Footsteps in the Dark Short Stories by Flame Tree Studio

Footsteps in the Dark Short Stories Reviews

• 
  Michelle Kobus

  A pretty solid collection for spooky and, mostly, supernatural stories. It's Easy to Shoot a Dog is probably my favorite story in the collection, and The Cure for Boredom is my most despised story for being unnecessarily cruel towards animals and distinctly not supernatural (just homicidal).
• 
  Bailey

  Real rating: 3.5. With anthologies, you've got to be ok with stories that grab you and some that are just "meh". Although... this collection did give me the shivers (maybe not the best way to begin the new year, but what can I say? I'm a sucker for Flame Tree). This is a very unique collection, given that the name Footsteps in the Dark typically calls for creatures creeping through the trees (or worse, the foot of one's bed!), and those creatures do reside here, but in case a monster mash isn't your jam, there's a surprising amount of stories that deal with metaphorical darkness (death, guilt, revenge, greed, two authors even spin the idea of burgeoning female sexuality/infatuation). Bonus, there's even an Angela Carter-esque werewolf tale (beware the suave man; the veneer may be thick, but it is there). Oh, I feel I should say: Trigger warning for animal abuse in one story (that one makes for an interesting character study, but is a very difficult read-for me at least-nonetheless). As always, here are the ones that made sure my lights stayed on:
  
  *"My Adventure in Norfolk"- A.J. Alan
  *"Death and the Woman"- Gertrude Atherton
  *"The Eyes of the Panther"- Ambrose Bierce
  *"The Long Way"-Ramsey Campbell
  *"A Night of Terror"-Dick Donovan
  *"A Night on the Borders of the Black Forest"- Amelia B. Edwards
  *"Knock, Knock, Wolf"-P.G. Galalis
  *"Mrs. Courcy's Folly"-Kevin J.J. Gallivan
  *"The Blackdamp"- Ali Habashi
  *" The Three Sisters"- W.W. Jacobs
  *"The Cure for Boredom" (aforementioned trigger warning)-S.R. Masters
  *"Cold, Wet Hands"- John Moralee
  *"The House of Silence"- Edith Nesbit
  *"The Downs"- Amyas Northcote
  *"Bites"- Aeryn Rudel
  *"Waking the Monster"- Shana Scott
  *"Where Their Fire Is Not Quenched"- May Sinclair
  *"Rusalka"- Anna Taborska
  *"You Think You Are Safe"- Nemma Wollenfang
  *"He Will Hear Us Coming"- Anna Ziegelhof