Famous last words, Past Tamara – it can be pretty damn scary! Damn, Hometown Haunts #loveozya horror tales anthology is good! A stellar list of contributing authors, including some of my faves and some who have succeeded in scaring the pants off me in such enjoyable ways that I’ve added them to the list of people to check out. A few highlights – Slaughterhouse Boys by @redscribed made me simultaneously shudder and cry in their story about enjoying a good steak and the social construct of masculinity. @talltales_poppynwosu broke my heart with her beautiful tale of loss and disolving people, Nature Boy. @alisonwritesthings – eyes. Shudder. Such a brilliant story about bodily change through puberty with a body horror twist that still makes my skin crawl when I think about it. And, thanks to @project_lectito and @sarahepsteinbooks I’ll never again use either an Olympic swimming pool or a roadside rest stop, so thanks for that.

I feel a little remiss not mentioning all the stories individually, because there wasn’t a single one that I didn’t – well, “enjoy” might be the wrong word? But they’re all excellent. Special mention to Emma Preston’s It’s Quiet Now, a thought-provoking short comic about what happens on the streets when people are in lockdown.

Hometown Haunts is a fantastic mix of humour, wit, and thoughtfulness in 12 short stories and 2 short comics, all guaranteed* to make you shudder.

(*not a legally binding guarantee)