4.0
Come Sing for the Harrowing
ByPublisher Description
From British and World Fantasy award-winning writer and editor Dan Coxon, Come Sing for the Harrowing is an uncanny folk horror collection for fans of John Langan and Robert Aickman.
A young man working at a tourist attraction is singled out for unholy transformation, a gang of burglars are ambushed with something unworldly when they attempt to rob a local farm, and a daughter seeks revenge on her abusive father after his death. Invoking the sense of natural surreal found in Midsommar, these stories are always a little to the left of what’s expected.
Weaving macabre contingencies into realities, Dan Coxon crafts unsettling and eerie worlds through hauntingly literary prose. Including a featured story from Ellen Datlow’s “Best of Horror” round-up and a foreword from Brian Evenson, Come Sing for the Harrowing will haunt your dreams and gnaw at you during the daylight.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesCome Sing for the Harrowing Reviews
4.0
“Thank you to CLASH books and Netgalley for this eARC!
This was my first time reading stories by Dan Coxon, safe to say I had a really good time!
This was a compilation of stories with some stories previously published as well as exclusive ones.
I enjoyed most of the stories that didn’t give away much information and it’s left for the reader to imagine but others I would’ve liked for the plot to be more explored.
There is a story for every taste in this compilation since it has different themes and horror genres being covered.”
“This anthology is a perfectly unsettling exploration of the "uncanny," sitting in that sweet spot where everyday life meets something darker. Coxon turns familiar folk horror ideas into something fresh and modern, creating worlds that feel just a little different from what you’d expect.
Many of these stories begin with everyday situations, like a family visiting a cave on holiday in "The Darkness Below" or a camping trip after a breakup in “Needles and Pins”. From there, things quickly become dark and disturbing. I think this approach works well for most of them, though it feels stronger in some than others. Many end with unclear conclusions that leave much open to interpretation, often in very unsettling ways.
Even though the writing was always strong and compelling, I found the pacing uneven. Some stories felt slow, while others left me feeling like I didn’t get enough from them.
Overall, though, I really appreciated the ambiguity, which allowed me to reflect on the deeper themes and meanings of each story, some of which were very heavy and emotional. "Gorphwysfa" has particularly affected me.
I’d definitely recommend this short story collection to anyone who likes the uncanny and a mix of folk horror and weird fiction, where the lines between the ordinary and the strange are very blurry.”
“- ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) provided by NetGalley -
I had a great time reading this short story anthology - I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but went into it with an open mind, and came out of it having pondered the possible deeper meanings and themes of each story.
The writing style is excellent - easy to read, yet descriptive, and the stories themselves were addictive, with a broad range of themes and genres of horror being covered.
While some of the stories didn't quite land for me as strongly as others, the collection on the whole was definitely time well spent reading, and I am curious to check out the author's other work in future.”
“My first time reading Coxon and I will now read anything he comes out with! These short stories were weird and horrific. Some felt like folk horror while others were more sci-fi horror, but all possessed elements of the strange/weird. Each story felt unique and masterfully written.”
“I went into Come Sing for the Harrowing expecting heavy folk horror vibes throughout all the short stories and this wasn’t that. But I didn’t leave dissatisfied. There was a solid range of folk horror, some weird and even sci-fi elements to these stories. I felt that the stories at the beginning had a more folk horror vibe and felt earthy. Some of the descriptions here were evocative. I particularly enjoyed ‘Our Sister of Blackthorn’ which I felt was an interesting urban take on the traditional folk horror trope of rural insular communities vs the outsider other.
Towards the middle of the collection I did feel like it dipped for me. I felt like we lost the cohesion a bit and some of the stories weren’t to my taste.
I feel the last few stories were bangers however. Some stand outs for me were ‘The Darkness Below’ and all stories beyond this one I rated highly. I could talk for ages about the themes in these but won’t so I don’t spoil anything. But these feel like short stories I can come back to and enjoy again and again. My favourites toward the end include aspects that reminded me of changelings, possession and weird, eldritch horrors.
Overall I think this is a solid collection, and while it doesn’t hit you in the face with the scares, it’s subtle approach encourages you to ponder each story and feel thoroughly creeped out in some cases.
Thank you to Netgalley and Clash books for the eARC.”
About Dan Coxon
Dan Coxon has won a World Fantasy Award (Heartwood: A Mythago Wood Anthology) and two British Fantasy Awards (Writing the Uncanny and Writing the Future, both co-edited with Richard V. Hirst). He has been shortlisted for the British Fantasy Awards a total of eight times, and was a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Awards. His short stories have appeared in various anthologies and magazines, including Shakespeare Unleashed, Beyond the Veil, Fiends in the Furrows III and Great British Horror 7: Major Arcana. In October 2025 his anthology of haunted house stories, Unquiet Guests, was published by Dead Ink Books. He lives just outside London, UK.
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