Blood Bank: A Charitable Anthology, by various authors

Blood Bound Books, 2022

ISBN: 9781940250533

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition ( Amazon.com )

Blood Bank is a charitable anthology, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the children’s literacy organization Read Better Be Better, and Hagar’s House, a sanctuary for women, children, and gender-nonconforming folks. The collection of fourteen short horror stories are not connected by a particular theme. Authors include well-respected names such as Neil Gaiman, Kristopher Triana, Jeff Strand, and others.

With one or two exceptions, the writing is good, and the ideas are new enough for interest, or toss a spin over ideas seen previously.  Story grades average out to a solid B+, with four A’s in the mix. Here are the highlights:

“Clown Doll” is a simple story about a haunted Halloween decoration, but the author has real skill in writing words to crawl your skin. It is genuinely fear-inducing.

“We Can Get It For You Wholesale” has the best display of writing skill in the book (it is by Neil Gaiman), and this is one time the writing skill matches the story.  A bizarre look at how to hire a hitman to get rid of a cheating wife.

Jeff Strand’s “First Date”, almost all dialogue, is a wonderful and darkly amusing look at a first date between a nice young lady and a guy who claims in his online dating profile to be a serial killer.  Extremely snappy dialogue, lots of attitude, and making the characters NOT seem crazy makes it a winner.  The ending line of the story is hilarious, a perfect ending to a warped story.

“Pictures of a Princess”: Ever run into someone who is still obsessed with a Disney character they loved as a kid? (say, Cinderella or the like?)  Wonder what happens when they meet the actress playing the role in real life, and the person just isn’t the same as the image they had in their head?  The story will answer that question, in an ugly fashion.

“Every Breath is a Choice” by Max Booth III is an excellent revenge story with an ironic twist to it  So, your wife got raped and your only child killed by some random lowlife.  Your life is shattered, and the killer is enjoying his three square meals a day at the Crossbar Hotel, where you can’t get at him.  How do you get payback?  You just have to get REALLY creative! 

Bottom line: this is a fun way to violate your brain for a few nights in bite-sized chunks while also benefiting some worthy causes. Recommended.

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson