Kenneth W. Cain

Finally, the second Midnight anthology has arrived and just like 'Midnight in the Graveyard',
it features a Best-Of of today's horror authors and also introduces some new authors I hope to read more of in the future. There is not one disappointing story to be found, only loads of well-written traditional, original and also unexpected ideas that lead you into the twisted land of demons, witches, possession and other horrors. The biggest strength of this volume is its widespread variety, though I especially enjoyed stories with a humorous streak.
Among my favorites are 'The Corn Maidens', 'Legion Cast Forth', 'What I Wouldn't Give', 'Dog Eat God', 'Discovering Mr. Jones', 'The Gods of Our Fathers', 'Diminishing Returns' and 'Witches' Night'. My personal number one story is the hilarious 'A Night Above' - the first and only story that made me pity the demon...

This is an outstanding anthology by today's crème de la crème of horror authors. There is not one story that disappoints, and all contributions are high above average. The common theme here is ghosts, and we get a wide variety of them: traditional and modern, haunted and gory, human and animal, and everything else in between...

Selecting my favorite stories here is almost impossible, as all of them are more than worth their place in this book. However, if tortured to name my top stories, it would be: 'Those Who Are Terrified (Elizabeth Massie)' which is a rather sad story about a family's darkest secrets. 'Join My Club (Somer Canon)' which is another sad story about two lost little kids. 'New Blood, Old Skin (Glenn Rolfe)' which is both creepy and somehow cute. 'The Glimmer Girls (Kenneth McKinley)' which is the most shocking, especially as it is based on rather gruesome and unbelievable true events.

There's not enough praise to give to this anthology, and if you haven't read it yet: do so now - you definitely won't regret it. Highest recommendation!

(Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of the book, all opinions are my own)