Dark Faith is loaded with thirty-one new stories and poems on faith and spirituality in all of its forms. I’ve always loved the marriage of faith and the horror genre, going back to books like The Sentinel by Jeffrey Konvitz and William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist, and this anthology doesn’t disappoint.

Among my favorite stories in the collection are “Good Enough” by Kelli Dunlap, about a relationship that goes wrong, a history of bad choices, and a serial killer who doesn’t fit the usual profile—it’s a nice twist on the Frankenstein tale; “Miz Ruthie Pays Her Respects” by Lucy A. Snyder, about a woman who decides to finally get her revenge on a respected member of the family and community; and “Ghosts of New York” by Jennifer Pelland, about a woman who keeps reliving her death in the Twin Towers, and finding others just like herself. I also thoroughly enjoyed Wrath James White’s “He Who Would Not Bow”, about a small group of people who find out they can kill God while He is on earth; Althea Kontis’ “The God of Last Moments”, about a young man who begins feeding on the power of the dead’s last moments; and Tom Piccirilli’s “Scrawl”, about an average writer who finds inspiration one night during a writers’ convention.

Other notable stories include ”For My Next Trick I’ll Need a Volunteer” by Gary Braunbeck, about the strange trip Detective Emerson is taken on by his friend the Reverend; “A Loss for Words” by J.C. Hay, about a writer who pays a prostitute (who happens to be a Muse) to write his words all over her body; “Go Tell it on the Mountain” by Kyle S. Johnson, which tells about a man’s meeting with a hippie-like Christ just after a global apocalypse; “I Sing a New Psalm” by Brian Keene, which tells of a man who finds faith in God only to have that faith leave him again; and “First Communions” by Geoffrey Girard, a touching story about suicide, love and God. I also want to mention the beautifully dark poem “Lilith” by Rain Graves, and the opening poem, The Story of Belief-Non by Linda D. Addison, which looks at the endless possibilities of life.

While there are always a few misses in anthologies, the bulk of the stories in Dark Faith are great reads. Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon did a fantastic job of editing it all. There are many more excellent stories I didn’t mention above, so I encourage all horror fans to pick this one up—I highly recommend it.

Contains: Gore, blood and some sexual themes
Review by Colleen Wanglund