, on to the fiction.

The book starts with Night Crawls In by Nancy Jackson, which is a perfect beginning. An insomniac finds a spider in her bedroom, and panic soon follows. The tension flows through the writing, and it's a perfect choice for the anthology. Next is Frieda Mae by Linda L. Lattimer, which brings us down with a bump after the good start of the previous story. I found this standard wicked-stepmother tale to be slow, repetitive and very predictable. Crime or Punishment, by Giovanna Lagana, while being well written, again suffered from its predictable nature. Is the Boogeyman chasing little unloved Chris really out to kill him? Guess, and you'll probably be correct.

Louise Bohmer's Feathers is a different affair, needing the powers of a deductive brain to figure out what's going on. Once you do, this snippet of a larger untold tale is good writing, but ultimately, I found it an unsatisfying tale of the trials of loving a goddess.

Vera's House by Katherine Smith, is a very nicely told supernatural revenge story. How will gold-digger Shelia fare in the creepy old house she inherits from her grandmother? Cynophobia by Janet Mills is another story where you can guess what's coming from the very first page, but it's an enjoyable enough journey through the eyes of someone scared of dogs. On the other hand, Susan M Sailors' Because I Wanted You is a stalker tale that never really grabbed me. Plus I'm not entirely sure it suits the theme of the book: the only fear is that of rejection, and our stalker seems pretty confident that's not going to happen.

I'm afraid I really rather disliked the next story: Eleven-thirty Midnight Road by Vickie Britton and Loretta Jackson. The immature style made it seem more like a substandard pre-teen romance than a story that belonged in this anthology. The ouija board plot didn't survive the tedious characters, and its predictability didn't help. Plus at 22 pages, it's a long story to wade through when it hasn't grabbed your interest.

The male presence in the book is left to the very end, and these are two of the best stories. Richard A. Satterlie's The Stick is a well-written tale of a murder seen through a young boy's eyes. And at the scene of the crime is a stick which possesses strange powers... Finally, there is Long Distance Call by John Everson. After unfaithful Jack's wife commits suicide, it is far from the end for her... or for him. While some aspects of the story didn't quite gel for me, it was still a good read.

So there you have it. FEAR has a fair stab at the subject, and there are definitely some stories worth reading, on a chill night such as... oh, Halloween?

FEAR is available now from Whiskey Creek Press, EBook format ISBN: 978-1-59374-547-9, trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-59374-546-2.